Is It OK For Christians To Drink Alcohol?

QUESTION:

Is it wrong to drink wine, because the Bible seems to indicate that JESUS drank it?

The Bible says that people called Jesus a glutton and a winebibber.  You can’t call a person a winebibber if he only drinks grape juice, correct?

ANSWER:

You can call a person anything you want, whether it’s true or not, so the fact that Jesus was called a winebibber is not proof that he drank any wine. Jesus himself was speaking in the passage in Luke chapter 7 that refers to Him as a winebibbler, but note that Jesus uses the phrase “ye say”…

Luke 7:34
“The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!”

There are some Christians who go by this verse, to conclude that we are not to drink wine or strong drink:

Proverbs 31:4
“It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink”

And in quoting Proverbs 31:4, they say that believers, being kings and priests in God’s kingdom, should not drink alcohol. There are other passages that indicate it is a sin to engage in behavior that can cause other believers to stumble… this passage, being one of the more strongly worded passages:

Matthew 18:6
“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

But my rule of thumb is a simple one:

1 Corinthians 10:31
“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

If I can say that what I am doing is for the glory of God, then I can be reasonably sure that I am not sinning, assuming I have the Spirit of Truth living and abiding in me and assuming that I am not ignorant of God’s word. I have yet to come up with an instance where a person can drink alcohol to the glory of God. Can YOU?

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