ROMANS 14:21, “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor
to drink wine, nor any thing
whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.”
Preface
First,
I acknowledge that many believers would not list using alcohol or drugs under “doubtful
disputations”. They unflinchingly proclaim that any drinking is a sin, and thus,
endangers one’s soul. But, not all
agree, and especially since there is a major divide concerning drinking
alcohol, I believe that we should investigate what the Bible has to say about
strong drink. (For the purposes of this
study “strong drink” will include all alcoholic drinks; beer, wine, whiskey,
etc.) I must include drinking under
“doubtful disputations”, though I am strongly opposed to it, simply because
Scripture does not clearly prohibit its use.
The same must go for the use of drugs.
If we are to be honest in this study, we cannot ignore the fact that
many of us use drugs for a variety of positive reasons; to help us sleep, to mask
pain, to fight infections, and so forth.
For those that would argue that illegal drugs are the only issue, facts
prove otherwise. Many, if not most, drug
abusers are addicted to legal drugs. So,
there being circumstances under which addictive drugs are permissible for
guarded use, are there also cases in which alcohol may be consumed moderately;
either for relaxation, or medicinally? If
otherwise permissible, the affect on our testimonies may be significant enough
that this may be a liberty that we should not permit ourselves. After our study, you be the judge. Can you see why this subject belongs under
“doubtful disputations”?
“Wine” as used
in the Bible has dual meanings: One is
wine of a fermented intoxicating nature, and the other is wine of an
unfermented and non-intoxicating nature.
Modern scholars have largely determined that the Hebrew word “yayin”
always means fermented wine. They teach
the same meaning for the Greek word “oinos.”
The general consensus has been that wherever the English word “wine” is
translated from either of these two original words the meaning is that it is a
fermented wine. However, this conclusion
is based upon the modern dictionary definition of wine. In our modern dictionaries wine is always
defined as “fermented juice of grapes.”
Thus, many scholars always interpret wine in Scripture as the fermented
kind if the original word is either of the aforementioned original words. However,
as recent as 1955, for example, the Funk & Wagnalls, New "Standard" Dictionary of the
English Language, defines "wine" as follows: "1. The
fermented juice of the grape: in loose language the juice of the grape whether
fermented or not." This definition shows that nearly 60 years ago the
loose usage of "wine" referred to "the juice of the grape
whether fermented or not."
English dictionaries dating back several
centuries also define wine as grape juice; fermented or not. Thus, the translators of the King James
Version of the English Bible felt no need to elaborate on the state of the
wine; whether fermented or not. They
knew that their intended readers of the seventeenth century would know from the
context which type of wine was being described.
Several other words from the original languages have
been translated in Scripture as “wine,” but for the sake of brevity we will
consider only one other: the Hebrew word
“tirosh.” Scholarly consensus says “tirosh” is unfermented wine, and yet
the Greek OT (Septuagent) translates it with “oinos”. What does that tell you? It tells you that they thought “oinos” can speak of unfermented
or fermented wine. Since they
used “oinos” to translate
unfermented wine and since they used “oinos”
to translate “yayin” we have
every reason to believe that “yayin”
like “oinos” is a generic term, and that the context
determines where intoxicating or non-intoxicating wine is in view. For a very
good study on this subject read the book by Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph.D.; WINE
IN THE BIBLE: A Biblical Study on the Use of Alcoholic Beverages, chapter 2.
The short of it is, both the Hebrew “yayin” and the Greek “oinos” are both
proven to mean both fermented and unfermented wine. The context of the Scripture reveals which it
is, and of which the Lord approves or disapproves. The Marriage in Cana of Galilee; John 2, for
instance, tells of Jesus turning water into wine (oinos). Not to contradict His own word, it is very
unlikely that Jesus produced fermented wine for this occasion. However, our subject is “doubtful
disputations,” therefore, not all will agree with this reasoning. However, there are some very strong
condemnations of drinking to be found elsewhere in Scripture that seekers for
truth should seriously consider. Intoxicating
wine is illustrated in some very prominent examples wherein the outcomes are
negatively affected by the wine. For
instance, the first introduction of intoxicating wine is found in Genesis
9:20-21 wherein Noah planted a vineyard, and became intoxicated: “And Noah began to
be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: 21 and he drank of the wine, and was
drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.” Another example in which intoxicating
wine played a leading role is that of Lot ’s
daughters. Fearing to be left without progeny after the destruction of Sodom
and the surrounding cities, the older daughter said to the younger: "come, let us
make our father drink wine (yayin), and we will lie with him, that we may
preserve seed of our father. 33 And they made their
father drink wine (yayin) that night:
and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when
she lay down, nor when she arose.’
So they made their father drink wine (yayin) that night; and the
first-born went in, and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down
or when she arose" (Ge. 19:32-33). The story continues relating how
the following night the younger daughter repeated the same strategy. Followed by more explicit condemnations of
fermented drink the Bible plainly warns of the inherent folly of drinking
alcohol: The classic condemnation of the
use of intoxicating wine and a description of its consequences is found in
Proverbs 23:29-35. After warning against some woes caused by wine, such as
sorrow, strife, complaining, wounds without cause and redness of eyes, Solomon
admonishes to refrain even from looking upon wine: "Look not thou upon
the wine (yayin) when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and
stingeth like an adder” (Pro.
23:31-32). A similar warning against intoxicating wine is found in Proverbs
20:1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived
thereby is not wise.” Such warnings, however, were largely ignored. By the time of Isaiah, drinking fermented wine
had become such a universal problem that even the priests and prophets were
overcome by it: “But they also have erred through wine, and
through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred
through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way
through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment” (Is 28:7).
Similarly, kings were advised to avoid strong
drink: “It
is not for kings, O Lemuel, it
is not for kings to drink wine; nor for
princes strong drink…”
Examples and admonishments throughout Scripture warn of the folly of
drinking alcohol. Frighteningly, we are
warned that our very souls may be lost due to becoming a slave to alcohol: 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “9 Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God kingdom
of God
Referring back to our scripture text, for the sake of
unity, and to prevent our brother from stumbling it is best to avoid drinking
wine, or any other strong drink. That
being said, the Apostle Paul did counsel Timothy to drink a little wine for the
sake of a delicate stomach (1 Ti. 5:23, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy
stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.” Whether fermented or not, this moderate
use of wine is obviously a known prescription for maladies of the stomach, or a
cure for bad water. Similar to using
drugs to remedy physical or emotional issues, there are legitimate uses for
alcohol. Otherwise, there really seems
to be few positive reasons to consume either.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention cites
the following statistics concerning excessive drinking (4-5 drinks in one
day): “Excessive
alcohol use is a leading cause of preventable death. This dangerous behavior
accounted for approximately 88,000
deaths per year from 2006–2010, and accounted for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults
aged 20–64 years. Excessive alcohol use shortened the lives of those who died
by about 30 years. These deaths were due to health effects from drinking too
much over time, such as breast cancer, liver disease, and heart disease, and
health effects from consuming a large amount of alcohol in a short period of
time, such as violence, alcohol poisoning, and motor vehicle crashes.” Also, the adverse effects of alcohol
consumption on families contributes to a host of hidden costs, and affects upon
the emotional well being of family members of abusers. Chances of a marriage ending in divorce has
been estimated to increase four-fold if one member is a heavy drinker. Interestingly, divorce rates are lowest among
marriages in which both are abstainers or both are heavy drinkers. According to the NHTSA web site
(nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/RNotes/2006/810686.pdf), there were 43,443
alcohol related traffic fatalities in 2005 in the USA
As with all “doubtful disputations” each individual must be able to engage
in them by faith (Ro. 14:23). Each must
also be considerate of the convictions of others. For the sake of unity in a local assembly it
is usually wise to demand that certain “doubtful disputations” be restricted
among ministers, and spiritual leaders: 1
Ti. 3:2, “A bishop (presbyter, pastor) then must be blameless,
the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to
hospitality, apt to teach; 3 not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient,
not a brawler, not covetous;” The General Council of the Assemblies of God
official statement concerning the use of alcoholic beverages is follows: “The
General Council of the Assemblies of God has historically opposed the
consumption of alcohol in any form. Early documents of the church declare,
without reservation or compromise, a position of total abstinence. In more
recent years, however, this mark of separation from the world and this token of
dedicated service to God has been questioned by some. Yet the continued
effective work of reaching the lost and of challenging all believers to be
always filled with the Holy Spirit is seriously jeopardized by a careless
attitude concerning the consumption of alcoholic beverages. For two reasons we
urge all believers to avoid the Satanic tool of alcohol which destroys lives,
damns souls, and blights society: (1) A studied review of the Scriptures
affirms a stern warning against intoxicating drink and a call to separation
from this evil for the purpose of better service to God and mankind; and (2)
Current social abuses and the public outrage over the high cost of alcohol in
terms of human misery, death, and destruction of property cry out with urgency
for the church of Jesus Christ to oppose firmly any use whatsoever of a
beverage which so insidiously afflicts and binds the bodies and minds of men
and women.”
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