Christians and Alcohol

Secular Statistics

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National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

February 2025 Statistics

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohols-effects-health/alcohol-topics-z/alcohol-facts-and-statistics/alcohol-use-united-states-age-groups-and-demographic-characteristics

I can give you statistics on the number of deaths per year caused by alcohol. I can give you information on the number of birth defects caused every year by alcohol. I can tell you about the number of families destroyed by alcohol. I can tell you about the health problems caused by alcohol use. However, I’m not going to give any more statistics, and here’s the reason why. Sometimes when someone does that, it starts to come across as a scare tactic.

These charts alone are enough to show you that this is a very prevalent thing in our society. In reality, does it matter what society says about it? Do negative statistics make it sinful? Does something having a negative secular outcome automatically equate to a negative eternal outcome? No it doesn’t.

What really matters in this conversation is what the Bible says about it. That’s what we are going to spend our time looking at.

3 Categories of Alcohol Use

Drunkenness

Medicinal Purposes

Social / Moderate Use

Drunkenness

This area is very cut and dry in scripture. Anyone who wants to argue the sinfulness of drunkenness is simply being dishonest with scriptures.

Romans 13:13–14 “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

1 Corinthians 5:11 “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.”

1 Corinthians 6:9–12 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.”

Now my main question is this? What defines being drunk? Does the Bible define the specifics of when someone crosses the line from sobriety to drunkenness? No it doesn’t. Does that mean we revert back to secular law to define when someone becomes drunk?

With the exception of Utah (0.05% BAC), 49 states, DC, and Puerto Rico have a BAC limit of 0.08% for drivers 21+. So do we say that 0.08% BAC should be used by Christians to determine the sin of drunkenness?

However, did you know according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the BAC limit for drivers of Commercial Motor Vehicles is 0.04%? True even if you don’t have a CDL.

So should a Christian use 0.04%? Does that mean because I don’t drive a Commercial Motor Vehicle, God looks at my drinking level differently than someone who drives a tractor trailer? So someone less inebriated that me could be sinning while I’m not? Something in that logic doesn’t make sense!

We’ll come back to that soon.

Medicinal Purposes

The other end of the spectrum is complete abstinence. If something is sinful, should that not be our approach to it?

But there is one situation in Scripture where drinking wine is very specifically authorized.

Luke 10:34 “He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.”

1 Timothy 5:20–23 “As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.)”

Why do you think Paul found it necessary to point out to Timothy that he could drink wine for medical purposes? Timothy obviously was going out of his way to avoid wine in every situation.

What’s the importance of verses 22 & 23 being read together? Paul specifically told Timothy to not take part in the sins of others and to keep himself pure, yet he told him to drink wine for his stomach sake. This means alcohol for medical purposes is not sin and it does not make you impure.

Medication that include alcohol:

Coldene Cough Syrup - 15%

Contact Severe Cold - 25%

DayQuil - 10-25%

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) - 14%

Geritol - 12%

Nyquil Cough - 25%

Robitussin - 3.5%

Terpin Hydrate - 42%

That means if it was sinful to use alcohol for medical purposes, then taking any of these medications would be sinful. But it’s not, it’s perfectly acceptable.

Social Drinking / Drinking in Moderation

The two ends of the spectrum are pretty cut and dry in Scriptures. Drunkenness is a sin. Alcohol for medical purposes is not.

But what about the middle part of the spectrum? What if you are not crossing the legal boundary of drunkenness, but you also want to drink something for the enjoyment of it. Maybe you want to have some wine with dinner. Maybe you want to have a beer or a shot of whisky when you get home from work, just to help yourself relax and decompress. Maybe you like to go to the sports bar with your friends to eat wings and have a couple drinks.

But what does the Bible have to say about it?

Proverbs 31:4–5 “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.”

1 Thessalonians 5:6–8 “So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”

2 Timothy 4:5 “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

Proverbs 23:29–35 “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things. You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, like one who lies on the top of a mast. “They struck me,” you will say, “but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I must have another drink.””

Galatians 5:23 “gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Arguments for Social Drinking

The government is put in place by God, and the government says it’s legal within certain limits, so that should mean God ordains it.

God did not specify the type of government that was best.

Other than scriptures that are available to everyone, God did not dictate the laws that government must put into place. We are bound by man’s law, so long as it does not violate God’s law. Acts 4:18–20

Acts 4:18–20 ESV

So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”

Alcoholism is a disease that people can’t help, and they need it to survive.

First, Paul did not describe drunkenness as a disease. He called it a sin. Galatians 5:19–21 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

What would we do if science proves that some people crave alcohol more others? What if science ever proves that some people are born with a stronger desire toward homosexuality than others? Does that mean homosexuality now becomes a disease (or better yet, a “lifestyle”) rather than a sin? Why would drinking be any different?

Meaning of Ephesians 5:18

Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,”

I don’t often like to go back to the original language, simply because I’m not a Hebrew or Greek scholar. I’m barely an English scholar.

However, we must understand that the Bible was not written in English. We all know that sometimes, things can be lost in translation between languages. That’s the reason it’s important that you are careful with the translation you use, because it can have an impact on whether things are lost in translation.

A true understanding of Ephesians 5:18 is going to require us to look back at the Greek. Because I’m not a Greek scholar, this required me to do a lot of research online, including a long conversation with ChatGPT.

In Greek, Ephesians 5:18 says:

καὶ μὴ μεθύσκεσθε οἴνῳ ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι

I have no idea how to read that. However, here’s an explanation of the first part of that scripture:

καὶ - “And”

μὴ - “do not”

μεθύσκεσθε - this is the present passive imperative of μεθύσκω, which means “to make drunk” or “to become drunk”.

οἴνῳ - “with wine”

Let’s take a little close look at μεθύσκεσθε. This is a present tense, passive, imperative. What in the world does that mean?

In Greek, you have the word μεθύω (methyo), which describes the state of being drunk. Then you have the word μεθύσκω (methysko), which means someone is being caused to become drunk. Then you have μεθύσκεσθε (methyskesthe), and this is the form of the word used in Ephesians 5:18.

So let’s break down what it means for something to be present tense, passive, and imperative.

Present Tense - this is an ongoing, continuous action.

Passive - this means the subject is receiving the action rather than performing it.

Imperative - this means it is a command and not a suggestion.

I asked ChatGPT the question, “What does it mean for a verb to be present tense, passive, imperative? It responded “A present passive imperative verb is a command telling someone to allow something to happen to them (or to sop allowing it if negated).”

So in other words, when Ephesians 5:18 says “And do not get drunk with wine...”, it is saying “You cannot allow wine to actively be making you drunk.”

You might say, “But Jonathan, if I drink a single glass of wine, I’m not allowing the wine to make me drunk.” I would whole-heartedly disagree. Your blood alcohol content has increased, and it is actively (present-tense) in the process of making you drunk. You may not be to the legal limit yet, but drunkenness is a spectrum based on severity. Sometimes we like to use the euphemism “buzzed”, but isn’t that simply saying the alcohol is starting to impact me but not to the point where I’m legally drunk. Doesn’t that mean you are no longer sober-minded?

Ironically enough, look at the end of Ephesians 5:18 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,”. It says that we are to be filled with the Spirit. The Greek word used for “to be filled” is also present tense, passive imperative. So Paul is literally saying, “Stop putting wine inside of you, and instead put the Spirit in you.” When you are to be filled with the Spirit, is Paul saying you have to put x-amount of Spirit inside of you before you cross the threshold to be considered “filled with the Spirit”? No, he saying get to work on it. Stop putting wine in you, starting the process of becoming drunk. Instead put the Spirit in you, and work on becoming filled with the Spirit.

Another Example

Sometimes if the structure of a passage is somewhat confusing in English, it sometimes helps to go to other passages with the exact same or very similar sentence structures and see if they are easier to comprehend.

Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

This is a situation where the Greek for “be conformed” is a present tense, passive, imperative form of the word, and so is “be transformed”. Do you think God is OK if we start down the road of conforming ourselves to the world so long as we are full-fledge conformed? Absolutely not, and we all understand that. He doesn’t want us to conform any. If we start on that path, we are in the process of conforming, and that would violate this passage.

Conclusion

That’s why when Paul wrote to Timothy, he told him to keep himself pure and not partake in the sins of others. But he had to specifically point out that Timothy could drink alcohol for medical purposes if needed. Why did he have to point this out? Because Timothy was living a life of complete abstinence and was not considering any type of exception.

When you look at the spectrum of drinking, all the way from abstinence to drunkenness, it is clear from scripture that anything on this scale other than complete abstinence is sinful, with the one exception of medicinal purposes.