Should Christians Practice Total Abstinence from Alcoholic Beverages?

A Private Query

This can be a private query, and the reply will fluctuate from particular person to particular person. It’s going to rely partly on realizing one’s self, one’s private historical past, one’s household historical past, and one’s cultural context. Many individuals who’ve come to comprehend that they’re alcoholics¹ discover that they need to follow whole abstinence with a view to keep away from being drunk once more. One in all these folks is former President George W. Bush, who stop consuming on the age of 40 and has not touched a drop of alcohol since 1986.² Others follow whole abstinence as a result of they’ve seen alcohol dependancy destroy some member of their household.³ Many individuals in positions of Christian management (akin to many pastors) follow whole abstinence as a result of they don’t need their instance to steer others astray into dangerous patterns of conduct.

However many different Christians drink alcoholic drinks sparsely and have by no means been drunk and even near drunk. As a result of the Bible doesn’t prohibit all use of alcoholic drinks, my view is that they’ve the liberty to do that.

Those that have suffered from alcoholism and have overcome the dependancy proceed to treat themselves as alcoholics. They understand that consuming only one drop of alcohol can lead them down the highway again to alcoholism. Subsequently, they need to have interaction in whole abstinence.

Ought to Church buildings Require Whole Abstinence from Alcoholic Drinks?

Previously, many church buildings required folks to make a pledge of whole abstinence so as
to affix the church, or else anticipated whole abstinence for church officers. In my childhood, my household attended a Baptist church the place the “Church Covenant” was pasted
contained in the again cowl of the church hymnal, and it included a promise to abstain from
the “sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage” (if I keep in mind the wording
appropriately). Anybody who needed to change into a member of the church needed to comply with
abide by that promise.

However I’d not favor or help such a requirement. It’s requiring a regular of
conduct stricter than the Bible itself. Neither Jesus (John 2:6–11) nor Paul (1 Tim. 5:23)
might have joined such a church. Such a requirement will trigger the church to achieve a
popularity locally as “the church the place folks can’t drink,” and thus it should
change into recognized for requiring an ethical commonplace that doesn’t naturally discover an echo in
the hearts of non-Christians (because the ethical requirements of God in Scripture ordinarily
will do; see Rom. 2:14–15). On this approach, such a requirement can change into a wrongfully
legalistic prohibition that really prevents folks from coming to the church and
being saved.

What Is the Finest Witness to Society?

Somebody may argue {that a} follow of whole abstinence is the most effective witness to a society the place alcoholism is immensely dangerous. Nevertheless, that assumes that the most effective type of witness is a sort of way of life that’s stricter than what God requires in his phrase.

Alternatively, an excellent argument could be made that the most effective witness to society is accountable and reasonable use of alcohol, so {that a} Christian wouldn’t change into drunk at a neighborhood get together, however would even be an instance of moderation on this regard. This appears to me to be nearer to Paul’s instance of changing into “all issues to all folks, that by all means I would avoid wasting” (1 Cor. 9:22).

Objection: “Alcoholic Drinks in Biblical Occasions Have been Watered Down and Subsequently Not As Intoxicating.”

Robertson McQuilkin makes use of this as one in all his arguments in help of whole abstinence for Christians immediately

I consider whole abstinence is essentially the most biblical place in twentieth-century America. The precept is one in all giving up my rights for the welfare of others (Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8, 10) in a scenario that’s radically completely different from Bible instances. Within the biblical tradition the place water was scarce and infrequently polluted, wine was the only approach of purifying consuming water and was the widespread mealtime beverage. It was blended with water, as much as 2 hundred elements water to 1 half wine. In actual fact, it was thought of barbaric to drink wine that was solely half-and-half. Due to the widespread use of high-alcohol-content drinks immediately, we’ve got issues the folks of Bible days couldn’t have imagined. [McQuilkin then gives sobering data on alcohol-related traffic fatalities, marital violence, murders, rapes, thefts, suicides, and industrial injuries.]⁴

In response, the next could also be stated:

First, McQuilkin’s declare that water in biblical tradition was “typically polluted” and wanted to be purified with wine is unsubstantiated. A number of biblical narratives converse of drawing contemporary water immediately from wells (see Gen. 24:11; 29:2; 2 Sam. 23:15; John 4:6), and such water ordinarily would have been pure sufficient to drink safely.

Second, historical sources that talk about wine generally being blended with water⁵ can’t show that it was at all times blended with water or that wine was not intoxicating within the historical world, as a result of the Bible talks about folks being drunk with wine. The tales of the drunkenness of Noah and Lot (see Gen. 9:21; 19:30–36), the warnings towards intoxication (Prov. 23:20–21), and the warnings towards being a drunkard (1 Cor. 5:11; Gal. 5:21; 1 Tim. 3:2–3; Titus 1:7) present that, even when wine was at instances diluted, at many different instances it was concentrated sufficient to make folks drunk. Paul doesn’t say “and don’t get drunk with water diluted with a tiny speck of wine,” however “don’t get drunk with wine, for that’s debauchery” (Eph. 5:18). And presumably the wonderful wine Jesus miraculously created on the wedding ceremony in Cana of Galilee was drawn immediately from the stone jar and introduced undiluted to the grasp of the feast (see John 2:8–10).

Generally such blended wine was seen not as a traditional a part of life however as an indication of poverty and judgment. Isaiah’s lament in regards to the corruption and decay of Jerusalem consists of this assertion:

Your silver has change into dross,
     your greatest wine blended with water. (Isa. 1:22)

Objection: “Whole Abstinence Is the Solely Certain Assure of Not Changing into an Alcoholic.”

This objection can be raised by McQuilkin in An Introduction to Biblical Ethics. He writes:

The one sure approach to keep away from alcohol- or drug-influenced considering, talking, and conduct and to keep away from dependancy is to not take the primary drink or the primary dose of a drug. Although others could not attain the identical conclusions from these knowledge, I conclude that the manufacturing, sale, and use of beverage alcohol and addictive or mind-altering nonprescribed medication are incompatible with biblical ideas.⁶

In response, first, I’ll argue beneath that I agree with this argument with respect to many sorts of “addictive or mind-altering nonprescribed medication,” for which I can see a robust biblical argument for by no means taking the primary dose. However I put alcoholic drinks in a distinct class due to the biblical proof that I cited above.

The Christian life is difficult sufficient with out our including man-made guidelines to what God has already given us.

Second, I acknowledge that many individuals have felt the validity of McQuilkin’s sort of argument and have determined that whole abstinence is the most effective coverage for themselves. I respect and help the fitting of particular person Christians to determine that whole abstinence is the most effective strategy for themselves, for numerous causes. Christians shouldn’t put strain on individuals who maintain such a place to attempt to persuade them to vary it.

Third, the latest version of McQuilkin’s e-book, coauthored by Paul Copan, comprises a further three paragraphs which are labeled as “Copan’s Perspective.” Whereas Copan exhibits respect for McQuilkin’s place, he says, “I hesitate in urging whole abstinence for the reason that Scriptures themselves recommend the festive, social, celebratory place of alcoholic drinks as a present from God.” Subsequently, he argues that the biblical witness doesn’t permit him to advocate whole abstinence, however argues towards “any misuse of alcohol.”⁷

Fourth, the Bible doesn’t counsel Christians usually to be stricter than what Scripture requires simply to be “protected” from violating the Scriptures.⁸ The overly strict nature of such a requirement for all folks could be seen if we ask what such a process would appear like with a view to keep away from different sins. For instance, how will you assure that you’ll by no means shoot any individual by accident with a gun? By no means purchase a gun and by no means go looking. How are you going to assure that you’ll by no means declare chapter? By no means begin a enterprise. These are excessively strict guidelines that Christians wouldn’t need to implement on themselves or others.

Fifth, it’s not true that whole abstinence is the one sure approach to keep away from changing into drunk. One other sure approach is to follow moderation and restraint always. Tens of millions of Christians have performed this all through their lives.

Objection: “Ingesting Even One Glass of Wine Kills Tens of millions of Mind Cells.”

I’ve not discovered this objection in tutorial literature, however it’s generally repeated by college students in my courses (who’ve heard it in fashionable sermons or displays). However God was absolutely conscious of the impact of alcohol on the human mind when he impressed the biblical writers to painting a reasonable use of alcohol in a constructive approach in Scripture itself. And from a medical standpoint, this declare is solely not true. Roberta J. Pentney, a former researcher on the State College of New York at Buffalo, discovered that whereas consumption of alcohol disrupts mind operate in adults by damaging message-carrying dendrites on neurons within the cerebellum, a construction concerned in studying and motor coordination, it doesn’t kill off complete mind cells.⁹ In actual fact, apart from avoiding strokes, wine consumption has additionally been tied to decreased probability of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s illness. Briefly, “The analysis signifies that adults who drink sparsely are usually not at risk of dropping mind cells.”¹⁰

Objection: “When Church buildings Require Whole Abstinence, No Hurt Is Accomplished, and Such a Requirement Would possibly Do A lot Good by Stopping Folks from Changing into Alcoholics.”

In response, I believe hurt is performed after we maintain folks away from the church by requirements which are stricter than Scripture (proclaiming, in impact, that to be a Christian it’s important to quit all use of alcohol). Within the first century, Paul acknowledged the hurt that got here from the “circumcision get together,” which was requiring one thing stricter than Scripture and thereby “upsetting complete households” by instructing “what they ought to not educate” (Titus 1:10–11). Paul additionally rebuked the Colossians for submitting to an excessively strict asceticism that proclaimed, “Don’t deal with, Don’t style, Don’t contact” (Col. 2:21). And he warned Timothy to watch out for teachings that required extra strict abstinence than God’s phrase required (see 1 Tim. 4:1–5). The Christian life is difficult sufficient with out our including man-made guidelines to what God has already given us.

The broader difficulty right here will not be alcoholic drinks in themselves however whether or not we consider the ethical requirements of Scripture are God’s greatest guidelines for our lives. In each era there’s a temptation to depart from the sufficiency of Scripture with new sorts of legalism that God doesn’t require. Subsequently, we should keep away from two errors: the error of disobeying Scripture and the error of including to Scripture greater than God requires.

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