What does the Bible teach about alcohol? (Parts 1 and 2)
To drink or not to drink – Part 1
NOTE: Q. = A discussion question / A = Answers or possible or suggested answers
TEXT: Ask for volunteers to read the following scriptures when asked to do so:
Proverbs 23:29-35
Isaiah 5:11-12
Galatians 5:19-21
Ephesians 5:18
INTRODUCTION
Q: Why do people you know drink alcohol?
Q. What things have people done while drunk that they have regretted?
Today we want to see three topics:
1) What does the Bible say about getting drunk?
2) What does the Bible say about activities related to alcohol?
3) Should you drink alcohol?
I. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT GETTING DRUNK?
Proverbs 23:29-35
Isaiah 5:11-12
Galatians 5:19-21
Ephesians 5:18 (the above scriptures seem to condemn drunkenness as a lifestyle; but in this scripture, Paul expressly forbids getting drunk… ;ever!)
I think we can all agree that based on these four scriptures, and there are dozens of them, the Bible forbids drunkenness or even getting drunk.
II. WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ALCOHOL RELATED ACTIVITIES?
Please turn to Romans 13:13: “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in riots and drunkenness, not in lusts and licentiousness, not in strife and envy.”
Paul uses several words here that have relevance to what is going on in many drinking establishments.
Let’s define each of them:
1. “Unrest” (kōmos):
Strong’s Hebrew/Greek Lexicon defines this word as follows: “a revel, revelry / a riotous night procession of half-drunk and playful companions who after dinner parade through the streets with torches and music in honor of Bacchus or some other deity, and sing and play before the houses of friends and friends; therefore, it is generally used for parties and drinking parties that go on late into the night and indulge in revelry.”
Q. What relevance does this prohibition have for modern practices? That is, does this sound familiar to activities that accompany drinking today? And how does the Bible view these activities?
2) “Chambering”:
Strong’s Hebrew/Greek Lexicon defines this word as follows: & #8220;a place to lie down, rest, sleep on a bed, divan, marriage bed, or cohabitation of adultery, whether lawful or unlawful, i.e. sexual intercourse”
The obvious connotation is that by drinking heavily, people are likely to give up their sexual inhibitions.
Someone read Habakkuk 2:15-16.
Do you think that excessive alcohol consumption can lead people to do things that they would never be able to do if they were not controlled by alcohol? Is this kind of activity the kind of fire believers should play with?
Compare
3) “Debauchery:”
Strong&# 8217;s Hebrew/Greek Lexicon defines this word as follows: unrestrained lust, excess, licentiousness, lasciviousness, licentiousness, outrage, shamelessness, insolence
Stife: contention, fight, dispute
Regarding the first definition: Two people who started attending our church who struggled with alcohol abuse and their results express to me in exactly the same words: “Pastor, there are only two reasons why people I know go down to alcohol. Ed’s and the other bars downtown, and that’s for ‘getting drunk and getting laid.’
Regarding the second definition: Nearly all crimes of passion, fights, arguments, and most murders and violence are related to alcohol in some way.
4) “Envying”
Strong’s Hebrew/Greek Lexicon defines this word as follows.
excitement of mind, ardor, fervor of spirit: zeal, ardor in embracing, pursuing, defending anything
zeal in favor of, for a person or thing
the fierceness of indignation, punitive zeal
an envious and contentious rivalry, jealousy
The idea here is how emotions are inflamed when people are drunk.
After Paul’s warning in Romans 13:13 not to walk in these ways (not practice them), he goes on to say in verse 14: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to satisfy its desires.” (Romans 13:14)
Now look at Galatians 5:19-21 – “And the deeds of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, filth, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, sorcery, hatred, discord, emulations, anger, contentions, seditions, heresies, 21 Envy, murders, DRUNKNESS, ORGANIZATIONS, and similar things: of which I told you before, as I also told you I have said it before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
See also 1 Peter 4:3 – “For the past time of our life may be enough for us to have done the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, orgies, banquets, and abominable idolatries.”
Q. Leaving aside the questions of whether or not alcohol is permitted in the Bible for believers for now, what current practices are these scriptures addressing and what should be our attitude towards such practices.
A. Nightclubs, parties, binge drinking, drinking contests, wild parties, wine tasting leading to intoxication. What should be our attitude toward them?…See Ephesians 4:17-24.
III. SHOULD BELIEVERS DRINK ALCOHOL?
The question is not “Does the Bible allow drinking alcohol?” – You can reach your own conclusions by reading some of the following articles:
“Alcohol – What the Bible Really Says” (Pro) at http://www.gci.org/series/alcohol/bible.
The Bible and “Use of Alcoholic Beverages: The Bible, Intoxication, and Sobriety” (Con) at http://www.gospelway.com/morality/drinking_alcohol.php
Sticky Conversations: Point and Counterpoint on a variety of topics. Below are two articles on the question: To drink or not to drink?:
Article by Tim Harlow (pro): http://christianstandard.com/2012/10/in-matters-of-opinion-beer/
John Calwell article: (with): http://christianstandard.com/2012/08/to-drink-or-not-to-drink/
Let’s assume for the moment that the Bible permits the consumption of alcohol in moderation. The question we want to ask is “Should a Christian drink alcohol?” next: That will be the topic of next Thursday’s study.
What does the Bible teach about alcohol?
To drink or not to drink – ; Part 2
INTRODUCTION
Last week we saw two things:
1) What does the Bible say about drunkenness?
2 ) What does the Bible say about activities related to alcohol, such as drunken parties and bars?
We saw that the Bible unequivocally condemns these activities. But whether a Christian can drink alcohol at all or whether he or she SHOULD even if it is allowed are different matters. That is the topic of today’s study.
Before we begin, it should be noted that the Bible is not 100% clear that all alcohol consumed in moderation is wrong. Now, there are many clear condemnations of “strong drink” (what we call “hard liquor” today). Remember that wine in Bible days had a much lower alcohol content. Most scholars believe that the amount of alcohol in wine in biblical days was roughly equal to the alcohol content in beer today.
“Strong drink,” on the other hand, were alcoholic beverages with a much higher alcohol content. Nowhere in the Bible is strong drink approved. Even many upright Greeks and Romans condemned alcoholic beverages because alcoholic beverages served virtually only one purpose: to get drunk, which, as we have already seen, is uniformly and unequivocally condemned by Scripture. So there is no doubt that the Bible condemns strong drink, alcohol consumed primarily for the purpose of getting drunk.
It is not so clear with the word “wine.& #8221; Some Christians desperately want exact clarity, leading them to take stricter positions on moderate alcohol consumption. I wish it was that simple, but it isn’t.
The word wine is the Greek word oinos and various Hebrew words translated as wine were sometimes used for any fruit of the vine. So the word wine could refer to anything from unfermented grape juice, grape jam, or fermented alcoholic wine.
When the word wine is combined with strong drink, it is ALWAYS spoken in a negative way. or condemned, indicating that drinking alcoholic wine for the purpose of getting drunk is clearly wrong. But when not associated with heavy drinking or specifically getting drunk or riotous activity, references to wine are sometimes clearly positive, sometimes clearly neutral, and sometimes clearly negative.
Some believe that the positive references to wine must be talking about non-alcoholic products of the vine and the negative ones refer to alcoholic wines. But there are several places where it seems that alcoholic wine is definitely being referred to in contexts where the Bible seems to permit or encourage it. We won’t take the time to look at them today, but two of the links to online articles I gave you last week take the “Pro” side of the alcohol debate and you can examine them for yourself. (For example, Proverbs 31:4-7; 1 Timothy 3:3, 8 Titus 1:7; Psalm 104:15; Matthew 9:17; Luke 1:13-15 compared to Matthew 11:18-19 and Luke 7 : 33-34)
So even if you have a strong conviction against alcohol personally, we should be cautious in judging Christians who drink it moderately and responsibly. With that said, let’s think about the question: Should you drink alcohol? I am not trying to answer this question for you. I ask you to take the things we are going to discuss today and come to your own conclusion in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.
I. WHAT DO THE PROHIBITIONS OF THE BIBLE TELL US?
Here are some facts about certain people who were forbidden to drink alcohol either temporarily or permanently in the Bible: In the Old Testament, PRIESTS were strictly forbidden to drink wine or strong drinks. drink when they entered the tabernacle to minister before the Lord (Leviticus 10:9). When a person took the NAZARITE vow, part of his vow was to completely abstain from all forms of alcohol for the duration of his vow.
KINGS and PRINCE were forbidden to drink wine or strong drinks &# 8211; province 31:4-5
Q. These represent people who were doing spiritual service or in leadership. In the case of the Nazirites, the Nazirite vow was a vow of total surrender to God. Even if God allows alcohol, what do these scriptures teach us about the use of alcohol and its relationship to leadership and/or spiritual service?
II. THE ISSUE OF ALCOHOLIC CONTENT
John Caldwell said this:
Most people in the ancient world drank alcohol. The Egyptians and Babylonians brewed beer 3,000 years before Christ. But here is something you should know. Alcohol consumption changed radically in the year 700 AD. C., when the…