I'll Drink to That

"Milk is for babies. When you grow up you have to drink beer",
Arnold Schwarzenegger, 1975

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.",
Dave Barry

Last week, one of my friends asked me a fairly common question "How can you be a pastor and drink beer?" Here's my response: "How can you be a pastor and not drink beer?" I should add, "...and smoke great cigars?" (more on that later)

The problem is a fundamental misunderstanding on two fronts: (1) The Biblical Testimony that mitigates against a policy of abstinence, and (2) History.

The Biblical Testimony

Psalm 104:14-15 "He God makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man . . ."

John 2:1-11 is clear that Jesus first miracle was performing over 100 gallons of wine at a wedding party

Matthew 11:19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

Hosea 2:8 "She has not acknowledged that I was the one who gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, who lavished on her the silver and gold-which they used for Baal." (this kind of rules out a policy of abstaining on the basis of how others might stumble)

1 Timothy 4:1-5 "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer."

1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."


Wine is spoken of as both good and bad in the same verses (1 Samuel 1:14, 24; 25:18, 37; Joel 1:5,10).

Apart from good feasting alcohol in Scripture is rightly used for communion (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18), medicinal purposes (Proverbs 31:6; 1 Timothy 5:23), and Old Testament worship (Numbers 28:14).

Proverbs 3:9-10 "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine."

Ecclesiastes 9:7 "Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart."

Psalm 104:14-15 "He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart."

Deuteronomy 14:26 "Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice."

The Ridiculous View: "Wine is Unfermented Grape Juice"

Charles Haddon Spurgeon had this to say...and its hard to improve on it....

‘UNFERMENTED wine’ is a non-existent liquid. Mr. Wilson has so fully proved this that it will require considerable hardihood to attempt a reply. The best of it is that he is a teetotalert of more than thirty years’ standing, and has reluctantly been driven ‘to conclude that, so far as the wines of the ancients are concerned, unfermented wine is a myth.’ While total abstainers are content to make no assault upon the cup used at the Lord’s table, they work harmoniously with all who seek the welfare of their fellow men; but when they commence warfare upon that point they usually become more factious than useful: everything is then made subordinate to their one idea, and the peace of the church is disregarded. It is well, therefore, that one of themselves should protest against carrying a principle to extremes, and best of all that he should do so by showing that the theories which have been advanced are utterly untenable. We wish the utmost success to the abstinence cause, and, therefore, trust that there will be no pressing of the question of unfermented wine at the Communion, for it will not promote the cause, and will create much heartburning, and, worst of all, it will be contrary to the Divine precedent. The question is not necessary to the temperance movement, and we wish it had never been raised. Mr. Wilson has written the thick volume now before us to settle the matter, and we believe that he establishes beyond reasonable debate that the wines of the Bible were intoxicating, and that our Lord did not ordain jelly or syrup, or cherry juice to be the emblem of his sacrifice.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeon The Sword and the Trowel, 1877, p. 437

The argument that terms for wine in the Bible are "unfermented" or "new" or "diluted" wine does not stand up to exegetical scrutiny. new wine can still intoxicate according to Scripture (Isaiah 24:7; Hosea 4:11; Joel 1:5), and mixed wine refers to special wines where various wines are mixed together and/or mixed with spices and does not refer to wine cut with water (Psalm 75:8; Song of Songs 8:2). God refers to pouring out the wine of His mixed wine on His enemies which does not mean He will dilute justice (Psalm 75:8). The only time such a practice is mentioned in the Bible is in regards to merchants who cut wine with to rob customers (Isaiah 1:22).

Numbers 6:3 makes it abundantly clear that there is a word for grape juice and a word for wine used by the biblical authors. If God wanted to clarify the distinction, certainly He would have clarified it just like He did in Numbers .

Additionally, the same word for wine (yyn, yayin) is used in a both good and bad sense in the same verses (1 Samuel 1:14, 24; 25:18, 37; Joel 1:5,10). Given the "unfermented" theory, the only exegetical tool the interpreter has in his belt is conjecture and his own arbitrary choices. This does great violence to the text. The word is the same...and carries the same force in every case: fermented alcoholic beverage. What makes it good is the responsible use. What makes it bad is the irresponsible use.

Further more, Jesus was accused of being a drunkard. Would that accusation be made if Jesus was drinking Welch’s? And he said...I came DRINKING! This would have been a good time to set a policy of abstinence if that is what He meant. Furthermore, he contrasts himself with John the Baptist who did abstain...(he had taken a vow to abstain). Jesus' point is not that he was like John the Baptist or agreed to abstain. Rather, it was precisely the point of their difference that Jesus is making: "He abstained and I don't and you all rejected us both!" Jesus drank fermented wine and it ticked off all the religious self-righteous folks in town. There is no sense in which Jesus was concerned about it either. So much for the policy of abstinence for the sake of the "weaker brother" in this case.

Matt. 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

Luke 7:33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Historically, God’s people have loved good beer and wine for a long time...Luther’s wife Catherine was a skilled brewer and his love letters to her when they were apart lamented his inability to drink her beer. When the Puritan’s landed on Plymouth Rock the first permanent building they erected was the brewery. Under those conditions, I bet folks spent a lot of time gathered around a cold one.

So where did it all go wrong? As feminism grew in America during the turn of the 20th century the women’s suffrage and prohibition movements were the practical results of a feminine piety that came to also dominate the church as more women became pastors and the church became more feminine. The most important temperance society for women was the WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION, an American movement whose Canadian counterpart was founded 1874 by Letitia YOUMANS of Picton, Ont, as one of the few organizations through which women could play a political role. In 1875 the hundreds of societies, lodges and church groups committed to prohibition convened at Montréal to form a federation named the Dominion Prohibitory Council. Renamed in 1876 the Dominion Alliance for the Total Suppression of the Liquor Traffic, it became the major organizing force for prohibition campaigns.

Most of those leading the charge took a hard stance in spite of the biblical testimony. They went as far as condemn all alcohol as a sin and this gave birth to the "wine as grape juice" theory. It also went a long way to ruin a good thing. A great deal of our early American Breweries lost their talent and instead of serving a hardy, dark, rich, flavorful beer...we're getting a softer, gentle beer.... THIS MIGHT BE A SIN IN AND OF ITSELF.

No doubt, drunkenness is a sin...but loving a good beer as a gift from the Lord, redeemed for His glory and our enjoyment is a sign of spiritual maturity.... I'll drink to that!