WHAT BIBLE SAYS ABOUT DRINKING ALCOHOL

With Jesus himself consuming wine, you would think the
Bible supports consuming alcohol. But, the truth could be
otherwise, drinking could well be a sin.
One look at the happenings of the New Testament is sure
to make you shout with joy. Assuming that, if Jesus
himself shared wine with his disciples, then drinking and
consuming alcohol cannot be a sin. While wine and other
drinks are mentioned in the Bible, it is also true that
drunkenness has been condemned and considered a sin.
To really know what the Bible says about drinking, we
ought to be clear what it meant by the word wine. Wine,
for instance, was the common drink in ancient times, and
Biblical scholars are of the view that, the water available
for drinking contained pollutants and harmful microbes,
which made it unfit for consumption. From what is
believed, the alcohol content in wine was needed to kill
these microbes, and also to keep ailments and infections
at bay.
If all this is to be believed, then we need to consider
another factor in analyzing the reference of wine. The
alcoholic content in wine back then, and now, is bound to
differ, solely because the process of distillation began
only around 1000 A.D. To know the truth, let's try to
decipher the actual messages from the Bible.
Thus spoke the Lord
Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you,
when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall
be a statute forever throughout your generations. ―
Leviticus 10:9
In the Old Testament, we see the Lord speaking to Aaron,
the brother of Moses and the first High Priest, forbidding
him and his sons from indulging in alcohol. In Numbers
6:2-3, we see the Lord speaking to Moses, asking him to
tell the people that, whoever wished to take the Nazirite
vow had to stay away from wine and strong drink.
Abstinence from wine, vinegar, and the fruit itself, here, is
of utmost importance for those who wished to be
separated and consecrated. During the conception of
Samson, as given in Judges 13:4, the Lord once again
reminds us of the Nazirite vow, forbidding both Manoah
and his wife, from consuming any form of strong drink
and wine, and anything that would be unclean.
Wisdom lies in following ...
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is
led astray by it is not wise. ― Proverbs 20:1
Coming to the Book of Proverbs, the central theme is to
give instructions for prudent behavior. Here, it's not just
the Nazirites who are to abstain from indulgence but also
the wise, including leaders and rulers. In Proverbs 31:4-5,
King Lemuel explains that wine and strong drink is not for
rulers and kings, for it will take them away from what is
established.
Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may
run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as
wine inflames them! ― Isaiah 5:11
Misery, suffering, and punishment seem to rule the day as
Isaiah talks about judgment, and calls for repentance and
holiness. Which just means that indulging in the pleasures
of the senses was considered to be unholy, and eventually
called for the wrath and curse of God.
The lighter side of it
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a
merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.
― Ecclesiastes 9:7
Indeed, Solomon's words give us something to cheer
about. Taken literally, Solomon's words can be applicable
to the present. What the verse actually does is, calls us to
trust God and His providence, not just because all else is
meaningless, but because it is the Cruz of all life. Psalms
104:14-15 mentions that all things come from God, who
joyfully gives food to satisfy the soul and wine to gladden
the heart.
What you need to remember ...
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit. ― Ephesians 5:18
The Bible instructs us to avoid drunkenness and
overindulgence, rather you are called to be sober and
filled with the Holy Spirit. We, as children of God, are
called to tread the path of wisdom and sanctity. In all
measures, we, as people, are called to tread with caution,
and never let the pleasures of life consume us in a fire.
What alcohol can do ...
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has
complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has
redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those
who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is
red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.
Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter
perverse things. ― Proverbs 23:29-33
We do not need the Bible to be telling us this, most of us
have tried and tested ways to claim the same. Alcohol, in
whatever form, has at some point of time caused us to do
things differently. In the very essence of it, the Scripture
does not encourage you to sin against your conscience,
thus, forbidding you from doing anything that will offend
yourself and your fellow beings, in particular.
Consuming alcohol, on the whole, is not really condemned
but letting yourself give in to drunkenness, which will lead
to a loss in sobriety, is definitely looked down upon.
Finally, what matters is not allowing anything to
overpower the mind and the body, for that which is
overpowered is enslaved.