Questions and Answers

Question: Some people say that drinking alcoholic beverages is not a sin, but that the overuse, i.e., drunkenness, is what the Scriptures condemn. I have consistently opposed the consumption of alcohol either in small or large amounts. Is wine an alcoholic drink? Please let me know the biblical standards.

—O.O., Norway

Answer: Both wine and beer are drinks that contain alcohol. The act of drinking too much wine (drunkenness) is continually condemned in God's Word while wine in itself is spoken of as a good thing when used responsibly in moderation. The same principle may be applied to beer and stronger alcoholic drinks.

The apostle Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for medicinal purposes (1 Timothy 5:23). Also it is obvious from several scriptures in the Old Testament that wine moderately consumed on the proper occasions during God's festivals has our Creator's blessing (Deuteronomy 14:26).

Jesus Christ's first recorded miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding celebration in Cana (John 2:1-11). Christ never sinned, and He would not create something that was a sin in itself. The use of a little wine in the annual observance of the New Testament Passover is clear from the instructions Christ left for His followers (Matthew 26:27-29).

In this case it is not the substance itself (alcoholic drink) that is a sin, it is the wrong use of the thing. Proper application of God's Word is very important. We are to "rightly divide" or correctly comprehend God's truths (2 Timothy 2:15).

Read the full article at www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn51/questionsanswers51.htm

Related Information on UCG Sites:

Table of Contents that includes "Questions and Answers - Mar/Apr 2004"

Communion:

_The Passover: Why Did Jesus Christ Have to Die?

Alcohol:

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