The issue of alcohol and the Christian is an incredibly volatile
subject causing great division and stern judgments upon both sides. I
have been deeply affected by this issue myself as there are many of my
friends and family members who are controlled by alcohol. I am not a
teetotaler, but I rarely drink. I don’t like wine. Some beers are pretty
good. I like Tequila. But if the comsumption of alcohol were made
illegal, I would not even really notice.
There are so many different positions out there with regard to this issue. Let me try to name a few:
- Those who abstain from alcohol and believe that this is the biblical position for everyone.
- Those who abstain from alcohol but don’t believe that this is a biblical mandate to enforce on others.
- Those who drink alcohol only for “celebratory” purposes (i.e. Lord’s table), but don’t get drunk.
- Those who casually drink wine or beer, but abstain from “hard liquor” and don’t get drunk.
- Those who casually drink alcohol in order to feel “merry” or “tipsy” but don’t get drunk.
- Those who drink alcohol and get drunk occasionally but are not “drunkards” (i.e. addicted).
Outside of this, all Christians would (or should) agree that being
addicted to alcohol is expressly forbidden in the Scripture as it
relinquishes control of our faculties to the alcohol rather than to the
Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). Paul warns Timothy about such abuses with regard to the qualifications of a deacons (1 Tim. 3:8) and elders (1 Tim. 3:3).
Concerning the above positions and which is correct, I am not going
to directly discuss here. However, I do want to discuss one passage of
Scripture that vexes the problem of alcohol with great passion. It is
the subject of Christ and his relation to alcohol while here on the
earth. Most specifically, I want to ask the question of whether Christ,
during the miracle at the Wedding of Cana in John 2, turned the water into wine, unfermented grape juice, or something else. Here is the text: Continue at C Michael Patton
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