ZA MAGAZINE // seek truth.

This article mainly speaks to the one who takes the title “Christian.” If you’re not, then peer in! See what the standard is.

Alcohol. Christianity. Put the two together and you get a wide spectrum of positions and opinions. Most of the people who will read this article are in the age bracket where alcohol is so prevalent in the social scene, so it’s important to know what the proper stance on alcohol should be.

But is the Bible clear enough to provide a definitive stance? After all, we can make the Bible say anything we want with a lot of issues. The Bible can be twisted to support the lifestyle of a vegan nudist homosexual, if the context is explained in a certain way and that one Greek word is translated in a “more appropriate” manner. Trust me, it’s out there. However, when it comes to alcohol, the Bible clearly talks about alcohol frequently, and I believe that it is clear enough to take a sure stance about drunkenness.

The first thing I would like to note is that I said ‘drunkenness’ and not ‘drinking.’ I’m not here to talk about the latter, because there is nothing wrong with the simple act of running alcohol down your esophagus. Remember Jesus’ first miracle? John 2:1-11 shows that He turned water into wine! I don’t believe that Jesus would have done so if consuming alcohol was sinful. Likewise, Paul encourages Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:23 to “No longer drink water, but use a little wine on account of your stomach and your frequent infirmities.” There are a lot of things you can extract from that verse, but it supports the idea that no one can outright condemn the consumption of alcohol.

Now, what about drunkenness? Does the Bible condemn it, what is it, and why is it a sin? The first one needs to be answered because if the Bible does indeed condemn it clearly, then there are a lot of people who take the name of “Christian” who seriously need to consider their actions. We also need to know what drunkenness is so that we know what is being condemned. But I also believe that understanding why drunkenness is a sin is important too, because I’ve always found that laws are easier to follow if I understand why they’re laws. So this week will cover the question of drunkenness as a sin, then we’ll get into some juicier stuff in the next two weeks.

Drunkenness as a Sin

The first thing that can be proven is that getting drunk is indeed a sin in the eyes of God. But I don’t want this argument to be my words, so let’s go to Scripture.

Romans 13:13 - Let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness, not in rivalry and jealousy.

So the first reference makes a profound statement. Drunkenness in the same phrase as orgies. Not only that, but it’s put right with being sexually promiscuous, being jealous, and being licentious (kind of like hedonism - you don’t have any discipline so you do whatever you want). All of these things can be tied to a lack of self-control…debauchery is the term Christians use. Debauchery means extreme indulgence of the flesh, and the Bible condemns it. Next up:

Isaiah 5:11-12 - Woe to those who demand strong drink as soon as they rise in the morning, And linger into the night while wine inflames them! With harp and lyre, timbrel and flute, they feast on wine; But what the LORD does, they regard not, the work of his hands they see not.

Isaiah 5:22 - Woe to the champions at drinking wine, the valiant at mixing strong drink!

In this part of Isaiah, the prophet has some choice words for Israel and Judah…all of God’s chosen. He’s condemning them because they abandoned God and got into some pretty nasty stuff like idolatry and child sacrifice. In chapter 5, he condemns a couple of things, one being drunkenness.

Proverbs 23:20 - Consort not with winebibbers, nor with those who eat meat to excess;

Some translations say that this verse means that we shouldn’t even associate with those who drink excessively. Others say that we shouldn’t become like those who drink excessively. Either way, drinking excessively is not condoned.

Ephesians 5:18 - And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…

This one interests me because it just puts this dilemma out there. Are you going to get drunk on wine, or filled with the Spirit? Acts 2:12 shows us that at Pentecost the apostles were so filled with the Holy Spirit that people thought they were drunk! So in that sense, both choices are drunkenness. Which will you choose? “For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor 6:14b) I would hope that a Christian would choose the Spirit!

If you’re a Roman Catholic, don’t think that I’m just spewing fundamentalist Protestantism that has no bearing on your lifestyle. Here are two paragraphs from the Catholic Catechism:

2290 The virtue of temperance disposes us to avoid every kind of excess: the abuse of food, alcohol, tobacco, or medicine. Those incur grave guilt who, by drunkenness or a love of speed, endanger their own and others’ safety on the road, at sea, or in the air.

1852 There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

There are more verses in Scripture, but I think by this point it’d be beating a dead horse. Both the Old and the New Testaments establish that getting drunk is a sin.