In light of the discussion going on in Baptist life concerning the use of alcohol, and the fuzzy-headed arguments I am hearing on both sides of the discussion, I post the following sketch of the biblical argument for total abstinence. I am sure that it is not a perfect argument, but it is one that I developed several years ago dealing with the issue in the context of the local church.
· There are two Greek words translated as “wine” in the NT.
o gleukos
§ used only once in NT
· Acts 2:13
§ obviously, in this context, fermented wine is indicated
o oinos
§ occurs 36 times in NT
· Matt 9:17 (3x); 27:34; Mk 2:22 (4x); 15:23; Lk 1:15; 5:37 (2x); 5:38; 7:33; 10:34; Jn 2:3 (2x); 2:9; 2:10 (2x); 4:46; Rom 14:21; Eph 5:18; 1 Tim 3:8; 5:23; Titus 2:3; Rev 6:6; 14:8; 14:10; 16:19; 17:2; 18:3; 18:13; 19:15
§ The usage in Matt 9:17, Mk 2:22, and Lk 5:37-38 indicates that this word was used of fermented AND non-fermented wine (fresh juice of grapes).
§ The only time this is used in connection to Jesus drinking it is in Matt 27:34, Mk 15:23, where he refused it.
§ The word is noticeably absent in passages relating to the Lord’s Supper, with the words cup and fruit of the vine inserted where we would expect oinos.
§ Jesus was called a wine-drinker by His opponents at Matt 11:19 and Lk 7:34, where He said that he came eating and drinking, but oinos is not specified as what He drank. The reference seems to relate to the company He kept moreso than the beverages He drank.
§ In the passage where Jesus turned water into wine (John 2), there is no mention of Jesus drinking the wine, and those who were drunk from wine noticed a qualitative difference in what Jesus produced and what they had been drinking.
· This we know from first-century culture:
o “Bob Stein has carefully documented, ‘The term “wine” or oinos in the ancient world, then, did not mean wine as we understand it today but wine mixed with water… To consume the amount of alcohol that is in two martinis by drinking wine containing three parts water to one part wine [a fairly common ancient ratio], one would have to drink over twenty-two glasses. In other words, it is possible to become intoxicated from wine mixed with three parts water, but one’s drinking would probably affect the bladder long before it affected the mind.’ It should also be noted that children would have drank this diluted mixture of water and wine.”[1]
· Paul told Timothy to “take a little wine” for his ailing stomach (1 Tim 5:23).
o Today, we have many medicines available that were not available to Timothy, therefore, this advice would not apply to us in our day. And even used medicinally, notice Paul’s emphasis on a little.
· Paul warned against being drunk with wine, contrasting it with being filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18).
o To be filled with the Spirit is to be under His control. We are not to be under the control of alcohol (which begins with the first sip), but we are commanded to be under God’s control.
· In the Bible, leaven is frequently used as a symbol for sin. Fermentation involves the leavening of a beverage. Therefore, since unleavened bread is symbolic of the Lord’s pure life, unleavened drink should be as well.
· The most rigid moral standards of the Bible call for complete abstinence from alcohol.
o The Nazarite Vow: Judges 13:7; Luke 1:15; Leviticus 10:9; Proverbs 31:4
· The Bible is full of examples of alcohol destroying lives and testimonies.
o Genesis 9:21; 19:32; Proverbs 23
· The priests were to abstain from alcohol while on duty for the Lord (Leviticus 10:9-11). And the writer of Proverbs 31 says it is not for kings (31:4). Christians are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) who are always to be about the business of God’s kingdom.
· Paul spoke the definitive word on abstinence in Romans 14:14-21, when he said:
o 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
o Obviously, our consumption of alcohol is noticed by others. Someone has to buy it, someone has to see you with it, someone has to see it in your home, someone knows if we do it. If that person drinks alcohol, we have given them the impression that it is an acceptable act for a child of God. If, then, they become enslaved to it, we answer to God for their destruction.
o Nowhere is this more painfully convicting than when we think of our children. It is a fact of human nature that if we crack a door, our children will open it wide. If we set an example of drinking alcohol for our children, we must not be surprised when they turn to it as a lifestyle choice.
It seems to me that on the issue of drinking alcohol, perhaps we are asking the wrong question of the Scriptures. Rather than saying, "I want to drink alcohol; Is there anything in the Bible that would expressly forbid me from doing it?", perhaps we should be asking it this way: "I want to live a life of holiness, godliness, and separateness from the world. How should I live in regards to alcohol?" In this way, we let the Scriptures speak, rather than demanding of it to justify our presuppositions and preferences.
[1] Cited by Danny Akin in an email to students, staff, faculty and alumni of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, June 29, 2006.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing this, and I also wanted to add something I thought of today. The wine, grape juice, represented Christ's Blood, and the bread his Body. Just as the bread was "unleavened", leaven representing sin, his blood ought to be considered pure, free from fermentation. Just a side note I guess.
That is an excellent point. In fact, I made that point in the discussion above.
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