Social Drinking

Shelby G. Floyd

August 20, 2006

Devil Alcohol

William Shakespeare wrote in the play, Othello, “0 thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil.” There is no doubt that devil would be a good name for wine and strong drink for it produces no good, but rather is the occasion of much of man’s unhappiness, sorrow, shame and death. Anything which causes man as much sorrow and woe as does alcoholic beverages cannot be of God but must be of the wicked one who is set to destroy man’s body, soul and spirit.

Did Christ Endorse Social Drinking?

What is so disturbing today is that some people who claim to be religious, and even some members of the Lord’s church call social drinking good instead of evil. (cf. Isaiah 5: 20-23.) Some even blaspheme the wonderful name and character of Jesus Christ by reference to his visit to the marriage feast in Cana, as proof that Christ endorsed the moderate use of alcoholic beverages. (cf. John 2: 1-11.)

The Term Wine Is Used In Three Ways

Those who affirm that Jesus endorsed social drinking assume the point which is their burden to prove, namely, that the water which Jesus turned into wine was intoxicating wine; this they will never be able to do. In fact, the teaching of both the Old and New Testament condemns the use of intoxicating beverages. It is not fair to assume that the wine which Jesus made was intoxicating wine, since the term wine is used in at least three ways in the Bible: first, the term wine sometimes refers to grape juice which is still in the cluster or in the vine. The prophet, Jeremiah, used the term in this sense when he said, “...but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil and put them in your vessels.” (cf. Jeremiah 40: 10-12.) Isaiah also used it in this sense, “In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.” (Isaiah 27: 2.)

Secondly, the term wine sometimes refers to grape juice, freshly pressed out of the grape, but not yet fermented; in this sense Isaiah states, “…tread out no wine in their presses.” (Isaiah 16: 10.) Jesus in one of his parables no doubt used the term wine to refer to fresh grape juice and he called it new wine. (Matt. 9: 17.) When they put the new wine into the new bottles it would be fresh grape juice, but when it fermented and the bottles expanded it would be old wine and intoxicating; therefore, in the third place, the term wine does sometimes refer to intoxicating drink.

When Solomon said, “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaints? Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to sample bowls of mixed wine,” he did not have in mind fresh grape juice, but rather intoxicating wine. (Proverbs 23: 29-30.) Therefore, in reference to intoxicating wine, Solomon said, “Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper.” (Proverbs 23: 31-32.) Solomon simply meant by this last statement that one should not drink wine when it is fermented and intoxicating for it will destroy like the bite of a serpent and like the sting of an adder.

In view of this, would Jesus Christ have made intoxicating wine, and would he have encouraged others to drink wine which Solomon prohibited God’s people from doing? Obviously, he would not have done that. Therefore, the water which Jesus turned into wine was doubtless fresh grape juice, the drinking of which everyone would approve.

Christ’s Teaching on Social Drinking

Let us further examine the teaching of Jesus Christ to see if he taught or approved social drinking. Near the end of his life, Jesus, taught his disciples concerning his second coming, saying, “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 24: 48-51.) Eating and. drinking with the drunken would be social drinking and this is what Jesus positively forbids his disciples to do; therefore, Jesus does not approve of social drinking. (cf. Luke 21:34.)

The Apostles Taught Against Social Drinking

The inspired apostles of Jesus Christ were just as strong in their contentions for total abstinence as was the Lord Jesus Christ. In a statement to the Christians at Rome, Paul, exhorted, “Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”(Romans 13: 13-14.) You will notice in that statement that “revelry and drunkenness” are condemned.

God’s People Must Abstain from Drinking Parties

Every Christian realizes that drunkenness is wrong, but there are some religious people who believe social drinking to be right. Let us see if this is true? The word revelry in Romans 13: 13, is from the Greek word komos, and is defined,

“a revel, carousal, that is in the Greek writing properly a nocturnal and riotous procession of half drunken and frolicsome fellows who after supper parade through the streets with torches and music in honor of Bacchus or some other deity, and sing and play before the houses of their male and female friends; hence, used generally of feasts and drinking parties that are protracted till late at night and indulge in revelry.” (Thayer, page, 367.)

Therefore, according to this definition, not only is drunkenness wrong, but also reveling, which involves feasts and drinking-parties which are protracted until late at night. There is only one safe course for the child of God; he must totally abstain from the use of alcoholic beverages.