Use a Little Wine
My Background
My parents were first generation Christians whom the Lord saved out of a life of intemperance and moral license. I was raised in a home where the pendulum had swung from license towards legalism and thus drinking alcohol was considered sin. In 8th grade, I drank for the first time and by the end of my high school career I was a weekend binge drinker. After meeting Jesus, he empowered me to abstain from alcohol until I was 21 when I could enjoy it responsibly and legally. However, 4 days before my 21st birthday God made it abundantly clear that it is outside His will for me to drink. So that evening, I committed to God to finish out the rest of my life as an abstainer.
I share that not as a prescription for anyone else, but to reveal any potential bias that I may have on the issue of alcohol and faith and to put my cards on the table for how I personally handle the issue. The Bible has much to say about it and 1 Timothy 5:23 is one of the more interesting passages in the conversation. Since we didn’t have time to talk about this text in the sermon last week, I felt like, in order to be faithful to the text, we should address it here in a blog post. This post will only scratch the surface of a biblical theology on alcohol but I hope that is helpful.
The text
In 1 Timothy 5 Paul has focused in on the culture of the church. In verses 1-2 he frames everything that follows in the idea that we should regard those as family, in love. In verses 3-16 he gives specific instructions for the care of the widows in the Ephesian church. Then in verses 17-25 he moves his perspective towards care and accountability for pastors. In the middle of this exhortation, he gives Timothy a seemingly strange and off topic imperative.
“No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.” 1 Timothy 5:23 ESV
The natural question here is: “What the heck is Paul talking about?” However, if we zoom out a little, we can see that the placing of this verse within this paragraph does make sense.
One of the primary issues Paul dealt with in the Ephesian church was the rise of false teachers who perpetuated a proto-gnostic version of Christianity (1 Tim 1:3-7, 18-20). In the context of the letter, it seems that these false teachers were advocating for an ascetic lifestyle (1 Timothy 4:1-3)—do not marry, do not eat certain kinds off food. Asceticism taught that if one was to pursue spirituality one had to deny himself/herself certain pleasures of this world. Yet, we also get the impression that these ascetic false teachers may not have been listening to their own teaching. When Paul lists some character qualities for pastors and deacons he mentions not being a “drunkard” and not being “addicted to much wine.” (1 Tim 4:3, 8). This admonition may lead us to believe that the false teachers drank too much, and Paul was seeking to correct this behavior. So, what does this have to do with Paul’s instruction for Timothy.
There are two primary ways of thinking about the reason for verse 5:23:
1) Timothy had bought into the teaching of false teachers and adopted an ascetic lifestyle in which he only drank water.
2) Since the false teachers drank too much, Timothy decided to be an abstainer to set a good example for them by only drinking water.
I think the first option makes more sense. I think that Timothy bought into the idea that a life of purity required abstinence from alcohol. Therefore, he proceeded to only drink water. I think that the purpose of Paul’s imperative was to combat this ascetic thinking.
In verse 22, Paul concludes that Timothy is to keep himself pure. The exhortation to drink a little wine for Timothy’s stomach and frequent illness immediately precedes the exhortation for purity. It is almost as if Paul is saying, “stay pure, and also drink a little wine for your stomach, drinking wine won’t make you impure.” This seemingly tangential thought feels like something that was on the back of Paul’s mind, that he wanted to bring up to Timothy, and just found the right moment to squeeze it in. “Oh by the way Timothy, it’s ok to drink a little wine; that’s not going to throw off your purity.” Then Paul moves to his next instruction about keeping pastors accountable.
It’s important to note that this text should not be used as a proof text for social drinking. Paul is telling Timothy to use wine medicinally to help his stomach and prevent illness. However, social drinking is not prohibited in the Bible. Drunkenness is.
Alcohol in the Bible
In the Old Testament, the availability or even the abundance of wine was seen as a sign of God’s blessing (Gen 7:28; Dt 7:13; 32:14; Hos 2:8) and its lack was seen as a curse (Dt 28:39, 51; Hos 2:9; Zeph 1:13). As the Palmist recounts God’s blessings in Psalm 104, wine makes the list as a gift that “gladdens the heart.” As the teacher in Ecclesiastes gives instruction on how to enjoy life, he too mentions the use of wine, “Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do” (Ecc 9:7).
In the New Testament, we see that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine (John 2:1-11). During his ministry the religious people confused Jesus for a glutton and drunkard because he came “eating and drinking” (Luke 7:34). At the last supper when Jesus inaugurated the sacrament of communion, he took a glass wine and used it as a metaphor for his own blood (Mk 14:23-25). Jesus then went to the cross, died for our sins, was buried, and then resurrected on the third day. After 40 days of ministry he ascended to heaven and promised to return to bring final justice to his creation—giving those who trust in him eternal life, and those who reject him eternal death. At Jesus’ return, after his judgment of all people, the presence of wine is promised as a sign of restoration and peace (Mk 14:25; Rev 19:6-10; Isa 25:6; 62:8-9; Hos 14:7; Zech 9:16-17) for those who have trusted in Jesus.
The clear teaching of the Bible is that drinking wine is not a sin. Drunkenness is.
While the Bible often portrays wine as a good gift from God and a signpost to future eternal joy with Jesus, the Bible also strongly commands that this gift not be abused. The abuse of alcohol is a rebellion against God and misses the mark of his perfection—it’s sin. We see in the life of Noah as early as Genesis 9 that drunkenness is not good and leads to pain. This theme continues when Lot enters into an incestuous relationship with his daughters as a result of being drunk (Gen 19:30-38). In Proverbs 20:1, Solomon writes “wine is a mocker, strong drink is brawler and whoever is lead astray by these is not wise.” In Proverbs 23 Solomon gets concrete about the effects of abusing alcohol,
“Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause?
Who has redness of eyes?
Those who tarry long over wine;
those who go to try mixed wine.
Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
In the end it bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter perverse things.
You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.
“They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I must have another drink.”
This theme continues in the NT when writers such as Paul and Peter condemn drunkenness as sinful and dishonoring to God (Gal 5:21; 1 Pet 4:3). Instead followers of Jesus are encouraged to be “filled with the Spirit” and not drunk on wine (Eph 5:18).
What we see in scripture is that wine is a gift from God. It is given to humanity for our enjoyment and ultimately to point us to God the giver of all good gifts. However, the misuse of God’s good gifts dishonors God. The abuse of alcohol is sin. Being addicted to alcohol is sin. Being drunk is sin. All of these sins cause pain in our lives. From something as simple as the next day hangover to something as severe as the destruction of one’s life, marriage, and family—abusing alcohol is never good.
So how should a Christian engage with alcohol?
Putting it all together
1. If you don’t have a previous history of drinking too much and you are able to continue to moderately enjoy alcohol, then do so unto the glory of God!
2. If you are around someone who is offended by alcohol or has had issues with alcohol in the past, abstain when you’re with them (Rom 14:13-23; 1 Cor 8). In Utah, we live in a culture where most people are offended by drinking alcohol. I have heard so many Christians out here say, “When I am with my neighbor at a BBQ, I drink a beer unto God’s glory because I have freedom in Christ.” That’s silly. In the same way Paul told non-Jewish Christians not to eat bacon in front of Jewish Christians because it’s a stumbling block for them, don’t drink alcohol around those who are offended by it or who struggle with it.
3. If you or members of your family have ever had a history of alcohol abuse, it’s probably wise to abstain from alcohol altogether.
4. If you are currently abusing alcohol, get help! Reach out to me or one of your pastors. We would be more than happy to walk with you towards freedom. The road is long and hard but in Christ there is freedom.
