What about drinking alcohol?

  

    There are two camps of Christians on this issue. Camp 1 says, “Absolutely No, Christians have no business drinking alcohol.” The ones who say this also state that in Bible times, the word ‘Wine’ was also used for what we would simply call grape juice. The scriptures then, which referred to Christians drinking wine, or taking a little wine for medicinal purposes, or Jesus changing water into wine, were all references to ‘grape juice’.

  

 The other camp are those who believe that Christians are not to get drunk by drinking alcohol to excess. The emphasis is on the amount and situation of the drinking rather than a flat ban on drinking alcohol altogether.

 

   I am certainly not going to resolve the issue here so that both camps will be satisfied. I will state my personal opinion on the matter and also provide links where both camps spell out their own arguments and the scriptural basis for their positions.

 

   I personally am more in the second camp. I have carefully looked into the grape juice argument and find that it does not satisfy me because there are verses that make it clear that Christians should not drink alcohol to the point of getting drunk. If it were merely grape juice, the possibility of getting drunk would not be of concern. On the other hand, I think Christians should generally refrain from drinking alcohol. Just because there is a scriptural where we CAN drink alcohol doesn’t mean we necessarily should.

 

   I am personally not offended when I go to Europe and see Christians having beer or wine with their meals. It simply has not become an issue for them. They are no less Christian for having a glass of wine and I am no more a Christian if I don’t. Neither would I feel the least bit guilty if I were to have a glass of wine with them if invited to do so. However, I prefer to refrain from drinking alcohol because of a more important issue.

 

   If I believe drinking alcohol in moderation is not a problem and I go out to a restaurant and order a glass of wine, and someone walks in who knows I am a Christian and sees me drinking wine; they may not say a word to me but they may very well be of the opinion that Christians should not drink alcohol. This person may be confused and consider me a poor example or a hypocrite. They may decide that I am not someone whom they can trust to ask questions regarding the Bible and faith in Christ. It is better for the sake of the fact that OTHERS believe it is wrong that I refrain no matter what I personally think about it. This is what the apostle Paul call the law of love. Just because I can-doesn’t mean I should.

 

   It would be ironic on the Day of Judgment to have the Lord look the believer in the eye and say, “I have no problem with you drinking wine in itself. If you wanted a glass of wine at home, fine. But by having your wine you caused 4 people in the room to look at you and say that Christians are a bunch of hypocrites. He goes to that church across town and here he is drinking alcohol when he isn’t at church.” It would not be the wine itself that was the issue with the Lord it would be the lack of consideration that was shown to the possibility that it may be a hindrance to someone else’s faith. It may cause another brother or sister who has a weakness toward alcohol abuse to stumble.

   So I find myself in the strange position of making a case for alcohol being permissible for the believer and at the same time saying-even so just leave it alone. No good comes from the stuff and a whole lot of bad does. Even if you can have some without going straight to hell, you can live without it. It makes you weaker to stand against temptation. You are more likely to loosen your moral boundaries with a little sauce in you than if you were not drinking it.

 

   If you do drink a bit of alcohol with a meal now and then I certainly am not saying I think you are sinning. Just be careful that you consider others and that your liberty not be a stumbling block for others who maybe do not have your knowledge on the Subject. Never drink in a ‘party’ atmosphere or in an environment that is conducive to sin and never drink to the point of being drunk.

 

Please read: Romans 14 and I Corinthians 8. Here are the links I promised---