With the festive season just around the corner, and shoppers now crowding into shopping malls to prepare for Christmas and New Year celebrations, it is appropriate for us to consider the question of drinking. Can Christians consume drinks that have some alcohol content, if they do so with moderation?

The first thing we must determine is whether drinking alcohol is a legitimate pleasure for God’s people to enjoy. Some say, “Yes” and some say, “No.” Most Reformed Churches in Holland and the Orthodox Presbyterians do not oppose it. They reason that there is no explicit prohibition in the Scriptures against drinking, but only against drunkenness. And they drink wine, which they claim has only a little alcohol in it. They appeal to the fact that our Lord Jesus drank wine (Luke 7:34), turned water into wine (John 2:1-11) and used wine as the symbol for His blood when instituting the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 26:27-29).

Some believe that there is no harm for Christians to enjoy an occasional drink when invited to toast to someone’s health, to enjoy a meal at a Continental restaurant, or just to keep themselves warm in cold weather. But there are at least five biblical reasons why drinking wine or anything that has alcohol should not be regarded as a legitimate pleasure for God’s people.

Because The Scriptures Cast It in a Bad Light

There are many instances where drinking is cast in a bad light in the Scriptures. For example, when Noah became drunk with his own home-grown wine, and shamefully exposed himself in his tent – that became the occasion of sin for one of his sons, and for a curse to be laid upon him (Genesis 9:20-25).

Later on, we have the account of Lot’s two daughters desiring to preserve the seed of their father, made him drink wine to commit incest with him in his drunken stupor (Genesis 19:32-35). The story of Samson in the time of the Judges is a sad one – how a judge who was so mighty physically could be brought down by the weakness of his flesh for wine, women and song (Judges 14:10).

Because Total Abstinence from Drinking was Required for Certain People

The Scriptures’ negative view of drinking can also be seen in certain regulations for those who serve the Lord. For example, the priests who went into the Tabernacle to serve God (Leviticus 10:9 – “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations”).

Even kings and princes are advised not to drink (Proverbs 31:4,5 – “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.”).

The Nazarites were a special class of Israelites who had to take a vow not to consume anything that has to do with grapes. John the Baptist was such a person, and according to Luke 1:15, he did not drink any wine nor strong drink all his life. Thus we see that although drinking was common in biblical times, total abstinence from wine was recommended for those in the Lord’s service.

And this was also true of some who were not in the Lord’s service. A commendation is given to the sons of Rechab (also known as the Rechabites) for abiding by their father’s wishes to dwell in tents and not houses, and to abstain totally from wine (Jeremiah 35:2-5). God told Jeremiah to test them by putting several pots of wine before them in the presence of the Israelites and see how they would respond to it. They refused, and were warmly commended by God for that. Although this is used as an example of obedience, there is clearly an implication here that God looks favourably on those who abstain from drinking.

Because it is Linked With Sin and Crime

Habakkuk the prophet associates wine with transgression and pride: “Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death…” (Habakkuk 2:5) The wise king Solomon links it with deception and lack of wisdom: “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”(Proverbs 20:1) Isaiah links it with bribery, corruption and injustice: “Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink: Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!” (Isaiah 5:22-23)

Whether we like it or not, drinking is closely linked with sin and crime. In the U.S. about 10,000 murders occur each year in situations involving alcohol. In the U.K., alcoholism is the main factor in the deaths of 1,000 children every year, and of half the drivers that are killed under 25 years of age. It is heavily implicated in half of all recorded crimes, including half of all murders, half of all child abuse cases, and half of all wife batterings! Alcoholism also leads often to suicide and crime. Alcoholics have also been known to steal and even to kill to maintain their habit.

Because of the Danger to One's Health

Alcoholism does great damage to the mind and body of a person. It has removed the strength and vitality of many people in the prime of their lives. Thousands die each year from liver cirrhosis - a condition caused by regular alcohol consumption (1 Corinthians 6:19). It also causes brain damage, and increases the risk of breast cancer in women. There is actually little difference between drinking alcohol and drug abuse. Both affect the mind and alter a person’s perception of things around him. Both are also addictive.

And this helps us to answer the next question: Is it all right to drink if I do it moderately? Some people try to find an excuse for drinking by saying, “I only drink wine or alcohol occasionally – the amount I drink will not make me drunk nor lead me into sin or endanger my health.” But we should not drink at all, even moderately, because moderate drinking is very often the first step toward addiction (Proverbs 23:31-33 – “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.  At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.  Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things.”).

Many alcoholics will confess that they started off just by drinking on social occasions. They never wanted to become addicted to it, and they thought they could control their drinking within safe, acceptable limits. But the sensations they enjoyed caused them to increase their drinking little by little, until they became drunk and hopelessly addicted to it. One former president of Singapore was like that. His social drinking developed into a problem that brought an end to his usefulness as a head of state.

There may be some exceptional people who are able control their drinking within acceptable limits – they would never become addicted to it. But they are the exception rather than the rule. The fact that every year in the month of December, warnings appear everywhere: “If you drink, don’t drive” shows that the majority cannot stop drinking when they should. But even if you are one of the rare few who can drink without becoming drunk or addicted to it, it is still not good at all for a Christian to drink. Why?

Because it Can Cause Others to Become Alcoholics

By the act of taking wine or an alcoholic drink, you set a bad example for others who may not be as strong as you are, and who will fall into alcohol addiction because they followed you. Just imagine how a young brother can be stumbled if he comes to the home of a mature Christian, actively serving in the church, and there he sees a bottle of expensive liquor in his display cabinet. He asks him about it, and the mature Christian says – “Oh, I only take a sip of it once in a while – it keeps me warm in cold weather.” Then this young person follows his example, but ends up becoming an alcoholic (1 Corinthians 8:13).

Some try to justify drinking by citing the fact that Christ drank wine and also performed the miracle of turning water into wine at a wedding feast (John 2:1-11). But we must remember that most of the fermented wine used at that time was diluted up to 200 parts of water to one part of wine (only 1 % alcohol). It was considered barbaric to drink wine ‘neat,’ meaning undiluted or mixed with only an equal amount of water. And the word “wine” in the Bible may sometimes refer to fresh, unfermented grape juice that would have no alcohol content at all. Dr Peter Masters argues well for this in his book on drinking – and that unfermented grape juice was probably what Christ used to institute the Lord’s Supper. As fermented grape juice was a symbol of the Old Testament in the Passover, what better symbol can there be for the New Testament in the Lord’s Supper than fresh grape juice!

Others point to what Paul wrote to Timothy: “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.” (1 Timothy 5:23) This is not a command to Timothy to drink alcohol, but rather to take the medicine that he needed to take. It can only be used to teach that Christians should not deny themselves any medicine that they need to deal with their infirmities. It would apply to certain prescribed medicinal mixtures that have a little alcohol in it, and perhaps to mothers in confinement who take a few spoonfuls of tonic liquor a day to recover from delivery (but this is strongly discouraged if they are breastfeeding).

A question that is often asked is: What about the use of liquor in cooking? There are some recipes that require the use of wine or brandy as one of the ingredients, and this is usually included for flavouring. When you eat out at restaurants, the chefs probably use it in their cooking. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with this, because all the alcohol evaporates away quickly during cooking.