Many teachings of the Word of God take explanation. Jesus spoke in parables often, and these had to be explained. Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit with the gifts on the Church, one of the gifts being the gift of teaching and teachers. Why would we need this gift if everything is understood the first time you read the Bible?
This is not an issue of salvation, but it is an area of extreme importance because so many have been deceived into thinking drinking alcohol is encouraged in the Bible. Also, why wait to get to heaven to ask Jesus if the cup He will drink from at that time is fermented or unfermented, when He has made clear the answer to this question from His Word already?
If God did not allow priests to drink alcohol in the earthly tabernacle or temple, why would He allow it in heaven? Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean, (Leviticus 10:8-10)
Aren’t we priests (the priesthood of believers) in the sight of God, and didn’t God command priests and kings not to drink alcohol? The book of Revelation states that those who have accepted Christ as Savior are kings and priests: and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1: 5-6)
The apostle Peter also says that we became kings and priests. We are members of a royal family. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9)
Because of our salvation through faith in Christ we have become sons, the adopted sons of the King. As such we are members of the King’s family, and the orders that went out to the kings and priests apply to us. We are not to drink so that we will have clear judgment and discernment as God’s representatives in this world.
When Jesus was here on this earth He always obeyed His Father in Heaven who had said: Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. (Proverbs 23:31,32)
As the Father has sent Me, I also send you. Jesus told His disciples (John 20:21b). As Christians we are sent to witness, to teach the people. This is the responsibility of the believer. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ instructed His disciples (Matthew 28:19). In order to teach we must know the difference between right and wrong.
Therefore God’s Word teaches that we as Christians are not to drink alcohol. Hum!
The Bible says that the priest isn’t supposed to drink when he’s in the Temple, but what about when he’s outside the Temple? It doesn’t mention that. But the Bible also says, For you are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16b). As believers we are always living in God’s temple. We are to think of ourselves as serving God daily in the temple of our bodies, and to do this we must live so as to be usable to Him.
The Christian does not drink because he knows the Lord Jesus Christ personally and is a member of His family. The Christian is a king and a priest, and the Bible specifically says that kings and priests are not to drink. The matter of total abstinence, then, depends upon our love for the Lord Jesus Christ. How much do we love Him? “And He said to them, This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (Mark 14:24-25) It is clear from this passage what Jesus will drink with us on that wonderful day of our marriage to Him, and that is the ‘fruit of the vine!’
Argument! – Being an alcoholic is obviously a bad thing. So is being a glutton. However, we are not told to stop eating; we are just told not to be gluttons. We are not told to not drink wine, we are told to not be alcoholics.
This is an interesting statement, and kind of sums up what many Christians are teaching these final days, that is as long as you don’t get drunk, it is OK to drink. This could not be farther from the truth. The assumption is that the word ‘wine’ in the Bible is always alcoholic. So if you read this into your statement, the statement itself is flawed. Since the word ‘wine’ in the Bible is not always alcoholic, then it would be all right to drink some wine (grape juice) in moderation, even as Paul told Timothy to do.
So, we must look at the context each time to determine which kind of wine we are speaking of, even though in our culture right now, we refer to wine as only alcoholic or fermented. This was not the case in the past, nor is it the case in the original languages of the Bible.
Question! – Are there any references in the Bible to the word wine being unfermented? There are plenty of places where it is clearly fermented, but are there any clearly unfermented examples? If there are none, I think it is dangerous to infer otherwise.
The answer is, yes, in many places in the Bible it does show from the context that it is definitly speaking of unfermented grape juice, like in these verses in Isaiah 16:10b, grape juice is called “wine” when it is still in the press, saying, No treaders will tread out wine in the presses… Here are some others:
Joy and gladness are taken from the plentiful field and from the land of Moab; I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses; no one will tread with joyous shouting- Not joyous shouting! (Jeremiah 48:33)
All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their first fruits which they offer to the Lord, I have given them to you. Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the Lord, shall be yours. (Numbers18:12,13)
to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to the storerooms of the house of our God; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities. (Nehemiah:10:37)
We know that these were not fermented offerings because no leaven was allowed as an offering. You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor shall the fat of My sacrifice remain until morning. “The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. (Exodus 23:18)
Then the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: “Do not drink wine or intoxicating drink, you, nor your sons with you, when you go into the tabernacle of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, that you may distinguish between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean,” (Leviticus 10:8-10)
You asked for verses that show that the word ‘wine’ is non-alcoholic and I have given many examples. Here are a few more: Judges 9:13; Zechariah 9:7; Psalms 4:7; Proverbs 9:2. The lists go on and on. It should be obvious from these references that the word for ‘wine’ in our English Bibles is a generic term.
The word “wine” is generic, just as are the words groceries, hardware, merchandise, fruit, grain, and other words. But the misery and delusion are that most readers of the Bible, knowing of no other than the wines of our day which are intoxicating, leap to the conclusion, wine is wine all the world over-as the wine of our day is inebriating, therefore the wine mentioned in the Bible was intoxicating, and there was none other.
If we take everything at face value in Scripture, without considering context, comparing Scripture with Scripture, etc., it would lead us to conclude that when Jesus said we needed to drink his blood and eat his flesh to be saved, means we have to become cannibals.
Or that when He says we need to hate our parents means that we should take this as a contradiction to the fact that we are to love our parents as Scripture says elsewhere. So it is the word ‘wine’ must be seen in it’s context to see if it is alcoholic or not.