Can a Christian Drink Alcohol? What Does The Bible Say About Beer and Wine

Is it Okay For Christians to Drink ALCOHOL? YES, it is generally perfectly fine for many Christians. Let me be clear before the legalists start replying or attacking this message. I am not condoning getting drunk. I am not condoning being a stumbling block. I am simply going to prove that is not biblical to say Christians can not drink beer, wine, and other forms of alcohol. In fact, I think alcohol is a gift from God, and like sex, it’s only bad when it’s abused and/or used outside of the way God intended it to be used.

Here we will discuss:

Is Drinking Alcohol a Sin in Christianity?
What Does The Bible Say About Alcohol, Beer, and Wine?
Can Pastors Drink Beer?

This subject reminds me of the Pharisees when they, thinking they were serving God, would build their own laws around God’s laws to avoid sin. Not only does the bible not tell us we can’t have alcohol, but there are also verses about alcohol that encourage it.

Jesus himself performed his first miracle by turning water into wine at the wedding of Cana [John 2]

More Examples of Bible Verses About Alcohol:

[1 Timothy 5:23] No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

[Ecclesiastes 9:7] “drink your wine with a merry heart,”

[Psalm 104:14-15] says God gives wine “to gladden the heart of man.”

To teach that drinking any amount of alcohol is across the board against God’s wishes is not biblical. The bible teaches that we should not be DRUNK with wine or become a stumbling block. In fact, the Nazirites were the only group of people told to abstain from alcohol. This means:

Pastors Are Permitted to Drink Alcohol
Deacons Are Allowed to Drink Beer, Wine, and Other Kinds of Alcohol
It’s Okay For Christians to Serve Alcohol at Weddings (Jesus Did)

Religion causes believers to ask ‘should Christians drink alcohol”, and the truth is we are free in Christ to drink if we choose to. However, we should not be mastered by alcohol. We should not get drunk. We should not drink if we are addicted to alcohol and alcohol causes us to make poor decisions.

Nonetheless, we don’t need to be made to feel guilty every time a religious person screams out “I’ve never seen any good come from alcohol”. Those are not the words of God, and again, if God does not condemn it, then let each man decide for himself if he should consume alcohol.

AM I ENCOURAGING GETTING DRUNK? To the legalist, they would say that I am. To the one under grace, you realize I am only supporting the freedom that you have in Christ and taking the guilt away that is falsely accusing you day and night.

Some will say that alcohol is much stronger today than in biblical times and imply that it was only for purifying contaminated water. There’s some truth to that, but you would be hard-pressed to prove alcohol was not extremely strong in biblical times as well. If it weren’t then there would be no reason to warn us about drinking too much wine or getting drunk. If alcohol were not strong we would not read that Noah got drunk and passed out naked (Genesis 9:20-24). We would not read about King David getting his servant Uriah drunk and passing out (2 Samuel 11:12-13). We would not read about Lot getting drunk (twice) and having sex with both of his own daughters (Genesis 19:30-38). It is abundantly clear that alcohol was very strong and many people had too much and became drunk. One could have a field day reading about this in the Corinthian letters.

I know those that oppose alcohol generally do so with good intentions, but we have enough Pharisees that want to rewrite what God really said. If someone is an alcoholic or causing someone to stumble then by all means share your view (in love), but don’t impose on every Christian that God is displeased with all Christians that consume alcohol.