Can Christians Drink Alcohol?

Can Christians Drink Alcohol?

A good friend (we’ll just call him Big Ed) called me to discuss some of the blogs I have posted. I explained to him the purpose of the blog; to dispel commonly held Christian beliefs that do not align with the Scriptures. He said, “I have a good one for you. What do you think the Bible says about Christian’s drinking alcohol?” I told him that it is not a sin for Christians to drink. But then the conversation went in a direction that scholars and laymen have debated for centuries. Did Jesus turn the water into wine containing intoxicants or just very good grape juice? We got stuck debating the interpretation of the word “wine” for a good while. I told him I would do the research and write a blog on the topic.

Later, as I meditated on the Word, I realized we were debating an irrelevant topic. It does not matter if Jesus made wine with intoxicants or not. The bottom line is, Christians have the liberty to consume alcohol. I know what you are thinking right now. “This guy is a whack!” Hold on though. Hear me out. First let’s look at what The WORD Says.

Ephesians 5:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

“There it is in black and white, Alex! ‘Do not be drunk with wine.’ It doesn’t get more precise than that.” I agree. The Bible says “…do not get drunk." Let me ask you this question though. Would you call that statement a law or commandment? It sure looks like a commandment. It sounds like a commandment. I’d say, yes, that’s definitely a commandment. I will even concede that this was meant for believers because Ephesians was a letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus. Now that we agree that there is a commandment in the New Testament that says, “don’t get drunk”, let’s kick off the discussion from here.

I am going to ask you a difficult question and I want you to ponder on it before you continue reading. What commandments are Christians subject to under penalty of the law?

(Inject Jeopardy final round music here.)

What’s your answer? If you said, “all of them”, I certainly hope you didn’t wager all your earnings. The answer is “none of them." This century long debate of what Christians can do or cannot do is pointless. No matter what the behavior, the answer is the same. Christians cannot be found guilty again of violating ANY of God’s laws. We were guilty. Jesus was sentenced for our guilt. We cannot be tried again. It is the law of double jeopardy. James wrote:

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

I don’t have to commit murder to be sentenced to the lake of fire. In God’s government, just telling a little white lie was enough to deserve that sentence. God’s standard is perfection. None of us can achieve it and He knew that, so He sent His Son to do “perfection” for us. When I said “yes” to Jesus, I was admitting that there was absolutely no possible way I could ever do everything to God’s standard of righteousness worthy of eternal life in His presence. When I said that, I died to the law.

Galatians 2:15-21; 15 "We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 18 "For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

What does righteousness mean? It means not guilty or innocent. Verse 18 above tells us that if we rebuild that which we destroyed, then we will be found as transgressors. What does that mean? It means, as a believer, the only way you can be found as a sinner is if you “rebuild” the very laws that brought death in the first place. If you are a Christian and you place yourself under ANY of the laws (which bring death), then you are essentially undoing what Christ did for you. He freed you from ALL the LAW because ALL the LAW brings death! Why would you want to return to the slave master that bound you to death when your new Master has given you life? That is crazy!

Let me ask the question this way. If I am a born-again Christian but I indulge in a nice 2012 cabernet occasionally, do I lose my salvation? Or will I go to a different heaven than a Christian that has never put the devil’s syrup to his lips? Absolutely not! There is only one eternal destination for believers and that is in the presence of the One that saved us. So, if you preach that Christians cannot drink, what is the sentence you assign to a Christian that does drink? Does that believer lose their salvation? Would you sentence that person to hell? Or are you more saved if you don’t drink? The person that does not subject himself to the standards that you subject yourself to has no obligation to feel convicted by the same convictions that you hold.

Romans 14:1-14; 1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. 14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

All the writings of the New Testament with regards to thoughts, actions, behaviors, and attitudes were written to instruct believers on how they should live and conduct themselves while in this world. I, Alex, confess that getting drunk is a sin. However, the law that says do not get drunk does not apply to me in the sense that if I do get drunk, I will receive punishment because I am not subject to the law. Even if I get drunk, I cannot be found guilty of the sin of being drunk a second time. I was guilty of violating all the law before I got drunk. Jesus already paid the penalty for me getting drunk. (I hope I did not lose you there.)

If you have a conviction toward drinking, then don’t drink. But don’t plant your convictions on another believer. I choose to receive Christ’s sacrifice as a total and complete annihilation of the Law’s power over me. I will not return to the slave master, the Law, that sentenced me to death. I choose life in Jesus. I know that I will never be able to keep all the law, so I give it no hold on me. And if it has no hold on me, then I can approach the throne of grace boldly, knowing that my Father sees NO SIN IN ME! HALLELUJAH!

Think of it this way. Is it against the law to park in a marked handicap parking slot? That depends. What does it depend on? It depends on whether you have a handicap placard on your vehicle. If you have one, then you can “legally” park there without fear of being assessed a fine (punishment) or towed for violating the law. If you have a placard, you are exempt from the local government law of “thou shalt not park here." However, if you park there and you do not have the placard, you are guilty of violating the law. Bearing that placard gives you the right to park there any time you want to. Does that mean you should park there or that you must park there? No. I have often driven my dad’s truck, and he has disabled vet plates on his truck. As long as I am driving his truck, I can park in handicap designated parking spaces without fear of receiving a fine or being towed. But ethically and morally, is it the right thing to do if he is not in the truck with me? No, it is not. Can I be punished for parking there? No. So, yes, I can, but no I should not. Getting drunk is a sin for unbelievers because they do not have the “free from the law placard of the Holy Spirit” within them. As long as they are unbelievers, they are accountable to ALL the law. They are not exempt. I know this is a rudimentary example, but the same principle applies.

The original question was “Can Christians Drink Alcohol?” The simple answer is yes. But that is not the question that a Christian should be asking. The question that a Christian should ask himself or herself is “SHOULD a Christian drink alcohol?” Without assigning my convictions to anyone else, I believe the answer is no. And I say that because I cannot formulate in my mind a scenario where me drinking alcohol adds to or assigns any value to my purpose, which is to bring glory to the very One that gave me the freedom to drink alcohol. I was bought with a price and I am no longer my own. Also, I know all too well the destruction that alcohol abuse can lead to: disease, poverty, addiction, broken families, fights, death and a plethora of other destructive consequences. And that is not the life that Christ wants us to live. Ask yourself this, "What benefit is there in exercising your right to drink alcohol?" or "What is your motivation to drink?" Consider this scenario. Consider all the born-again believers that Jesus rescued from addiction to alcohol. Should they leave to chance slipping into addiction again simply because they have the freedom to drink? That would not be a wise decision.

My buddy made a very good point to finish our conversation. He said, “It is a proven scientific fact that you cannot get addicted to something you never try.” That is wisdom and we are instructed to seek wisdom. Wisdom tells me that I can avoid the destructive nature of alcohol if I stay away from it.

In conclusion, my final answer is yes, Christians can drink alcohol without condemnation in God’s government because Jesus freed us from adherence to the law. However, what value do you place on exercising that freedom? Do you value your right to do so higher than you value your witness? Only you can answer that.

I hope this helps. Jesus loves you!