ALCOHOLIC: In A Christian Life

by: Pastor Thomas Stastny
Beaver Valley Baptist Church
515 - 11th Avenue, Montrose, BC,
Canada V0G 1P0


The disagreement as to whether or not it is scriptural for God's people to use or drink intoxicants has been a problem to many for years. We all realize that the consumption of alcohol will not cause us to loose our salvation. Nor will it, when used in moderation, destroy our bodies quickly. Why then, should be abstain?

Concerning this doctrine or any other that relates to our walk in Christ, we must, as mature Christians, look at how our actions affect our ability to serve the Lord and how the exercise of our liberties effects others.

Preferring of the Brethren:

Our Bible gives us guidelines when exercising our liberty in Christ. It also warns us of the consequences of certain actions and gives us specific behavioral limitations.

Please turn to I Corinthians 10:23. "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." The word 'expedient' carries the meaning of bearing together or contributing. The word 'edify' pictures a house builder who is adding to or building up. So we see that some things we do, even though they are lawful, do not help in the communal building of the local Body of Christ.

Let us now consider I Corinthians 6:12. "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." We see again that all things are lawful but not all are expedient. The phrase we need to consider further is, "...but I will not be brought under the power of any." Alcohol and all other drugs are insidious. The temporary pleasurable sensation they give is responsible for the programming (habit) and is the seat for the desire to have this pleasurable feeling happen again. The desire to use any drug comes from the lust within us (James 1:14). So you see that even the occasional use of some drugs and the one time use of others can automatically establish an undesirable habit. The autonomic nervous system does not require our conscious thought. The programming of this part of our brain is why so many struggle with addiction. With the conscious mind they want to stop but the craving of the unconscious mind still yearns to be filled. Thank God that through our Lord Jesus Christ we do not have to obey the lusts of the flesh. Below are three questions to help you determine if any exercise of liberty has power (control) over you.

1. Am I willing to stop doing this for my brother in Christ's sake?

2. Am I willing to stop doing this in submission to the Church's Bible based beliefs?

3. Am I willing to stop doing this in obedience to a clear Bible teaching?

If you say no to any of these questions, the exercising of that liberty has power over you because you are yielding to the desire, rather than exercising obedience to the Word.

Old Testament Scriptures:

1. Genesis 9:20-26. The first reference of drunkenness and the family problems caused by it.

2. Genesis 19:30-38. Drinking results in Lot's incestual relationship with his own daughters. Still today most incestual relationships occur while under the influence of intoxicants.

3. Genesis 27:25. Isaac was drinking when he mistakenly blessed Jacob. A lack of judgement is always a result when using the depressant, alcohol.

4. Leviticus 10:9. An express command for temple workers not to drink. Are not our bodies the temple of God, and we workers with Christ within this temple (II Corinthians 6:16)?

5. Numbers 6:3. The vow of the Nazarite required total abstinence from all forms of wine. The Nazarite was totally committed to the worship and service of God. Today also someone totally committed to the service of God must be full of the Holy Spirit and not other spirits.

6. Deuteronomy 21:20. Alcohol use, stubbornness, rebellion, gluttony, and the dishonouring of parents associated. A warning from thousands of years back that sin is not isolated, but progressive and is companion to others.

7. Deuteronomy 29:2-6. The children of Israel for forty years walked and were totally reliant on God. Abstinence from alcohol is mentioned as one reason that helped them see "that I am the Lord."

8. Judges 13:4, 7, 14. Samson's mother, an example of all womanhood, was commanded not to drink. (Was alcohol recognized even then as a chromosome poison, injuring posterity?)

9. I Samuel 1:14-15. Hannah, an example of honoured motherhood, was a total abstainer.

10. I Samuel 25:3, 36-38. Nabal, a rich but churlish man who opposed David, died after a drunken spree. (He had already lost his wife's respect.)

11. II Samuel 11:13. Only by strong drink could David lead Uriah into a fatal trap. Which trap is your adversary going to lead you into?

12. II Samuel 13:28-29. Amnon, in a drunken brawl, was murdered by his brother Absalom. The ability to defend oneself is always lessened with drinking.

13. I Kings 16:8-10. While a king was "drinking himself drunk" in his own home, one of his captains conspired against him and slew him. Be warned! Your enemy will attack when you are under the influence.

14. I Kings 20:13-21. Drink and war, while Ben Hadad and 32 other kings were drinking in their pavilions, a small band of Israel's men fell upon the Syrians and put them to flight. Misjudgment of the enemy and problems in general are ever exaggerated while under the influence of alcohol.

15. Esther 1:5-22. Drink wrecks homes and separates man and wife. At a week's feast of food and wine, King Ahasuerus drunkenly tried to subject his queen to the beastly gaze of inebriated nobles, causing separation of the royal husband and wife.

16. Job 1:18-19. The children of Job were feasting and drinking when blown away in a cyclone.

17. Proverbs 4:17. Violence results from drinking. Family violence is one of the major problems in society and is dramatically increasing in severity and frequency when alcohol use is involved.

18. Proverbs 20:1. A wise man recognizes that "wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging." By abstaining he shows himself "wise." How about you? Are you a wise person?

19. Proverbs 21:17; 23:21. The love of wine and financial security are mutually exclusive with not being rich a result.

20. Proverbs 23:7-8. The body rebels after drinking. This is call a "hangover." After ingesting liquids that God has ordained for our use have you ever had a "hangover" as compared to when the poison of alcohol is consumed? Has the drinking of water, milk, juices that are not rotten by fermentation ever caused a liver to be destroyed or genes to be altered that produce children with no conscience?

21. Proverbs 23:20. A command (not a suggestion) not to associate with drinkers.

22. Proverbs 23:21. The drunkard becomes poor. Poor in health, poor in spirit, poor financially.

23. Proverbs 23:29-30. Strong drink produces sorrow, contentions, wounds without cause, babblings, and redness of eyes.

24. Proverbs 23:31. Do not be tempted with intoxicants.

25. Proverbs 23:32. God's Word warns that liquor eventually harms all who drink.

26. Proverbs 23:33. It fills men's minds with adulterous and impure thoughts.

27. Proverbs 23:34. It brings on insecurity.

28. Proverbs 23:35. Insensibility follows drinking, rendering a man into someone who is not alert, awake and on guard.

29. Proverbs 23:35. It is habit forming. One drink calls for another.

30. Proverbs 31:4-5. Kings and all other rulers or officials with the weight of human lives in their control should not imbibe. The perverting of judgement is a result of wine and strong drink.

31. Proverbs 31:6-7. The only sanctions for the use of strong drink was as a medicine or anesthetic for those about to die. We now know better medicines and anesthetics than whiskey, wine or beer. There is also a strong argument that the wine and strong drink mentioned here are of a non-alcoholic type since distillation was unknown through the entire world at this time. (See Biblical Wines and the Laws of Fermentation, Challenge Press.)

32. Ecclesiastes 2:3. The writer of Ecclesiastes tried strong drink, but in the end was forced to admit that it too is vanity (Ecclesiastes 12:8). This also shows that even those who were once wise can fall into drinks trap by its use.

33. Ecclesiastes 10:17. Blessings are promised to the temperate and abstaining nations.

34. Isaiah 5:11-12. Drinkers disregard the work of the Lord.

35. Isaiah 5:22. More woes to them who drink.

36. Isaiah 22:13. Drinking and carnality go together. Leaves men hopeless.

37. Isaiah 24:9. Drink is bitter to them that drink it.

38. Isaiah 28:1. Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim, it causes beauty to fade.

39. Isaiah 28:3. The pride of drunkards will be trodden down.

40. Isaiah 28:7a. Prophets and priests erred through drink.

41. Isaiah 28:7b. Those who drink are set aside as useless.

42. Isaiah 28:7c. Prophets and priests finally swallowed up by drink.

43. Isaiah 28:7d. Drinking brings on spiritual blindness.

44. Isaiah 56:9-12. A direct link between God's watchmen not doing what they should and the use of alcohol. We as God's people are to be watchful today.

45. Jeremiah 35:5-6, 8, 14. Total abstinence of the Rechabites cited as an example of obedience on the part of God's people.

46. Ezekiel 44:21. Priests are not to drink wine.

47. Daniel 1:5, 8, 16; 10:3. God honoured Daniel because he abstained from the King's wine. (Daniel as a man was true to the home training he had received as a boy.)

48. Daniel 5:1. Belshazzar exhibited as an example of a leader who drank and taught his people to drink with inevitable resultant consequences (Daniel 5:2-30).

49. Daniel 5:2, 23. A nation whose women drink fell into the same sin. Drinking effects all people basically the same. It is not a respecter of race, national origins, country or sex.

50. Daniel 5:3. Belshazzar's sacrilege in using sacred temple vessels for liquor had its results with the Lord. Our body is now the vessel of God. Do you fill God's purchased vessel (Ephesians 1:4) with drink like Belshazzar?

51. Daniel 5:5-9, 25-28. Ruin and downfall for nations whose rulers and leaders caused them to drink.

52. Hosea 3:1. Part of the degradation of Hosea's wife was induced by drink. Many women today fall into adultery or fornication. The road to these sins many times is first paved by the use of drink.

53. Hosea 4:11. Strong drink and immorality go hand in hand.

54. Hosea 7:5. The king and people reproved because of drinking.

55. Joel 1:5. Drunkards are warned to awake from their drinking.

56. Joel 3:3. Young virtue sold for the price of drink. Many people do not realize the hold that alcohol can have. This addiction has caused many people to sell possessions and family for a penance to get another fix.

57. Amos 2:8. Wine of the condemned.

58. Amos 2:12. Pollution of the innocent.

59. Amos 4:1. Dissolute women, oppressors of the poor, call for their liquor.

60. Amos 6:6. Drinkers are not concerned about God nor the welfare of others.

61. Nahum 1:10. Drunkenness again used to describe those who will perish.

62. Habbakuk 2:5. Wine and pride directly linked.

63. Habbakuk 2:15. The purpose of many that give others drink has an immoral motivation.

64. Habbakuk 2:16. Drink lead to shame and humiliation.

New Testament Scriptures:

65. Matthew 24:48-51. Drunken servants warned about not being ready for the rulers return with disastrous results.

66. Luke 1:15. The filling of the Holy Ghost linked with total abstinence.

67. Luke 12:45. Christ warns against being enmeshed in drink evils.

68. Luke 21:34. Warning against drunkenness and the cares of this life which follow.

69. Romans 13:13. All are admonished to walk honestly, not in rioting and drunkenness. It is not honest to walk in a manner that does not reflect the proper image of Christlikeness.

70. Romans 14:21. Drinking can cause a brother to be made weak, be offended or stumble. Your drinking has an effect on others, not just yourself. Are you causing others harm by your use of alcohol?

71. I Corinthians 5:11. Drunkards are not to be fellowshipped with. A drunkard in the New Testament means someone who is 'tipsy'. Our motor functions of the body are effected after the first drink.

72. I Corinthians 6:10. No drunkard shall inherit the Kingdom of God. (Therefore the Gospel is hindered by the use of alcohol.)

73. I Corinthians 11:25. The Lord's Supper is no place for wine. (The word "wine" is not even used. Instead all accounts say "...the cup" or "fruit of the vine.")

74. Galations 5:19-21. Revellers in drunkenness shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, and it is a work of the flesh, not of the Spirit of God.

75. Ephesians 5:18. Direct command that exhilaration shall be of the Spirit and not by wine.

*76. I Thessalonians 5:6-8. Sobriety commanded that the children of light must not be overcome by darkness.

77. I Timothy 3:3, 8, 11-12. Church officers must not drink, neither should their wives.

78. I Timothy 5:23. (Commented on in next section.)

*79. I Peter 1:13. We must be sober till Jesus' second coming.

*80. I Peter 5:8. We must be sober to be able to fight the adversary in these instances.

*A very specific Greek word is used in four of the New Testament references, it is "Nepho." It was used in I Thessalonians 5:6 and 8, and I Peter 1:13 and 5:8. The word means exactly what it says in the authorized version, it means 'sober', to abstain from wine. The word does not mean to be serious minded, even though that is definitely a by-product of sobriety, it means to be intoxicant free! These four references apply to all Christians.

I pray that you have understood the beginnings of what God's Word has to say on this subject. you should have noticed that God's Word warns that many people who use and abuse intoxicants have no self control, are vain, unwise, in the flesh, that they can forget the law, pervert judgement, and it changes the peoples first love. The Bible goes on to say that through continued use they become poor, sorrowful, babblers, unrighteous, and a stumbling block to others. It also warns that it is excessive, can lead to incestual or homosexual relationships, or just plain fornication. Worst of all, it declares that a lot of users are lost (I Corinthians 6:9-10). The scriptures also warn the saved not to keep company with drunkards ­ 'tipsy' (I Corinthians 5:11). Yet, there are those who would exercise their liberty and flirt with this dangerous drug.

To complete the teaching, comment must be made on three other portions of scripture often used to justify the use of alcohol in the Christian's life.

Let us go first to the New Testament scripture of I Timothy 5:23.

""Not given to wine" is certainly a very liberal translation, and show how the usages of the day unconsciously influenced the translators. "The ancient paroinos was a man accustomed to attend drinking-parties." Thus the Christian minister is required not only to be personally sober, but also to withhold his presence and sanction from those assemblies where alcoholic drinks are used, endangering the sobriety of himself and others.

That both Paul and Timothy understood that total abstinence was an essential qualification for the Christian pastor, is evident from the compliance of Timothy. In this same letter, v. 23, Paul advises Timothy, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." The fact is plain that Timothy, in strict accordance with the direction, "not given to wine," that is, not with or near wine, was a total abstainer. The recommendation to "use a little wine" is exceptional, and strictly medicinal.

Also required to understand this teaching is John 2:1-11.

"The distinguishing fact is that Christ turned water into wine. The Greek word is oinos; and it is claimed that therefore the wine was alcoholic and intoxicating. But as oinos is a generic word, and, as such, includes all kinds of wine and all stages of the juice of the grape.

The wine provided by the family was used up, and the mother of Jesus informed him of that fact. He directed that the six water-pots be filled with water. This being done, he commanded to draw and hand it to the master of the feast. He pronounced it good wine.

The moral influence of the miracle will be determined by the character of the wine. It is pertinent to ask, Is it not derogatory to the character of Christ and the teachings of the Bible to suppose that he exerted his miraculous power to produce, at least 60 gallons of intoxicating wine? ­ Wine which inspiration has denounced as "a mocker," as "biting like a serpent," and "stinging like an adder," as "the poison of dragons," "the cruel venom of asps," and which the Holy Ghost had selected as the emblem of the wrath of God Almighty? Is it probable that he gave that to the guests after they had used the wine provided by the host, and which, it is claimed, was intoxicating?

In Ps. civ. 14, 15, we read: "That he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man." Here the juice of the grape which is produced out of the earth is called wine. This wine was made by the direct law of God.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, let us say that we all realize that the consumption of alcohol will not cause us to loose our salvation. Nor will it, if used in moderation, destroy our bodies quickly. Why then should we abstain from all uses of alcohol?

We should abstain because we love Jesus and we love the brethren (John 13:34-35).

We should abstain because we would not want a brother or sister to stumble (Romans 14:21).

We should abstain because in I Thessalonians 5:6-8 and I Peter 1:13 and 5:8 the Bible tells us to do so!