What does the Bible say about alcohol?
There's a misconception in Christianity today that states that Christians are permitted to drink alcohol
as long as it's in moderation and not in excess.
They'll often quote Psalm 104 that states that God gave us wine that maketh glad the heart of man.
They'll say that Jesus turned the water into wine.
But they're simply misunderstanding what the term wine is in the Bible.
You see wine is not only used to describe strong drink referring to alcohol
but it's also used to describe the fluid content that's extracted from plants and or fruits.
This is what's known as new wine and let me give you an example of this.
In Isaiah 65 verse 8 the Bible talks about new wine being in the cluster of a grape.
New wine referring to that unfermented fluid content extracted from a grape.
Not only that but alcohol actually has a negative stigma in the Bible.
You know we can read about Noah and how he drank and made himself drunk and uncovered himself in his tent
and was eventually sexually abused by his own son.
We could read about Lot's daughters who committed incest with their father by making him drink
to lie with them and to preserve seed of their father.
You know there's many examples that the Bible gives of alcohol being used as a tool by wicked people
in order to take advantage of the innocent.
And the Bible tells us this Habakkuk 2 15 says
Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor to drink that putteth thy bottle to him
that maketh them drunk also that thou mayest look on their nakedness.
You see over and over again in the Bible we see that alcohol is often used by wicked people
as a tool to take advantage of the innocent.
Let me give you a couple reasons why we shouldn't drink alcohol.
Number one is because the Bible actually forbids us to even look upon it.
Proverbs chapter 23 verse 31 says
Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup,
when it moveth itself aright.
This is referring to the process of fermentation
that new wine takes it to becoming strong drink or what's known as alcohol.
Now if the Bible is telling us that we should even look upon it when it's fermenting
how much less should we even consume it?
Yet there's people out there that want to say no it's okay to drink in moderation.
It's okay to drink a little bit of alcoholic wine in moderation as long as it's not in excess.
Well here it says that we shouldn't even look upon it.
And in fact earlier in the chapter it says
Who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contentions, who hath babblings,
who hath wounds without a cause, who hath redness of eyes,
they that look upon the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine.
You see the only people in this world who have woes, sorrows, contentions, babblings,
wounds without a cause, and redness of eyes are those who drink alcohol according to the Bible.
So number one we shouldn't drink alcohol
because of the fact that the Bible forbids us to even look upon it.
Number two is because alcohol is for losers.
The Bible says in Proverbs chapter 20 verse number one
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
According to the Bible those who think they can drink wine in moderation
and not make a fool out of themselves is a fool themselves.
The Bible says that whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink,
lest they drink and forget the law and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted the Bible says.
Give strong drink unto those who are ready to die, and wine unto those who be of heavy hearts.
Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
You see alcohol is only for miserable people not for Christians.
The Bible says that we're more than conquerors to him that loved us.
The Bible says that we have the victory through Jesus Christ.
Why should any Christian be involved in the consumption of alcohol
if alcohol is for miserable poverty stricken people according to the Bible.
But number three we should not drink alcohol because the Bible actually commands us to be sober.
1st Peter chapter 5 verse 8 says be sober be vigilant for your adversary the devil
as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour.
You see the reality is is that we have an enemy.
We have an adversary and his name is Satan.
He's constantly looking for opportunities to trip us up.
He's constantly looking for opportunities to cause us to fall and to fail.
But he could only do it if we're not sober.
And this is why over and over again the Bible constantly tells us to gird up the loins of
our minds to be sober to be vigilant to be aware to be watchful.
You can't do that if you're intoxicated.
You cannot do that if you're inebriated.
You can't do that if you're drinking alcohol.
You see alcohol has been used by Satan as a tool to destroy people's lives
and to cause Christians to become ineffective.
But let me show you from the Bible where alcohol actually comes from.
Let me read to you from Deuteronomy 32 and verse 32 it says
for their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah
and their grapes are grapes of gall and their clusters are bitter.
Their wine is the poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps.
You see alcohol is poison.
It's venom.
It'll destroy your life and no Christian, no Christian should be a partaker
of these wicked deeds according to the Bible.
Hope that helped.
God bless and have a great one.
you