POST: Does the Word of God Truly Forbid Alcohol?

The Bible forbids Christians to partake in a myriad of things, but is
alcohol one of them? What does the Bible really say about the
consumption of alcohol?
In a recent article in Relevant Magazine, Eternity Bible College vice
president Preston Sprinkle argued that the consumption of alcohol is
not explicitly forbidden in the Bible.
Sprinkle drew on examples of John
Calvin, who allegedly had the stipend of 250 gallons of wine a year in
his church contract; of Martin Luther, whose wife was a famed brewer;
and the Guinness family, who supposedly created their world-famous beer
as an act of worship to Jesus. Sprinkle says that somewhere along the
way, the “nectar of heaven” became “devil’s libation”.
“Even though some Christians advocate for the total abstinence of
alcohol as a moral mandate for all believers, the Bible never requires
all believers to abstain from alcohol,” Sprinkle argues. “In fact, the
Bible never says that abstaining from alcohol is the wisest way to avoid
getting drunk. Think about it. Alcoholism has been rampant through
every age, but the Bible never says that all believers should therefore
refrain from drinking.”

Sprinkle draws a comparison of alcohol to money, and claims that if
Christians were mandated to stay away from alcohol to deter drunkeness,
Christians would then have to avoid making a large amount of money to
“guard against the crushing sin of materialism and the misuse of
wealth.”
The Bible college official feels that it’s not true when believers
argue that if a Christian is seen drinking he/she would ruin his/her
testimony. He believes that outside of one struggling with alcoholism or
witnessing to a Muslim in their home country, the potential convert
would be more likely to respect the Christian for enjoying a beer with
them than feel that the Christian drinking would be off-putting. “I’m
not convinced that if my unbelieving neighbor sees me slipping into a
pub, I will lose much traction to my Gospel witness,” Sprinkles says.
“In many cases, the Gospel will shine brighter when you break down wrong
assumptions about Christianity by having a beer with your neighbor.”
Sprinkle claims that most potential converts reject the gospel
because they have rejected a “pharisaical” version of Jesus that is
mostly man made. “If this is the good news we preach, then the true
beauty of a crucified risen King will become covered in the fog of a man
made, pharisaical ‘don’t drink’ gospel,” Sprinkle says.

Regarding the arguments that wine in biblical times were not
fermented and were just “grape juice,” and neither Jesus nor the writers
of the Bible condoned drinking, Sprinkle says that neither of the
claims can be substantiated by scripture. “If wine was really just
unfermented grape juice, then did Paul warn the Ephesians ‘Do not get
drunk with grape juice, which is debauchery, but be filled by the
Spirit?’,” Sprinkle asks. “This doesn’t make sense…but whatever the
alcoholic content, people were quite able to get smashed by drinking too
much of it.” He used Proverbs 20:1 and Isaiah 5:11 to support his
argument.

Something that Sprinkle didn’t argue, was the fact that the abuse of
wine or beer was wrong. “Although a good beer and a rich wine are
blessings from God, they should be consumed with caution,” Sprinkle
emphasized. “There’s a growing tendency, however, among some younger
evangelicals to celebrate their freedom without discipline.” He praises
the younger generation for doing all the things Christ called them to
do, but also admonishes them saying “Yes God cares about the poor. He
also cares about your sobriety.”
Sprinkle believes that the abuse of alcohol “mocks the blood of
Christ and scoffs at God’s holiness.” Yet he feels that a moderate,
celebratory, or reflective glass of wine or beer is pleasing to the
Lord.

What is your take on this? Leave your comments.