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Alcohol and the Bible

by Aaron
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The Bible speaks of alcohol both favorably and unfavorably. It says that alcohol may be consumed in moderation, but it becomes sinful when abused. Here are 14 passages where alcohol is either stated or implied to be permissible:

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  • Deuteronomy 14:26 — "And spend the money for whatever you desire - oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves." (Those traveling to Jerusalem from afar could sell their crops, take the money with them, and buy wine or strong drink to consume).

 

  • Psalm 104:14-15 — "You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth and wine to gladden the heart of man." (Wine is a blessing from God that makes the heart happy).

 

  • Proverbs 3:9-10 — “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” (Wine is a blessing from God).

 

  • Proverbs 31:6 — “Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress.” (Wine is good for those who are feeling depressed).

 

  • Ecclesiastes 9:7 — "Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do." (Wine makes the heart happy and is approved by God).

 

  • Ecclesiastes 10:19 — "Bread is made for laughter, and wine gladdens life." (Wine makes life happy).

 

  • Isaiah 55:1 — “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Wine is used metaphorically as one of the spiritual blessings that God offers to those who seek Him).

 

  • 1 Timothy 3:8 — “Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.” (Deacons must not be hooked on much wine. Hence, they are permitted to drink in moderation).

 

  • 1 Timothy 5:23 — “No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” (Paul encouraged Timothy to drink wine for improved digestive health).

 

  • Titus 2:3 — “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good.” (Older women must not be enslaved to much wine. Hence, they are permitted to drink in moderation).

 

  • Leviticus 10:9 — "Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting." (The priests were forbidden from drinking wine when working in the tabernacle. Hence, they could drink wine at other times).

 

  • Numbers 6:1-4 — “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, not even the seeds or the skins.’” (The Nazirite Vow included abstinence from alcohol. So long as one was under the vow, he could not consume any wine or strong drink. This implies that consumption was permitted when not under the vow).

 

  • Numbers 15:4-5 — “Then he who brings his offering shall offer to the Lord a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil; and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of wine for the drink offering for each lamb.” (God would not allow His people to offer sinful things to Him. Yet He specifically told them to offer wine. This proves that wine was not considered to be wrong). 

 

  • Luke 7:33-34 — “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (The Lord’s enemies were drawing extreme conclusions based on actual behavior. Because He drank wine, they accused Him of drunkenness. -- Please note that Jesus said He drank wine as opposed to John who was a total abstainer).

Notes

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  • The Greek word primarily used of wine (“oinos”) almost always referred to fermented beverage. In fact, some of the most reputable sources do not even give an alternate definition. For instance, both Arndt & Gingrich and AMG’s Comprehensive Dictionary of NT Words simply define “oinos” as the fermented juice of grapes. “Most of the occurrences of oinos refer unambiguously to wine – i.e., the drink made from fermented grapes” (The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, p. 904).

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  • Some argue that “strong drink” in Deuteronomy 14:26 could mean “cider.” However, the same Hebrew word (“sekar”) is used in Proverbs 31:4, where kings are not permitted to drink it lest they pervert justice. Obviously, the writer understood the word to include alcohol.

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  • The blessing of wine in passages like Psalm 104:15 and Ecclesiastes 10:19 specifically includes feeling its effect. Wine is said to “gladden the heart of man” and “gladden life.” Therefore, it is not wrong to feel those sensations.

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  • The Greek word for the wine Jesus created is the same word for the wine they ran out of at the wedding feast. It is also the same word that is used in Ephesians 5:18, "Do not get drunk on wine..." Thus, it is likely that He made fermented wine. Some argue that if this is so, He would have violated Habakkuk 2:15. However, that verse is dealing with giving your neighbor drink “in order to gaze at their nakedness.”

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  • Watered-down wine was considered a bad thing in Isaiah 1:21-22.

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  • Many Christians have no problem taking handfuls of prescription drugs to treat health ailments, even though these drugs often have harmful side effects, but they would oppose someone suggesting wine as a natural alternative. For instance, wine helps with depression (Proverbs 31:6) and digestive issues (1 Timothy 5:23). Moreover, it is full of powerful antioxidants and can help support brain, heart, and lung health. Perhaps we should be more receptive to the benefits of moderate wine consumption on our physical wellbeing.     

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  • This article does not address the dangers of abusing alcohol, even though they certainly exist. Too much alcohol can lead to immorality (Proverbs 20:1), poverty (Proverbs 21:17), addiction (Proverbs 23:35), and damnation (1 Corinthians 6:10). It can also leave one vulnerable to attack both physically (2 Samuel 13:28) and spiritually (1 Peter 5:8). Many have experienced the grief and pain of alcohol abuse, and we want to be very sensitive to that fact. Alcohol can hinder health, destroy homes, and cause one to act deliriously. This “right” can easily become “wrong!”

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  • Wine is a “liberty” according to Romans 14. The apostles dealt very harshly with those who would press their scruples to the point of infringing on another’s liberty (Galatians 2:4-5). This should serve as a strong warning to brethren today. Follow your conscience, but do not impose your conscience on others! We should also note that the brother who struggles with a certain liberty is called “weak” in the text. Ideally, he will mature to where it no longer bothers his conscience. Regardless, both brothers are told to “receive one another.” Amen!      

These 14 passages are not ambiguous or hard to understand. They obviously show that alcohol is permissible when not abused. In fact, it is directly associated with blessings from God and is said to be “approved” by Him (Ecclesiastes 9:7). Below are a few additional thoughts.

 

The warnings against abusing alcohol show that moderate consumption is permitted. God does not prohibit the overdoing of that which is already sinful. For instance, He never says “do not commit too much adultery” or “do not murder too many people.” Yet He does say “do not drink too much wine" (1 Timothy 3:8, NIRV). Hence, it is not wrong to drink in moderation.

 

In his discussion of Christian liberty, Paul mentioned several things including “wine” (Romans 14:21). If he put drinking wine in the same category as eating meats and observing days, we should do the same. These are things that God leaves to individual conscience. Therefore, it is wrong to condemn others or to cause division over them. It is a “Romans 14” issue!

 

Melchizedek was a priest-king who blessed Abraham and received tithes from him, which indicates that the patriarch recognized Melchizedek’s spiritual superiority. Most likely, Melchizedek was none other than God incarnate. He also brought out bread and wine for Abraham. This is an incredible fact that should be carefully considered before judging others — God gave a man wine to drink in this text!

 

When the apostles were accused of being drunk in Acts 2, Peter replied, “For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day” (v. 15). To argue that they were not drunk based on the time of day would be an odd response from a total abstainer. If the apostles never touched wine, surely Peter would have said that. Yet instead, he responded in essence, “It’s too early to be drunk.”

 

It is sometimes argued that while the above passages do authorize drinking wine, we should not equate the two because modern wines contain much more alcohol than wine in the Bible. To that, I would point to the accounts of Noah and Lot. As far back as Genesis, the first book of the Bible, the wine they drank could make you extremely intoxicated (9:21; 19:32-35). Moreover, if it was so "watered-down," why all the warnings against drunkenness? Finally, the Good Samaritan poured wine on the injured traveler’s wounds, thus showing that it had enough alcoholic content to be used as an antiseptic (Luke 10:34).  

 

There are three groups in the Bible who are told to avoid alcohol — the priests when working in the tabernacle (Leviticus 10:9), Nazirites (Numbers 6:3), and kings/rulers (Proverbs 31:4). The fact that these groups are specifically forbidden from doing it implies that others could.

 

I have noticed that many who argue for total abstinence (including me at one point) will say that when a passage speaks favorably of wine it is referring to unfermented juice but when a passage speaks negatively of wine it is referring to fermented juice — even though it is the exact same word in the original language. This approach to biblical interpretation lacks integrity and reeks of biasness. We should never let our preconceived ideas or personal opinions dictate how we read scripture.

 

The sins of gluttony and drunkenness are often coupled together in scripture as parallel sins (Deuteronomy 21:20; Proverbs 23:20-21; Matthew 11:19). Both sins involve over-indulgence. It is okay to eat but not to overeat, and it is okay to drink but not to overdrink. Thus, acceptability centers upon moderation.

 

The key is moderation. — Rest is good, but in excess makes one a sluggard. Food is good, but in excess makes one a glutton. Clothing is good, but in excess makes one immodest. Wine is good, but in excess makes one a drunkard. — While these things are permitted, they can be abused to the point of becoming wrong when taken to excess. We must practice moderation.

 

In my judgment, the strongest passage of all is Luke 7:34. Jesus readily admits to drinking wine, though He rejects being a drunkard as His critics claimed. This should cause those who condemn all drinking to seriously rethink their position, for they are indicting the Lord Himself. Jesus drank wine!

 

We all agree that drunkenness is sinful (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:21; Ephesians 5:18). However, we must not condemn the very thing Jesus admitted to doing in Luke 7:34. Though Christians should not exercise this liberty to excess, in ways that cause others to stumble, or in ways that hurt their influence, it is not inherently wrong to drink alcohol in moderation. It is a blessing from God when used responsibly!

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