211121 Board Devotional: Psalm 133: Unity of the Brethern

We, as elder board members, are extremely blessed to have one of our hallmarks be unity.

To be unified and be willing to agree together is one of the evidences that the Holy Spirit is leading us - which is no small comfort. This does not always mean that we do not have other preferences but that we submit to His leading and join together in unity.

Turn if you would to Psalm 133. Psalm 133 was written by David, and it was a song sung by pilgrims as they climbed up the hills to worship in Jerusalem. As these various pilgrims from different tribes and backgrounds and locations came together to worship God they came singing of the beauty of unity.

Psalm 133 | A Song of Ascents, of David. 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. 3 It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.

David describes unity as good, pleasant, something that helps fellow Israelite brothers dwell together - mind you civil war was a constant reality. David also describes unity as a salve, a precious ointment that consecrated Aaron, as high-priest, preparing him for the leading of worship in the holiest most sacred place in all of Israel. David describes unity as the life sustaining dew that falls not only on the heights of Hermon but also on the Lord’s holy mountain - in effect describing the blessing on those that come to worship from the south as well as the north being sustained by God.

I believe each of us cherish this same level of unity - that has been granted as a gift from God and I trust that it will not be broken even tonight.

I don’t speak of unity lightly, tonight I will request the opportunity to discuss a topic that could be considered divisive. There are some very strong feeling based upon very real considerations. I propose that we address this topic candidly, logically, with clear minds and allow the Holy Spirit to lead us either in continuing to do business as we have or take a slightly different course and I know that if we are unified God will be glorified.

The Use of Wine in Communion

My intent is to align us with what I believe is a Biblical approach to Communion - we want the truth as seen through a literal, grammatical, historical approach to understanding the text. We are Nehalem Valley Bible Church - we want to align ourselves with God’s Word.

Here are some of the most salient unvarnished facts regarding wine.

For

While there may be some ambiguity as to quality or alcoholic content, wine very much played a central role in the ordinance of Communion. Jesus could have used milk, or water, or blood even, or any other fluid but He chose to use wine.

The wine that He used was undoubtedly fermented grape juice - In March and April when Passover took place, fresh grapes would be all but impossible to find. I would suggest that Jesus knowingly used wine during the Last Supper.

He said we were to consume bread and wine in remembrance of Him

Against

Alcohol abuse is so rampant today that we cannot ignore the simple fact that people we know and love may be tempted through use of standard wine - alcoholism has been with humanity at least since Genesis 9 and doesn’t appear to be leaving any time soon.

Romans 14:21 makes it very clear that we are not to hurt our siblings in Christ through eating of particular food or wine.

Our practice to date has been to drink grape juice instead of wine, a good solution. But I would make these observations:

Grape juice is sweet, death is not. We take communion to proclaim the death of Jesus until He returns - we run the risk minimizing or mis-characterizing the death of Christ.

Grape juice did begin to take its hold in Evangelical Christianity until Thomas Welch, a Wesleyan Methodist, began to advocate for its use. He marketed it as “Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine.” Although he did not financially benefit from this product - his son, Charles Welch did when he created Welch’s Grape Juice Company in 1893, which still exists to this day. I would submit that Methodists are not known for the strict adherence to the Biblical text which is why they allow female “pastors.”

A final point that I might mention is that this argument for wine doesn’t require an either or decision. It can be a both and. Here is what I mean - It is possible to offer different options.

For those that are diabetic we do not necessarily have to limit them to grape juice which has the potential to raise their blood sugar levels.

Nor are we limited to providing regular bread - gluten free is an option.

For those that prefer to use the communion elements in their original form, I would suggest that we provide it - perhaps clearly labeled so that they know what they are getting.

Lastly, I would also suggest that non-alcoholic wine be used in the elements so that the Church’s stance against the abuse and misuse of alcohol is clearly understood.

I welcome the Board’s comments and critiques.