Saturday, August 5, 2023

THROUGH THE BIBLE—- CHRISTIANS AND WINE #2

 Christians and Wine? #3

What God says


  Part Three


by

Keith Hunt



FROM THE "INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA"



....'to be or become drunk";  in the same root as sugar,

saccharine: With the exception of Nu 28 7, "strong drink" is

always coupled with "wine."   The two terms are commonly used as

mutually exclusive, and as together exhaustive of all kinds of

intoxicants.


Originally shekhar seems to have been a general term,

intoxicating drinks of all kinds, without reference to the

material out of which they were made; and in that sense, it would

include wine.

Reminiscences of this older usage may be found in Nu. 28:7 (where

shekhar is clearly equivalent to wine, as may be seen by

comparing it with verse 14, and with Ex 29:40, where the material

of the drink offering is expressly designated "wine").


When the Hebrews were living a nomadic life, before their

settlement in Canaan, the grape-wine was practically unknown to

them, and there would be no need of a special term to describe

it. But when they settled down to an agricultural life, and came

to cultivate the vine, it would become necessary to distinguish

it

from the other kinds of intoxicants; hence the borrowed word

'yayin' ("wine") was applied to the former, while the latter

would be classed together under the old term 'shekhar', which 

would then come to mean all intoxicating beverages other than

wine (Lev.10 9; Nu.6 3; Dt.14 26; Prov.20 1; Isa.24 9). The

exact nature of these drinks  not clearly indicated in the Bible

itself. The only fermented beverage other than grape-wine

specifically named is pomegranate-wine (Cant 8 2: "the juice of

my pomegranate," RVin "sweet wine" - of my pomegranate"); but we

may infer that other kinds of shekhar besides that obtained from

pomegranates were in use, such as drinks made from dates, honey,

raisins, barley, apples, etc. Probably Jerome (c 400 AD) was near

the mark when he wrote, "Sikera in the Heb tongue means every

kind of drink which can intoxicate, whether made from grain or

from the juice of apples, or when honeycombs are boiled down into

a sweet and strange drink or the fruit of palm oppressed into

liquor, and when water is coloured and thickened from boiled

herbs" (Ep. ad Nepotianum). Thus shekhar is a comprehensive term

for all kinds of fermented drinks, excluding wine.


Probably the most common sort of shekhar used in Bible times was

palm or date-wine. This is not actually mentioned in the Bible,

and we do not meet with its Heb name 'yen temarim' ("wine of

dates") until the Talmudic period. But it is frequently referred

to in the Assyr-Bab contract tablets (cuneiform), and from this

and other evidence we infer that it was very well known among the

ancient Sem peoples. Moreover, it is a known thirst-quenching

beverage. Of course, drink as such is not condemned in either the

OT or the NT (see DRUNKENNESS); Moses and the elders eat and

drink before God on Mount Sinai (Exod.24:9-11), and only the

ungodly withhold drink from the thirsty (Isa.32:6). Furthermore,

Jesus refers to his gospel as "water welling up to eternal life"

(John 4:14) and to his blood as "drink indeed" (John 6:55).

Nevertheless, although Koheleth claims that there is nothing

better for a man than to eat, drink, and take pleasure in his

work (Eccl.2:24; 3:13; 5:18-H 5:17; cf. 8:15), Paul says that

"the kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but

righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom.14:17).

J. F. Ross


End quote



EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT


WINE


'yayin' - "wine." Cognates of this word appear in Akkadian,

Ugaritic, Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic. It appears about 141

times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.


This is the usual Hebrew word for fermented grape. It is usually

rendered "wine." Such "wine" was commonly drunk for refreshment:

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine..."

(Gen.14:18; cf. 27:25). Passages such as Ezek.27:18 inform us

that "wine" was an article of commerce: "Damascus was thy

merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the

multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool."

Strongholds were supplied with "wine" in case of siege (2 Chron.

11:11). Proverbs recommends that kings avoid "wine" and strong

drink but that it be given to those troubled with problems that

they might drink and forget their problems (Prov.31:4-7). "Wine"

was used to make merry, to make one feel good without being

intoxicated (2 Sam.13:28).

Second, "wine" was used in rejoicing before the Lord. Once a year

all Israel is to gather in Jerusalem. The money realized from the

sale of a tithe of all their harvest was to be spent "for

whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for

wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth:

and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt

rejoice..." (Deut.14:26). "Wine" was offered to God at His

command as part of the prescribed ritual (Exod.29:40). Thus it

was part of the temple supplies available for purchase by

pilgrims so that they could offer it to God (1 Chron.9:29).

Pagans used "wine" in their worship, but "their wine is the

poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps" (Deut.32:33).


Yayin clearly represents an intoxicating beverage. This is

evident in its first biblical appearance: "And Noah began to be a

husbandman, and he planted a vineyard: and he drank of the wine,

and was drunken..." (Gen.9:20-21). The word is used as a synonym

of tirosh, "new wine," in Hos.4:11, where it is evident that both

can be intoxicating. Tirosh is distinguished from yayin by

referring only to new wine not fully fermented; yayin includes

"wine" at any stage. In Gen.27:28 (the first biblical occurrence

of the word) Jacob's blessing includes the divine bestowal of an

abundance of new wine. In 1 Sam.1:15 yayin parallels shekar,

"strong drink." Shikar in early times included wine (Num.28:7)

but meant strong drink made from any fruit or grain (Num.6:3).

People in special states of holiness were forbidden to drink

"wine," such as the Nazarites (Num.6:3), Samson's mother (Judg.

13:4), and priests approaching God (Lev.10:9).

In Gen. 9:24 yayin means drunkenness: "And Noah awoke from his

wine...."


VINES EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT WORDS


WINE


1. OINOS ... is the general word for wine. The mention of the

bursting of the wineskins, Matt.9:17; Mark 2:2; Luke 5:37,

implies fermentation. See also Eph.5:18 (cp. John 2:10; 1 Tim.3:

8; Tit.2:3). In Matt.27:34, the R.V. has "wine" (A.V., "vinegar,"

translating the inferior reading oxos).


The drinking of wine could be a stumbling-block and the Apostle

enjoins abstinence in this respect, as in others, so as to avoid

giving an occasion of stumbling to a brother, Rom.14:21. Contrast

1 Tim.5:23, which has an entirely different connection. The word

is used metaphorically (a) of the evils ministered to the nations

by religious Babylon, 14:8; 17:2; 18:3 (b) of the contents of the

cup of Divine wrath upon the nations and Babylon, Rev.14:10; 16:

19; 19:15.


2. GLEUKOS ... denotes sweet  "new wine," or must, Acts 24:13,

where the accusation shows that it was intoxicant and must have

been undergoing fermentation some time. In the Sept., Job 32:19

Note: In instituting the Lord's Supper He speaks of the contents

of the cup as the "fruit of the vine."  So Mark 14 : 25.


GIVEN TO WINE see BRAWLER, No. 1


WINE-BIBBER


OINOPOTES ... a wine-drinker (oinos, and poles, a drinker), is

used in Matt.11:19; Luke 7:34. In the Sept., Prov.23:20.


For WINEBIBBINGS see EXCESS, Note (2)


WINEPRESS, WINE-FAT


1. LENOS ... denotes a trough or vat, used especially for the

treading of grapes, Matt.21:33. Not infrequently they were dug

out in the soil or excavated in a rock, as in the rock-vats in

Palestine to-day.

In Rev.14:19,20 (twice) and 19:15 (where oinos is added, lit., 

'the winepress of the wine') the word is used metaphorically with

reference to the execution of Divine judgment upon the gathered

foes of the Jews at the close of this age preliminary to the

establishment of the Millennial kingdom.

 

2. HUPOLENION ... was a vessel or trough beneath the press itself

(hupo, beneath, and No.1), for receiving the juice, Mark 12:1,

R.V., "a pit for the winepress." In the Sept., Isa.16:10; Joel 3

:13; Hag.2:16; Zech.14:10.


For WINE-SKINS see SKIN


One thing I have learned over the many years of studying the word

of God, is that on the important doctrines of salvation and life

that the Lord wants us to know about, He gives us MANY ways to

arrive at the same ONE truth. This issue we are studying is no

exception.

I now ask the reader to restudy what the enclosed Bible

Dictionaries gave concerning the words STRONG DRINK as used in

the Bible. I will especially draw your attention to THE

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA on pages 18 and 19 of

this article.

I am not going to use the word WINE (Heb. Yayin) to try and prove

that the Lord does not disapprove of Christians using alcoholic

beverages in moderation, for as we have seen, those like Mr.

Saunders will just answer "So we find that 'yayin' is a

generic word applied to the juice of the grape in all conditions

.... fermented or unfermented. In view of the fact that the Bible

speaks so strongly against the use of alcoholic wine in many

places, reason would dictate that where the word is used in the

positive sense it would refer to the unfermented 'wine'."


And this is exactly the case taken by Dr. Samuele Bacciocchi in

his 300 plus page book on "Wine and the Christian."


The truth of this matter does not hinge just on the word 'wine.'

 

The Hebrew word for STRONG DRINK is 'shekar' (shaykawr). It is

No.7941 in Strong's Concordance. Here is what that concordance

has to say regarding this word:


"shekar, shaykawr; from 7937; an intoxicant, i.e. intensely

alcoholic liquor: - strong drink, + drunkard, strong wine."


As for the Hebrew word 7937 in the above concordance, we read:

"shakar, shawkar; a prime root; to become tipsy; ....."


This word 'shekar' is used 20 times in the OT. The word itself

and the twenty places where it is used will clearly show it is

not referring to apple juice, orange juice, lime juice, 7UP, or

Coca-Cola. It is always referring to a fermented alcoholic

beverage!


Let's look at two scriptures which I think are very revealing.


"And the Lord spoke unto Aaron, saying, Do not drink wine nor

STRONG DRINK, (shekar) you nor your sons with you, WHEN YOU GO

INTO THE TABERNACLE of the congregation, lest you die...."

(Lev.10:9). 

Now if it was already known by Moses and Israel that it was not

Godly to drink alcoholic beverages - that it would be a sin to

drink fermented juices - that fermented drinks were in themselves

wrong, there would have been no need for the Lord to specific

have had to mention to Aaron that he was not to partake of Strong

Drink when officiating in the tabernacle. He would have known

that as he would have known that partaking of fermented drinks at

ANY TIME was not allowed by God, if indeed that was and is what

God teaches. The clear inference from this verse is that it was

not wrong for Aaron and his sons to drink wine or strong drink

except when working in the tabernacle.

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children

of Israel, and say unto them, When (it was only done for certain

periods in a persons life) either man or woman shall separate

themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves

unto the Lord. He shall separate himself from wine and STRONG

DRINK (shekar) and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of

STRONG DRINK, neither shall he drink any liquor of grape (grape

juice) nor eat moist grapes or dried .... All the days of the vow

of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: UNTIL

the days be fulfilled..." (Numbers 6:1-5).

Notice, the man or woman who undertakes a Nazarite vow for a

period of time, is only to refrain from the things mentioned in

verses 3 to 6, for and during that period of time. The clear

inference is that when NOT under a Nazarite vow ALL of the things

in these verses were quite permissable. Was it wrong in Israel to

cut ones hair, to touch a dead body, to drink unfermented grape

juice, or eat moist or dried grapes? Of course not! So likewise,

if we are willing to be honest with all these verses and what is

said in them, it was NOT WRONG for the men and women of Israel to

drink WINE or STRONG DRINK when not under a Nazarite vow !!

Do you see also how in verse 3 WINE and STRONG DRINK are put in

contrast to "liquor of grapes ." It should be obvious to even a

casual reader that wine and strong drink is here meaning

fermented beverages, while liquor of the grapes means unfermented

grape juice. If all in Israel had been instructed already (as

surely they would have on such an evil thing as sipping fermented

drinks - as many look at it) by God about never at any time

partaking of alcoholic beverages, there would have been no need

at all to tell them that they must refrain from drinking wine and

strong drink when under a Nazarite vow, as all would have known

that they were never to drink such liquids. The truth is, no such

total condemnation by God was ever given to Israel. Surely, if it

is so un-Godly and so un-Christian as to let a drop of fermented

wine ever pass your lips as some maintain, we would be able to

find at least one verse in the first five book of the Bible, or

any of the other books of the OT, which would state something to

the effect, "Wine or Strong drink shall in no way pass your

lips."  With all that God's word says AGAINST drunkenness with no

command or instruction such as, "Wine and strong drink is sin,

you shall not partake of it" I would say, immediately leaves us

no room but to question the accuracy and logic of such articles

and booklets as that of Mr.Saunders and others.


GOD TAUGHT ISRAEL TO DRINK FERMENTED BEVERAGES!


Friend, do you love the TRUTH of God's word more than the ideas,

the opinions, the guesses, the half truths and the ways that seem

right unto men? Are you willing to admit your error when shown

you are in error. If you hold views similar to Mr.Saunders (and

I can show you from the Eternal's own mouth that He actually

TAUGHT all of Israel to drink alcoholic beverages) will you be

able to shout for joy at finding the pure truth of God, or will

your self-righteous stubborn ideas lead you to pervert and twist

the clear word of the Lord?


We shall now find out the answer to the above questions.


Concerning the keeping of the Feast of Tabernacles, God said to

Israel:

" You shall surely tithe all the yield of your seed .... And     

you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place in which He

will cause His name (and presence) to dwell ... And if the

distance is too long for you to carry your tithe ... then you

shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and

shall go to the place (of worship) which the Lord your God has

chosen. And you may spend that money for whatever your appetite

craves, for oxen, or sheep, or new wine or strong drink, or

whatever you desire..." (Deut.14:22-26 Amp.Bible).


DID YOU SEE IT ?

The Israelites were instructed from the mouth of God Himself,

that when attending the Feasts of the Lord they could spend their

money on oxen, sheep, wine (yayin) and notice it - STRONG DRINK

(shekar) !!

There is no way around it - for the honest of heart - for the

lover of God's truth more than man's cleaver twistings of

scripture. Here in Deut.14 the great Eternal God INSTRUCTED the

people of Israel that they could, IF they desired, BUY and

CONSUME at His festivals, as a part of the festive worshipping of

Him - STRONG DRINK  - fermented and intoxicating beverages! This

is not talking about strong apple juice or orange juice. This is

not talking about strong fig tea, or strong Pepsi-Cola, its

talking about SHEKAR - STRONG FERMENTED LIQUIDS! Its talking

about buying and consuming fermented beverages that are strong

enough to make you drunk if you over indulge.

As shocking and maybe as angry as this will make some, your

Bible, the very word of God teaches that the Lord God is not a

teetotaller, He does not preach total abstinence, He is not a

prohibitionist. The Lord God does not teach or preach that

fermented wine or other strong alcoholic beverages are sin! He

does very strongly preach that it is sin to get DRUNK - He

teaches that it is the wrong USE of fermented liquids that is

SIN!


JOHN THE BAPTIST AND JESUS CONTRASTED


Announcing that John the Baptist would be born, the angel told

his father that he "shall drink neither wine nor strong drink..."

(Lk.1:15). Are we to suppose this means that he would not drink

grape juice, apple cider and the like? Our religious total

abstinence preachers would probably have us believe that this is

what was meant. More the truth is that John was prophesied to be

a Nazarite - that is, under a Nazarite vow from birth to death.

Jesus was never prophesied to be under such a vow. John preached

in the wilderness, dressed in camels hair, ate locusts and wild

honey, and as we have seen did not drink wine or strong drink.

The religious leaders rejected him as coming from God - they even

said he was demon possessed. He was not what they expected a 

"man of the cloth" to be. When Jesus came on the scene He lived

in such a way that they still could not accept His activities as

being Godly. Their attitude was, we have our own ideas as to what

a man of God should look like, dress like, eat and drink like,

regardless of what the word of God says. Their teaching was, we

demand you dance to our tune - to the way we look at it. Notice

the way Jesus put it:

"What shall I liken the men of this generation to? They are like

unto small Children sitting in the market square, and calling to

each other, and saying, We have played our musical instruments

but you have not danced to our beat; we have been mournful but

you have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread

nor drinking wine in banquets and you say, he is demon

possessed. The Son of man is come EATING and DRINKING..." 

Are we to understand this to mean that John did not eat loaves of

bread or drink grape juice while Jesus did eat bread and did

drink grape juice? Some would say so. But Jesus gives us the

answer as to what they accused Him of. Continuing:

"and you say, Behold a GLUTTONOUS man, and a WINEBIBBER, a friend

of tax collectors and sinners." (Luke 7:31-34 paraphrased

myself). 

Jesus was not a glutton, but He did attend enough festivals and

what we would call house parties put on by the wealthy, that the

religious bigots of His day could exaggerate His activities and

call Him names by saying He was a glutton. 

Notice what else they called Jesus. A GRAPEJUICE-bibber! He drank

so much grape juice that they could easily hang on Him the very

shameful name of someone who tarried long at sipping grape juice

- a grape juice bibber! Really? I say that with tongue in cheek.

No! Jesus was called a winebibber because unlike John who never

partook of wine or strong drink from birth, Jesus did partake of

the same. The natural understanding of such accusations hurled at

Him would I submit, lead the unbiased mind to recognize that

Jesus did indeed partake of fermented wine. Jesus never got drunk

nor did He tarry long at wine, He never over indulged, but He

used it enough that the pompous, holier-than-thou religious

leaders once again blew His "liberty in the Lord" all out of

proportion and called Him a winebibber.

Jesus knew the scriptures and teachings of the OT - He knew that

there was never one command or verse that made fermented wine or

strong drink of themselves, sin! Jesus knew the scriptures where

the Lord had taught Israel that if they so desired at the

festivals they could buy and drink wine and strong drink, (It

would seem that Mr.Saunders did not know this verse as it was not

mentioned anywhere in his entire 52 page booklet. He accuses

others in no uncertain terms of, 'the blind leading the blind'

but I say he has forgotten the saying, 'He that lives in glass

houses should never throw stones'). It is just as true that Jesus

knew the many verses of the OT that condemn drunkenness - those

that are deceived and led astray in heart and mind by alcoholic

drinks. Jesus knew all this because He was the one who inspired

all these Scriptures to be written - He was the God of the OLD

TESTAMENT - the God of the OT was the one who became Jesus Christ

of the New Testament. If you have never had this shown to you

then study my article "Jesus Christ - God of the Old Testament".


                              ……………



TO BE CONTINUED



Christians and Wine? #4


What the Bible says


by

Keith Hunt



INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHOOSING SERVANTS


The letters Paul wrote to Timothy have become known as Pastoral

Epistles, because they contain information for Pastors that, 

"....you may know how you ought to behave yourself in the house

of God, which is the church of the living God.." (1 Tim. 3:15 ).


Among the many instructions these letters contain is the

qualifications for DEACONS or those that will be appointed to

serve in an official way within the church. Notice 1 Tim.3:8 

"Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given

to MUCH wine..." The NIV translates, "....not indulging in

much wine..." The Fenton translation is "...nor addicted

to much wine..." The Modern Language also renders it the same

as Fenton. The Living Bible says,"They must not be heavy

drinkers..." The Amplified Bible is as the KJV. The literal Greek

reads, "not to much wine."


For the Greek word 'much' the ENGLISHMAN'S GREEK CONCORDANCE

gives among other words these: abundant, great, long, much,

plenteous, great deal.

The ANALYTICAL GREEK LEXICON gives: great in magnitude or

quantity, much, large, the many, the mass, greatly, vehemently.


This Greek word is used dozens of times in the NT - some of the

passages where it is found are:

Mt.6:30; 13:5; Mk.12:41; Lk.7:11; 12:19,48; John 3:23; 6:10; Acts

10:2; 15:7; Rom.16:6; James 5:16; Rev.19:1.

It is obvious the word means - plenteous, great deal, mass, much

or great in quantity.

Now are we to suppose that what Paul was laying down to Timothy

for the qualifications to deaconship was that a man must not

drink much grape juice? What if he did drink a great deal of

unfermented grape juice - would that disqualify him from becoming

a deacon? What if he drank very little grape juice but drank

prodigious amounts of orange juice - would that be okay and so

qualify for deaconship?  I will say with Paul "I speak as a 

fool." Surely no person is going to say that Paul was here

teaching Timothy that a deacon could not drink much unfermented

grape juice!!


It should be plain to see that Paul was referring to alcoholic

wine. He was telling Timothy that a man who is being considered

for the office of deacon can not be someone who is given to

drinking much, plenteous, a great quantity of wine as a

practicing way of life. Paul is not saying that he can not drink

fermented wine PERIOD! The very structure and use of the Greek

word 'much' should make that truth plain to the unbiased mind.

If Paul had wanted to teach Timothy that no servant of the Lord

should ever drink alcoholic wine, he could have easily said and

used the greek words "not to wine" or "shall not drink wine" or

some other emphatic phrase. The truth is Paul was being inspired

by the Holy Spirit to write these words "not given to much 

wine."

There is no way around it - neither the OT or the NT, neither

Moses or Jesus or Paul or any other inspired writer of the Bible

ever condemned anyone for drinking fermented beverages. What they

did condemn was lusting after such drinks, being deceived by such

drinks and getting drunk or tarrying long at them and becoming an

alcoholic.


VARIOUS QUESTIONS ANSWERED

ALCOHOLISM


It is often pointed out by such individuals as Mr.Saunders (which

he does in his booklet) that NO ONE is immune to alcoholism. I

would answer that with the ungenerated heart no one is immune to,

lying, stealing, profanity, hate, covetousness, sexual lust and

immorality and under the right (or should I say wrong)

circumstances, even murder. All of these are SINS just as

alcoholism is. Should we not talk because we may lie? Should

we not look at a man or woman because we are not immune to lust?

Shall we not pick up and use a knife because some have become

murderers with such a tool? Should we not get married because no

one is immune (without God's grace and help) to divorce?

There are many things in life that the Lord gives us to use 

(i.e. our sex drive) either for good or for evil. The thing

itself is not always evil, but yes the Lord knows that in giving

it to us - allowing us to use it - even saying at times we are to

use it(such as marriage and reproduction) - He knows it may be

used wrongly, to hurt ourselves and others. That's why He gives

us MUCH instruction on the right use of the things He says we are

allowed to do and handle in life. He knows that the ungenerated

heart of man is prone to evil, that what the Lord intended to be

a BLESSING for us, man would abuse, twist and pervert into EVIL .

Does the Eternal come along and take away our mouth, eyes, sexual

organs, marriage, childrearing, talents and inventive abilities

because we often do not use them the correct way as He intended ?

No, He does not. He cries out to us to come to Him, learn HOW to

use the things He has given us to use CORRECTLY and for our

BLESSING and right enjoyment.


The Lord cries out to mankind to come and partake of His very

divine NATURE - His POWER and LIFE so that man can have the

STRENGTH and the self-control to be able to properly CONTROL all

that He gives and allows us to use. One of the things the Lord

allows us to use is alcoholic beverages!

For individuals like Mr.E.L.Saunders to write and talk about

having more of the Spirit of God and then in essence by what they

say about this subject and those "sipping Christians" deny

that the very Holy Spirit of Power can keep you from ever

becoming an alcoholic, is to me, a denial of the Spirit they so

earnestly want to preach. Let me say again, I have known and

still know dozens of Spirit filled Christians who for many many

years have been drinking fermented wine and other strong drink

and are no nearer becoming alcoholics than this PC I'm using - I

happen to be one of them. The POWER of the Holy Spirit is

POWERFUL - it does give you the power and self-control to be

temperate in all things. I have never been drunk in my entire

life - no not once, and that credit goes to the Lord not me and

His Spirit that He has so freely given me.


To those who may be alcoholics let me say this. You can, with

the wonderful help from the Spirit of God, and good organizations

like the AA, OVERCOME!!  It is also true that in many cases many

such individuals may have to stay away from alcohol completely,

although I have know some who were able to be moderate drinkers.

The Lord does not command you to drink alcohol - it is not a sin

to be a teetotaller.


MODERATION


In the booklet "Should Christians Drink Fermented Wine?" by

Pastor Saunders he says on page 27, ".. Mr.Rowe says,'The

Key to Christian drinking is moderation.' Of course he dare not

tell us what 'moderation' means...But let me ask this question,  


How is one to make known to all men what 'moderation' is in

consuming alcoholic wine? Who 'draws the line' and where? As a

Pastor and Shepherd of the flock of God, am I to tell the people

that one glass of wine is 'moderation' or is it two glasses, or

perhaps more?"


Now Mr.Rowe in his article did not legislate what 'moderation'

is. Neither do I legislate moderation. Why? Very simple - the

Lord does not legislate moderation! This is what the Lord God

legislates:

"..be not addicted to wine ..." (Barclay) or be not "one who

sits long at his wine" (Earle - Word Meanings in the NT) 

1 Tim.3:3. ".....not given to much wine......" 1 Tim.3:8, "Be not

drunk with wine...." Eph.5:18.


The Eternal teaches us we can eat clean meat if we desire - He

does not legislate how much! The Lord taught that a Christian

would pray - He did not legislate how many minutes a day.

Jesus said a Christian would fast - He did not legislate how many

times a year!

Our heavenly Father says His children can wear Jewelry and

Make-up (though some will argue that also) if they desire (if you

have never had that proved to you then study my studies on this

Website) but He does not legislate how much! I could go on with

other examples, but I hope you see the point. Within the bounds

of what God has said is lawful for us a Christian is to use the

Spirit of God, which is the very nature of God (2 Pet.1:4 the

divine power (chap. 1:3), to let the mind of Christ be in them so

they are growing up in Him unto a mature and perfect man

(Eph.4:13-15 ).


This is the development of RIGHTEOUS GODLY CHARACTER The Lord

does not have hundreds of do's and don'ts that He has legislated

for us on keeping the Sabbath - He has given us a few broad

principles only, and then expects us to use His Spirit of

sound-mindedness and wisdom to handle all the many circumstances

and questions that may arise on Sabbath keeping. Ministers should

be on the whole more spiritually mature than those they are

serving, but to think that they must legislate things to their

congregations that not even the Lord has legislated is not only

becoming as the Pharisees of Jesus' day, but worse still it is

setting oneself up as God Himself. Woe unto those ministers who

want to dictate what color of tie, shoes, blouse, suit etc. their

people should wear to services or how long the men's side-burns

should be or the ladies dresses. Woe unto those ministers who

want to dictate how many pieces of jewelry the women should or

should not wear. Woe unto those ministers who want to legislate

how many hours of T.V. a week their members are to watch. Such

ministers are no longer "a help of your joy" but have become

religious legislating dictators.


Some seem to want God or their minister to legislate every act of

their lives - some ministers seem to want to legislate every act

of those they pastor, when to come in, when to go out, how many

glasses of apple juice to drink, what time to go to bed etc. They

perhaps feel some kind of safety in this - no decisions to make,

no personal responsibility, no having to go to the Lord for His

help and guidance under different and specific situations. This

may seem the neat and clean way to do things, "Oh if only the

Lord would legislate for me what moderate drinking is, then I

would not have to make all these mental judgments" is what some

desire, but God's way is not to have us as robots. Sure He gives

us some rules that are cut and dry, such as "You shall not steal"

but often it is the broad outline He gives and we are to use His

spirit and wisdom to stay within the bounds - and that develops

CHARACTER!     

As for alcoholic beverages, the one boundary line is, you MAY or

you MAY NOT drink such beverages, and the other boundary line is,

do not sit long, get ADDICTED or get DRUNK on wine. The Christian

is to stay within that boundary, and that is moderation!


IS DRINKING ALCOHOL HABIT FORMING?


Mr.Saunders writes on page 17 of his booklet,"Consuming

alcoholic beverages whether it's wine, liquor, or just 'coke'

is habit forming..."

This statement is totally incorrect!

To say "Consuming alcoholic drinks MAY be habit forming" is one

thing, but saying "Consuming alcoholic beverages IS habit

forming" is altogether another. How do I know that Mr.Saunders'

statement is wrong? I know from the experience of a person 

as close to me as you can get - myself. I at times, such as when

observing the seven day Feast of Tabernacles, may consume

anywhere from one to four alcoholic drinks per day, some weekly

Sabbath days I may enjoy 1 or 3 glasses of wine, BUT THEN a

number of weeks may go by without drinking any fermented

beverage. Drinking wine or any alcoholic beverage is only habit

forming if you let it be!



DON'T LOOK ON WINE?


In answer to my statement that there is no direct command of the

Lord that we should not drink alcoholic beverages, some will say

yes there is, and turn quickly to Prov.23:31 "Look not thou

upon the wine when it is red, when it gives its color in the cup.

..." and declare, "There you are, if we are not even to look

upon wine how much more are we not to drink it." Some say this

statement is very EMPHATIC and emphasize the word emphatic. The

comment in the WYCLIFFE BIBLE COMMENTARY is an example of this

teaching.


If we are to be EMPHATIC with the first part of this clause

should we not be as willing to be just as emphatic with the last

part? " Look not thou upon wine WHEN IT IS RED..." So it is only

RED wine that we are emphatically told not to look at - WHITE

wine and STRONG DRINK (shekar) are excluded!! Oh the silly

reasonings of men that desire to uphold their personal emotional

whims and are not willing to let the word of God correct them so

they maybe, "not unwise but understanding what the will

of the LORD is" (Eph.5:17).


Look at the CONTEXT of Prov.23:31. Verse 30 says, "They that

tarry long at wine ..." Verse 32,  At the last it bites like

a serpent..." ADAM CLARKE was being honest with this verse

when he wrote in his commentary:

"Let neither the color, the odour, the sparkling, etc., of the

wine, when poured out, induce you to drink it. However good and

pure it may be, it will be to THEE a snare, because THOU ART

addicted to it, and hast NO SELF-COMMAND." (emphasis mine).

The context shows: clearly that this proverbial advice was given

to those "that tarry long at wine" to those who are addicted to

it. They should not be tempted to drink it when its poured out -

they had better stay away from it altogether because they will

get drunk, and when awake will seek it yet again (verses 33-35). 


This is instruction is for those who are addicted to

alcoholic beverages.


STRONG DRINK - HARD LIQUOR 


It is very important to note that when you relate the words 

"strong drink" (Heb. is 'shekar') as used in the Bible, you

do not think of this as meaning what we today call 'hard liquor.'

It may refer to a type of 'beer' that the ancients used, but it

should not be acquainted with our hard drinks like 'gin' or

'brandy.' As for the health benefits of our hard liquors, see my

next comments.


ALCOHOL AND ITS EFFECTS ON HEALTH


In trying to drive the nail home for the case of 'total

abstinence' Mr.Saunders quotes a Doctor Haven Emerson as

saying, "Alcohol is a ... protoplasmic poison ... causes

disease .... causes death from acute and chronic poisoning

... decreases expectancy of life ..."

 Here is my answer to this argument.


FIRST. The word 'alcohol' is a very broad term, applied to all

fermented intoxicating beverages from mild wines to beer to hard

liquor. There is enough data available to show that a prolonged

and regular use of our modern HARD LIQUORS is detrimental to ones

health. Their usefulness may be seen in the famous stories of

the snowy Alpines, where the St.Bernard dogs were sent out to

rescue lost or trapped people in the snow. They would carry a

little bottle of brandy around their necks which would often make

the difference between life or death for the stranded  But on the

whole, hard drinks should be used very sparingly and not in any

way as a regular diet or your health could be adversely effected.


SECONDLY. As shocking as this may sound to many, Doctors and

Researchers are often to say the least, very BIASED and to say

the worst - plain LIARS! They will often twist the facts or give

you half truths to comply with what they want you to believe

because of their personal views on that particular subject. You

don't believe me? You want proof of this statement of mine? I

will give it to you from the pen of a well known and respected

doctor - DR. ROBERT S. MENDELSOHN, Chairman of the Medical

Licensing Committee of the State of Illinois (who is now dead as

I put this study up to my Website. I wrote this study in 1985).


"Doctors have been shown not to be above fudging and even

fabricating research results when the stakes were high enough.

Dr.Leroy Wolins, a psychologist at Iowa State University, had a

student write to thirty-seven authors of scientific reports

asking for the raw data on which they based their conclusions. Of

the thirty-two who replied, twenty-one said their data either had

been lost or accidentally destroyed. Dr.Wolins analyzed seven

sets of the data that did come in and found errors in three

significant enough to invalidate what had been passed off as

scientific fact." (Confessions of a Medical Heretic, pages 205

and 206).


It should also be remembered that Doctors disagree among

themselves on various subjects as much as the Theologians do on

what the word of God teaches. You should handle the statements of

Doctors as you should Theologians - get ALL the facts from 

various sources, PROVE all things as Paul wrote and then hold

fast to that which is good! 


THIRDLY. Whatever case can be brought against the use of HARD

LIQUOR on a prolonged basis, such can not be brought against

WINE. It has now been proved beyond a reasonable doubt that wine

is GOOD FOR YOU!!


FOURTHLY. As the LORD has instructed in His word that we can if

we desire, partake of fermented wine and Biblical 'strong drink'

I know that it must be under normal conditions, HEALTHY for you!

The Eternal God would not give us positive instructions

relating to anything if it was "that alcohol(or something else

I will add)in any form should never be introduced into the

human body" as E.L.Saunders writes (page 46 of his booklet).  

The Lord God was the creator of man, He knows what is good

for man to take into his body to promote health - He is the one

who gave the clean and unclean food laws, not some doctor in his

clinic or research lab. Why I have read articles by doctors who

claim pork, horse meat or crabs are good for you, listing the

amount of protein, vitamins and minerals in each. The Eternal

says such is not good for you - they should not be consumed, but

some learned doctors think otherwise. The Eternal says wine and

strong drink you may consume, but some educated doctors say it is

'poison.' Such have rejected the revealed revelation of God and

have as Paul wrote, "Professing themselves to be wise, they

became fools" (Rom. 1:22). We are admonished to AVOID science

when it is in direct contradiction to the revelation of God,

"...avoiding profane and vain babblings and opposition of science

falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning

the faith..." (1 Tim.6:20,21).


THE PRESERVATION OF GRAPE JUICE?


I have not chosen to enter this area of contention, as to whether

the ancients knew how to preserve grape juice unfermented,

because it has no bearing on proving or not whether it is

Christian to drink alcoholic beverages.


WINE IS GOOD FOR YOU !


For more information you may want to

purchase the book: GATEWAY TO WINE AND HEALTH by Herbert M.Baus.

Obtainable from Cole's Book Stores or from Deborah Bond, 4

Ireland Court, Islington, Ont. M9A2C9. Phone (416) 233-9407. 


(I'm not sure if that book is still in print in this year of 2023


Keith Hunt).


                              ..............


TO BE CONTINUED


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