What the Bible Teaches About Drinking Alcohol (8)

October 26, 2011 Leave a comment

Did you know that the early churches of the New Testament struggled mightily with an issue that we think nothing of today? I mean they got into heated disputes over this issue. Some Christians would separate themselves from other Christians over it. Others would call the salvation of fellow Christians into question over it. And so what was this divisive issue? It was the eating of meat that had been offered to idols.

In ancient cities such as Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus, pagan temples dedicated to pagan gods were commonplace. As part of the idolatrous worship at these temples, priests would offer up animal sacrifices to the false gods. These animals were choice, unblemished, high-grade meat. Following a sacrifice, the “leftovers” were sold in the meat markets of the cities. The meat was the choicest available, but the price was cheap because the meat was “used.” Naturally, the lost people of the city thought nothing of purchasing the meat and eating it. The Christians, on the other hand, didn’t know how to handle the dilemma. Eat meat that carried the taint of idol worship? Would God allow such a thing? The answer you got depended upon which Christian you asked.

The Gentile Christians who had been saved out of idolatry and paganism were particularly sensitive about the whole issue. They just couldn’t make their consciences believe that God was okay with them eating that meat, no matter how much of a bargain the meat was. We can liken each of those Christians to one who has been saved out of alcoholism. No matter how many preachers, Bible teachers, and commmentators tell that Christian that it’s alright to drink a beer or a glass of wine, that Christian won’t quite believe it. His past experiences have just been too scarring.

Well, it was clear that the early churches needed some God-inspired guidance concerning the eating of that meat. And who better to provide the guidance than the greatest theologian the world has ever known, the apostle Paul? So it’s no wonder that he devoted extensive sections of his letters to the Christians of Rome and Corinth to the topic. And what was his take on the meat? We find the answer in the following passages:

#1: Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. (1 Corinthians 8:4)

#2: Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake; (1 Corinthians 10:25)

#3: I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself… (Romans 14:14a)

#4: For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4-5)

Now, I do realize that I’m only giving you half of what Paul taught on this subject, and I promise you that we’ll get to the other half in the next post. But for now just let the first part of Paul’s God-inspired teaching wash over you and penetrate down into your soul. The man taught, “Since there is only one true God, an idol is really nothing. As nothing, it certainly doesn’t have the power to taint meat. So don’t let your conscience wear you out over such meat. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market.” In 1 Corinthians 8:9, Paul calls the option to eat that meat “this liberty of yours.” That’s where we get the term “Christian liberty.”

But now here’s the question for us Christians today: How does Paul’s teaching on “Christian liberty” come into play in our lives? I mean, we don’t have to deal with meat that has been offered to idols, do we? No, but we certainly have to deal with things such as: wine, beer, liquor, secular music, secular movies, secular t.v. shows, and the latest fashions. Oh, we can be good little legalists who live miserable little lives. We can throw out our televisions, shun movie theaters, keep our radios turned off, wear Puritan-style clothing, avoid any restaurant that has a bar, refuse to celebrate Christmas, Easter, and Halloween (all of these holidays have pagan trappings, you know), and spend all our time praying, reading the Bible, and listening to gospel music. But is that really how God wants us to live? I think not. Jesus wasn’t a hermit-like isolationist. He got out among the masses and enjoyed life. As a matter of fact, His “Christian liberty” kept the legalistic Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes torn all to pieces. They couldn’t believe that He had the gall to do some of the things He did.

I think that Chuck Swindoll, the well known pastor and radio preacher, has given us a wonderful illustration of why Christians desperately need to grasp the concept of Christian liberty. In his study guide for Romans chapters 12-16, under a heading entitled “Taboo Or Not Taboo?”, he writes:

Isn’t it funny how religious convictions can vary so widely among Christians? Let’s invite some believers of different backgrounds to a pool party, just to see what will happen.

Out on the pool deck, our party is well under way: the hot dogs are roasting on the grill, the drinks are getting iced in the coolers, and our guests are happily visiting and laughing under a warm, sunny sky.

Suddenly events take a turn for the worse: three couples from California decide to take a dip in the pool before lunch. They toss off their sandals and T-shirts, jump into the pool, and begin tossing a beach ball around. Bill, from Alabama, practically falls out of his chair. He doesn’t believe in “mixed bathing” – males and females swimming in the same pool at the same time. He quickly excuses himself and walks into the house whispering in disbelief, “What bacchanalian ritual have I stumbled onto here?”

Passing Bill in the doorway is Amber, the teenage granddaughter of Ethel, our senior party guest. Amber, in a cool tank top and shorts, is just showing up for the party, but she barely gets both feet on the deck before Ethel meets her with a bright pink, oversize beach towel in hand. “Amber dear,” Ethel says, “For goodness’ sake, cover yourself before you cause some poor boy to stumble!” Amber – now a pink terry cloth mummy – trudges to the first chair she can find, plops herself down, and commences to sulk.

Andy, our Lutheran guest, tries to lighten things up. He turns to Mike, a Southern Baptist, and asks, “Want a drink from my cooler?” Mike heartily accepts, and Andy raises the lid, revealing several of his favorite brands of beer. “Which one would you like?” Mike doesn’t answer, but quietly joins Bill inside the house.

“What’s with him?” Andy asks. “There’s nothing wrong with having one dang beer!” “Andy!” his wife exclaims, “Watch your mouth! That graphic language really bothers me.”

Now do you see the need that we Christians have to truly understand Christian liberty?

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What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol (7)

October 25, 2011 1 Comment

Thus far in this series I’ve made the case that the Bible allows for a certain amount of moderate drinking. However, we really need to understand that the alcoholic beverages of Bible times were nowhere near as potent as those of our day. So I need to devote a post to that subject. Since I’m far from an expert on this subject, I’ll just offer two quotes and let them do the work for me.

The first quote comes from renowned Bible scholar Dr. Charles Ryrie. In his book The Miracles Of Our Lord, he writes the following concerning Christ’s changing of the water into wine:

Let them (people) also remember that today’s wine is not first boiled before storage, then reconstituted with three parts water before drinking, as was true in the time of Christ. Today’s wine is 10 to 14 percent alcohol as it comes from the bottle. That is why one five-and-one-half ounce glass of wine (about the size of a punch cup) raises the alcohol in the blood as much as a cocktail or two bottles of beer.

Second, Dr. J. Carl Laney, in his commentary on the gospel of John, writes this:

It is of considerable significance that in antiquity wine was diluted with water. Only barbarians would drink unmixed wine. This custom is referred to in the epilogue of 2 Maccabees, where the writer states, “Just as it is injurious to drink wine by itself, or again water, whereas wine mixed with water is pleasant and produces a delightful sense of well being…Although the ratio varied, one part wine was usually mixed with three parts water.”

I really don’t think that it’s necessary to try to nail down the precise ratio of the water to the wine. The point is that the wine of Bible times was usually diluted to a fairly large degree. That is undeniable, and anyone who wants to study this subject in a mature and honest manner will freely admit that. So that covers the wine. But what about the “strong drink”?

Well, I can tell you that the 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia (Vol. 12, p.533) states that in the rabbinic period the wine was diluted with water but the “strong drink” wasn’t. Still, even taking that fact into account, I don’t doubt that the beers and liquors of today are probably even more potent than the “strong drink” described in the Bible. Brewers and alcohol manufacturers, with their advanced knowledge and years of experience, see to that.

And so I write this particular post as a word of warning to anyone who would take the Bible’s allowance for alcohol consumption too flippantly. I don’t mind you understanding that you can do a touch of drinking and still be within the banks of scripture, but I also want you to understand that today’s wine, beer, and liquors have a lot more potency than the alcoholic beverages described in the Bible. That means that “a little dab will do ‘ya.” It also means that too much of a dab will do ‘ya in rather quickly.

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What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (6)

October 20, 2011 Leave a comment

Christ’s changing of the water into wine is one of His more famous miracles. It’s also one of His most debated. Some folks absolutely cringe at the very notion of Jesus devoting a miracle to making alcoholic wine. They say, “It had to be grape juice because the Lord isn’t a bootlegger.”

The problem with that line of interpretation is that it doesn’t really fit the story itself as the Bible presents it in John 2:1-11. I’m not trying to offend anyone or create a fuss. I’m simply trying to let the story read the way it reads and understand it correctly. And when we do that we see that there are at least two solid reasons why we should believe that the wine really was of the intoxicating variety.

Reason #1: The Greek word the story uses for wine in verses 3, 9, and 10 is oinos. As we learned in the first post from this series, this word clearly refers to alcoholic wine. It’s used in Ephesians 5:18, 1 Timothy 5:23, and Titus 2:3, and in those passages it obviously means wine that will make you drunk if you imbibe too much of it. As we learned in the previous post, if John had wanted to convey the idea that Jesus turned the water into grape juice, all he had to do was use different Greek wording, wording such as we find in Matthew 26:29, Mark 14:25, and Luke 22:18. Also let’s not forget that John wrote under nothing less than the inspiration of God Himself (1 Timothy 3:16). So if God wanted to clear up any confusion about the wine actually being grape juice, He could have easily done so by simply inspiring John to use different Greek terminology. At the bottom line, renowned Greek scholar Dr. Marvin Vincent, in his Word Studies In The New Testament, sums the matter up perfectly when he says, “In every instance of its use in the New Testament the word means intoxication.”

Reason #2: The words from the master of the feast make little sense if the wine was grape juice. He said, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now” (John 2:10). Now you tell me, what would be the advantage of serving the inferior wine later? You know. I’m not saying the guests would have been so wasted that they wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference in the quality. (To the contrary, the fact that the master of the feast could tell the difference between the first wine and Christ’s wine proves positively that he wasn’t drunk). But let’s at least admit that their moods would have been better and their taste buds more agreeable. Remember that the Bible makes no bones about the fact that wine makes the heart merry (Judges 9:13; Ruth 3:7; 2 Samuel 13:28; Esther 1:10; Psalm 31:6; Psalm 104:15; Ecclesiastes 9:7; and Ecclesiastes 10:19). By the way, the argument that Jesus wouldn’t have made such a vast amount of alcoholic wine (between 120 and 180 gallons) for one wedding celebration fails to consider that a large Jewish wedding of that day would last for seven days and play host to dozens upon dozens of guests. Furthermore, the argument that Jesus making alcoholic wine would have violated Habakkuk 2:15 doesn’t hold either because the prohibition there is against forcing someone to get drunk so that you can engage in sexual sin with that person. Jewish weddings never descended into the realm of drunken orgies.

And so, in conclusion, these two valid reasons leave us to believe that Jesus turned the water into alcoholic wine. Now was that wine as potent as the wine of our day? Oh, I’m glad you asked that question because I’m going to devote my next post to answering it. So I’ll ask you to hang with me and stay tuned.

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What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (5)

October 17, 2011 Leave a comment

Did Jesus drink alcoholic wine? Needless to say, it’s a touchy subject. To answer the question, all I know to do is go to the Bible.

I’ll begin by saying that the gospels make a point of not using oinos, the Greek word for alcoholic wine, in regards to the famous “last supper” that Jesus had with His apostles. We see this in Matthew 26:27-29, Mark 14:22-25, and Luke 22:14-22. I’ll quote the Matthew passage here:

Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

You see, the original Greek of the New Testament is perfectly capable of differentiating between alcoholic wine and mere grape juice when the facts of the case call for it. And that’s exactly what Matthew, Mark, and Luke did concerning what Jesus served His apostles at the “last supper,” which was of course His formal instituting of what we now call the “Lord’s supper.” (By the way, whenever we come to the word “wine” in the New Testament we should remember that if the beverage in question had been grape juice, the writer of the passage could easily have gone with the Greek for “the fruit of the vine.”)

Okay, so the Bible teaches that Jesus didn’t serve alcoholic wine at His “last supper,” which might imply that He didn’t drink it at that meal either. But are there any other passages relevant to our question? Yes, there are. Mark 15:23 is one. In the context of describing Christ’s crucifixion, that verse says:

Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.

The verse’s Greek word for “wine” is the familiar oinos, which means alcoholic wine. The Romans offered such a drink as a painkiller to men being crucified. Jesus, however, refused it. Some will say that He refused it because He was thoroughly opposed to anyone drinking alcoholic beverages under any circumstances. As for me, I line up with those who believe that He refused it because He wanted to experience the fullness of the cross. He didn’t want His senses dulled in any way. If He was going to die to pay the world’s sin debt, He would do so without any aid from anything that would dull the pain and thus lessen the suffering.

And so we’ve seen that Jesus didn’t serve alcoholic wine at the “last supper” and He refused the same as He hung on the cross. So does that finish out the answer to our question? No, it doesn’t. We also need to consider the teaching of Matthew 11:18-19 and Luke 7:33-34, two passages which tell the same story. I’ll quote the one from Luke. It records Jesus saying to the Jewish religious leaders:

“For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

Basically, those Jewish religious leaders couldn’t be appeased. On the one hand, they criticized John the Baptist for his isolationist lifestyle and minimalistic diet (Luke 1:13-15; Matthew 2:4). On the other hand, they criticized Jesus for the fact that, socially speaking, He was the polar opposite of John the Baptist (Luke 5:27-32). But what we want to focus on is the fact that those leaders called Jesus a “winebibber,” which means “a person who drinks excessive amounts of wine.”

Now we need to be careful here because we can’t assume that Jesus drank alcoholic wine just because those Jews said that He did. With that noted, however, I don’t feel totally comfortable believing that they just pulled the accusation out of thin air. After all, they didn’t call John the Baptist a “winebibber,” did they?

I suppose the accusation could have simply grown out of Jesus attending feasts like the one in the home of Matthew (Levi) (Luke 5:29-32). Surely alcoholic wine was served at that feast. But, admittedly, Jesus being at such a feast doesn’t necessarily mean that He drank wine there.

Let’s understand, though, that some of those Jewish leaders were either in attendance at Matthew’s feast or had direct knowledge about it (Luke 5:30). So was it a boldfaced lie when they called Jesus a “winebibber” or did they know for certainty that He drank wine and simply exaggerated His drinking? That’s a good question. I wish we could nail down the answer with a high degree of certainty.

There are some who contend that Jesus would never have drunk wine because that would have violated Old Testament law concerning the priesthood. Certainly Jesus did live His earthly life as a Jew who kept that body of law that God had given to Moses and the Israelites. He even made a point of saying, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17) And what did that law command concerning priests as they ministered in the tabernacle (temple)? Leviticus 10:8-11 tell us:

Then the Lord spoke to Aaron (Israel’s first high priest), saying: “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statue forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, and that you may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken to them by the hand of Moses.”

You say, “Ah, at last, that settles it! Jesus would never have drunk alcoholic wine because He was a priest, like Aaron.” Well, unfortunately, things aren’t so cut and dried as that. Consider the following facts:

#1: That law specifically dealt with ministering in the Jewish tabernacle or (later on) the Jewish temple. But Jesus never ministered as a priest at the temple of His day. He visited there, but He certainly never performed any priestly duties there. Israel had its own priests.

#2: The New Testament book of Hebrews emphatically teaches that even though Jesus is a High Priest, He isn’t of the priestly order of Aaron. He is, instead, of the priestly order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:1-6; 7:1-27) Interestingly, Melchizedek ministered in a time before the building of the Jewish tabernacle or the temple.

#3: In Genesis 14:18-20, the only Old Testament passage that speaks of Melchizedek, he brings two particular items to Abraham. Guess what they are: bread and (you got it) wine.

And so, in conclusion, what answer are we left with at the end of this post? Did Jesus drink alcoholic wine or not? The truth is, there is simply no way to take the Bible and build a 100% case for either a yes or a no answer. But if you pin me up against a wall and force me to state my opinion, I’ll say that I believe that, on occasion, He did. I just don’t think those Jewish religious leaders completely fabricated that charge about Him being a “winebibber.” Obviously, He never drank wine to excess because that would have been a sin. But I lean toward thinking that those guys had at least seen him drink some wine. And as for the argument that Old Testament law concerning the priesthood kept Him from drinking, as I’ve shown you that argument can be refuted pretty easily.

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What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (4)

October 14, 2011 4 Comments

I used yesterday’s post to condemn the sin of drunkenness. Now I want to share a few thoughts on addiction to alcohol. All drunkenness is sin, but there’s a difference between getting drunk once at a party and being a full-blown alcoholic.

I take no joy or pride in admitting that alcoholism runs on both sides of my family. So, trust me, I could write an encyclopedia on the subject. Isn’t it amazing how easily one glass of wine or one can of beer can turn into decades of hard drinking? The old saying is so true: “First the man takes a drink. Then the drink takes a drink. Then the drink takes the man.”

I think this explains why I haven’t been getting much feedback on these posts. The viewing numbers are down, and no one is hitting the “like” button. Why? It’s because many of us know all too well the incredible damage that alcohol can do to a life. That’s why we shy away from the subject. We fear that if we give ground on having even one glass of wine with a plate of lasagna at Olive Garden, one bottle of beer at a July picnic, or one shot of liquor on a cold night, that we will fan the flames of the already raging bonfire of alcohol addiction in this country. That’s why so many of us want to either ignore the subject altogether or try to cling to our fortress retreat in the high, unsoiled mountains of total abstinence. Our problem, however, is that neither approach lines up with the totality of what the Bible teaches.

Is alcoholism a very real problem? Of course it is. But does everyone who drinks become addicted? Believe it or not, no they don’t. Maybe your uncle Joe did. Maybe your cousin Sue did. Maybe your child did. Maybe you did. But that doesn’t mean that everyone does. You see, in one way alcohol is like food. When used appropriately it can be viewed as a blessing from God. It makes this difficult life a little more enjoyable. It brings pleasure to the taste buds. It can even help settle the stomach. But when it is used to sinful excess, the good turns to harm. Just as overeating creates the sin of gluttony and causes all kinds of physical, emotional, and psychological problems, drinking too much creates the sin of drunkenness and causes the same kinds of problems. Is it any wonder then that the Bible so frequently links the sins of gluttony and drunkenness together? (Deuteronomy 21:20; Proverbs 23:21; Ecclesiastes 10:16-19; Isaiah 22:12-13; Amos 6:3-7; Luke 12:19; 1 Peter 4:3)

And so how should we deal with addiction to alcohol, or any addiction for that matter (food, drugs, pornography, sex, etc.)? Well, it sounds like a cliche but the cure for every addiction is Jesus. I can think of two passages that say it all. First, there is John 8:34,36:

Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin…Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

And then second, there is Luke 4:17-18:

And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

And so we see that Jesus is the liberator for anyone is enslaved by or held captive by addiction. He is the Moses who can lead that person out of that Egypt. He is the David who can slay that person’s giant. He is the Solomon who can erect a shining new temple of holiness in that person’s life. Addiction doesn’t intimidate Him in the least. He has released scores of captives from its grip already and stands ready and willing to do it one more time.

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What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (3)

October 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Okay, now that we’ve taken the Bible and established that it does allow for some drinking of wine (see part 1 of this series) and other alcoholic drinks (see part 2), we really need to hit the sin of drunkenness head on. Of course, we certainly won’t have any trouble finding scriptures to do so. God’s written word is chocked full of such texts. Here is a small sampling:

1. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)

2. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18)

3. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

4. Awake, you drunkards, and weep; and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. (Joel 1:5)

5. Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness! (Habakkuk 2:15)

6. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. (Romans 13:13-14)

7. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. (1 Thessalonians 5:7-8)

As you can see, the Bible comes down like thunder on the sin of drunkenness. So even though the drinking of alcoholic beverages is allowable, the allowance is limited. It’s not a “get out of jail free” card. It’s not a sanctioning to drink yourself into a stupor. There is a line that shouldn’t be crossed, and it’s a line that comes into play pretty quickly.

Actually, the Bible even describes some situations in which drinking alcoholic beverages was forbidden altogether. They were as follows:

1. Israel’s priests weren’t allowed to drink either wine or strong drink when they entered the tabernacle (temple). (Leviticus 10:8-11; Ezekiel 44:21; Isaiah 28:7)

2. It wasn’t good for rulers (kings and princes) to drink wine or strong drink because it might impair their judgment. (Proverbs 31:4-5)

3. Any Jew who volunteered to take the “vow of a Nazarite” had to completely separate himself or herself from all wine, strong drink, vinegar, and grape juice. (Numbers 6:1-3; Judges 13:1-5; Luke 1:13-15)

But to get back to the point, even with a certain amount of alcoholic consumption being allowed among the Jews, the problem began when a Jew abused the privilege and got drunk. This explains the various passages which differentiate between acceptable drinking and crossing the line. Here are some of them. The words I’ve put in boldface mark the line between drunkenness and acceptable drinking:

1. Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. (Proverbs 23:29-30)

2. Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink. (Isaiah 5:22)

3. No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities. (1 Timothy 5:23)

4. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to (addicted to) wine… (1 Timothy 3:2-3)

5. Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to (addicted to) much wine… (1 Timothy 3:8)

And so we see that it doesn’t take much to drink yourself right into sin. This is why I felt such trepidation as I wrote those first two posts of this series. Frankly, it would be a whole lot easier for me, as a preacher, if God just outlawed wine and strong drink completely. But He doesn’t do that. What He does do, though, is load the Bible with very clear warnings about the danger of drunkenness. I can only hope that you will heed them.

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What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (2)

October 12, 2011 1 Comment

In yesterday’s post I said some things about wine in the Bible. With this one I want to do the same concerning “strong drink.” In case you don’t know, “strong drink” is different from wine.

The Hebrew word that gets translated as “strong drink” is shekar. It is used a little over twenty times in the Old Testament. The New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew shekar is the Greek sikera, and it is used just once in the New Testament (Luke 1:15).

I’m generalizing here a little bit, but I think we can basically set up two broad categories of alcoholic beverages. One category is “wine” and the other one is “strong drink” (beer, liquor, etc.) For the record, there are three other Hebrew words that the classic K.J.V. translation renders as “liquor” or “liquors.” They are mishrah (Numbers 6:3), mezeg (Song of Solomon 7:2), and dema (Exodus 22:29). However, each of these words can rightly come under the heading “strong drink” without doing any harm to its meaning.

And so what does the Bible say about strong drink? Does it allow for any drinking of such beverages? You might be surprised to learn that it does. The passage is Deuteronomy 14:22-26. Let me lay the groundwork for it.

These verses are a part of that body of law that gave to Israel, and they specifically relate to Israel’s tithing. I won’t take the time to trace down every detail of what the law taught about tithing, but I will point out that the law called for the paying of three separate tithes. These were the “Levite’s tithe” (Numbers 18:21-24), the “poor tithe” (Deuteronomy 14:28-29), and the “festival tithe” (Deuteronomy 14:22-26). It’s the “festival tithe” that we want to more closely examine.

Each year a Jew was to round up a tithe (tenth) of the yearly increase he had seen from farming. This included his grain, new wine, oil, and the firstborn of his flocks and herds. He was then to take all that tithe to the tabernacle. Once there, he and his family were to eat a feast out of that tithe. Whatever was left over after the feast went to the Levites, Israel’s priestly tribe. (When the temple was ultimately built to take the place of the tabernacle, the “festival tithe” was to be taken there and eaten.)

Now, some Jews lived many miles from the site of the tabernacle, and that made paying the “festival tithe” difficult. God understood this. That’s why He built a plan B into the law. By law, if a Jew lived far away from the tabernacle, he could gather together his “festival tithe,” sell it for a fair price, and then take the money to the tabernacle. There he was to use the money to buy whatever his heart desired for his feast before the Lord.

Here now is where we come to our verse. Read it carefully and see if you notice anything:

And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household. (Deuteronomy 14:26, K.J.V)

In case you are wondering, the Hebrew word that is translated there as “strong drink” is indeed shekar, which means that the translation is thoroughly correct. “Russell, are you telling me that God’s holy law actually allowed a Jew to drink not only wine but also strong drink as a part of a feast at the tabernacle, the most holy site in all Israel, the site where God manifested His presence?” Yes, that’s what I’m telling you. Let me shock you even more. The Holman Christian Standard translation and the New Living Translation even translate shekar in Deuteronomy 14:26 as “beer” rather than “strong drink.” Drinking beer and wine at the tabernacle? With God’s approval no less? You got it.

Okay, with that said, is there any other Bible passage that allows for the consumption of “strong drink”? Yes, there is. Proverbs 31:6-7 says this:

Give strong drink (shekar) unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

I’ve read those who attempt to explain this passage’s call to give “strong drink” by saying that it was for medicinal purposes to ease the intense pain of the one at death’s door. This would be akin to the way today’s hospitals give morphine to the dying. Well, I understand how one could use that interpretation, but what do we do with the call to give wine to those that be of heavy hearts? Let’s be honest in admitting that having a heavy heart certainly isn’t a terminal condition. Also, the last part of the passage talks about drinking to forget your poverty and misery. That’s a far cry from drinking to relieve the pain of a medical problem.

Now, in closing, I feel like I should mention that I never drink anything stronger than Dr. Pepper. So, trust me, I haven’t written all this to justify, rationalize, or explain my own imbibing of beer, wine, or liquor. No, I’ve written it in an attempt to be honest and legitimate about what the Bible teaches about drinking “strong drink.” Is this all that needs to be said on the subject? No, it isn’t. Along those lines, my next post will deal with certain restrictions to drinking wine and “strong drink” as well as the sin of getting drunk off either. But, for now, I’ll stop right here because I trust that I’ve made the point that I was trying to make with this post.

Filed under Addiction, alcohol, Choices, Personal Holiness Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

What Does the Bible Teach About Drinking Alcohol? (1)

October 11, 2011 Leave a comment

One of the more passionately debated Biblical subjects is that of the drinking of alcoholic beverages. Does the Bible make some allowance for such drinking or does it forbid it altogether? This is a question to which I’d like to devote several posts. For this first one, I’ll deal with what the Bible says about drinking wine.

I should begin by pointing out that the Bible uses the word “wine” well over two hundred times, and it offers many different Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek words for wine. The Hebrew words are: yayin, tiyrosh, raaph, chamar, mamcak, cobe, aciyc, enab, and shemer. The Greek words are oinos and gleukos. The most used Hebrew word is yayin, which is used over 130 times. The most used Greek word is oinos, which is used over 30 times.

And is the “wine” of the Bible alcoholic (fermented, as opposed to being mere grape juice)? Of course it is, and if you can’t see that you’re just not trying. Do you remember that I said that yayin is the Old Testament’s most common word for wine? Well, it was yayin that got Noah drunk (Genesis 9:21). Do you remember that I said that oinos is the New Testament’s most common? Well, Ephesians 5:18 says “And do not be drunk with wine (oinos)…” You can’t get drunk on grape juice.

What we have to understand is that wine was as common to the Jewish way of life as milkshakes are to ours. I went with milkshakes because the Jews didn’t drink wine for their typical meals like they did water or milk. They usually saved it for special occasions such as feasts and celebrations (Genesis 14:18; 27:25; 2 Samuel 13:28; John 2:1-10). But make no mistake, wine was common to them. Let me offer three evidences of that.

First, the Jews saw wine as nothing less than a symbol of God’s blessing. When Isaac pronounced his patriarchal blessing upon Jacob, part of it was that God would give Jacob “plenty of grain and wine” (Genesis 27:28). Moses told the Jews that if they would faithfully obey the law that God had given them they would receive great blessings. Some of those blessings would be “your grain and your new wine and your oil” (Deuteronomy 7:13). Psalm 104:15 clearly lists wine as a blessing on par with oil and bread. (By the way, that verse describes wine as that which “makes glad the heart of man.” Grape juice doesn’t do that.)

Second, the God-given Old Testament law commanded the Jews to tithe their wine (Deuteronomy 12:17; 14:22-23). This makes perfect sense in light of the fact that they viewed wine as a blessing along the same lines as oil and bread. Since it was made from harvested grapes, they also saw it as a part of their harvests, which certainly qualified it for tithing.

Third, under that same body of law, the Jewish priests were to use a specific amount of wine in the daily offering up of two “drink offerings” (Exodus 29:38-45). One drink offering was to be done in conjuncture with the morning sacrificing of a lamb, and another drink offering was to be done with the evening sacrificing of a lamb. For the record, the Hebrew word that is used in that passage for “wine” is that familiar word yayin, which makes it alcoholic wine, the same kind that got Noah drunk. Yes, God really did command that alcoholic wine be used as a part of certain daily, holy sacrifices to Him.

You see, the idea that the Jews of the Bible were teetotalers is just plain wrong. They knew all about drinking wine. Furthermore, the idea that the wine was non-alcoholic grape juice is just as wrong. I’m not trying to make anybody mad or suggest that each of us should go have a glass of wine. I’m just conveying what the Bible teaches and letting it say what it says, not what some of us might like it to say. Is this all that I have to share on this subject? Certainly not. This has simply been an opening post to cover some of the basics about the Bible and wine. Hang with me for the rest of this series and I promise that we will cover much more ground, topics such as: “strong drink,” drunkenness, Jesus drinking wine, Jesus making wine, prohibitions against drinking, Christian liberty, and causing a brother to stumble. Stay tuned.

Filed under Addiction, alcohol, Bible Study, Choices, Christian Liberty, Doing Good, Personal Holiness Tagged with , , , , , ,

A Cautionary Tale About Rebellion

October 5, 2011 Leave a comment

Sixty year old Jan Davis was a professional parachutist. She was also involved in the dangerous sport of “BASE jumping.” “BASE jumping” is leaping off fixed places, plummeting toward the earth for a few seconds, and then pulling your parachute chord. The letters B-A-S-E represent the fixed places from which one can jump: B (buildings), A (antennas), S (spans, bridges), and E (earth, cliffs).

On October 22, 1999, Jan and four other jumpers were in California’s Yosemite National Park to jump off the 3,200 foot granite cliff known as El Capitan. They were jumping to protest the fact that the Park had made BASE jumping illegal in the wake of the six deaths and numerous injuries that jumpers had incurred in the Park. The jump would prove the safety of the sport. Jan’s husband had come along to film the event, and several reporters were also on hand.

Jan was the fourth of the five jumpers. She launched off the cliff, fell for twenty seconds, and then fatally crashed into the rocks. Her chute had failed to open properly. Her husband and the reporters stood there stunned, having just watched Jan plunge to her death. The husband even had it on film.

I’m really not trying to be insensitive to the Davis family, but I think we can glean a spiritual lesson from Jan’s needless death. Over and over again the Bible warns against the sin of rebellion (such as rebelling against a logical law that has been enacted). Consider the following passages:

1. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry… (1 Samuel 15:23)

2. A evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. (Proverbs 17:11)

3. There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways nor abide in its paths. (Job 24:13)

4. “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:18-20)

5. God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound in prosperity; but the rebellious dwell in a dry land. (Psalm 68:6)

And so it is with these verses firmly in mind that I ask you this question: Are you, in some way, playing the rebel these days? Well, if you are, what are you rebelling against? Is it something reasonable? Is it something understandable? To use the proverbial saying, you aren’t making a mountain out of a mole hill, are you? Think hard now and be honest. It just might be that you have taken the matter way too far.

Filed under Attitude, Choices, Disobedience, Rebellion, submission Tagged with , , , , , , ,

“Yes, We Know That Man”

October 4, 2011 Leave a comment

A missionary assigned to a foreign land zealously embraced his new ministry by promptly telling a crowd of the natives about Jesus. He spoke of Christ’s love, compassion, and power to heal. As he spoke, he was surprised to see the people smile and nod their heads. It was as if they already knew all about Jesus.

Finally, at the end of his sermon, the missionary asked, “And how many of you have ever heard of this man?” Oddly the entire crowd indicated that they knew of him. This puzzled the missionary and he began to further question them. What he discovered was that they all thought he was talking about a Christian doctor who had lived among them at one time and faithfully ministered to them.

Now that, fellow Christian, is what you are after. To live such a life that the unlearned could so closely associate you with Jesus is the ideal. The apostle Paul described it this way:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

There’s an old gospel hymn entitled “Let Others See Jesus In You.” Christian, do your best to live out that ideal today. You’ll be amazed at the impact it makes not just upon you but upon others as well.

Filed under Character, Discipleship, Doing Good, God's Work, Influence, Ministry, Missions, Personal Holiness, Service, Witnessing Tagged with , , , ,

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