According to Luke 7:34, “The Son of Man [came] … drinking.” As we saw in our previous post, the text interpreted in context indicates that Jesus was a social drinker. That is, Jesus used alcoholic beverages in moderation, and he sometimes drank in public.
The Answer Applied
What does this mean for us today? How does the question of Christ’s social drinking apply to modern believers and the modern church?
1. According to this passage (and the rest of the Bible), it is legitimate for a Christian to drink alcoholic beverages in moderation and even socially when appropriate.
Follow the logic: If the Lord Jesus drank wine in moderation (and He did), and if He remained sinless in doing so (and He did), and if Christ is our pattern for a God-honoring life (and He is), then Christians too, like Jesus, may legitimately drink alcoholic beverages such as wine in moderation and even socially when appropriate. Before you close your browser, let me quickly inject some words of clarification and qualification.
a. Clarification
I am not asserting that all Christians must drink or even that all Christians should drink wine. I know of no commandment in the Bible that obligates Christians to drink alcoholic beverages. The Bible seems to present the moderate use of wine as a liberty, not as a necessity. Furthermore, there is no indication in our text or anywhere else that Jesus criticized the practice of John the Baptist. John lived a God-honoring life and abstained from alcohol. And there have been many godly Christians in the history of the church who have done the same (e.g., John G. Paton). Therefore, voluntary abstinence is a legitimate option for the Christian.
b. Qualifications
So the Christian may drink wine in moderation. However, if and when this liberty is exercised, it must be exercised prudently and lovingly. The Bible portrays social drinking as a Christian liberty, but it also teaches that there are sometimes wise and loving reasons to refrain from using our liberty. I can think of at least four examples.
(1) Do I have a physical condition that precludes the moderate use of alcohol?
Some Christians should refrain from drinking for health reasons. Interestingly, there is growing scientific and medical evidence that a moderate use of wine can actually be beneficial to one’s health.[1] And this should not surprise us since the Bible itself seems to commend wine for medicinal purposes (1 Tim. 5:23). Nevertheless, some people do have certain medical conditions that would make it unhealthy for them to drink wine or any other alcoholic beverage. This is true about other foods as well. Some people are allergic to dairy products. Some people can’t use sugar. Others can’t eat wheat products. Similarly, some people cannot drink wine without doing damage to their body. And since the sixth-commandment as well as the indwelling of the Holy Spirit obligates us to take care of our body, then some of us should refrain from drinking if it’s harmful to our bodies.
(2) Do I possess the grace of self-control?
Some should abstain because of a lack of self-control. People who’ve been converted to Christ from a life of alcohol abuse usually don’t immediately possess the self-control to switch from drinking a twelve-pack of beer per day to drinking only one or two beers per day. Only after a good deal of spiritual growth and maturity and the cultivation of self-control may a former alcoholic even consider an attempt to use alcohol moderately. Unless you have the moral fortitude to use wine and beer with proper restraint, then don’t use it at all (1 Cor. 6:12).
(3) Do I have a weak conscience?
Christians with a weak conscience should not drink alcohol. There are some brothers who believe it would be a sin for them to drink a glass of wine. If that’s your conviction, then you need to obey your conscience. That doesn’t mean that your conscience is right. But it does mean that violating your conscience is a very serious matter. Therefore, if you believe it would be wrong for you to drink wine, then by all means abstain! (Romans 14:14, 23)
(4) Will the particular occasion in which I drink cause a weaker brother to stumble?
Strong Christians should refrain from drinking in situations that may encourage the weaker brother to sin against his conscience. In connection with this point, someone may ask, “Should not the stronger Christian perpetually abstain from wine at all times and in all places, since there is always the potential of causing a weak brother to stumble?” This is position taken by many Christians today. It sounds biblical and loving. But if Jesus did not abstain from wine at all times and in all places for the sake of weaker brethren, then we cannot make it an absolute requirement for His disciples. Moreover, Romans 14:1-3 indicates that the weaker brother must not expect the stronger brother to adopt his convictions.
These qualifications are important and must be taken seriously. Nevertheless, even with these qualifications in view, Christ’s example in our passage legitimizes the use of alcoholic beverages in moderation and even socially when appropriate for some Christians.
2. Secondly, by way of application, it is best for the local church not to make abstinence from alcohol a requirement for membership and a standard for holiness.
I realize that many churches do require abstinence from their members. I do not question their motives in doing so. In light of the example of Christ as well as other teaching in Scripture, however, I believe such a requirement is unwise and could be potentially harmful for the following reasons.
a. Such a requirement would potentially exclude godly people from the church.
If we as a church made abstinence a requirement for membership, then the Lord Jesus Christ could not be a member of this church! Have you ever considered that? Would you want to exclude the godliest man who ever lived from being a member in good standing in your church? And we would be excluding lots of other godly Christians as well. The great Reformer Martin Luther drank beer. After his famous stand at the Diet of Worms, Luther returned to his room and enjoyed a silver flagon of Eimbeck beer.[2] Did you realize that the godly Pilgrims who came to America enjoyed both beer and wine with their meals? Did you realize that Oliver Cromwell’s brother was known as both a devout Christian and a brewer? Did you realize that until the last 200 years most godly Christians have never made total abstinence an issue of church membership? Folks, if we took the position that the moderate use of alcohol is totally inconsistent with membership in Christ’s church, we would be excluding lots of godly Christians as well as Christ Himself![3]
Some brothers would respond to this point by arguing that if Jesus and these other Christians were alive today, they would abstain because of the problem of alcoholism in America. In other words, total abstinence may not have been necessary in Christ’s day or Martin Luther’s, but it is necessary today. But the problem with such reasoning is that drunkenness (what we call ‘alcoholism’) was a big problem in Jesus day too. Look up the words ‘drunkenness,’ ‘drunk,’ and ‘drunkard’ in a Bible concordance and you’ll find it listed alongside the other major vices of Jesus’ day. In fact, drunkenness has been a major problem in almost every society at every point in history. Yet Jesus and many other godly believers did not choose to abstain from alcohol.
Therefore, I do not believe that it would be wise to make abstinence a requirement for membership in this church since we would potential exclude godly Christians from the church.
b. We would be calling “evil” what God has called “good”
He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the labor of man, so that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine which makes man’s heart glad, so that he may make his face glisten with oil, and food which sustains man’s heart (Psalm 104:14).
Commenting on this verse, Calvin writes, “God not only provides for men’s necessity … but in his goodness he deals still more bountifully with them by cheering their hearts with wine and oil. Nature would certainly be satisfied with water to drink; and therefore the addition of wine is owing to God’s superabundant liberality.”[4]
Go then, eat your bread in happiness and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works (Ecclesiastes 9:7).
The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine (Isaiah 25:6).
These texts clearly indicate that wine is a God-given blessing to be enjoyed.[5] Of course, this blessing can also be abused. That’s what the Bible calls drunkenness. And drunkenness is a sin. But so is gluttony-the abuse of food. So is greed-the abuse of money. So is fornication-the abuse of sex. But the solution to these sins is not to call evil what God intended for good. The solution is not even to abstain from these things. Martin Luther expresses it pointedly: “Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we then prohibit and abolish women?”[6]
Nor do I believe it’s necessary to prohibit and abolish wine. The solution to gluttony, greed, fornication, and drunkenness is to use God’s gifts as they were intended. In the case of wine, God commands moderation. And when wine is used in that way, it may be viewed as a gift from God. Therefore, let us beware of calling evil what God has called “good.”
c. We’d be erecting a man-made standard of holiness in place of a God-given standard of holiness, which is the error of legalism.
This was the great error of the scribes and the Pharisees. They erected all sorts of man-made standards. At first they may have only intended these standards as safeguards. However, it wasn’t long before they began to use them as tests to determine a person’s spiritual state. And I’m afraid that this is the way many professing Christians use abstinence today. Perhaps it was originally intended as a safeguard, but now it has become a major criterion in determining whether a person is right with God or not. For example, one modern writer has declared that he “seriously doubts Christians who drink can be called saints.”[7] Another says, “Alcohol is never approved of by God in any amount for the obedient Christian.”[8]
But as we’ve noted, Jesus who is the model of a perfect Christian used alcohol in moderation. Moreover, the Bible elsewhere portrays alcohol as a gift from God to be enjoyed though not abused. Is the Bible a sufficient standard for holiness or not? I believe it is!
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16).
If the Bible is a sufficient standard for holiness, then we don’t need to add a bunch of man-made standards.[9] If it was possible for Jesus to drink wine in moderation and to live a holy, God-honoring life at the same time, then what’s good for Jesus ought to be good for us. Let us, therefore, avoid legalism, and let us be satisfied with the Bible as our standard for holiness!
Bob Gonzales Reformed Baptist Seminary[1] Among the numerous articles and reports highlighting the potential health benefits of the use of wine, see “The Health Benefits of Wine” (http://health.yahoo.com/experts/joybauernutrition/21540/the-health-benefits-of-wine/; accessed 25 of August 2008; Internet); “Is Wine Good for You?” (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21478144/; accessed 25 of August 2008; Internet); “The Health Benefits of Wine” (http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/ annurev.nutr.20.1.561; accessed 25 of August 2008; Internet). These and other articles that support the health benefits of moderate alcohol intake also note that for some individuals the potential benefits of moderate alcohol use are outweighed by potential negative health effects on account of other health conditions the person may have. Moreover, it is also noted that too much alcohol intake can be harmful.
[2] See Jean Merle D’Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, trans. H. White (1846; Rapidan, VA: Hartland Publications, n.d.), 246.
[3] For an interesting historical survey of the use of wine among Christians of the past, see Jim West, Drinking with Calvin and Luther: A History of Alcohol in the Church (Lincoln, CA: Oakdown, 2003).
[4] Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Reprint, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 4:155
[5] Another key text is Deuteronomy 14:22-26, where God encourages the people of God to enjoy “strong drink” (shekar)-in moderation, of course.
[6] Cited in Roland Bainton, Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, 1st edition (Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1950), 214.
[7] David Wilkerson, Sipping Saints (Old Tappan: Revell, 1978), 12.
[8] In the forward to Jack Van Impe’s book Alcohol: The Beloved Enemy (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1980), cited by Kenneth Gentry, God Gave Wine: What the Bible Says About Alcohol (Lincoln, CA: Oakdown, 2001), 4. Gentry’s book provides one of the best critiques of both the prohibitionist view and also the complete abstentionist view as well as a reasoned biblical defense of the moderationist position.
[9] See the excellent article by John Piper which underscores this point: “Brothers, Don’t Fight Flesh Tanks with Peashooter Regulations,” in Brothers, We Are Professionals (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002), 151-58.
I think it is important to define what “stumbling the weaker brother” actually mean.
I do not think that it means I cannot drink in front of a brother who believes that drinking is a sin. I do believe we would use this in the context of a brother who has a *known* struggle with the temptation to drink in excess and is struggling with that temptation. In other words, if I know a brother has a past as a alcoholic it could be very damaging to drink in his presence. This is different from not drinking because you may be afraid of offending a brother who is basically standing in judgment over you for something God has said we are free to partake in.
My 2 cents.
Justin
Crucial observation, Justin. Thanks for the input.
I see your point Justin. There was a very unusual situation I found myself in during my graduation celebration. My family are not Christians but the members of my family are also not social drinkers. In fact we only really drink alcoholic beverages during celebrations when there would be a toast. And even then most of the time my family just takes a sip of the glass and throws the rest away. So when it came to my graduation celebration, my parents had asked me to invite folks that had a big impact in my college years. So I invited some couples from my church that made a big impact in my spiritual walk. Now it never occurred to me that my guests would have a problem with toasting with glass of champagne. I had never spoken to them about drinking because I never drank socially and so it never came up. And so when my Dad ordered champagne to celebrate, the waiter came around to pour it on everyone’s glass. But when it came to my guests’ glasses, they put their hand over it to say they didn’t want any. My parents, not being Christians, didn’t understand and were very embarrassed, as I. But when it came to my glass, my guests all looked at me … as if to say that I shouldn’t accept it. I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t see it as sin and I know that my father was toasting on my behalf. All I could do was accept the champagne. I didn’t want to dishonor my father and also, I really didn’t think of it as sin … only that my guests made me feel it was sin. It was the most awkward situation I have found myself in. I honestly did not foresaw this. Had I known they would not have accepted the champagne, I would have told my father before hand and he would have gladly not have ordered the champagne. All I know was … I was feeling very miserable after that. I had never talked about it to my guests after that. I just didn’t know what to think ….
I think next time, I would rather ask everyone around me if they had a problem with drinking alcoholic beverages before I find myself in that situation again.
A good article and certainly a more balanced understanding of drinking alcohol than often put forward in Christian circles – i.e. the tea-totalling argument.
I agree with the comment above concerning what is and is not a real stumbling block for the weak brother. The question to ask is, ‘will my example lead my brother to do that which his weak conscience considers a sin and which his conscience will then condemn him for doing?’
I am so thankful for the true liberty I have in Christ, which allows me (amongst other things) to enjoy a glass of red from time to time without the fearfulness of having committed some dreadful sin.
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“Therefore, I do not believe that it would be wise to make abstinence a requirement for membership in this church since we would potential exclude godly Christians from the church.”
I cannot get behind this reasoning. My 1689 church would also exclude paedobaptists and charismatics from membership, though we certainly recognize that they may be godly Christians. Fear of excluding the godly from membership is not sufficient reason to broaden our membership standards to include absolutely anyone who professes faith in Christ, period. We have a confession for a reason.
Now, that said, I don’t think it is wise to make abstinence a requirement either. I do see moderate social drinking as an area of Christian liberty, so I think it legalistic for a local assembly to forbid its members. That isn’t because it excludes Godly men, but because it is unbiblical. We might not exclude Martin Luther due to his willingness to drink beer, but (as reformed baptists) we certainly would based on his consubstantiation view of the Lord’s Supper.
Thanks, Jenny, for the perceptive remarks. I believe I should refine my argument to say “I do not believe it would be to make abstinence a requirement for church membership in the local church because we would potential exclude godly Christians from the church WITHOUT BIBLICAL WARRANT.” In the case of someone holding an aberrant doctrine, we have grounds for excluding them from the membership of our local church though we may still view them as Christians. But in the case of the moderate use of alcohol, the Bible affords us no grounds for excluding such people. Hope this helps. And thanks for your input.
That helps. I understand and agree with what you are saying. Your warning should be heeded that if we are to exclude any Christian from membership, we should be extremely cautious to make sure it is a Biblical reason for exclusion, not a merely cultural or social one.
Good post. Upon my conversion at uni I went t-total. It seemed the best thing to do as at uni every time I drank it was to get drunk. Over time it developed into an attitude of ‘holier than thou’ which, by the grace of God, has gone now. Now I am able to drink without getting drunk and enjoy the occasional alcoholic beverage.
Richard,
Great to hear. My testimony is much the same. Now I can enjoy a glass of Chianti with a meal or a nice Sam Adam’s Cream Stout after a hard day’s work. Thank God for the gift of wine and beer that cheers the heart of man!
Bob G.
http://postedat.wordpress.com/2008/10/19/ignorance-is-still-no-excuse/