Christians Drinking Alcohol? What Scripture Has To Say

Tea-totaling Texans? Them's fightin' words!

I live in a small Texas town which is probably not all that different
from a small town anywhere else. At one time, as the town was growing,
much was being reported by the local media and debated at city council
meetings regarding liquor licensing. Whenever these types of issues are
discussed, some self-appointed Christian representatives will speak up,
supposedly on behalf of all the rest of us, and heatedly expound upon the
awful vice of drinking alcohol and what a demon-magnet that can be.

I recently said to a young lady who told me her church didn't allow
her to go anywhere where drinking took place, "You'd better leave
the state of Texas...and stop attending professional baseball games
while you're at it." I may as well have said, "Mother Teresa, you'd
better leave Calcutta! There are lepers all over the place!" If the light
of the world (you and me, according to Jesus) leaves the darkness, the
darkness remains dark. My question to Christians everywhere,
whenever we're confronted with a "sinful" act or attitude that we don't
appreciate, is this: "When is the right time for casting that stone?"

THE TRUTH HURTS. KNOWING IT WILL SET US FREE

Several years ago, a downcast young lady approached me at my secular
job, asking if I'd officiate her wedding. It seems that she and her mate -
apparently her husband - let it leak that they'd never had a traditional
wedding and had been cohabitating for about 2 years. They had a nice
home, all debts were combined, and they held good jobs. In their eyes,
they were married and moving along as a couple, facing the business
of life. One night, the couple received a surprise visit from their church
leaders, were reprimanded and told they should stop "shacking up."

Now, before we go any further, I'm not condoning that couples should
live with each other outside of wedlock, nor am I condemning those
who do. It is NOT recommended because, statistically, those who DO
live together before marriage have a much higher incidence of divorce
(let's forget the fact that 50% of all Christian marriages are ending in
divorce anyway AND that, in anonymous surveys, nearly 50% of
Christians admit to having had premarital sex).

Question for these church leaders: Before we point another accusing
finger at a Christian couple, can we talk about YOUR sins? Doubt,
unbelief, overeating, rage, criticism, gossip, plus the fact that nearly
half of all ministers surveyed admit to viewing porn regularly not to
mention substance abuses and adultery...all are equal in the eyes of
God and required the sending of His only begotten Son to become
our Savior.

Incidentally, I agreed to take this couple through 6 weeks of pre-marital
counseling and officiated their lovely wedding. Later, they had a baby
together. They have since moved on to become part of a different
congregation. That was 4 years ago and they're doing great.

You see, we can cast stones at those who drink alcohol - or those who
do anything else that "WE" might consider to be wrong - all we want to.
Who will be brow-beating us as we stuff our chubby cheeks? Who will
judge us using the same measure with which they are judged themselves?

The standard is Jesus, friends. Not the unholy trinity of Me, Myself and I.

WHAT THE GOOD BOOK SAYS

I contend that we should funnel everything through Scripture, preferably,
through the teachings of Christ, allowing the many verses on a
particular subject to define the one proof text, instead of requiring the
one proof text to trump the many. Personally, I can't help but believe
that all the oats, hops, barley and other grains used to produce alcohol
could be put to better use feeding the hungry of planet earth. I wish it
were. Maybe that will take place on the day that all swords will be
beaten into plow sheers.

Speaking of beatings, when we focus upon wine, the fruit of the vine
takes a severe thrashing itself within Christian circles, everyone trying
to justify their viewpoint. In the Old Testament, God's Law allowed
yayin (wine) and shekar (strong drink) to be purchased with the Tithe
of Rejoicing and to be drunk before the Lord. "You shall spend that
money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or
strong drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before
the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household,"
(Deut. 14:26).

In the New Testament, all recorded prohibitions to drinking wine seem
to refer to either (A) immoderate consumption or (B) to abusers: "Be not
drunk with wine" (Eph. 5:18). "Do not be with heavy drinkers"
(Prov. 23:20). "Do not be addicted to wine" (I Tim. 3:8; Tit.2:3).
"Do not linger long over wine" (Prov. 23:30).

Some say, "But we love the sinners and hate the sin." Sadly, even when
this is true, it doesn't come across that way and, after all, perception is
reality. Besides, where is it written that drinking is a sin? Now, I
haven't had a beer since I was 19 when I drank six straight after working
at a construction site in El Paso. That doesn't make me any better than
anybody else; my convictions are just that: mine.

Wine? My Italian family sipped it often but never to excess and its been
about 10 years since I had a glass of Chianti with my spaghetti. Still, I
don't expect my convictions to be anyone else's. When I'm sick, I don't
care if the Apostle Paul DID instruct Timothy (1 Tim 5:23) to, "Stop
drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and
your frequent illnesses."

Sorry, Paul, but I'll take Pepto-Bismal, thank you. That's my choice.

Seriously, when all is said and done, I can't help but feel that we
Christians must distinguish the use of these beverages from their abuse.
Sometimes in Scripture, gluttonous eating is paralleled with immoderate
drinking of wine (Deut. 21:20; Prov. 23:21). But we can find nowhere
in the Bible where eating food is prohibited, thank you, Jesus!

At other times in Scripture, sexual perversion is paralleled with
drunkenness (Rom 13:13; I Pet 4:3). Yet, if ALL sexual activity were
condemned, well...you and I wouldn't be here.

Wealth often becomes a snare to many as well (I Tim. 6:9-11), but the
Scriptures do not make a blanket decree against its pursuit (Job 42:10-17).
Let's see a Word of Faith evangelist preach AGAINST the acquisition of
money! That will be a cold day on Padre island. Bottom line is that each of
these factors in life is intended by God to be a blessing for us, when used
according to the ways that HE intended.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER: JESUS WOULD DRINK TO THAT!

To the surprise of many, it would seem abundantly clear that the
Scriptures DO allow for the moderate partaking of alcoholic beverages -
wine, beer, bourbon or whiskey. By the way, I've had many friends in
ministry who hail from England and Germany. I love watching my
American Christian friends as they "get their knickers in a twist" when
these awesome European Christians visit the states and order a brew
with their Tex-Mex or wine with their poultry. The Scriptures pull no
punches in commending wine, nor do they reflect any embarrassment
when illustrating stories that involve its consumption in Biblical days.
Wine is set before the saints as blessing and gladness (Deut 14:26;
Ps.104:14-15), even though it may be, to the immoderate and wicked,
a mocker and curse (Prov. 20:1; 23:29). It would seem to me that all
the self-righteous finger-pointing we engage ourselves in today does
very little in the way of making the non-Christian jealous for what we
say we've found in Christ, the One who turned the water into wine, His
first miracle. Despite all the sincerity of well-meaning Christians
regarding this issue, every time we point a finger, there are four more
pointed right back at us. These fingers are those of the Spirit in operation -
the Spirit of the Pharisees.

The Great Commission, set forth by the Greatest Teacher, Jesus Christ,
was to go and make disciples. As followers of Christ, are we teaching
those who are watching us to condemn and even detest those who are

not like us, or are we teaching them to love everybody without condition,
planting all the seeds of grace necessary to make our faith attractive
enough so that they will want run to Jesus at their own proper moment
of harvest?

After all, He loves ALL of us, despite the deplorable things we harbor
deep within the dark recesses of our hearts.

In fact, He loved us to DEATH!

Every blessing!
Michael Tummillo
http://www.YourTown4Jesus.com (NEW Website!)

Michael's mission is to bring Discipleship and Encouragement to the Body of Christ. Since 1999, he has broadcast over 300 hundred inspirational articles and a dozen booklets on subjects that will interest the thinking Christian, all designed to accelerate the process of spiritual development in God's people. Hel is the founder of t.e.a.m. ministries (team1min@aol.com). An Author, Pastoral Counselor and Teacher, his eMail broadcasts, known as "Your Town for Jesus" are reaching millions around the globe WEEKLY. Write team1min@aol.com if you'd like to SUBSCRIBE. A licensed/ordained minister, a Certified Workplace Chaplain, and a Professional Member of NIBIC, he has ministered in Methodist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, College and Cowboy churches. He is also a Speaker on the Christian Speaker Network and may be available to speak to your church or Christian group.

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