Wine in the Bible and the Consumption of Alcohol Today
Knowing there are Friends who consume beverage alcohol I want them to know such does not diminish my love for them. This is an effort to inform all Friends what the Bible teaches on the issue. May you find this insightful and inspirational.
“And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” James 5: 18.
This topic demands more time for study than most posts. May it be a blessing.
Did Jesus and His disciples consume intoxicating wine in observance of Passover, the Lord’s Supper?
Does the Bible admonition to “take a little wine for the stomach sake” legitimize consumption of intoxicants?
Was it possible to preserve wine in a non-fermented state in the time of Jesus?
These and related questions deserve an answer based on historical facts.
Consider the last of these questions first.
Ancients had several ways of preserving unfermented wine. One was to reduce the grape juice to the constituency of a thick syrup or even a jelly known in Hebrew as “debhash” and in Arabic as “dbs.” This preserved form could be used over a long period of time. By adding water the concentrate turns the water into unfermented wine.
Sometimes a cake was made of dried grapes which later was added to water to produce unfermented wine.
In the modern era a conscientious layman responsible for preparing the table at his church for the Lord’s Supper became concerned about using fermented wine. Being a pharmacist he utilized only techniques from the time of the Bible to produce unfermented grape juice for use at the Lord’s Supper. His name was Mr. Welch of Welch’s Grape Juice fame.
Welch’s concern grew out of the fact bread with leavening was forbidden to be used at the Passover. Leavening involved using yeast. As the yeast cells die the decay produces gases. The fermentation results in the rising of bread. Purity was desired, so unleavened bread was required.
Welch reasoned why would fermentation not be allowed in the bread while being allowed in wine.
The Bible instructs people “Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper” (Proverbs 23: 31, 32). The movement in the wine is caused by the bubbles rising from the fermentation.
The Greeks, seeing movement in the wine, thought it indicated there was life in the wine. When such wine was used, it influenced speech, hearing, and one’s ability to walk. Because of this outside control of the body they thought it to be a god in the wine and gave the god the name Baccah.
When the Bible appeals to persons not to be filled with wine (drunk), but to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5: 18) it is teaching persons to choose the truth of the Holy Spirit, and to be controlled by Him, not Baccah. Let the Holy Spirit control your body, not an intoxicant.
Wine was in common use in the Bible time. It is helpful to understand how it was used in deciding how to apply Bible verses related to it.
Wine was normally stored in large pointed jugs called amphorae. When it was to be used the desired portion was poured from the amphorae into a large bowl known as a kraters. From the kraters it was poured into the cup known as a kylix.
In the large bowl, the kraters, water was added before the mixture was used to fill the cups, kylix.
The ratio of water to wine varied. Different ancient writers noted different formulas ranging from one part wine to twenty parts of water. Others indicate a ratio of 1:5, 1:4, 2:5.
At the wedding in Cana Jesus had the water pots filled with water and when the guests drank they referred to it as “wine,” the normal word for the mixture of water and wine.
Writers normally referred to wine mixed with water as “wine.” To indicate wine not mixed with water it is called unmixed (akratesteron), “wine.”
Drinking wine without it being mixed with water was looked upon as “Scythian” or “Barbarian.”
Plutarch wrote, “We call a mixture ‘wine,’ although the larger of the component parts is water.”
The Jewish Encyclopedia states that during the rabbinic period ‘yayin ‘(wine) was to be distinguished from ‘shekar’ (strong drink): the former is diluted with water (‘mazug’); the latter is undiluted (‘yayin hai’).”
The Jewish Talmud, which contains the oral traditions from 200 B.C. to 200 A. D. has several tractates in which the mixture of water and wine are discussed. The normal mixture is said to be 1 part wine to 3 parts water.
In the portion of that work known as Pesachim 108b it is stated that the four cups every Jews was to drink from during the Passover ritual the mixture was a radio of 3 parts of water to 1 part wine.
From this can be concluded that what Jesus and the disciples used at the Last Supper was not an intoxicant.
From around 60 B.C. the Book of Maccabees 15: 39 states: “It is harmful to drink wine alone or again, to drink water alone, while wine mixed with water is sweet and delicious….”
Justin Martyr around 150 A.D. described the Lord’s Supper in this way: “Bread was bought, and wine and water, and the president sends up prayers and thanksgiving” (Apology I, 67, 5).
Clement of Alexandria stated: “It is best for the wine to be mixed with as much water as possible… For both are works of God, and the mixing of the two, both the water and wine produces health….”
The mixture of water and wine was also used for medicinal purposes. Because of amoeba in water wine was added as a purifying agent. Hence, the Scripture says, “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for the stomach’s sake and thine other infirmities.” (I Timothy 5: 23). Wine was medicinal.
An admirable attitude is expressed in Proverbs 20: 1, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.”
James 5: 18 concludes with “be filled with the Spirit” This is in the imperative mood, a command, meaning, do this. In the Greek it reads, be you being filled with the Holy Spirit, meaning, to constantly let the Holy Spirit control your life.
If any form of an intoxicant controls any part of your brain the Holy Spirit is not in control of that section and the command to be constantly “filled,” every part, is not being obeyed.
The same word regarding being “filled” was used to describe the sails of a ship being filled by wind that propels the ship. Let the Holy Spirit fill you and propel you.
This formula would enable individuals to avoid the kind of wine the recent study by the Attorney General warns of as causing cancer.
His Words to Hide in Your Heart
In the following verses mine the nuggets of promises and claim them as your treasure.
Consider your worth to the Lord.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).
Knowing your worth to the Lord should enhearten you.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” II Corinthians 4:16-18).
Therefore, you should, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:3-6).
Therefore, “May you be strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience” (Proverbs 3:3-6).
With such wisdom and strength available to you “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance” (James 1:2-3).
You can do it by “Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
Resultantly, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Be assured “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).
To hide His word in your heart don’t be a lazy Christian, hide His word in your heart by memorizing these verses one by one over the next weeks. It will take time and effort to do it, but you will be better for doing it. There are verses I memorized more than 85 years ago and they are still paying spiritual dividends.
The Last Advent
Christmas 2024 has come and gone all too quickly. Hopefully it has left you with memories worthy of a vault in your memory bank. If so, it will pay joyous interest for years to come.
Advent is another word for Christmas. It means a coming into place, view, or being; arrival. It has come to mean the coming of Christ into the world.
In modern use Advent refers to the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world.
These lines from the renown Christmas song “Oh Holy Night,” describe the years of waiting for Jesus’ advent.
“Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices….”
Now we live in the capsule of time between two advents, His first and His second coming.
The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer opined, “Advent creates people, new people.” “The Advent season is a season of waiting, but our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.”
Speaking against the background of the first advent he refers to our time as a time of waiting for the last Advent, the second coming. Like the Old Testament prophets waited for Jesus coming, so we should wait expectantly for His second coming to our troubled world.
Pining, as used in “O Holy Night” is one of those older words we don’t hear very often. It does refer to a desperate longing, but it also has a more archaic meaning of discontent and fret. Both reflect what the Bible tells us about the state of the world. In rebellion against God it seeks satisfaction in things that do not satisfy. It is a restless world that will not embrace the one cure that can save it.
How then should we live while expecting the second advent? Bonhoeffer who lived out the last years of his life in a Nazi concentration camp offers this answer: “Your life as a Christian should inspire every nonbeliever to question their disbelief in God.” Do and you will please God, but displease the world.
Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.
Again wise council is offered by Bonhoeffer: “Look up, you whose gaze is fixed on this earth, who are spellbound by the little events and changes on the face of the earth. Look up to these words, you who have turned away from heaven disappointed. Look up, you whose eyes are heavy with tears and who are heavy and who are crying over the fact that the earth has gracelessly torn us away. Look up, you who, burdened with guilt, cannot lift your eyes. Look up, your redemption is drawing near. something different from what you see daily will happen. Just be aware, be watchful, wait just another short moment. Wait and something quite new will break over you: God will come.”
Internalizing Your Love for Jesus
“But now He (Jesus) has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. This is the new covenant between God and man.
In the Old Testament era the Lord established a covenant with His people and instructed them to build an ark symbolizing it. That was a good covenant for the time, but there came a time for a new covenant to be implemented. Things change.
For example, in an anthropology class the teacher was talking about how ideas of beauty change. He said seventy years ago the winner of the Miss America Pageant was only five feet tall, weighed just over 100 pounds and her measurements were 30-25-32. Then he asked, “How do you think she would have been regarded by the judges of this year’s contest?” One student replied, “Not very well!” “And why not?” queried the teacher. “She would be too old,” said the student.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. “Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Hebrews 8:6, 7, 13).
Jesus is depicted as “Mediator of a new covenant” between you and God the Father.
A covenant is a type of contract. In a covenant, the person making the promise (Jesus) is the covenantor, and the person who is benefitting from the promise is a covenantee, the individual believer.
A contract is invalid when one of the involved parties violates it. On the other hand, a covenant remains intact even if one of the parties breaches it.
It is considered immoral to break a covenant—it is a betrayal of trust. There is never a sense in which it is morally upright for a person to break a covenant.
God is a covenant-keeping God, and Christians should be covenant-keeping people. The new covenant established an intimacy between God and the believer. God remains faithful even when we are faithless. “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself” (II Timothy 2: 12).
Question: “Does that mean we can do whatever we want?” Augustine answered that well: “Love God — and do what you please.” Jesus was even more direct: “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching” (John 14:23).
Love is the bonding element, His love for us and our love for Him. If you love Him there will be a desire to please Him.
The concept of a covenant is all about the believer and Jesus. He arranged for it on Calvary and for an individual to be a part of it they must at a point in time, divorced from time embrace Him as Savior and Master to be obeyed and followed.
Frequently consider your covenant relationship with Jesus and enjoy the relationship. Repeat, ENJOY.
Benefits of Public Worship
“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” (Revelation 21: 5)
The text noted is prophetically addressed to the church regarding the end times. However, it is relevant today. The dawning of a new year is an ideal time to make a course correction. A distinct change is needed by Christians related to public worship. Empty pews indicate some believers are running on empty. Low worship attendance can’t in totality be blamed on COVID. Attendance had started declining before that. In the 90s the average church member gave three hours a week to the church. Now if at all an average is about 30 minutes.
There are several reasons for this. Foremost is that church has been placed as a lower priority for families with children. Crowded playing fields on Sunday confirm this. Children as players and parents as spectators have a new priority. Some youth are even on travel teams. Sports and school activities no longer defer to church time.
A second reason for a decline in public worship is people can stream a worship service in casual attire while enjoying a beverage. This too, began before COVID but has dramatically increased. Now, however, even that has declined.
Yet another reason is people have become insensitive to the need for public worship and have no conscience in missing. God is not responsible for guilt. Personal insensitivity to the urging of the Holy Spirit is the cause.
Some might simply say, “I don’t get anything out of church.” A lack of urgency and relativism is at times lacking. However, there is a great deal of Bible related preaching still offered.
However, even if worship did absolutely nothing for us, we still should gather to worship God for no other reason than He deserves it. A. W. Tozer said, “Sometimes I go to God and say, ‘God, if Thou dost never answer another prayer while I live on this earth, I will still worship Thee as long as I live and in the ages to come for what Thou hast done already.’ God has already put me so far in debt that if I were to live one million millenniums I could not pay Him back for all that He has already done for me.”
In addition to worship being an act of devotion and dedication there are spiritual/science benefits. In his book “How God Changes Your Brain,” Dr. Andrew Newberg provides evidence that worship can positively affect brain structure.
Even health science has taken note of this phenomenon. Newberg explains that faith placed in a loving God can prolong our lives, lower feelings of depression, anxiety or grief and give greater meaning to life.
Independently of its effect on the moral principles of the race, it tends to peace and order, it humanises and civilises, it strengthens the bonds of the social relation and brings out the best that is in persons.
Ministers would do well to rethink the form of public worship. Worship means to humble yourself respectfully before God. Emphasis on certain forms of music add little to this. Praise and worship music stresses praise, but adds little to worship.
In the dawning hours of this new year this is a grand time to renew your commitment to corporate worship.