Drinking, Merriment, and Heaven

For The King — FTK

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Drinking, Merriment, and Heaven

May 8, 2024

For The KingFTK

What is the biblical view of alcohol?

https://fortheking.substack.com/p/drinking-merriment-and-heaven

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Transcript

Hello, For The King listeners. I am not your host, Rocky Ramsey. My name is Will Jerzymski, a brother in Christ and friend of Rocky's, whom he has generously invited onto the show in order to verbally showcase my artwork to you in 50 seconds.

As an artist, I strive to accurately reflect the glory of God and everything that I paint, and through that process, I hope to flood as much of the earth as possible with paintings, which accurately proclaim the undeniable fact that Jesus is Lord and the creation which he made commands us to worship him. So if you would like to join with me in distributing clean, refreshing artwork showcasing the creativity of the God who made us, I would be overjoyed to have your help. I run my own website called Reflected Works, where I showcase the artwork I've done in the past, sell original paintings and prints, and take requests for unique commissions.

Once again, that's ReflectedWorks.com, all one word, and I'm looking forward to helping you further the kingdom of God right now here on this earth by putting some of your free wall space to productive use. Thank you very much for your kind attention, and now, enjoy the show. And I'll not apologize for this God of the Bible.

Drinking, Merryment, and Heaven. What is the biblical view of alcohol? Published May 4, 2024 by Rocky Ramsey. Drink is in itself a good creature of God and to be received with thankfulness, but the abuse of drink is from Satan, the wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the devil.

Increase Mather and Woe to Drunkards, 1673. Recently, I have found myself pondering the uses of alcohol in the Christian life. The source of these thoughts trace back a few years when my family and I became convicted that the Lord's Supper ought to be comprised of wine rather than grape juice.

We included this conviction as we searched for a church where the Lord's Supper was celebrated on a weekly basis. I've further been challenged to consider alcohol in a deeper way ever since reading James Jordan on the matter. I believe that many Christians have a visceral response to alcohol that is unfounded in Scripture.

First, consider this accusation leveled against Jesus. Also, recall the wedding in Cana recorded in John 2. Not only did Jesus come eating and drinking, but also drinking and having a merry time at weddings. In essence, Jesus was partying.

Jesus is not doing something new, but rather continuing to view alcohol in the same way that the Old Covenant saints would have as well. God not only permits his people to drink wine, he virtually commands that they do so at least one of the feasts, Deuteronomy 14, 22 through 26. God encourages his people to purchase wine and strong drink in order to rejoice in the presence of the Lord.

James Jordan from number 48 concerning wine and beer, part one. And let us not forget that the sacrament of the New Covenant itself includes alcohol. Alcohol is built into the way God ordained us to worship him through the Lord's Supper.

So why do many Christians have such a negative response to alcohol when Christ himself came eating and drinking? Alcohol, like all good things in this life, can be twisted, marred, and distorted by sin, turning what once was glorious into something disgusting. Many Christians have witnessed the abuses of alcohol and concluded that it is better not to drink it and therefore avoid the appearance of evil. They argue that it is wiser to avoid the temptation altogether than partake in drinking.

Frankly, this is an immature line of thinking, or it would apply to Christ, if correct, and yet he came eating and drinking. Some accused him of being a drunkard, but Christ did not concern himself with false accusations and the potential appearance of evil. Many in his day were drunkards, yet Christ never stopped drinking to try and sidestep any accusations.

Neither did Christ find the argument compelling that we ought to avoid the temptation of alcohol altogether. Both of these modern, evangelical, self-righteous reasons Christ did not seem to take into account. As such, I think we ought to be very careful in articulating to our unbelieving neighbors that to be a real Christian, one has to abstain from alcohol.

I anticipate that the cognitive dissonance that portrayal creates can be devastating. The unbeliever may understand that Christians think God has created the world good, yet we reject one of the most foundational food products that boast the universal process of fermentation. It's quite odd we have ended up here in Christendom.

In summary, the common reasons we use to avoid alcohol are dubious at best and can harm our witness for Christ. Consider what is more potent Christians who are so immature that they cannot be near alcohol and abstain completely, or are mature people of God properly using alcohol in a glorious, God-honoring way as God intended. God is clear that he is pro-alcohol in the world.

While we have dispelled the myths of abstinence from alcohol, let's explore biblically and creationally why alcohol should be ever present in Christian circles. What Alcohol Does Alcohol has a few obvious uses. Pleasure, celebration, drink, health, and drunkenness to name a few.

The first four are permissible and the last is sin. Wine contains a compound called resveratrol, which has been shown to guard against cancer and increase overall well-being. Wine is also fermented in fermented foods, aid the microbiome, and makes sugary foods more readily digestible.

Fermentation is basically pre-digestin outside of the body by other bacteria. I consider health and drink as connected because the goal is to only drink things that are good for your health, i.e. don't drink bleach. Health is a peripheral topic, but I think it should be noted here because it is a real use of alcohol.

See Paul's suggestion below, quote, no longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments, 1st Timothy 523. Let's now look at using alcohol as a drink in a pleasurable, celebratory way. Christians should be known as a people of joy, mirth, and celebration.

Rather than the way we are often caricatured, most unbelievers in the West view Christianity as a choice that makes one lame, a social outcast and devoid of all the joys and pleasures of the world. This could not be farther from the truth. Christians have reasons to celebrate that the world cannot even fathom.

We were dead in our trespasses with only the fleeting pleasures of this life to anticipate, followed by eternal torment. God, however, has caused us to be born into a new hope. There is no other reason more glorious than this to party.

Since we have such glorious reasons to party, how should we party? Well, we definitely shouldn't party the way the world parties. Sensual dancing, blasphemous music, sexual debauchery, drunkenness, and much more are just a few of the ways that we as Christians do not party. However, a few of these elements can be redeemed to celebrate any way that leaves no regrets or worse destruction of souls.

We truly can dance, sing music, and drink in a God honoring way. I genuinely think that a Christian should have the maturity to have strong drink in a social setting and not harm their witness for Christ. How do we drink to the glory of God? Let's first harken back to the first Bible verse I quoted above, Psalm 104, 14-15.

How exactly does wine, or alcohol for that matter, make the heart glad? What does that even mean? How does alcohol make the heart glad in a way that a sip of water or orange juice would? It would certainly make us happy to be refreshed by a cold cup of water in the heat of summer, but gladdening the heart seems categorically different in the text. The soul is being altered to some extent. The physical alcohol is penetrating to the heart of man.

What mechanism can pull this off? It seems clear to me that the alcohol itself, and its anebirating effects, are what make alcoholic drinks categorically different than other drinks, including their effects on the heart of man. The intoxicating effects of alcohol seem to have a positive effect on the soul. This can help us reconcile while Jesus would condone and create wine at the wedding in Cana and John 2. He wanted to add to the celebration and merriment rather than detract from it.

He wanted to bless the people, and he used the effects of alcohol to accomplish that. This is why alcohol can be a great temptation. Everyone feels lighter and looser when they get a light buzz.

The world then assumes that going further creates more pleasure. The Bible speaks of both wine and beer being offered to God, numbers 28-7. Alcohol was created by God and designed by Him to communicate a sense of rest and well-being.

It is a sensible sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is not true of non-alcoholic drinks." James Jordan from number 42 doing the Lord's Supper. Now hold your horses.

Don't jump to conclusions that I haven't confessed yet. Drunkenness is sin and destroys lives. I am not arguing for drunkenness, I am arguing for joy.

Technically, I am arguing for feeling buzzed as permissible for a Christian. Anything past that is sin and is now tarnishing the name of Christ that we bear as we go along our way. This name we bear even at a party.

Why alcohol is for celebration. Now why is alcohol explicitly condoned for celebratory uses, ministered through its intoxicating effect by God Himself? I think it is condoned because it is a glimpse behind the flesh. Drugs and alcohol in general remove the strong connection of the conscience and physical state we live in.

Alcohol is the permitted drug that God has given us to get a taste of the heavenly life. Now it is not heavenly because it sort of gets us on cloud nine into a disembodied incorporeal state. It is heavenly because we are lifted from our sense of guilt and shame that we carry with us in the flesh wherever we go.

There are plenty of stories of people doing things they would never have done where they sober. Most of them foolhardy and stupid. I do not advocate for these and they are shameful.

It is a pity that the glories of shamefulness leads one to do shameful things. This is the sin of drunkenness in summary. Rather, shamelessness should lead us to glory.

Could there be a mediating or middle ground that allows us to dip in the bliss of shamelessness and guiltlessness? I believe there is. It is called getting buzzed. Or if you prefer more biblical language, gladdening the heart.

If we as mature Christians in wisdom can tap into the glories of alcohol without succumbing to alcohol being a brawler, Proverbs 31, then we are truly being conformed to the image of Christ. This brings us to our final and most potent point. The effects and symbolic nature of alcohol is a type of the final feast of the lamb with his bride on the final day.

We ought to drink wisely because Christ drank wisely and will drink with us again in the consummated kingdom with his bride. Quote, the Old Testament portrays the coming joys of the terms of the abundance of alcoholic wine, Isaiah 25, 6, 27, 2, 55, 1, Jeremiah 31, 12, Hosea 2, 22, Joel 2, 19, and 24, Joel 3, 18, Amos 9, 13, through 15, Zechariah 9, 15, 17, and 10, 7. End quote. James Jordan from number 48 concerning wine and beer, part one.

If God has instituted alcohol as a sacrament, then he has instituted the entire physical makeup and characteristic of the thing. He doesn't just institute bread as a pure symbol. Is he not importing all the blessings that bread brings? Nourishment, sweetness, fullness.

Would he not do the same with wine? Sweetness, nourishment, and dare I say, intoxication. Alcohol will never solve our problem of guilt and shame. Only Christ can do that.

What alcohol can do is lift the normal apprehensions and feelings of inadequacies that plague every human on earth. It levels the playing field and gives us a small glimpse in that heavenly life when we are glorified and we have no shame with our brothers and sisters for eternity as we worship our great King. Concluding remarks.

I admit this may have been a very odd article to read. If I missed the mark or fell short anywhere in exploring this topic, then please forgive me. However, I do think there is something to this line of thought and I would love to know your thoughts if you agree.

I want to be very clear at the end here that we ought not ever pursue alcohol to drown away our sorrows just because it has some heavenly bliss associated with it. We always go to Christ for comfort and atonement and no created thing like alcohol. Quote, wine should be used in moderation and as a way to bring joy and happiness, rather than as a way to escape from reality or as a means of indulging in excess.

John Calvin. A few action items. One, I propose that when we gather as Christians, we do not shy away from a light buzz.

Two, I propose that we never make it seem like to be a Christian one must give up alcohol. Three, I propose that we display for our children how a Christian responsibly drinks alcohol. Four, I propose we do away with all grape juice for the Lord's Supper and use wine exclusively.

Note, I think that it would be foolish to try and display maturity with alcohol in the wrong settings. For instance, I don't think a Christian should go bar hopping just because they have self-control. It would still be a mad witness for our King to be seen in a setting like that as a Christian.

This has been an audio recording of a blog post that I did on fortheking.substack.com, so if you are interested in reading some more of my blogs, you can go there and check it out. Thanks for listening to the King of the Ages and I'll see you next time.