What does the Bible say about drinking alcohol?
This is a hot topic in Christianity. Many people ask can, Christians drink alcohol? Is drinking alcohol a sin? The first question should be rephrased to should we drink? It’s not condemned in Scripture, but there are many warnings against drunkenness.
I’m not saying it’s a sin, but I believe Christians should either stay away from it to be on the safe side or use wisdom when consuming alcohol. There are many believers who try to fit in with unbelievers and say, “don’t worry I’ll drink liquor with you.” Why are believers trying to show that they can hang? Fit out instead. Let’s learn more on this topic.
Christian quotes about drinking alcohol
“I’m tired of hearing sin called sickness and alcoholism a disease. It is the only disease I know of that we’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to spread.” Vance Havner
“Wherever Jesus has been proclaimed, we see lives change for the good, nations change for the better, thieves become honest, alcoholics become sober, hateful individuals become channels of love, unjust persons embrace justice.” Josh McDowell
“Whiskey and beer are all right in their place, but their place is in hell. The saloon hasn’t one leg to stand on.” Billy Sunday
“Whereas the Bible explicitly forbids drunkenness, it nowhere requires total abstinence. Make no mistake: total abstinence from alcohol is great. As a Christian you are certainly free to adopt that as a lifestyle. But you are not free to condemn those who choose to drink in moderation. You may discuss with them the wisdom of such a choice and the practical consequences of it, but you cannot condemn them as sub-spiritual or as falling short of God’s best.” Sam Storms
“The alcoholic commits suicide on the installment plan.”
Bible verses about drinking in moderation
These Scriptures show that drinking is not a sin. If used wisely in moderation, alcohol can be a good thing.
1. “Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go ahead and enjoy your meals as you eat. Drink your wine with a joyful attitude, because God already has approved your actions.”
2. Isaiah 62:8-9 “The Lord has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, “I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies; Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.” But those who garner it will eat it and praise the Lord; And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.”
3. Psalm 104:14-15 “You make grass grow for cattle and make vegetables for humans to use in order to get food from the ground. You make wine to cheer human hearts, olive oil to make faces shine, and bread to strengthen human hearts.”
4. Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters! Also, you that have no money, come, buy, and eat! Come! Buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Jesus turned water into wine.
5. John 2:7-9 “Jesus *said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. And He *said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.” So they took it to him. When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter *called the bridegroom.”
Benefits: Wine was used as medicine
6. 1 Timothy 5:23 Drink no longer water only, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent illnesses.
Drunkenness is a sin and should be avoided.
We should avoid drunkenness at all costs. Throughout Scripture it is condemned and it leads to even more wickedness. There are so many Scriptures that warn us about alcohol. This should cause us to pause and think about if we should fix a glass or not.
7. Ephesians 5:18 “And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit.”
8. Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.”
9. Isaiah 5:11 “Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of beer, who linger into the evening, inflamed by wine.”
10. Galatians 5:21 “Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
11. Proverbs 23:29-35 “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has conflicts? Who has complaints? Who has wounds for no reason? Who has red eyes? Those who linger over wine, those who go looking for mixed wine. Don’t gaze at wine because it is red, when it gleams in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and you will say absurd things. You’ll be like someone sleeping out at sea or lying down on the top of a ship’s mast. “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I didn’t know it! When will I wake up? I’ll look for another drink.”
Scripture teaches us to be sober minded.
When you are vulnerable, that is when Satan likes to attack the most. We have to remember that Satan does seek to kill people. That is why it is important that we remain sober. One of the main causes of car accidents is drunk driving. I know people who died in a drunk driving accident and they died without knowing the Lord. This is serious. This is not something to play around with. If the devil can catch you with your guard down, he will.
12. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
13. 2 Corinthians 2:11 “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.”
When people think about drinking, it is usually for the wrong reasons.
If someone used to be a drunkard and then became a Christian, it would not be wise for a person like this to consume alcohol. Why tempt yourself? Don’t slip back to your old ways. Don’t deceive yourself. Many of you know what you once were before Christ.
He doesn’t deliver you so you can put yourself in a position where you can fall. You might say it’s only one drink, but that one drink turns into two, three, etc. I’ve seen people fall so fast. This is just one of the reasons that many people choose not to drink.
14. 1 Peter 1:13-14 “So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.”
15. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.”
16. 1 Peter 4:2-4 “As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.”
Too much people are addicted to alcohol.
I know people who are literally killing themselves and I know people who died in their sleep in their mid 40s because of alcoholism. It’s a terrible and sad thing. You will never be addicted if you don’t try it. You might say I’m strong enough to handle it, but many people who died thought the same thing.
17. 2 Peter 2:19-20 “promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first.”
18. 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.”
Many people ask, “can I drink a small amount daily?”
Where do we draw the line when it comes to alcohol assumption? How much is too much? The alcohol that was used in Scripture, was not as strong as what we have today, so we should actually drink less. All things should be done in moderation, but never make up your own definition for moderation. Alcohol tolerance levels vary, but one way to know is if Christ was standing in front of you, would you have a clear conscience drinking a couple of glasses of alcohol a day?
If another believer lived with you, would you have a clear conscience drinking alcohol every day? Would it cause them to stumble? Would it cause you to stumble? What is your body and your mind telling you? Are you getting tipsy and to the point of intoxication? What is your purpose?
Is it really showing self-control when consuming alcohol daily? Can it lead to pouring 2 more cups? These are areas where we have to discipline ourselves in. I am not saying you can’t drink, but I don’t believe it would be wise to drink every day, nor is it showing self-control.
19. Philippians 4:5 “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”
20. Proverbs 25:28 “Like a city with breached walls is a man without self-control.”
One of the qualifications of a pastor is that they are men of self-control.
This is why many preachers choose to refrain from alcohol.
21. 1 Timothy 3:8 “In the same way, deacons are to be worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain.”
22. 1 Timothy 3:2-3 “Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”
If a believers does drink, he should be very careful.
Can you imagine trying to witness to others while drinking a beer? An unbeliever will look and say, “that just doesn’t seem right.” You might not understand how it causes others to stumble, but it really does affect people.
In the past I have caused others to stumble on my walk of faith because of my free will. I told myself, I will be mindful to not cause others to stumble again. I will not hurt someone’s weak conscience. If we do choose to drink, we should be very careful to wisdom and consider others.
23. Romans 14:21 “It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble.”
24. 1 Corinthians 8:9-10 “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols.”
25. 2 Corinthians 6:3 “We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.”
