Justifying the Social Drink

Introduction

It’s okay for me to drink alcoholic beverages, and here’s why. Oh no, our preacher has gone to drinking. We’ve got problems. No, that’s not the case. This is just the reasoning that some have. That’s why I put it in quotes. And that’s where I want to begin tonight. Okay, here’s the thought that someone has. How did they get there? Did they start with a thus says the Lord? Okay, I’ve come to this conclusion. I come to this deduction because I analyze the scripture and have come to this conclusion. Or did they come to this conclusion because another thought preceded that one. I want to try to find a way to justify social drinking because that’s what I want to do. And I want the Bible to approve of my conduct.

What was the motivation? I’m not saying that the first could not be an approach that someone might undergo. I’m just saying that generally, I think it’s the second. And the first observation I want to make by way of introduction is that as a Christian, as a child of God, Jesus is to be the king of my life. And whatever subject we’re studying, whatever we’re looking at in the Word of God to determine what our thinking and conduct should be, this should always be the guiding and ruling principle. Jesus is the king of my life. And that means complete fidelity or loyalty to him. To his word, to his wisdom. Submission to him. And that’s the challenging part. Regardless of any societal pressures to conform, regardless of some desires that I may have, but to surrender myself completely to the king.

And whenever we talk about this subject or any other, it is important that we reconcile all the information of Scripture that pertains to that particular subject. Not just find the passages that support my theology, my belief system, or what I’m wanting to do. I must consider all the relevant texts to the matter, whatever it is. Am I really pursuing submission to God? Or do I want religion with all of its promises and with all of its privileges? While retaining the position, I’m the king of my life. And in some areas, I’m going to decide what’s best for me. I think that’s a temptation for a lot of folks. Obviously, when Jesus was offering heaven to us, when Jesus was offering a fix to our spiritual ills, we want that.

I want the privileges and blessings associated with this message. But am I willing to submit to God in every respect to allow Jesus to be the king of my life so that I might indeed imbibe with these riches? Or am I holding out on God in one area or several areas of our lives where I still want to be king. I’m not a politician, but I’m going to quote them. You know what all of them say for some reason or another, you’ll hear it. Let’s be clear. It’s almost like we can’t decipher what their message is until they say, let’s be clear. Well, I want to be clear tonight, by way of introduction, so that nobody misunderstands us. And I think I can get pretty much agreement on this.

If we can’t get agreement on this, we got problems. Drunkenness is sinful conduct. And that’s not hard to determine. Do not be filled with wine, which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. If I just had to choose one New Testament text to suggest that I should refrain from alcohol consumption, Ephesians 5.18 works for me. Do not get drunk with wine, for this is squandering. It is waste. It is dissipation. And he sets forth a contrasting pursuit to the pursuit of filling oneself with wine when he talks about doing what we’re doing tonight. Filling ourselves with the Spirit, with the instruction that comes from heaven that gives us life. And one of the ways that we do that is what we’ve already done tonight speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to the Lord.

That’s the next verse. But also, I would quickly reference, there are other passages like 1 Corinthians 6, but Galatians 5 will suffice. In the list of the lusts of the flesh or the deeds of the flesh, one of those that is mentioned is drunkenness, and it says, those that do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. So let’s be clear. The forfeiture of sobriety is sin. Even if you can come along and perhaps even attempt to use the scriptures to justify some social drinking, some consumption of alcohol with certain limits. Listen, the forfeiture of sobriety is sin. I think we can agree on that. We place ourselves in great peril when we do so. But we are hearing all the more individuals attempting to justify a moderate consumption of alcohol, perhaps a glass of wine with dinner, attempting to justify that, even rationalize that in relation to the information of Scripture, and suggest that’s okay.

1. Jesus Turned Water Into Wine

Within limits, very real limits, that’s okay. Because, and this is the most common one that people reference, we’re going to be talking tonight about four different areas where people try to justify social drinking. And one of those is Jesus turned water into wine. That is a fact. He did that. And we all know where he did that, right? John chapter 2. I believe a lot of people can probably find that verse when they don’t know half of what Jesus said. They may not even know 25% of the things Jesus said, but we can probably find, or at least we can reference, well, Jesus turned water into wine. People that don’t even know their Bibles very well can come up with that one. And since Jesus turned water into wine, and obviously he and his disciples drank it, therefore we can drink wine.

I want to tell you that is a fallacy in reasoning. And I’m going to explain to you why as we go along tonight. Okay, remember what I said about reconciling all the data. Whatever John 2 is telling us about wine consumption, I would attest that it is not something that is opposite or contradictory to Proverbs 20 and verse 1. Those passages have to be reconciled. They have to be meshed together. So whatever John 2 is telling us about wine consumption, we must also consider the information in Proverbs 20. Again, we’re a lot more familiar with John 2 and might reference that than we would Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 1, which says wine is a mocker.

Whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise. And that is not the only information from the Proverbs that addresses this subject. Proverbs 23 and verse 29. Who has woe, who has contentions, who has sorrows, who has wounds without cause, who has wetness of eyes, those who linger long over wine, those who go to taste mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly, and at last it bites like a serpent and stings like a viper, and your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perverse things. So, what do we do with passages like that? And that’s just a couple we could reference. And the actions of Jesus and John chapter 2.

Here’s the key point in all of this. And if I could just get this across, this is going to be a success tonight. I’ve mentioned this before. This isn’t new. Now, for some of you who are new to this congregation who haven’t heard me teach this is the most important point in understanding what the Bible is telling us about the consumption of wine. What is the Bible telling us as we try to reconcile all the information? When the Bible speaks of wine, both in the old and new testament, it is simply speaking of the product of the grape. And as it speaks of the product of the grape, it can be the grape as it is freshly squeezed, containing no alcoholic content. Or as that product begins to age or develop, it becomes fermented, containing more alcoholic content, and the longer that happens, the greater the alcoholic content grows.

And so when we read the word wine in the Bible, it could refer to any beverage in that process. From that which is freshly squeezed to that which becomes more intoxicating. The word wine refers or encompasses all of that. Now, when you’re talking about wine in the 21st century, you’re talking about a product that is more highly concentrated in alcoholic content than any Yayin of the Old Testament or oinos, those are the words, Hebrew and Greek. Any Yayin or oinos, and in the Greek translation of the Old Testament scripture, Yayan would be translated oinos. So if we just talked about that one Greek word, oinos, it covers the whole gamut of that. And so to suggest, because Jesus turned water into wine, or some passage mentions wine positively, that I can therefore drink modern wine, we’re not comparing the same things necessarily.

More on that in a moment. So what are we going to do with passages like Joel chapter 3 in verse 18? As Joel anticipates, he’s had a message of judgment for unrighteousness, but he’s talking about the positives of the future. And he says in Joel 3 in verse 18, look at this. And it will come about in that day that the mountains will drip with sweet wine. Obviously, here wine is spoken of as a blessing of the fertility of the land. The land producing produce. That’s blessing from God. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, and along with that the hills will flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah will flow with water, and a spring will go out from the house of the Lord.

Now go back to Isaiah with me in Isaiah 55, and I want you to turn there very quickly, because we have a lot to deal with tonight. Isaiah 55 and verse 1. Again, the prophet Isaiah. God speaks through him to make this appeal to his people. Oh, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. And you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Look at this. Come by wine and milk. God is saying, Come and buy wine and milk for me. I know he’s using this metaphorically, but he uses the word wine in a positive way. Without money and without cost, he says. Delight yourself in abundance. Eat what is good. He says in verse 2. Okay, that’s Isaiah 55 and verse 1. Very similar to Joel 3.18.

Blessing from God. Go just one chapter over. Isaiah 56. Apparently Isaiah forgot what word he was using.

All the beasts of the field. All you beasts in the forest, come to eat. His watchmen are blind. All of them know nothing. All of them are dumb dogs, unable to bark. Dreamers lying down, they love to slumber. The dogs are greedy. They are not satisfied. They are shepherds who have no understanding. They’ve all turned to their own way. And then in verse 12. Come, they say.

Okay, these who are slumbering in Israel, come let us get wine, and then this, like Proverbs 20 and verse 1, and let us drink heavily of strong drink. Notice in both of those passages in Proverbs 20 and verse 1 and Isaiah 56, wine, when it is spoken of negatively, is linked to stronger drink. An intoxicating substance. And remember, wine could refer to anything in the range of the product of the grape. And so when he speaks of that which is a little stronger in regard to alcoholic content, it receives this condemnation. This is part of the spiritual ills of his people, according to Isaiah 56, verses 9 through 12. I want to suggest to you that Isaiah has not forgotten what he said in Isaiah 55.

He just means something differently than an intoxicating substance when he mentions wine, the common beverage of the day, which is indicative of the blessing of God. So now let’s go back to John chapter 2. Jesus turned water into wine. What do we know? Somebody tell me exactly what that beverage consisted of. How much alcoholic content did it have? Could you tell me that for certain? Doesn’t reference that. Well, it was the good wine. You know, Jesus had saved the good wine until now. Now that has to do with the alcoholic content or the fact that it tastes really good. And listen, could not the Creator produce the best tasting product of the grape you’ve ever put in your mouth. I affirm to you that he could.

2. Strong Drink in Deuteronomy 14

And there is no hint in John chapter 2, an occasion that might have included both men and children drinking a wedding feast, drinking wine as they typically drink it. There is no hint of a lack of sobriety from anyone in the story in John chapter 2. Now, if you’re going to take this passage and say, okay, I can drink modern wine, considering the information we’ve already looked at, you’re going to use this passage based on assumptions, speculation, and conjecture, and in a way that does not fit what we read from the whole of the instruction of Scripture as it relates to sobriety and intoxication. Justification number two. Some might reference Deuteronomy chapter 14, a verse that we’ve already looked at in our study, where individuals could not bring the tithe all the way to Jerusalem so they can convert things to money and then buy the things that they need to contribute once they arrive.

It is too far away, is verse 24, for them to bring the tithe. And so they will exchange it for money, and then when they get there, they will spend the money for whatever your heart desires for oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, he says, those are things, or whatever you please. And there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice you and your household. Let’s flip over quickly to Deuteronomy chapter 26. We haven’t, or 29 rather, we haven’t studied this yet, in verses 5 and 6, where God says, I’ve led you 40 years in the wilderness, your clothes have not worn out, your sandal has not worn out on your foot, you have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, which implies that they could have potentially imbibed of this beverage.

In order that you may know that I am the Lord your God.

And that’s the Hebrew word here, shikar, a word that, interestingly enough, nearly everywhere else, if not everywhere else in the Old Testament, is spoken of negatively. Back to Isaiah quickly. I’ll show you this. Isaiah 5. This is the same Hebrew word, Isaiah 5, verses 11 and 12. Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue shekar. Strong drink. Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them. Now notice again the connection of drinking wine or strong drink together. Wine inflame them, strong drink. He says that they may pursue it, and he speaks of their banquets being accompanied by the playing of instruments, but they do not pay attention to the Lord. Isaiah 28, Isaiah 28 and verse 7. Again, this accusation is leveled.

They reel with wine and stagger from strong drink. There’s Shekar again. The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink. Just one more, but there are others. You can look these up. You can research this very easily. In Micah chapter 2 and verse 11. If a man walking after wind and falsehood had told lies and said, I will speak to you concerning wine and shekar or liquor, he would be spokesman of this people. It’s not what he’s saying in Micah chapter 2 and verse 11. That’s the kind of message you want to hear from God’s prophets. One that justifies imbibing of alcoholic beverages.

Goes actually back to Leviticus chapter 10. And the priests. And this was after Nadab and Abaihu offered strange fire unto the Lord. They were very careless and rebellious. And so after that, some instruction is given for Aaron. He says, Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you when you come into the state, into the tent of meeting, he says, so that there might be a distinction between the holy and the profane. The second time is in relation to the Nazarite vow in Numbers chapter 6. But I’m not going to go into that. You can just reference that, write that down and look at that. The third involves a libation. Now, you know what that is, right? We use that term all the time, right?

This was accompanying other sacrifices that were made to God, where they would pour out shekar as a drink offering to the Lord. Now, the reason why they might do this is because, again, it indicates the blessings of the land. God has blessed them with livestock. God has blessed them with the product of the vine. And so both are poured out as sacrifice. And Paul even references this about himself being poured out as a drink offering in Philippians chapter 2 and verse 17. And he indicates this in 2 Timothy 4 and verse 6 when he says, I’m now ready to be offered. That’s the idea. So what about Deuteronomy 14, 26? What’s going on there? Now remember, exchanging the money into these items that are mentioned in Deuteronomy 14 was for the purpose of accomplishing the tithe, the giving of a tenth.

Now remember how strong drink would have been used by the priests. Libations being one of those uses, I suggested in the class that shekar was used for a multitude of purposes in the household. Disinfecting being one of those purposes. So a priest would have need of shekar even if he wasn’t going to consume it for the sake of intoxication, because obviously there’s some denunciations about that. A priest would have uses of shekar. And here’s the part of this verse that I think people want to hone in on. Whatever your heart desires. Now he’s not saying consume whatever your heart desires. He says, whatever you want to convert your money into so that you can give of your tithe to the Lord, it’s whatever you want to do.

Exchange your money for whatever. But I think it’s that phrase people like to focus in on that. That’s sort of like a religion like that. Where you get to do whatever you please, but it’s in a very limited sphere. Where they get to do whatever they please. And then this. When it says that if they were to eat before the Lord, what indication in the text is that they imbibed of shekar. There’s no specific mention of that they did. I’m not even so sure as to the nature of shekar completely as they understood it. Was it always strong drink, as in a heavy alcoholic beverage? What did shekar even mean to the people who were wandering in the wilderness? I don’t even know that completely. Because these are the first uses of shekar in scripture.

Now, ultimately I know what it comes to mean. It comes to mean strong drink, in which they imbibed and got drunk. And that it’s condemned. Again, we don’t have a lot of information about this as to what Shekhar might have been. Remember what wine can mean in all of these passages. So again, several assumptions have to be made. And again, this is an Old Testament text that has to do with the practice of the Israelites, and we just don’t see them doing this. We’re not given an example of this somewhere else in the Old Testament as to what it might have involved. There’s no evidence that anyone was intoxicated in this feast that they ate before the Lord. Where’s the evidence for that? I don’t see any biblical evidence in Deuteronomy 14 for that.

3. Proverbs 31: Not for Kings to Drink Wine

But again, some might use this passage and say, okay, strong drinks, okay. Well, now remember those other passages we’ve already looked at. Alright, one more justification in regard to the scripture. Proverbs 31. Trying to do this quickly. Proverbs 31. Let me tell you why I referenced this. I’m not going to spend much time here. I was teaching a college class in Auburn. And I guess we were studying, I can’t remember now the context of the class, but we must have been talking about drinking. And one of the students are quick. And one of them came up pretty quickly with Proverbs 31. What about Proverbs 31? And, you know, if I would have been quicker on my toes already for that, I would have said, what about Isaiah 56?

And a lot of other passages. What about Ephesians 5.18, which I think I did reference? That one. Proverbs 31. It is not for kings, O Lemuel. It is not for kings to drink wine or for rulers to desire strong drink. Now let me just say this passage is saying kings need to be sober to do what they do. They don’t need to be imbibing in drinks of alcoholic content. Lest they drink and forget what is decreed and pervert the rights of the afflicted than this. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to him whose life is bitter. Let him drink and forget his poverty and remember his trouble no more. Oh, that’s the verse 6 and 7. The troubled and the afflicted.

Drink to soothe your woes. As we think about that one, is Lemule advocating that strong drink for the troubled and dying is morally acceptable. Or is he just suggesting that’s another way in which it is used, said in contrast to the king who should refrain completely from its imbibing. Certainly it could be used for one who is facing death to alleviate the pain. We would use morphine. And so he perhaps speaks of it in terms of how it could be used to alleviate pain for someone that is dying. What about this person that’s that’s troubled? Well, will drinking fix his problem? No. And perhaps it is not a recommendation morally, but more like Revelation chapter 22 and verse 11. If you’re of a mind to use alcohol for these purposes, then do it.

Let the filthy be filthy still. Revelation 22 and verse 11 says, That’s not John saying, hey, look, if you have a mind to be evil, go ahead and be evil, and it’ll be okay. He’s not saying that’s going to be okay. But if that’s what you have a mind to do, if that’s what you have a heart to do, then you pursue that, but you’re not going to enter into the gates into the city. Only the righteous and holy do that. And so again, I don’t think you have Lemuel saying this is a moral course of action. And even if there was some toleration of this in the Old Testament, there were some things that God went at. But now he will judge the world in righteousness.

We look at marriage and divorce, where he allowed divorce for the hardness of heart, but Jesus said, not so anymore. Let me just give you one. Now those are three biblical justifications. I don’t know of any others that people would use. Maybe 1 Timothy 5 23, we’re going to get to that in a second. These are three that people might use. Strong drink is okay under some occasions in moderation. But are we considering all the biblical information? And let me just offer this warning. This is no different than those who teach error in regard to the plan of salvation. And they take a couple of passages that seem to champion their position theologically, and then they just ignore the other information. I’ll never forget the debate in Baketown where the guy would only mention John and particularly chapter 6.

He who believes in the Lord shall have eternal life. And so that was it. He divined belief however he wanted to. He was going to stay in John. It was the gospel of evangelism. And whenever Acts 2 38 was mentioned, he would punt. He would ignore it. Because Acts 2 38 didn’t fit his theology. And that’s what so many do. They’re going to talk about the passages that fit their theology, and they’re going to champion that. But the other biblical data, and I talked to my friend Mark Adams, who now preaches in East Texas, and he used to preach, used to be a Baptist preacher. And I asked him about these passages in regard to salvation, how he dealt with those. He said, pretty much, you just you just read over them.

4. What If the Consumption Is Moderate and Controlled?

You don’t pay a lot of attention to them. Now he does. But that’s what people do. And I think that’s what people do on this subject because they, again, they want to get to a certain place. And so they come up with the conclusion, perhaps they’re using these three texts that we’ve looked at, the ones in Deuteronomy, Proverbs, or John chapter 2, and they want to come to the conclusion. Okay, I agree with you that drunkenness is sinful, but what if the consumption is moderate and controlled? Like one glass of wine at dinner. The problem is, as we consume heavy liquor, and I would suggest to you that’s what wine is. And that’s not the heaviest. But even in the early stages of consumption, judgment begins to be impaired.

I always was amused, actually horrified, by the public service announcement that used to be done by the NBA that said, think when you drink. When you drink, that’s the very thing that it militates against. It’s thinking properly. And so as you consume this beverage of sometimes perhaps 14% alcoholic content, which is stronger than anything they could produce in biblical times. I mean, you think about that. When even the Bible is talking about their strong drink that contained alcoholic content, they didn’t have the distilling process of the 13th century A.D., wine would spoil, it would become bad, it would taste awful. And they would have to discard it after a time. And they were more concerned about taste and preservation than they were about alcoholic content because it spoiled so quickly, it’s not like everybody had a refrigerator.

That’s a joke. They didn’t have a refrigerator. Storing it was difficult. But even if they could get it to its maximum fermentation, not equivalent to modern wine. And that’s assuming that they drink it at that level. Even when the Bible references negatively strong drink, it might have simply been 5 to 6% alcoholic content.

Strong drink. That is a far cry from a bloody Mary. And beverages that may contain 40 to 50 percent alcoholic content. And so if we’re going to start justifying this from these passages, remember, we’re not comparing the same kind of beverage, first of all. And judgment begins to be impaired quickly, I would say that you would have more of an argument if instead of saying, Well, I believe we could drink a little wine at dinner because Jesus turned water into wine. Now, first I’m going to tell you, your wine was not Jesus’ wine. I know that. And I believe the information is that Jesus’ wine contained no alcoholic content. But again, the Bible doesn’t go into that in great detail, but I know Jesus would not promote a lack of sobriety.

But I know your wine was not his wine. And you’d make a better argument if you said, I want to drink a beer at dinner, just one beer. I don’t ever hear that. I guess beer is not as tasteful as wine, not as elegant as wine. That’s actually a better argument because beer has less alcoholic content than wine.

What happens very quickly? As we drink this subject. Here’s a question that’s raised. Well, what did first century Christians do? And I’ll just say there’s not a lot of information about that. Scripture doesn’t tell us a lot about that. I can’t tell you what the first century Christians did in relation to wine. Did wine they ordinarily consumed contain a smidgen of alcoholic content? Now we’re talking about Christians. We’re not talking about the average wine consumer in the first century. What do Christians do? I don’t know.

But again, let’s say it’s been allowed to ferment. Let’s say it’s one percent. What beverage like ours is like that? What alcoholic beverage that people commonly drink is like that? You would have to drink a lot of that beverage to surrender sobriety. Were they tea total words? You know, and that means no alcoholic consumption at all. I don’t know. I don’t know if some alcoholic content, maybe it was just a smidgen, maybe it was half of a percent, that as they drank wine commonly at their meals, would pass their lips. I don’t know that. I do know that there was a practice of boiling the wine, and when that happened, there was no alcoholic content. It would become like a syrup, and they would add water so that they could drink it for the purpose of preservation.

If they boiled the wine, there was zero. Or sometimes they would cut the water, sometimes three parts water to one part wine, again to make it last, preserving it. I don’t know all the reasons or how they did that, but if they did, again, we would have, if it had 1% alcoholic content, and you cut it with three parts water, you’re down to 33.33 of a percent alcoholic content. I mean, so we’re talking about a very minimal amount of consumption. And then there’s this. I don’t have all the answers for 1 Timothy 5.23. I wish I did. We know what it says, right? We may not know the context. Shame on us if we don’t. But we know what Paul told Timothy. Take a little wine for your stomach’s sake and drink no longer water exclusively.

Now, I don’t know what that meant to Timothy. It’s obviously talking about something that was used as medicinal in contrast to water. Probably at the urging of Luke, the beloved physician who was often with Paul at this time. He was when he wrote 2 Timothy, and Luke probably said, Hey, Timothy needs to be drinking a little wine for his stomach condition. But notice the word little is used. Whatever he was referencing, that Timothy would have understood, he uses the word little, not a lot, just for the purpose of aiding his stomach, not to be intoxicated. A little bit. Reminds me of Michael for some reason. And it’s in a context where Paul is talking about sin, sinning, and sinners. Look at how many times in the surrounding context he’s talking about sin, sinning, and sinners.

And he just throws in this passage about drink a little wine for your stomach’s sake. I think you can only draw one conclusion about that, because it seems to be odd that it’s inserted where it is, other than the fact that Timothy would normally view the consumption of this as sinful. Except in relation for his physical need that he had. So am I suggesting that a smidgen of alcohol passing our lips is automatically transgression by God’s account. Well, you haven’t forfeited sobriety. If that’s the case.

You know, this a preacher is supposed to have all the answers, right? If you drink more than 2% alcoholic content, you’re sinning. I can’t give you that. And of course, if I just said if I was right about that 2%, that would take every alcoholic beverage that is sold off the market almost for us. I mean, almost everything’s off, if that’s the case. Again, our practice of consuming wine, of consuming alcoholic beverage is different than theirs. But that is a far cry. Even if we could somehow get to a smidge in being okay, that is a far cry for recommending and attempting to justify the consumption of very strong drink. Not just strong drink, but very strong drink. Do I need to roll out the statistics?

88,000 people die annually in America in relation to alcohol consumption. Alcohol’s price tag annually, this was 2006, 223.5 billion dollars to our society. Oh, even worse. It is estimated that a parent of 10% of our children is struggling with the consumption of alcohol. 10% of children deal with a parent who’s abusing alcohol. 50% of all cases of liver disease are the result of alcohol abuse. And if you don’t believe me, ask Sherry who scans livers that have cirrhosis all the time. It’s horrible. So let me tell you where I am on this.

You know, everything’s not spelled out for us. You know, the New Testament is a poll understand. Paul’s not going to say, hey, you know, in 2010, you know, they’re going to be drinking alcoholic beverages that have 40% alcohol consumption. Let me tell you about that. That’s a sin. Or they’re going to be smoking marijuana. Let me tell you about that. That’s a sin. He doesn’t deal with all. He gives us principles. He gives us information that we’re to make sound judgments because we want Jesus to be the king of our life. And so Paul says, examine things carefully, and that’s what I’m trying to do with you tonight. Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil. And I’ve got to tell you, this isn’t a hard one.

Conclusion

This isn’t hard. To know what is right in this matter. Well, but there’s health benefits, you know. There’s health benefits. I saw it on TV. It’s funny how sometimes you hear that now, sometimes you hear doctors saying, yeah, but the risks are greater. That’s what they’re saying now. Some doctors say, well, wait a minute, the risks are greater. And, you know, you can get the same benefits that the wine provides for your heart, the health benefits that it you can get that from other equally viable, non-intoxicating sources. You don’t need to have wine to get that same health benefit. Here’s my conclusion. Let me tell you what the course of wisdom is for the Christian. It’s total abstinence. And I’m not going to make any apologies about recommending that to you.

And I’m going to feel good on the day of judgment. That in this particular area, that’s what I recommended to you. That’s wisdom. What expectations does he have? I mean, you know, the issue, people can say, well, I don’t agree with all your conclusions tonight, preacher. Look, I’ll tell you, your issue isn’t with me. Your issue is with God. And what he expects of you. And when is he going to tally transgression to your account? And I’ll tell you this. It’s beneficial to learn self-control.

If you don’t drink, you will not have missed out on anything. But if you do, you’re going to endanger yourself. And you will perhaps endanger others. And you will forfeit your sobriety. I have never known anyone who has believed in the practice of social drinking who can say that they never anywhere along the way drank too much and forfeited sobriety. I’ve never heard of that. And if that has been you and you think that you’ve accomplished that, you are rare. Most people who drink even socially will eventually get tipsy. It happens. It’s a powerful substance. And remember the condemnations in the Bible that are being leveled for that which is less alcoholic strength than what is typically consumed. Something on the par of beer, not wine.

In terms of alcoholic strength. And what of your influence upon others? I don’t even like to walk down the aisle at Kroger where the wine is. I can’t say I never have. Sometimes I’m in a hurry to get out, and I have walked down the wine aisle, but I don’t like to. I don’t want to be even close to that stuff. I’m not saying you’re sinning if you’ve done if you’ve done that. But I want to tell you, if you go to the checkout and you’ve got a bottle of wine, and you see another Christian, I have seen some of you in the grocery store. I’m using it for cooking. I ain’t doing that. I ain’t going there. I don’t want to be seen consuming the stuff.

So it’s well, but it cooks off all the alcoholic content. Okay, but you still have to purchase it. And this is an evil in our society. I can eat foods without wine in it. I don’t know about you. Make a choice. I think one of the problems we have here is that we live in a very entertaining-oriented society. What are we going to do for fun? Well, you have to be creative. Maybe you have to do some things differently than you’ve done. But you need to make the most of your time because the days are evil. Paul warns in Ephesians 5 and verse 16, do not be unwise. Do not be foolish, he says. Walk circumspectly and not as foolish. I have this question. I’ve really got to the end of this.

You’ve listened patiently, and I couldn’t do this in 30 minutes tonight. If you’ve been drinking, even very moderately, I want you to ask yourself this question. Why? Why are you doing it? I was talking to a brother about these issues about the strength of alcoholic beverages. And he said, really, Tony, I think that’s what we need to address with people. Why are you doing it? Are you wanting just to be like the people around you? You want to fit in with the world. Maybe you’re doing it because it does make you feel a little bit better and less on edge and relaxes you a little. But why are you doing it? And nobody who has gone down a destructive course with alcohol. Very few people who have done that have set out to do that.

One thing has led to another, has led to another, has led to another, and then it has come to control their lives. That’s not what they intended to happen. But this is a very powerful and controlling substance that hurts our society in many ways.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And if we can assist you in getting on that path tonight, come now as we stand and sing.