Question 1

Is it wrong for Christians to drink?

Accepted Answer

Romans 14:21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble.1 Corinthians 8:13So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.Ephesians 5:18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,The Bible does not say that having a drink is wrong, but it clearly says that being drunk is. It also encourages us to abstain from drinking in front of others who might stumble in their faith if they saw us drinking. It is more important to help someone grow in their walk with the Lord than to prove to them that drinking is not hurting our walk with the Lord.Amos 9:13“The time will come,” says the Lord, “when the grain and grapes will grow faster than they can be harvested. Then the terraced vineyards on the hills of Israel will drip with sweet wine!”Luke 22:20After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.”1 Timothy 5:23Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.Both Jesus and Paul drank wine and gave it to others to drink. If it was absolutely wrong to drink alcoholic beverages (like adultery, for example), they would have abstained. The Bible even talks about drinking wine on the new earth after Jesus returns to live among us. Some suggest that wine in Bible times had just small traces of alcohol or no alcohol at all. But if that were the case, the Bible would not have numerous warnings about getting drunk from consuming wine.

Question 2

When does drinking become wrong?

Accepted Answer

Ephesians 5:18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,Exodus 32:6The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.Proverbs 23:29-32Who has anguish? Who has sorrow? Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining? Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes? It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns, trying out new drinks. Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is, how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down. For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake; it stings like a viper.Drinking becomes wrong when it leads to drunkenness, when it influences our thoughts or actions, when it causes us to disobey and dishonor God, or when it causes others to stumble in their faith.

Question 3

I may have a drinking problem. Can God help me?

Accepted Answer

2 Corinthians 5:17Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!1 Corinthians 10:13The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.God can and will help anyone who is trapped by an addiction if that person will confess the sin, call upon him for help, and follow his ways. God helps by showing us how to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, by showing us the principles of self-control found in his Word, and through the wisdom of counselors and other believers who can help us learn how to combat our addiction. Recognizing that we need help is an important starting place. Reaching out and finding help from God and others is the next step.

Drinking/Drunkenness