The Consumption of Alcohol Today

“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?

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 gasses. 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 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, not Baccah. Let the Holy Spirit control your body, not an intoxicant.

Wine was in common use in the Bible times. 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.” Mnesitheus wrote: “Mix it half and half, and you get madness; unmixed, body collapse.”

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 Pesahim 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 and the command to be constantly filled 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 propel you.

Hell? Yes!

“Hell? Yes!” is the title of a book by Dr. Robert Jeffress. The meaning is, is there a hell, and the answer is an emphatic yes. Therein he appeals for people to quit apologizing for it and admit it.

This post is being written with a loving heavy heart and sadness.

If there were a bridge out on a road on which you were traveling at a high speed and I didn’t warn you would that be love.

A recent Gallup Poll revealed that 54% of those interviewed said they were certain there is a hell. Jesus said He was 100% certain.

There is a government paid TV ad regarding traveling abroad with the byline: “Know before you go.” This is also regarding death and the after life.

Why is there a hell? For every equal there is an opposite. If there is a north there has to be a south, for there to be an up there must be a down, for there to be a heaven there must be a hell. Hell is everything heaven isn’t. It is the opposite. There has to be a place for those not going to heaven. Hence, there must be a hell.

Many church pulpits are bereft of it. Former president Harry Truman said, “If there was more hell in the pulpit there might be less in the pews.”

Jesus believed in hell so emphatically He died to make it possible for persons not to go there. He talked about it in Matthew chapters 10, 11, 18, and 23.

These things make a hell out of hell.

There shall be weeping and gnashing teeth. Weeping speaks of remorse. Gnashing of teeth refers to frustration, hostility, and anger.

The company that will be there: “Let the filthy be filthy still…” (Rev. 22: 11) Not even the devil will enjoy it. It was prepared for him. (Matthew 25: 41)

The hell of hell will be the absence of the love of God.

Author Dostoevsky has a character ask and answer his own question. “What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.”

Here is the good news, you don’t have to go there. “It is not His will that any should perish, but that all come to repentance.” (II Peter 3: 9)

“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.  And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.” (Romans 5: 6 – 11)

Bitterness a Root With a Bitter Fruit – Part Five

Ephesians 4: 30 – 32

When the poet Edwin Markham reached the age of retirement, he was stunned to learn that his banking friend had betrayed him and lost all of his life’s savings. At retirement he was penniless. The torch of bitterness burned where the candle of joy had formerly gleamed. His inspiration ceased and his pen became unproductive. One day this highly productive poet was sitting doodling, drawing circles when the convicting influence of the Holy Spirit impacted him. He said the Holy Spirit did not speak to him in an audible voice but clearly convinced him, “Markham, if you do not deal with this thing, it is going to ruin you. You cannot afford the price you are paying. You must forgive that man.” He prayed, “Lord, I will, and I do freely forgive.”

With the root of bitterness uprooted, his creativity returned and the man who wrote the memorable poems “Lincoln” and “The Man With the Hoe” produced what he considered his best poem entitled “Outwitted.”

“He drew a circle that shut me out–

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout;

But love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle that took him in!”

Pray for the person you consider to have offended you. In Matthew 5:43-46, Jesus appeals to us to do so.  Stephen prayed for those stoning him, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge” (Acts 7:60).  Maintain a passion for friendship. 

The coup de gras in dealing with sin is this. Here is the final step in dealing with bitterness and all sin. “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). Rip up the root and put it on the cross.

Ephesians 4:32 is the highest motive for uprooting the root of bitterness: “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you”  (Eph 4:32). Forgive as an act of gratitude for being forgiven.

If our high and holy God can condescend to forgive such a lowly creature as I, then I, as a show of gratitude for His forgiveness of me, can forgive my peers. Do it in Jesus’ name.

In reality forgiveness is something good you do for yourself.

Bitterness a Root With a Bitter Fruit – Part Four

Ephesians 4: 30 – 32

In horticulture the pruning of a plant gives the root a growth opportunity. The same is true with bitterness. Just changing the vocabulary won’t help. The root will continue to grow.

Note some foliage that is to be “put away,” pruned, that is. (Ephesians 4: 31). “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice” (Ephesians 4:31).

It all starts with bitterness which describes a bitter resentful spirit of one who broods over a perceived slight or injustice.

“Wrath” refers to a sudden outburst of passion.

“Anger” is a smoldering settled feeling.

“Clamor” refers to public quarreling.

“Evil speaking” means slanderous whispering. 

“Malice” refers to a vicious spirit, or spite, a deep unkindness.

These things are to be “put away.” Here are some practical steps.

Identify the source of your bitterness. Are you bitter because of another person’s act? Are you bitter over God’s acts or lack of action? 

The Bible mentions the bitterness of Naomi whose story is told in the book of Ruth. She was bitter. Her bitterness had grown out of a traumatic experience. She considered God to have failed her and she was bitter with God. Her husband and sons had died and she returned to her homeland saying, “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life bitter” (Ruth 1:20). Once Naomi took her eyes off herself and realized what a blessing God had granted her in the person of Ruth, she became a blessing to Ruth and was herself blessed.

View the person you feel has offended you as God’s tool to refine you. By letting the action of someone control you, that person becomes your master and you their puppet dancing off their strings. The question for the believer is always “Who is going to control me?” Who calls the signals in your life?

Thank God for the offense as an occasion to show your personal spiritual growth. “…rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings…” (I Peter 4: 13).

Don’t try to even the score. Remember, God said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay…”

Don’t keep score. “Love…thinks no evil” (I Cor. 13:5).

Forgive the person you consider to have offended you. Christ told Peter and us to do it 70 X 7 times. That means, don’t quit forgiving.

An old adage states: “The hornet of remembering may fly again, but the sting of bitterness has been removed.”

You can’t forget the fact, but by forgiving the person, you can forsake the bitterness associated.

Bitterness a Root With a Bitter Fruit – Part Three

Ephesians 4: 30 – 32

Bitterness has a destructive influence on the body. A three alarm nervous reaction had dried up your salivary secretions. Bitterness covertly influences the body.

Bitterness and other forms of emotional stress send an alarm to the thyroid gland to increase secretions. When this thyroxine pours into the bloodstream, it can cause a number of reactions such as muscle tension. Sometimes it flows into the brain contained in the rigid skull, causing headaches.

Dr. William Sadler, a physician said, “The sincere acceptance of the principles and teachings of Christ with respect to the life of mental peace and joy… would at once wipe out more than half the difficulties, diseases, and sorrows of the human race… it would pay any man or woman to live the Christ-life just for the mental and moral rewards it affords here in this present world.”

Much of the harm caused by bitterness is spiritual. Bitterness, being a manifestation of an un-Christlike attitude, becomes a hindrance to a good prayer life. Other spiritual activities are often abandoned. Bible study and worship lose their appeal. Spiritual appetites atrophy. 

Bitterness has more than personal impacts. Hebrews 12: 15 notes it hurts “others in their spiritual lives.”

A bitter root produces bitter fruit. Other people knowing you are a Christian and bitter are led to believe there is no positive result that comes from leading a spiritual life. Bitterness negates any spiritual influence. Who wants to be a bitter believer. They know God and bitterness don’t coexist. 

Bitterness gives God grief. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” (Ephesians 4:30) The Holy Spirit is grieved by bitterness. The Holy Spirit is grieved when He is giving us direction not to do something and we do it. The Holy Spirit guides us not to be bitter and when we are it breaks His heart. Note what bitterness does to God. He is grieved. The word translated grieve means to weep.

Bitterness, especially that which has been around so long it has festered because of a refusal to be reconciled breaks God’s heart.

May this break the heart of the bitter person who refused to forgive for God’s sake. Physically, medically, and spiritually forgiveness gives joy to God and brings relief to the one forgiving.