In the American drinking culture of today Alcohol is a multi-billion dollar economic powerhouse creating billions in tax revenue for state and local governments. Needless to say those naming the name of Christ in America have an apparent inordinate desire for knowledge regarding the lawfulness of drinking alcohol. Does a Christian have liberty for moderate drinking? We will consider this question biblically; but first consider the information from this CDC (Centers for Disease Control) fact sheet found here:
Alcohol Use and Your Health
Drinking too much (or any according to this study; ) can harm your health. Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost (YPLL) each year in the United States from 2006 – 2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years. Further, excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years. The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2010 were estimated at $249 billion, or $2.05 a drink. According to the World Health Organization alcohol contributes to about 3.3 million deaths globally per year (about 1 person every 10 seconds-http://www.mirror.co.uk/science/alcohol-cannabis-science-finally-revealed-11600555).
What is a "drink"?
In the United States, a standard drink contains 0.6 ounces (14.0 grams or 1.2 tablespoons) of pure alcohol. Generally, this amount of pure alcohol is found in
12-ounces of beer (5% alcohol content).
8-ounces of malt liquor (7% alcohol content).
5-ounces of wine (12% alcohol content).
1.5-ounces of 80-proof (40% alcohol content) distilled spirits or liquor (e.g., gin, rum, vodka, whiskey).4
What is excessive drinking?
Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, heavy drinking, and any drinking by pregnant women or people younger than age 21.
Binge drinking, the most common form of excessive drinking, is defined as consuming
o For women, 4 or more drinks during a single occasion.
o For men, 5 or more drinks during a single occasion. Heavy drinking is defined as consuming
o For women, 8 or more drinks per week.
o For men, 15 or more drinks per week.
Most people who drink excessively are not alcoholics or alcohol dependent.
What is moderate drinking?
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines moderate drinking as no more than 1 drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men.4 However, there are some persons who should not drink any alcohol, including those who are:
Pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Taking prescription or over-the-counter medications that may cause harmful reactions when mixed with alcohol. Younger than age 21. Recovering from alcoholism or are unable to control the amount they drink. Suffering from a medical condition that may be worsened by alcohol. Driving, planning to drive, or participating in other activities requiring skill, coordination, and alertness.
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According to one Congressional Budget Office publication
(here
https://www.cbo.gov/budget-options/2013/44854 )
"In 2012, the federal government collected $9.7 billion in revenue from excise taxes on distilled spirits, beer, and wine." So, I think it would be considered fair to use as reference (not absolute proof) government information, where as a whole governments have a clear incentive to see drinking alcohol perpetuated.
Under the ‘Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ mentioned above, a person should not drink ANY alcohol who is "participating in other activities requiring skill, coordination, and alertness". This is very interesting from a Christian’s perspective and we will come back to it in more detail. But let’s begin our study with a good shot of sobriety. 1 Peter 5:8 warns us to "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" There is a very good reason for the ‘spirits’ against whom we wrestle to have the Christian to be lacking in his soberness or his alertness. So lay aside every impulse and desire that might steer your mind or heart into rejecting what might be beneficial in delivering you from the snare of the devil.
As priests ourselves (1 Pt.2:9, Rev.1:6) we should consider the divine ordinances given to the priests of the lesser ministry under Moses (2 Cor.2:6-8):
Lev. 10:8-10 And the Lord spake unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations: And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
A priest under the influence of alcohol would be impaired in his judgment- and the very act of judgment is that which defines him as spiritual according to Heb.5:14 "But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." This impaired discretion may very well have been the cause of Nadab and Abihu offering strange fire (Lv.10:1) and their swift and merciless death (v2-7). Israel was forbidden access to alcohol for 40 years- "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God." (Dt.29:5-6)
The fact that so many American Christians seem inflamed to justify ‘moderate drinking’ may well be that they are already intoxicated by the wine of fornication with the world (Jam.4:4, Rev.17:2) and impaired in their ability to "put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean". A man ‘in his purpose’ (Job 33:17) or ‘in his own cause’ (Prv.18:17) may be wiser in his own conceits than seven men that can render a reason (Prv.26:16) and so Paul would say, "through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly" (Rom.12:3).
The resulting ambiguity among Christians about the question of liberty to drink alcohol is associated primarily with 2 words- wine and liberty. Let us consider wine here. Wine is both a blessing in the scriptures and a curse. Consider these verses:
As a blessing:
Gen.14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
27:28 Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and wine:
Numb.18:12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee. (v30-1) Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye have heaved the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress. And ye shall eat it in every place, ye and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.
Deut. 7:13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
14:26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,
16:13 Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
33:28 Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.
Neh.10:39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers
Prv.3:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
Song. 5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
7:9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
8:2 I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate.
Isa.65:8 Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
Joel 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
Amos 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
Zech 9:7 For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
1 Tim.5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
As a cursing:
Gen.9:21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
Dt.29:6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the Lord your God.
Deut.32:33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
Prv.20:10 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
23:31-2 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.
31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:
Dan.1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
Hos.7:5 In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.
Joel 3:3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
Amos 2:8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
Prv.31:6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
Mic.2:11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
Hab.2:5 Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people: (v15) Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness!
Eph.5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
It becomes clear that the word wine refers to a variety of things- even the "juice of the pomegranate" (Song.8:2). Let us therefore soberly proceed to rightly divide the scriptures and not be highminded. We further see the distinction here in Luke’s gospel by Christ "No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better." (5:39) There is old wine and new wine which Jesus used here to represent the Old and New testaments. The old wine was wine that had been through the process of fermentation giving off gas which would expand the ‘bottle’. Note that the bottles do not necessarily indicate glass. Lk.5:37 "And no man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish." Bottles could be as a potter's earthen bottle (Jer.19:1, 10). Elihu stated "Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new bottles." (Job 32:19) So "Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." (Mt.9:17)
New wine would be very easy to identify in scripture for "the new wine is found in the cluster" Isa.65:8; or on the vine- "The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth" Isa.24:7, again "mountains shall drop down new wine" Jl.3:18. It is new wine "which the ground bringeth forth" Hag.1:11. It is found in the winepresses- "thy presses shall burst out with new wine" Prv.3:10 "The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her" Hos.9:2. The "best of the wine" was the firstfruits (Num.18:12). The "corn of the threshingfloor" and the "fullness of the winepress" was the best (Num.18:27, 30-1). Very clearly what we today conspicuously call grape juice in contrast to wine. So clearly new wine is grape juice- the "pure blood of the grape" (Dt.32:14).
The old wine is quite another thing. Some people prefer drinking the old for "he saith, The old is better." It can make you sick (Hos.7:5) being toxic as in having intoxicants. It leads to madness (Jer. 25:15-16), to nakedness (Gen.9:21, Hab. 2:15), it overcomes (Isa 28:1, Jer. 23:9), it swallows up (Isa. 28:7), it numbs man to pain (Prv. 23:35, 31:6), making the fool (Prv.20:1) to stagger in his vomit (Isa.19:14). At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder (Prv.23:32). It creates drunkards who will be shut out of the kingdom of God (1 Cor.6:10). The old wine is a mocker. I don’t think it would be a stretch to conclude that it impairs in regards to "activities requiring skill, coordination, and alertness"- things a Christian should be exhibiting continually (Mk.12:30, 2 Cor.10:3-5) and not ‘brought under the power’ of anything interfering with this command.
From here all scriptures regarding the drinking of wine should be examined with these keys- is this old or new wine? Most Christians who contend that moderate drinking of the old wine is a liberty of those free in Christ will agree that drunkenness and drunkards are a sin and a reproach. Paul declares "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." 1 Cor.5:11 -a command the effeminate find to be excessive. But it is clear that drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor.6:10, Gal.5:21). When Eli thought Hannah was drunk he rebuked her- "And Eli said unto her, How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee." But Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord…I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink… Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial" (1 Sam.1:14-16). They are considered children of the devil, stubborn, rebellious and worthy of death (Dt.21:20). If it is that dangerous as to lead to eternal damnation perhaps it is wise to "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." (Prv.23:31-2)
Usually the most cited evidence for drinking old wine in moderation (and actually for drinking all and any alcohol in one’s own definition of moderation- and usually exceeding the 2 drink maximum of the governments definition) would be when Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding in Cana in John 2. When Jesus was delegated by his mother to get wine which was quickly running out- Jesus made a reference to his death (which later he further linked to the "fruit of the vine"-Mt.26:27-9) connecting the wine with his blood. A connection between blood and wine is found all through the bible (e.g. Gen.49:11, Dt.32:14, Isa. 63:2-6, Rev.14:18-20). He proceeded to turn 6 waterpots of stone, 2 or 3 firkins apiece (according to English dictionaries a firkin is about 9 gallons) resulting in roughly 135 gallons of wine. Conservatively speaking, that’s a lot of wine- this might be defined as ‘binge drinking’ by the government if this is old wine. The question is- is this old wine or new?
So when the new wine was brought forth the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. (2:9-10)
The interpretation drawn out of these passages with the ‘old bucket’ would say ‘See when men are inebriated they can no longer tell good wine from bad wine so the good wine is always given first’. Perhaps the bad wine would be watered down to go further (Isa.1:22) or beginning to sour. The problem is that they could tell that the latter wine was better; also men "had well drunk" and not "were well drunk". It would surely fit into Christ’s symbolism to have the miraculous latter wine to represent the latter new wine of the new testament in his blood (Mt.26:28) since the old wine represented the old testament (Mt.9:17, Mk.2:22, Lk.5:37). Perhaps those who drink old wine prefer that this is old wine "for he saith, The old is better". Either way the passage does not explicitly state it is new wine and this is all the ambiguity that some need (Prv.5:21-23). I would doubt that "this beginning of miracles" (Jn.2:11) where Christ first manifested forth his glory would be something that he intentionally mixed an element of obscurity into by ‘putting the bottle to his neighbor’ and ‘making him drunk’ which would dull their skill and alertness to this glory he desired to show forth. Those whose mind and conscience is not defiled will understand.
Although some might point to the feast of the tithe (Dt.14:22-29) which was on the third year (Dt.26:12- not exactly the way it is imposed upon disciples today) where God suffered them to indulge in whatsoever their soul lusted to eat and drink (presumably not unclean flesh listed in the beginning of the same chapter); but most are unaware of the passage. It might as easily be disposed of as a justification for drinking old wine as was divorce and polygamy by Christ in Mt.19:3-9. But more frequently are the ‘Pastoral Epistles’ referenced. Notably Timothy admonished to drink a little wine to alleviate his "often infirmities" in 1 Tim.5:23. But this is usually coupled with these verses regarding the ordaining of elders and deacons:
1 Tim.3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
V8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
Perhaps "given to" is the "excess" of 1 Pet.4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:
1 Tim.5:23 Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
It certainly is not irrational to conclude that if a representative of the churches should not be noted as ‘given to much wine’ or an ‘excess of wine’ that this would be old wine since the warning can only be against drunkenness. Surely God does not care if grape juice is drunk in excess; nor would anyone’s Christian testimony seem to be damaged. And so given to much wine is in contrast to moderation and therefore would be moderation of old wine. How silly would it be for the qualifications of a church leader to be that he not be known to drink a lot of cool aide or soda or orange juice? But to not be a drunkard would make perfect sense. This form of reasoning seems to conclude all queries regarding whether a Christian can drink alcohol in moderation. It is just intuitively obvious at this point, right?
But let’s tread these grapes a bit further and try to squelch any excess in reasoning and judgment. Maybe he is only saying a leader should not be a drunk, where ‘given to wine’ or ‘to much wine’ would mean simply that. Looking at the qualifications necessary for elders and deacons that they be not accused of any intemperance, we would believe that the same standards apply to all Christians not only leaders. That no Christian should be a polygamist or a brawler or gluttonous and given to appetite or drunk with wine wherein is excess, or greedy of filthy lucre. All Christians should exemplify charity, patience, holiness and being temperate in all things. It just so happened that new believers needed time to work out their salvation and shouldn’t be ordained to leadership as novices (1 Tim.3:6, 5:22). A man who was a polygamist and became a Christian was not qualified to even be considered. So why is wine named here among the other excesses? Hosea 4:11 tells us that whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. Basically the Christian should not be given to wine- old and or new wine, because given to them can take away the heart. Not given to either old wine or new; but moderation when it comes to new wine and abstinence when it comes to old. A deacon or elder should not be a drunk nor intemperate with God’s blessings; too much feasting and not much fasting (this would present quite a problem for American churches today).
Surely it is not irrational to say the wine could include both here, as Dt.14:26 "whatsoever thy soul lusteth after… for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth". The Nazarite could not drink wine nor strong drink (Jdg.13:4, 7, 14) as John where it was commanded "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."(Lk.1:15) Wine here (the same Greek word in Luke 1:15 is used to refer to intoxicating and non intoxicating as is the Hebrew word in Number 6:3) is referring to all forms- see the Nazarite vow in Numbers 6:1-8; notice v4 "nothing that is made of the vine tree". The fact that the translators of the King James Version translated the word wine for both is evidence that it was acceptable and understood in the 1600’s.
Perhaps Timothy was abstaining from all wine and Paul was instructing him by the Spirit to help him in his frequent stomach infirmities. We don’t know what infirmities he had but it would not be excessive to be instructed that our diets can affect out health. It would exceed the limits of logic to say since Paul told Timothy to use wine (not specifying old or new) to help his frequent infirmities that we can infer that moderate drinking of alcohol in general is ok- even if we have no infirmity.
Be balanced. "For how great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids." (Zech.9:17) "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry…" (Eccl.10:19) But remember also Eccl. 7:2-4 "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." "He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich." (Prv.21:17). "Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh:"(Prv.23:20) And again "For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" (Lk.7:33-4)
This still seems odd to an American Christian who lives in excess ‘faring sumptuously everyday’ or ‘living deliciously’ with surfeiting and the cares of this life with "fullness of bread and abundance of idleness" (Ezk.16:49-50), to think of how new wine would be such a great thing. But in that day they lived off the land directly harvest to harvest. If the harvest was smitten by drought or canker or locust it was deadly serious. And God desired that they live yearly season by season depending upon his hand of blessing, the feasts of Israel were centered on their harvests (Lev.23). Most Americans don’t drink fresh pressed (not from concentrate) grape juice today or even know what a blessing it is to the taste alone. The firstfruits, the best wine (Num.18:12, 30-31) being drunk at its freshest was only occasioned by harvest a couple of times a year- thus a rich reward (v31). In scripture corn and wine and oil were enormous blessings and a staple food source:
Deut.7:13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
11:14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
2 Ki.18:32 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us.
2 Chr.31:5 And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly.
Neh.13:12 Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries.
Hos.2:8 For she did not know that I gave her corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.
Joel 1:10 The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
2:19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:
Hag. 1:11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
So we can see wine was mentioned as an indication of great blessing and riches along with the harvest of wheat and oil. For God to offer the increase of our corn and oil and new wine today in our sottish culture would be received like a spoiled child in hysterics over receiving the wrong video game at X-mas. So naturally the imposition of our cultural evaluation of grape juice onto ancient Israel would lead to the kind of misjudgments mentioned above from those "participating in activities requiring skill, coordination, and alertness" while a little tipsy by reason of moderate consumption. Let us not brutishly conclude that something we consider as insignificant today was therefore not a great pleasure in ancient Israel.
New wine can take away the heart (Hos.4:11). New wine was like the "fatted calf" and brought out for feasting. "And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:" (Lk.15:23) "And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand: and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." (Gen.40:11). It would have been a delicacy. "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry:"(Eccl.10:19) "corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids" (Zec.9:7) Someone indulging in fine dining and luxuries continually will have a spiritual problem (Lk.21:34-36)- fasting will help humble the soul (Psa.35:13). Consider the situation Sodom and Gomorrah faced before their spiritual decline:
Ezek.16:40-50 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
God warned Israel about the dangers of excess in Deut.8:10-14:
When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
Consider Babylon-
Rev.18:7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
Isa.46:8 …thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me…
Consider the hellish awakening of the rich man-
Lk.16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (v25) … remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things
Someone given to new wine would be characteristic of a glutton given to appetite (Prv.23:2) and someone given to old wine was a drunkard but both take away the heart. Consider Paul’s admonition in 1 Cor.9:25 "And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. (v27) But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection…"
Be not drunk…wherein is excess (Eph.5:18). At some point we might ask when does God consider someone drunk. Surely "1 drink per day for women and no more than 2 drinks per day for men" would not be an adequate measure. According to one source:
"So, practically, if you’re wondering how many drinks you can have before driving, the best answer is ‘None.’ Legally, in all states you should not be operating a motor vehicle with a .08 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC). In other words, whether or not you consider yourself "drunk," the law considers you to be an offender if your BAC is above .08%."
But the same source says that a BAC of .053- .079% would be considered an impaired driver.
http://dui.drivinglaws.org/drink-table.php
If the state considers you impaired at driving with a BAC of .053% do we think God’s standards are lower? Is this what you want to do as a Christian- play around with the percentages of alcohol in your blood to find out where you think you are safe to drive a vehicle? Do you think that if your judgment to drive a car is impaired even slightly that you can be spiritual minded controlling and discerning all of your thoughts (1 Pt.5:8)? I know many will say 'we are able' and they are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink. (Isa.5:22) And this would actually help to make the point that their judgment is impaired by definition in that a lack of soberness is pride and self will. Paul tells us "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly" (Rom.12:3) The first signs of inebriation are self assured high-mindedness; albeit small advances in that direction in low percentages; surely acceptable to you and your friends; but how about God? Does God consider this low level of influence tolerable? He "transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man" (Hab.2:5) "but let us watch and be sober."(1 The.5:6). Did you "forget the law and pervert the judgment" (Prv.31:4-5) thinking that your mind could be brought under the power of alcohol slightly and mildly lose the grip on your thoughts (2 Cor.10:3-5)? Call to mind the apostle’s admonition "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" (1 Pet.1:13).
The self assured will reinforce his mind declaring his great liberty in the grace of God; howbeit what does the scripture say of this grace?
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"(Tit.2:11-13). His grace strengthens you away from worldly lusts unto soberness! Notice also that soberness is associated with our looking for the coming of Christ while drunkenness is a distraction:
Luke 21:34-6 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Lk.12:45-6 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
Rom.13:12-14 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
1 Pet.4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
The heart that is overcharged with surfeiting and wants to play close to worldly lusts is not looking for the coming of the Lord; and may not be found worthy at his appearing. To surfeit is to feed to excess or overindulge in food or drink; "eating and drinking" ("so shall also the coming of the Son of man be"- Mt.24:38-9). At this point we can again hear the sottish declaring that he is no different than other Christians who overindulge in gluttonous behavior or worldliness and so he is ok. Thus further evidencing to us "they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way… they stumble in judgment" (Isa.28:7) I will grant that the reader can see the fallacy in this thinking.
The inflamed mind however isn’t content to concede any ‘liberties’ just yet. They will say ‘Paul rebukes the Corinthians for being drunk that the Lords supper but never instructs them to use grape juice- therefore he consented by his silence’ (1 Cor.11:21). We can’t however conclude too much with regards to the absence of information. Paul had already written to the Corinthians once- "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:" (5:9) after of course he established the church and had given them ordinances (9:2, 11:2). Assumptions from absence could be made either way, thus not a thoroughly distilled line of reason.
Another point missing the mark is when we read in Acts 2:13 "Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine". Our liberty sotted brethren will declare "If they were full of grape juice would this comment even have made any sense at all? That would be like saying, "Well, they’re all acting strange and silly because they have had too much orange juice this morning!" If you notice however they are mocking. Now you might not think they were very clever but this does not mean they literally believed non-intoxicating wine intoxicated them. Sure their behavior was unusual and they thought they must have been beside themselves as though they were drunk; or perhaps they mocked them as being drunk on miniscule levels of alchohol. And so Peter said in v15 "For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day". He was addressing their mocking accusation about being drunk because the proverb "Is Saul also among the prophets?" would have applied (go ye and learn what that meaneth). Drunk with new wine would have been an illogical contrast indicating they didn’t know what was wrong with them but they were under the influence of something. But they were prophesying and declaring "the wonderful works of God" (v13) and not uttering perverse things (Prv.23:33) as someone drunk with alcoholic wine.
By the way, do you know somehow they were incapable of preserving grape juice without fermenting? Perhaps the fact that scripture advises the avoidance of fermented wine (Prv.23) and blessing of new wine is an historical record of the ability of ancients to preserve it. Perhaps Jesus having grapes ("fruit of the vine") to press into the cup at the Passover which would be out of season (grapes being a summer fruit) is evidence that they indeed could preserve the fruit of the vine until the following vintage or longer. Grapes were part of the staple harvest of Israel, it is hard to imagine the most common use would be to ferment until intoxicating and drunk only moderately (surely men, women and children were not daily drunken). If you are interested here is some research indicating how the ancients preserved grapes and grape juice:
http://biblicalperspectives.com/books/wine_in_the_bible/3.html
http://www.restorationlibrary.org/library/BW/BW_html.html
New study says ALL alcohol is bad for you:
https://www.npr.org/2018/08/24/641618937/no-amount-of-alcohol-is-good-for-your-health-global-study-claims
https://nypost.com/2016/08/24/sorry-to-ruin-your-buzz-but-all-alcohol-is-bad-for-you/
http://www.grubstreet.com/2018/08/depressing-study-confirms-all-alcohol-is-bad-for-you.html
Study: Even Minimal Alcohol Use Associated With Higher Cancer Risk
https://www.studyfinds.org/study-even-minimal-alcohol-use-associated-with-higher-cancer-risk/ Jordan Peterson discusses the effects of alcohol on murder and rape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8jgdR5k_9Q
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