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Is Drinking a Sin?
 Today's Question:
I
am confused. A friend and I have differential viewpoints on this topic. She has
been given absolute conviction that the use of alcohol after you have been
filled with the Holy Spirit is a sin. Is this true? I know that Jesus' first
miraculous sign and wonder was turning water into wine, John 2:1-11.
I cannot
help but think that He would [not] do such a thing if it is to be thought of as
a sinful pleasure. I think it is a matter of indulgence that is at question.
That anything we may become indulgent in can and will lead to sin. I do realize
that this sign was done before the day of Pentecost when the Spirit came. I do
not want to believe falsely, or misguide others. Please give Biblical input on
this matter. Waiting for answers.
DeAnna Holeman
Bible Answer: Your
friend, I'm sure, desires to please the Lord, but she will have a hard time
preaching against the use of wine in the Bible. As you said, Jesus turned water
into wine, so if wine was sinful then Jesus made something sinful. Wine, as we
know, has medicinal and health benefits to it if taken in moderation. People who
have a glass of wine every night live on an average of two years more than
those who abstain completely. The Lord Jesus is vindicated by medical science.
He made what was good.
There are those who say that Jesus made
not wine but grape juice. This is a ridiculous interpretation. The Bible says
clearly that Jesus made the "best wine." Anyone who understands wine
knows that the best wine takes longer to make and has more alcohol content than
cheap wine. The Bible also says that the best wine is usually brought out first,
so after everyone has had too much to drink then they bring out the cheap wine.
If the best wine was grape juice, then how would drinking this make people tipsy
so they are willing to drink alcoholic wine? Jesus absolutely made alcoholic
wine.
The Bible is definitely against
drunkenness. That is clear. It is also against gluttony too, but I don’t hear much
preaching against that. Most preachers will feel like hypocrites if they preach against
gluttony while having their belly hang over their belt.
There is an important principle related
to this. Paul said:
As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I
am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards
something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If
your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting
in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
Do not allow what you consider good
to be spoken of as evil. For
the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because
anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
Let us therefore make every effort
to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Do
not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is
wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
It is better not to eat meat or drink
wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
So whatever you believe about these
things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn
himself by what he approves. But
the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from
faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Rom 14:14-23)
This is about as clear as it can get.
Do not make drinking or not drinking wine a matter of division, which I don't
think you are doing. Plus, don't drink wine in front of someone who will get
offended.
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your comments
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