I attended the largest church in my city in America, which was a “faith” church founded and pastored by a very mature and wise man of God. On one occasion, I attempted to give him a bottle of fine French wine as a gift. He responded with, “I don’t drink”. I thought to myself, “That is the way to do it” and kept the bottle. Because, you see, in all the time that I had sat under his teaching, he had never once said a single word about abstinence from alcohol or that he did not drink, yet he obviously did not. It was his personal choice, but not his teaching. I heartedly endorse his approach to abstinence, if abstinence from alcohol is your choice.
Perhaps the single-most obnoxious person to be with is an alcoholic who is drunk. My tolerance for this lasts about five seconds. I want to run away screaming as fast as I can. And when I walk around my city at night, it is a truly pitiful sight to see the alcoholics asleep on the sidewalk. To be possessed by the demon of alcohol is to lose one’s life, and its effect upon him and his family is tragic. I am well aware of this reality and by no means wish to diminish the magnitude of this problem or its impact on society. It is right up there with other demonic addictions such as drugs, gambling and pornography. Paul wrote “and do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation”. (Eph. 5:18) (Dissipation is defined as ‘unsavedness’ and ‘wastefulness’) That is so true. However, we must not allow our beliefs to be solely determined by our emotions, but rather by the wisdom and perspective found in the Bible. And although I am confident that the first Century had no shortage of alcoholics, neither Jesus nor any of the apostles practiced or taught abstinence.
Many Christians choose not to drink and tell me about it with considerable passion, as though I am supposed to follow their lead and do the same. I will not. I would rather follow the Bible. The denomination that is the most adamant about abstinence from alcohol is the Baptists. I am very familiar with Baptist beliefs. They scream and shout about how much they believe the Bible and that it is the infallible word of God. Yet, few denominations have removed more of Christ’s redemptive work from our faith than they have. Yes, they believe in salvation, tithing and the Second Coming of Christ (and I disagree with their position on tithing and the Second Coming). But they have knowingly and willingly removed the Baptism of the Hold Spirit, divine healing, deliverance from demons, prosperity, protection and the ascended life from the Bible, and thereby denied their members these blessings. Then they add this bologna that Christians must not drink to the Bible. Such absurd hypocrisy. They take away what is in the Bible and then add what is not, and the whole time bragging with enormous spiritual pride that they believe every word of the Bible as the infallible word of God.
The Greek word for wine is oinos, which is defined by Strong’s as “wine”. Imagine that! It is used 45 times in the New Testament. On each and every occasion where this word for wine is included in the Bible, the context itself confirms that it is in fact referring to wine and not grape juice.
Jesus’ first miracle was to turn water into wine, 568 liters (150 gallons) of it. (Jn. 2:6) This alone should answer the question to any normal thinking person. If fact, Jesus made good wine. The master of the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee marveled:
“Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!”
Jn. 2:3-10
Here are some of the many other examples from the New Testament:
“Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
(Matt. 9:17, Mk. 2:22, Lk. 5:37)
Here, Jesus likens one’s new life in Him to new wine.
Jesus spoke of Himself as one who drank wine:
“The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”
Matt. 11:19, Lk. 7:33
Referring to the child John the Baptist:
“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb.”
Lk. 1:15
In the parable of the Good Samaritan where wine is referred to as an antiseptic:
“So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”
(Lk. 10:34)
Grape juice is not an antiseptic.
On the Day of Pentecost when the apostles spoke in tongues:
“Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
Acts 2:13
“It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”
Rom. 14:21
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”
Eph. 5:18
“Likewise deacons mustbe reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money”
(1 Tim. 3:8)
So, deacons can drink wine, just not too much. Or was Paul worried that deacons might drink too much grape juice?
”No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.”
(1 Tim. 5:23)
Wine is often used as a healthy additive for digestion and to ward off food poisoning.
The times that wine is mentioned in the Old Testament are too numerous to report. Here is just one:
“We will rejoice in you and be glad; We will extol your love more than wine.”
Song of Solomon 1:4
Can you imagine telling your love, “I will extol your love more than grape juice”?
For any thinking person to interpret any single one of these dozen biblical references to “wine” as really a reference to grape juice is absurdity to its highest degree. These pious Bible-thumpers want to tell me that God does not know the difference between wine and grape juice.
Abstinence from alcohol may be your personal preference, but it is not a biblical command, advice or counsel. Abstinence from drunkenness is. (Gal. 5:21) I challenge anyone to show me where the Bible teaches abstinence from alcohol. You cannot. It is not there. In fact, there are numerous biblical references to wine as a symbol of good living and the absence of wine as a curse. An excellent article on this topic, one of many, is attached as an Appendix. If in doubt, I strongly suggest that you submit yourself to this fine discourse which cites 10 biblical endorsements of wine together with numerous scriptural citations and quotes.
I am an American, and one of the greatest failures in America’s history was Prohibition. From 1920 to 1933, all sale, possession and drinking of any form of alcohol was prohibited by the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. It was adopted because drunkenness had become rampant. I do not think that anyone would be so naïve as to dispute the dangers of alcohol and the damage that it can cause when abused, but prohibition was a total fiasco. During that period of “Prohibition”, illegal alcohol was the most sought-after and most widely used of all commodities in the country. Mobsters like Al Capone sprang up and flourished all over the country. Every city, town and village had a host of “speak-easies”, which were under-ground bars. So, the amendment was eventually repealed. I am not suggesting that the church should follow the world’s lead, but the Prohibition fiasco serves as an example of the foolishness of prohibition.
I am very familiar with the making of wine. I lived in a wine-producing region of France and every night walked through the vineyards. I also visited and toured several chateaus in France that produced wine. I also grew grapes in Virginia, or to put it more accurately, I attempted to grow grapes in Virginia, and made a batch or two of wine. The process is as old as man’s history.
Grapes grow best in a hot dry climate, such as those in certain regions of France. I lived in one of these regions of France. The growing season starts with the vines in a trimmed condition. They look dark, thick and short. All the new growth was cut off at the end of the last season and only the old thick part of the vine remains over the winter, and can remain alive for 100 years. When warm weather comes, new growth shoots out rapidly and is tied to wires above the vine (see photo below). Grapes grow on these new shoots and grow all summer. They are tended regularly and carefully by the owner. When the time of harvesting draws near, the owner begins to sample the grapes for sweetness. Every day in late August, he will sample a grape for sweetness. In late August or early September, when they are the sweetest, he will harvest his entire crop in one day. All the crop is then sold to a local chateau for wine.
Of course, the wine making process includes fermentation of the grape juice for the production of alcohol. Grapes have a natural yeast on their skin that looks like a very fine white powder. This natural yeast will produce wine with an alcohol content of about 6%. If this natural yeast remains and is used, the wine is called “farm wine”. However commercial wine producers need a higher alcohol content, so they wash off the natural yeast and replace it with a different yeast that will produce a higher alcohol content of about 12%. (Yeast feeds off the sugar and produces alcohol until the alcohol level rises to the point that it kills the yeast. Different yeasts have different tolerations for alcohol, thus producing a different alcohol content.)
Grape juice that is not made into wine must be refrigerated or it will spoil. If it is wine, it will not spoil because the alcohol preserves it, if kept in an enclosed container. (If the wine is not kept in an enclosed container that keeps out oxygen, the wine will turn into vinegar.) Therefore, any grape juice that is not immediately made into wine must be refrigerated or it will spoil in a matter of days, and those few days are limited to only a few days in September of each year. The rest of the year, grape juice cannot be available without refrigeration. It will spoil and thus, it would not be possible to store large quantities of grape juice for later use as described in Proverbs 3:10 “your vats will be bursting with wine.”
The refrigerator was not readily available for home use until the 1930’s. Before that time, it was impossible to have non-alcoholic grape juice beyond the few days of harvesting. One can employ all the word games that he wants, to make biblical wine into grape juice, but he cannot ever get past the laws of nature. The laws of natural decay and spoilage confirm that references to wine cannot be references to grape juice.
It is also a reality that human beings need Vitamin C. Without it, any and all humans will contract a severe type of malnutrition called Scurvy, which can lead to death. We need certain foods, principally fruits and vegetables, that contains Vitamin C to live. The world is a very big place and not all climates and cultures have the fruits and vegetables that contain Vitamin C all year-around. But most peoples, tribes and nations grew grapes because they loved wine. And wine has Vitamin C and remains drinkable all year long. So, that is what they did. For 6,000 years, before the advent of refrigeration, man drank wine to stay alive.
If you do not want to drink alcohol, then you certainly have that right and liberty, just do not push it on others. And Paul even wrote that if drinking wine offends your brother, then it is not good to do it around them. (Rom. 14:21) But it would be incorrect to teach or share that the Bible prohibits drinking or that the biblical references to wine are really references to grape juice.
Appendix
The following is an Article on wine at https://www. intoxicatedonlife.com/2012/07/30/10-biblical-reasons-we-should-appreciate-wine/
1. Wine was a blessing from God for wise and obedient living.
Proverbs 3:9-10 states that when we honor the Lord with our wealth and with the firstfruits of our land, “then your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be bursting with wine.” Repeatedly wine is listed among the abundant blessings God promises to Israel if they keep His covenant (Deuteronomy 7:13; 11:14; 33:28).
2. The loss of wine was evidence of God’s curse.
Moses warned God’s people that if they disobeyed the voice of the Lord, many curses would overtake them. They would work in their vineyards but never taste the wine (Deuteronomy 28:39). Foreign nations would rob them of their crops, including their vineyards (v.51). On several occasion God dries up the wine of his disobedient people (Hosea 9:2; Joel 1:10; Amos 5:11; Micah 6:15; Zephaniah 1:13; Hagai 1:11). Twice God curses the land of Moab drying up their winepresses (Isaiah 16:10; Jeremiah 48:33).
3. Wine was an acceptable sacrifice to give to God.
Wine and other intoxicating drinks were poured over sacrificial offerings on the altar as drink offerings (Exodus 29:40; Leviticus 23:13; Numbers 15:5,7,10 18:12; 28:7,14; Deuteronomy 18:4; 1 Samuel 1:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5; Ezra 6:9; 7:22; Nehemiah 5:11; 10:37,39; 13:12). Even the Levites received wine for themselves from the tithes given by the worshipers (Numbers 18:30).
4. God gives us wine to settle our stomachs.
Paul counsels his son in the faith, Timothy, “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” (1 Timothy 5:23). This home-remedy for poor digestion has actually been confirmed by modern studies. Fermented drinks like beer, sherry, or wine are powerful stimulants of gastric acid secretion, and can even speed up the emptying of the stomach. Red wine also contain polyphenols that trigger the release of nitric oxide which relaxes the stomach wall, thus optimizing digestion.
5. God gives us wine to lighten our hearts.
Wine “cheers God and men” (Judges 9:13). The psalmist praises God for his provision: “You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart” (Psalm 104:14-15).
6. Abundant wine is one of the blessings of the age to come.
On the day God swallows up death forever and wipes away every tear, the Lord “will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, or aged wine will refined” (Isaiah 24:6). On that day God will again be God to all the clans of Israel, He will restore their fortunes, “they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine” (Amos 9:14), “they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil” (Jeremiah 31:12). God promises to restore to Israel the years that the swarming locust has eaten: the threshing floors will be full of grain and “the vats shall overflow with wine and oil” (Joel 2:24-25).
7. God invites His people to celebrate in His presence by drinking wine.
Year after year the Lord’s people brought a tithe of their crops to Jerusalem. There, where God made his name to dwell, He said they should eat the tithe of their grain, oil, meat, and even their wine. This regular feast in God’s holy presence was instituted so that they might “learn to fear the Lord your God always” (Deuteronomy 14:23).
Others had a longer journey to Jerusalem so they sold their crops, took the money with them, and purchased goods for the feast when they arrived. Listen to the very liberal and celebratory words God speaks to them: “spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household” (Deuteronomy 14:26). Whatever you desire, whatever you crave—even if it is wine or strong drink—buy it and bring it to the worship feast.
God says the same thing about the age to come. In that day, Israel’s oppressors will never rob them of grain or wine again, “but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it in the courts of my sanctuary” (Isaiah 62:9).
8. Wine can be very appropriate for celebrations.
The bride who sings in the Song of Solomon says, “He brought me to the banqueting house,” (or literally translated, his “house of wine”), “and his banner over me is love” (Song of Solomon 2:4). In Hebrew tradition, wine was very popular at weddings. We see this in the wedding feast Jesus attends in Cana. There, for His first miracle, Jesus miraculously produced more than one hundred and twenty gallons of fine wine for the wedding feast (John 2:6-11).
That day at the wedding in Cana, before the festivities began, the groom’s father would likely have held high a cup of fine wine and spoke a cheerful blessing over the new couple. When Jesus multiplied that wine in Cana, He was, in effect, multiplying that blessing of joy and happiness for the bride and groom.
9. Jesus banqueted with wine to demonstrate the joy of the nearness of the kingdom of God.
One of the marks of Jesus’ ministry was table fellowship. Jesus is often found eating in other’s homes or hosting meals. These instances of table fellowship left a deep mark on those who observed them or participated in them. These were not merely times to share food, but were platforms for Jesus to challenge social norms and make profound theological statements about himself and the kingdom of God.
What were these moments of table fellowship like? The Gospel of Luke offers us many glimpses. These were far from casual meals. Repentant sinners impacted by Jesus’ message would hold great feasts, and together Jesus and his disciples would recline with tax collectors and other notorious individuals (Luke 5:29). Jesus would even host his own banquets (Luke 15:2). These joyful feasts were settings where Jesus would call sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32), where men publicly turned from sin (Luke 19:1-9), and where Jesus spoke of the joy of the angels when even one sinner repents (Luke 15:7,10). The meals might even be interrupted with sobering moments of remorseful weeping as Jesus declared sinners forgiven (Luke 7:48). Some were miraculously healed (Luke 14:4). During these times, eager listeners would sit at His feet to hear His words (Luke 10:39). He would rebuke hypocrisy and empty religion (Luke 11:37-52), teach about genuine humility and honor (Luke 14:7-11), and challenged the social norms that divided rich and poor (Luke 14:12-14).
And yes, these would be feasts—often feasts accompanied with wine—and yes, Jesus drank. “John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine,” Jesus told the crowds. But “the Son of Man has come eating and drinking” (Luke 7:33-34). Many scholars believe John the Baptist was a Nazarite from birth. The angel Gabriel told John’s father, “he must not drink wine or strong drink” (Luke 1:15). John was a man of the wilderness; he and his disciples would often fast (Matthew 9:14; Mark 1:6). But Jesus, by contrast, was known for his joyful feasting, so much so He even gained the unjust reputation of “a glutton and a drunkard” from his critics (Luke 7:34).
On the heels of the banquet at Levi’s home, Jesus asked the questioning Pharisees and scribes, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?” (Luke 5:34). The bridegroom of God’s people had come. The kingdom of God was at hand. This was no time for mourning, but celebration.
10. Jesus chose wine to represent his blood.
During Jesus’ last Passover meal, several cups of wine were shared among the disciples (Luke 22:17-18,20). Right after the meal, Jesus picked up a cup of wine, gave a word of thanks to His Father, and then said, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:27-29). Paul called this cup of wine “the cup of blessing” (1 Corinthians 10:16) and “the cup of the Lord” (v.22).
By faith in His blood, Jesus is our atonement (Romans 3:25). By drinking His blood we have eternal life (John 6:53). By His blood we are justified in God’s sight (Romans 5:9), we have peace with God (Colossians 1:20), we are redeemed and made God’s own (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Revelation 5:9), brought near to Him (Ephesians 2:13), ransomed from our futile ways (1 Peter 1:18-19), cleansed of all sin (1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5), and sanctified (Hebrews 13:12). By His blood our consciences are cleansed (Hebrews 9:14) so we can have the boldness to draw near to God in the Holiest Place (Hebrews 10:19).
And of all the things Jesus chose to represent his blood to us, he chose wine.
