KBM Standing Against Social Drinking

As we continue our theme for this year, Defender of the Faith, I mentioned last episode that we would be diving into more specific doctrines that seem to be left behind or ignored because they are deemed irrelevant or too controversial. So then, the first specific doctrine we are going to defend is the doctrine that social drinking is sinful.

Because the world likes to consume alcohol, those that would rather appease men then God, will continually spew things like social drinking isn’t sinful or that this simply isn’t something we should be arguing over. But the bible is very clear on this doctrine, social drinking is sin.

Now, why do I say social drinking instead of “consuming alcohol” is sinful? That is because consuming alcohol isn’t sinful under certain circumstances. Let me illustrate, if you are sick and take NyQuil before going to bed to help you feel better, you are consuming a small amount of alcohol. God has never had an issue with someone partaking of something for medical purposes that can hinder our senses and or distort our ability to make “sound judgments” if it is for medical purposes. Though Paul isn’t talking about alcoholic wine in 1 Timothy 5:23, because alcohol actually hurts the stomach, it does demonstrate God’s point on taking what one might not want to take for appearance sake for medical purposes.

1 Timothy 5:23 NKJV

23 No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.

Because we are going to be judged according to the Law of Christ or the New Testament Law, I’m going to stick with the New Testament to show that God does not authorize and actually condemns social drinking. This can be proven by looking at just two passages, though there are many more. Let’s start with Ephesians 5:18.

Ephesians 5:18 NKJV

18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,

There are two words to consider here in this text. The word drunk and the word filled. The word drunk in the Greek means to “cause to become intoxicated” or “to grow drunk or intoxicated.” So the word is not talking about the state of being drunk but doing that which causes one to “become drunk.” This is also further elaborated on with the word “filled.”

This Greek word means “to fill to completion” which means to fill to the point that nothing else can fit.

Now, if we are to be filled with the Spirit completely to the point that literally nothing else fits and the one thing brought up here that is strictly prohibited is that which “leads to drunkenness” i.e., alcohol, then even a single sip of an alcoholic beverage is dissipation or debauchery. So this passage clearly teaches that “one sip of alcohol” means you are drunk.

That is significant because it aligns perfectly with what else we find in scripture. For example we find Peter writing in 1 Peter 5:8…

1 Peter 5:8 NKJV

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The word for “sober-minded” in the Greek means “to be free from the influence of intoxicants.” Notice, again to be “free from” not “slightly free from” or “mostly free from”; it means to be completely free from any intoxicant. Why because if there is any intoxicant in one’s body they are not “sober-minded” and therefore unable to keep a watch out for Satan.

The point is, social drinking is sin, period. Anyone telling you otherwise is not being honest with the scriptures and is leading you away from being “filled with the Spirit” and hindering your faithfulness to God while encouraging you to be susceptible to Satan.