Genesis: Abraham, Covenant, and Promise

The Lord's Supper - Part 8

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Old Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2006-03-19

Synopsis: In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on the Lord's Supper by examining the biblical teaching on wine, focusing on its condemnation when abused and its commendation when used properly. He argues that sin resides in the human heart, not in material things like alcohol, and that Scripture consistently condemns drunkenness and the misuse of wine while commending it as a blessing from God, a symbol of the Messianic age, a source of cheer, a medicine, and a ceremonial element. The sermon concludes that Christians, as joint-heirs with Christ, are given all things to enjoy, but must simultaneously despise any abuse of God's gifts.

[John Weaver] 1 Corinthians chapter 11, and we're dealing with part eight of the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 11, beginning there with verse 20. When you come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in eating everyone taketh before others his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunken. What? Have you not houses to eat and drink in, or despise you the church of God, and shame them that have not?

[John Weaver] What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have delivered unto the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, or I have received of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take ye, this is my body, which was broken for you, this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had stopped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood, this do you, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come."

[John Weaver] Now let me stop there today because we are going to cover an awful lot of ground. This is part eight on the Lord's Supper. We've looked at the names that are given to it in the Bible, the significance of it, dealing of course with the different kinds of meals that it represents. We've looked at the partakers of it. We've looked at the reproof that the Apostle Paul gave to these Corinthians and they were dividing over the Lord's Supper as well as over numerous other things as well.

[John Weaver] And then last week we began to look at the elements. And I pointed out, first of all, the bread and I thought that there was absolutely no discussion upon it because Very obviously, it was unleavened bread. It was taken from the Passover table. We went back and looked in the Old Testament where God required it to be unleavened. And then, of course, we began to deal with the liquid, and I said that it was wine and not grape juice. And then, of course, I went down through the Bible and showed you that there is a difference between the social use of alcohol and the religious use of alcohol.

[John Weaver] I also dealt with this phrase in Luke 22 and verse 18, where Jesus told his disciples that he would no longer, or he would not drink anymore the fruit of the vine until he drank it new with them again in the kingdom of God. Now, when I bring the last message in this series, I'm going to deal with that verse particularly. But I told you that the phrase, the fruit of the vine, was a metonymy. And a metonymy, of course, is where the matter or the substance of a thing is given for the thing itself. We went through the Bible and I showed you where the fruit of the body, the fruit of the womb, the fir trees, all of these are metonymies and we looked at them in the Bible.

[John Weaver] Then I showed you once again that there is indeed a difference between the social use of alcohol and the religious use of alcohol. The social use fell under the area of Christian liberty, and I gave you three reasons why we could forego the lawful exercise of our liberty, and that was number one, for personal holiness, or number two, for the furtherance of the gospel, and number three, out of consideration of the weaker brother. But then I went and showed you different passages where God commanded wine to be used in those offerings, and there was no substitution available.

[John Weaver] There was no choice in it. It had to be just as God commanded. We looked at Leviticus 23, verse 13, Numbers 15, verse 5, and verse 10, and a multitude of others where God demanded wine.

[John Weaver] Now, today I want to come and bring a message which I've entitled, Wine, Its Condemnation and Its Commendation. Or you could say it's use and abuse.

[John Weaver] Now, I'm going to emphasize a point this morning which I will develop more thoroughly next week and explain it next week. But let me just simply put it very pointedly. Evil or sin does not exist in matter. There is nothing that is inherently evil in and of itself, that is, when we're talking about matter. Nothing that God created is inherently evil in and of itself. What does the Bible say? God created everything in the world, and behold, it was what? Good. So, evil does not reside in matter. Alcohol is not evil in and of itself, even in its most potent form. Like I said, I'll explain this more next week.

[John Weaver] resides in the heart of man, not in material things. Once you begin to locate evil or sin in something material, then you've gone into paganism to the nth degree. So sin then is in man, it is not in matter. But there is indeed a condemnation in the Bible of the abuse and misuse of wine.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and get ready to look at some passages. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and listen carefully before we read the scripture and let me make a statement. Here it is. drunkenness, vileness, lewdness, and all acts associated with the abuse and misuse of alcohol are condemned in Scripture. All acts associated with the abuse and misuse of alcohol are condemned in scripture. Paul makes that exceedingly plain in 1 Corinthians 6.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there with verse 9. Look what he says. Know you not. Here's something you ought to know. Plain and simple, he says, is the nose on your face. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Now look what he says. Neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor feminine, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

[John Weaver] Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 11. Now watch the past tense. And such were, past tense, some of you, but you are washed But you're sanctified, but you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

[John Weaver] Now, what does the Apostle Paul say? He says, don't be deceived about this thing. There's no drunkard that is a Christian. There's no whoremonger that is a Christian. There's no adulterer that is a Christian. There's no abuser of themselves that is a sodomite who is a Christian. He says, don't be deceived about this thing.

[John Weaver] Now, let me just point it out what he is saying. He said, and such were some of you. Listen to me plainly. There is no such thing as a Christian drunkard. Does that shock you? That's what Paul is saying. There's no such thing as a Christian drunkard. There's no such thing as a Christian prostitute. Paul said, you may have used to have been some of these things in times past, but no longer.

[John Weaver] You've been washed, you've been sanctified and you've been justified. There is no such thing. Listen to me carefully. There is no such thing as a Christian becoming a drunkard. Now, I did not say that a Christian could not get drunk. Certainly a Christian can get drunk, and if he does, it is sin, it is wicked, it is vile. But what I did say is there's no such thing as a Christian becoming a drunkard. That is someone who constantly and continually is drunk. Now, God condemns drunkenness.

[John Weaver] I'll explain this more next week as well. But I want you to look in your Bibles to Proverbs 20 and verse 1 because we're looking at the condemnation of wine and you're going to see that every time that wine or alcohol is condemned it is usually the abuse and misuse of it that is condemned. Notice in Proverbs 20 and verse 1 the Bible says wine is a mocker Strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Now look what he says, wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

[John Weaver] Now the drunkard is the man that usually scoffs at that which is holy and righteous. Strong drink causes one to rage. And what Proverbs 20 and verse 1 is telling us that the one who abuses alcohol, his desolate madness, breaks through the limits of morality and he is a wicked, wicked man. Anyone who is brought under its spell, anyone who is brought under its slavish desire and subjection to it is deceived. That's what he's saying. So he's not necessarily condemning wine, but he's condemning the fact that those who are deceived by it are brought under its spell, and they are the ones that are always improper, profane, and mockers, and they are raging. Now look in Proverbs 23 and verse 21. In fact, we are going to look at two passages. Proverbs 23 and verse 21. He says, For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

[John Weaver] Now watch that passage very carefully. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall close a man with rags.

[John Weaver] Now look in Proverbs 26 and verse 9. Here's another verse talking about drunkenness. As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. Now let me just point out that these two passages, Proverbs 23 and verse 21, And Proverbs 26 and verse 9 demonstrate the result and the abuse of alcohol. Note if you would what is associated with the result of the misuse and abuse of alcohol. It is laziness, poverty, and pain that always accompanies the misuse and the abuse of alcohol.

[John Weaver] Drunkards usually will not work. Or if they do work, they don't work very long. They work just long enough to get them some money, and then they're off hitting the bottle again somewhere. I remember there was a gentleman who used to come to our farm every summer and work. He had no home. He traveled around the world, so to speak, but not really the world. It was either Georgia or Florida. Because of the off-season, he would When there were no crops coming in in Georgia, he'd be down in Florida picking oranges or doing something.

[John Weaver] The man was a drunk. And I never will forget that he would work just long enough to get him a little bit of money, and then he was gone for a week or two. And then he'd come back and he'd work some more. But he never had anything. And although he was related to a cousin of mine, you could never depend upon him for anything.

[John Weaver] Now, this is exactly what the Bible is saying. Look back in Proverbs 23 and verse 21. What does he say for the drunkard? Help me out now. And the what? Glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall close a man with rags. Do you realize there are three things that are being condemned in verse 21? What are they? Drunkenness, gluttony, and laziness. And those three things are put on a par in Scripture. So it's not just the, listen to me, it's not just the abuse and misuse of alcohol that is condemned, it's also the misuse and abuse of food that is condemned, and also the misuse and abuse of rest that is condemned. And God says they're going to be brought into poverty. Now if you look in Proverbs 23, beginning there with verse 29, I suppose that this is one of the leading passages in the Bible showing the condemnation on the misuse and abuse of wine. Let's begin reading with verse 29. Proverbs 23, verse 29. Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions?

[John Weaver] Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine, Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be a seed that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or a seed that lieth upon the top of a mast, that is, the top of a ship. They have stricken me, thou shalt say, and I was not sick.

[John Weaver] They have beaten me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again."

[John Weaver] Now this passage gives an absolutely perfect picture of a drunkard. I mean, woe, wounds, poverty, contentions, pain, and enslavement.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to know that fornication and idolatry, or fornication and perversions, are usually involved with drunkenness and misuse and the abuse of alcohol. Many times a drunkard does not even know who he is with or what he's doing. That's why I said in verse 33, thine eyes shall behold strange women. You don't know where you are. You don't know who you're with. You don't know what you're doing.

[John Weaver] I've told you this before, but and I laugh every time I think about it. But I have a pastor friend who, before God saved him, was a drunkard. And the man was bigger than I am. I mean, he was a big man. And his wife was about the size of Alice, or maybe even smaller. Well, Bill came home one night absolutely stark raven drunk. In fact, he was so drunk, he fell down on the sidewalk out in front of his house. He never even made it into the house.

[John Weaver] looked out the window and saw him. And that little woman went out and somehow, I don't know how, she got that 250 pound man up off the ground, had his arm around her shoulders, her arm around his back. She was getting him inside the house. And Bill, in his drunkenness, looked at his wife and said, if my wife knew I was going home with you, she'd kill me.

[John Weaver] I often said, I'd have dropped that sucker right there. I'd have let him stay outside. It's what I'd have done. But then that's what the scripture says. You don't know who you're with. You don't know what you're doing. So, God here is condemning the abuse and misuse of alcohol. Look in verse 30. After he asked, who hath woe, who hath sorrow, who hath contention, who hath babblings, who hath wounds without cause, with redness of eyes?

[John Weaver] Here's those who have that. They that tarry long at the wine, and they that go to seek mixed wine. Now, usually when you're seeking mixed wine, wine is mixed with other spices to make it more potent, to make it stronger.

[John Weaver] Now, look in verse 31. He says, Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

[John Weaver] Now, you've got to ask yourself this question. When God says, Look not thou upon the wine because it is red, or when it shows itself red. By the way, red wine was the basic wine in the land of Canaan. It was the wine that was the most sustained. It was that which had was considered the best color and the best tasting. It was good. It was beautiful to look upon. It was bright. Now, he says in verse 31, look not upon the wine when it is red. Here's my question. Listen to me. Is it a sin to look upon a glass of wine? No. Well, what does he mean then when he says, look not thou upon the glass of wine? Is God forbidding us to even look at a bottle of wine or look at a glass of wine? No. It is not that it is unlawful to look at the wine.

[John Weaver] but that it should not be looked at with a greedy and covetous desire, which means that we would vehemently desire it. Such a desire always leads to the intemperate use of it, or its abuse and misuse. It's just like our Lord said in Matthew 5 and verse 28. You remember there? Verily, verily, he said in verse 27, Thou hast heard it said of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

[John Weaver] But I say unto you, whosoever looketh upon a woman, oh, let me stop right there. Is it a sin to look upon a woman? No, I'm looking at a lot of women this morning. But he said, whosoever looketh upon a woman, to what? To lust after her. There's a difference in the way that you look. The same thing is Stated in 1 Corinthians 7, verse one, the apostle Paul said, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. What? I hug your necks when you came in this morning, shook your hands. Does that mean I can't ever touch you or shake your hand or hug your neck? No. But when he's saying it's good for a man not to touch a woman, he's saying it's good for a man not to touch her lustfully, desiringly, wickedly. It's the same thing here. He is not forbidding us to look at wine. He is saying we cannot look upon it lustfully and greedily desiring it. Now, look what he says in verse 31. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

[John Weaver] In other words, don't let the beauty of it or the attractiveness of it seduce you. There's an old saying that goes like this, he that drinks wine sets his eye upon the cup and the vintner sets his eye upon his purse. So one is looking at the cup and the other is looking at the money.

[John Weaver] Now he says, look not thou upon the wine when it moveth itself awry, that is when it sparkles in the glass, when it would go down the throat pleasantly. peers to the eye to be beautiful. In other words, he is condemning a greedy, lustful desire for it. Let me give you a quote by John Trapp, the old Puritan. Listen to what he said. This is so wonderful.

[John Weaver] It sums up what I'm trying to say. John Trapp said, many men die of the wound in the eye. Many men die of the wound in the eye. It is not unlawful to look, But because of looking comes lusting. Therefore, laws are to be laid upon our looks. If we do not let sin in at the window of our eye or by the door of the ear, it cannot enter into our hearts. The prohibition is not upon wine itself, but upon an intemperate and unlawful use of it."

[John Weaver] Now let me give you another interesting interpretation to this verse. When he says in verse 31, look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. When it moveth itself aright. There are some scholars that say that this verse refers to what is known as green wine. Now, not the color green, because he's talking about the color red. But green wine is a term that is given to wine that has not finished its fermentation process.

[John Weaver] So it is still fermenting. That means the bubbles are still coming up from the bottom of it. It's still in the process of fermenting. So it is called green wine. Oftentimes, winos develop a fungus in the linings of their stomachs. And they're oftentimes annoyed with an irritating itch that they cannot scratch. How can you scratch the lining of your stomach? Well, the answer is you really cannot. But what the winos found out is if they took green wine, wine that is not finished fermenting, and drink it, the bubbling of it and the fizzing of it would give some degree of relief from the itch in their stomach lining. In other words, here are men that are so addicted and so misuse and abuse wine that they're not only drunkards, but now they're trying to use the green wine to scratch the itch that they have internally.

[John Weaver] What is the result of that? Well, look in verse 32. At the last, it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Serpents and adders are venomous. They kill. He says, when you have gotten to that point, you are basically dead. Do you realize that drunkenness is always associated with adultery, idolatry and uncleanness? Some are so addicted to alcohol, they're willing to sell their children for a drink. Look in your Bibles to the book of Joel. You remember Daniel, Hosea, Joel Amos. Look in the book of Joel, chapter 3 and verse 3. Joel 3 and verse 3. Look what the Bible says. And they have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine that they might drink. Given a boy for a harlot. In other words, be willing to trade their own son for a harlot. and traded their own girl for a drink. Some of you older people remember a man by the name of Mel Trotter. Remember Mel Trotter was a drunk.

[John Weaver] He's also the fellow that started, I believe, the mission in Chicago for drunks. But Mel Trotter had stolen the shoes off his baby while she was in the crib and he was on his way to pawn them so that he could get a drink of whiskey When he heard an evangelistic service and people were singing and he thought, well, I'll go in just for a minute and he sat down and God saved him. But here was a man who had stolen the shoes off his baby's feet and was on his way to trade them for a drink of whiskey.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Habakkuk. Turn right on over just a few more pages to the book of Habakkuk chapter two. And verse 15, here's a passage that demonstrates how some people will use alcohol not so that they may become drunk, but they will use it for immoral purposes. And Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 15, look what God says, warn them that give to this neighbor drink. Now, God's not talking about just offering your neighbor a glass of wine. Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, why, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look upon their nakedness." So here's someone who's not getting drunk himself, but he's making someone else drunk for immoral purposes.

[John Weaver] So once again, you can see how the abuse and misuse of alcohol is usually associated with adultery, fornication, and idolatry. Please listen. In fact, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 10. I was going to just quote this, but I'll show it to you. Look at Luke chapter 10. It is not wine or alcohol that is condemned in the passage like Habakkuk 2 and verse 15, but rather it is the abuse and misuse of it. It would be neighborly and righteous to give wine to a wounded man. In fact, if you look in Luke 10 and verse 34, our Lord himself is talking about the Good Samaritan says this, and he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to an end and they took care of him. So our Lord is commending the Good Samaritan who used wine there and he's condemning the man who used alcohol in the book of Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 15.

[John Weaver] Two totally different purposes. So it does not matter how one looks at the picture. Let me explain it like this. The abuse and the misuse of alcohol is always wicked, wrong, and sinful. It is not just drunkenness that is condemned. That is condemned. But it is also the misuse of it in regards to adultery and fornication and perversion. Anyone who abuses and misuses alcohol in any way, shape, form or fashion is brought under the judgment and condemnation of God. It's that simple. Now, does God condemn the abuse and misuse of alcohol? Yes. So there is its condemnation.

[John Weaver] I want you to look secondly with me at its commendation. or its use, its proper use. One will search the Scriptures absolutely in vain for a condemnation of wine and strong drink. As I've just pointed out to you, it is not wine and strong drink that are condemned. It's their abuse and misuse. I remember years ago, and it was a long time ago, that I had to study out this subject of alcohol. And I was a much younger preacher back then, because this took place 25-30 years ago. And when I got through the scripture, and I began to realize that God did not condemn wine or alcohol, He condemned the abuse and misuse of it.

[John Weaver] Well, I automatically knew that the understanding that I had come to was diametrically opposed The 99% of the Baptist preachers in this land and a lot of others. So I said, well, I better check myself. So I went to a professor friend of mine. In fact, he taught me when I was in college. He was a dear, dear friend. We've been friends ever since. And I went to him and I talked with him, I said, Doc, let me ask you a question, by the way, let me tell you this, this man. had taught the Bible at this time for over 50 years.

[John Weaver] That doesn't count his own personal studies. I mean, he was in his 70s, but he had actually taught the Bible. For over 50 years. So when I told him the conclusion that I had come to. I looked at it, I said, now, am I right or am I wrong? He looked at me, said, John. I wish. that I could say that you were wrong, but I cannot." He said, my father was a drunkard for most of his life and was converted only in his latter years.

[John Weaver] He said, I know the agony and the heartache of the abuse and misuse of alcohol can bring. However, he said, to be honest with scripture, I have to say that you're right. Scripture does not condemn wine or alcohol, it condemns its abuse and misuse. Do you understand that throughout the Bible, when you just read, I don't care the Old Testament or New Testament, wine is always regarded as a necessity of life and not as a mere luxury? It was always a necessary part, even of the simplest meals.

[John Weaver] For instance, look in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 14 and verse 18. Genesis 14 and verse 18. We've got to do this quickly because I have an awful lot of scriptures. But look in Genesis 14 and verse 18. Here's Melchizedek. And look what happens. Genesis 14 verse 18. And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread And what? Wine. And he was the priest of the Most High God.

[John Weaver] So he comes out to celebrate Abraham's victory. And he brings forth bread and wine. Look in your Bibles very quickly to Judges 19 and verse 19. Some of these scriptures I'll just quote to you and some just ask you to write them down because there are so many of them. But look in the book of Judges chapter 19 and verse 19. Notice if you would please, here the Bethlehemite said this, yet there is both straw and provender for our asses, and there is bread and wine also for me and for thine handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants.

[John Weaver] There is no one of anything. Note what he said, there is both straw and provender for our asses, there is bread and wine also. In 1 Samuel 16 in verse 20, there's bread and wine. When you get to Isaiah 55 verse 1, which is an open invitation to the gospel, so to speak, what does God say? Ho, let him who is thirsty come. Yea, let him come and drink water without money, without price. Yea, let him drink milk and wine. Isaiah 55 and verse 1. Wine was an indispensable provision for a fortress.

[John Weaver] If you were to turn there, do not do so, please. But in 2 Chronicles 11 and verse 11, you will find they stored wine in their fortresses. Wine in the Bible was drunk by all classes of people and all ages of people. even children. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations, right after the book of Jeremiah, Lamentations chapter 2, and let's read verses 11 and 12. Lamentations 2, verses 11 and 12. Notice if you would, Jeremiah writes, my eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth. Why? for the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children, now he's talking about the children, the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers, here's what the children are saying to their mothers, where is corn and wine? When they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out under their mother's bosom.

[John Weaver] So what are they asking for? They're asking for corn or bread and wine. In the book of Zechariah, chapter 9, And verse 17, once again, it's the same thing. Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 17. And let me just turn there very quickly and read that for you. Zechariah 9 verse 17, for how great is his goodness and how great is his beauty. Corn shall make the young men cheerful and new wine the maids. So wine then was drunk by all classes and all ages of people. Wine is always bracketed in the Bible as a basic staple. You'll find that in Genesis 27 and verse 28, when Jacob was being blessed by his father. He said, the Lord bless thee with an abundance of wine.

[John Weaver] Failure of the wine crop was considered a national calamity in Israel. In fact, if you'll read Deuteronomy 28 verses 30 and 39, God promised if they did not obey Him, He would curse their vineyards. You will also find in Isaiah 62 and verse 8, Isaiah 65, 21, Micah 6 and verse 15, and Zephaniah 1 and verse 13, how the failure of the wine crop was considered absolutely disastrous to the nation and to the people. So you will find that wine is bracketed with grain as a basic staple.

[John Weaver] Now, let me give you very quickly six or seven ways in which wine is commended in the scripture. Okay, let's go. Here we go. Number one, wine is commended in that it is a special token of God's blessings. Wine is commended in that it is a special token of God's blessings. Let's go back in our Bible to Genesis 27. Verse 28. And like I say, I'm not going to ask that you turn to all of these scriptures.

[John Weaver] I will call out some of them to you, but I do want you to see a couple. Genesis 27. Notice, if you would please, verse 28. Jacob is Isaac is blessing Jacob. He says, therefore, God, give me the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn. wine. Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 verse 13. In fact, let's read verse 12.

[John Weaver] Wherefore it shall come to pass if you hearken to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant of thy mercy, and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers. And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee. He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thine kind, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee." You'll also find this in Isaiah 65 and verse 8, and Amos 9 and verse 14. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this here, wine is referred to as a blessing of God.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bibles. To Proverbs chapter three and go ahead and find Joel two. And then let me ask you a question after we read these passages, look in Proverbs three. And then we're going to look in Joel chapter two. Okay. Hosea, Joel, Amos. All right. Now let's go to Proverbs chapter three first. And let's begin reading there with verse five, Proverbs three, verse five. I want you to notice what the word of God says. Most of us can quote these passages.

[John Weaver] Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and merit to thy bones." Help me out now. Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase. He's talking about tithing. So shall thy barns be filled with plenty. On thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

[John Weaver] Now what did he say? If you honor me, I will honor you. And one of the blessings that I'm going to give you is plenty of wine.

[John Weaver] Now look in Joel 2 and verse 19. In fact, let's read verse 18 to show God's special jealousy and blessing upon His people. Joel 2, verse 18. Then will the Lord be jealous for His land and pity His people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more make you reproach among the heathen. Now here's my question. If in the Bible wine is presented to us as the blessing of God, and it is, how can some people refer to it as the devil's juice?

[John Weaver] Just stop and think about it. How can it be the devil's juice if it is presented to us as the blessing of God? By the way, Here's the second way wine is commended to us. Wine is commended to us in that an extraordinary abundance of it is the token of the messianic age. Go back in your Bibles to Joel chapter 2. Hope you haven't turned from there. Joel chapter 2.

[John Weaver] I want you to look, if you would, let's begin reading with verse 18 again. Okay. Joel chapter 2 and verse 18. Notice what the Word of God says, Joel 2 verse 18, Then will the Lord be jealous for His land and piteous people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more make you reproach among the heathen, but I will remove far off from you the northern army and will drive him into a land

[John Weaver] barren and desolate, with his face toward the East Sea, and his hinder part toward the Utmost Sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill sabre shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice, for the Lord will do great things." And all of this deals basically with the Messianic age. You'll also find this in Amos 9 verses 13 through 15. In fact, turn right over to Amos chapter 9, you're right there. Amos 9, beginning there, verse 13. Look what he says, Amos 9, verse 13. Behold, the days come, and we're talking about the Messianic age. Behold, the days come, said the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes, him that soweth seed, and the mountain shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

[John Weaver] And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof. They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord God." And you'll find the same thing in Zechariah 9, you don't have to turn there, verses 16-17, but an abundance of wine.

[John Weaver] is an example of the Messianic age. Don't you remember the promise is that every man shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree. So an abundance of wine then is a symbol of the Messianic age. Number three, wine is commended to us in that it is given, listen carefully, to cheer the heart of God. and the hearts of men. I want you to see that in the Bible, so turn if you would to Judges chapter 9 and then we're going to Psalm 104. Okay? So look in Judges chapter 9 first and verse 13. Do you remember how that those offerings that God commended should be given to him daily? always had wine in them."

[John Weaver] We read that last week. But notice in Judges 9, verse 13, what the scripture says. Judges 9, verse 13. Here it is. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man? and go to be promoted over the trees, which cheereth God and man." How could wine be said to cheer the heart of God? Evidently it was that wine that God demanded in His offerings.

[John Weaver] If you will look in Psalm 104 verses 14 and 15. Psalm 104 verse 14. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart." Note if you would, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man. So those drink offerings that were given to God evidently cheered his heart. And the Bible says that there's nothing wrong with a moderate sharing of the heart of man.

[John Weaver] In fact, it is not considered sin or reprehensible. You'll find that in, let me just give you the scriptures, 2 Samuel 13, 28, Esther 1, 10, Ecclesiastes 9, 7, Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 19, and Zechariah 9, 15, and 10, 7. In fact, I want to turn in my Bible and just read to you from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Look, if you would, please, Ecclesiastes 9, 10. He says, once over, Ecclesiastes 9, 7, he says, Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works. What does he say? Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God accepteth thy works. Now look in 10 and verse 19, Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 19. A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry, but money answereth all things. So there's nothing wrong then, he says, with wine sharing the heart of God or the man.

[John Weaver] So it's commended to us in that sense. I'm not going to ask you to turn to any of these passages, but I do want you to listen. There were a multitude of godly men and women in the Bible who used wine properly and were never condemned for it. Melchizedek and Abraham, Genesis 14. Isaac and Jacob, Genesis 27. Jesse and Saul, 1 Samuel 16. Abigail and David, 1 Samuel 25. The Israelites who came to make David king with a perfect heart, they're in 1 Chronicles 12. Solomon and Hiram, 2 Chronicles 2. Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 33. Nehemiah, Nehemiah 2.

[John Weaver] Esther in Esther 5 and 7. Paul and Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 5, Daniel and Daniel chapter 10, and even the Lord himself in Luke chapter 7. These are just a few examples of where wine was used and used properly. And those who used it were not condemned and were not considered reprehensible. So nowhere in scripture then is there a moderate and improper use of wine condemned. However, the abuse of it is always condemned in scripture. Number five, wine is committed in scripture for its medicinal properties, both externally and internally. Now, we look at Luke 10 and verse 34, where he poured wine into the wounds of that man. Well, in all probability, he gave him some internally as well. I don't know.

[John Weaver] The Bible does not say that. But if you look in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 23, you'll find that Paul did commend wine To Timothy, notice if you would please 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 23, he said this, drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. So there is a medicinal use of wine as well. Drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Do you realize there are some countries that it's unsafe to drink water in?

[John Weaver] I remember my father-in-law was in World War II. He went plenty of places where he was not allowed to drink the water. If you drank the water, you got sick or nearly died. And same thing when you go down to Mexico now, you drink the water, usually you're in trouble. But you say, I'm going to tell you this. He said, drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake, not often infirmities.

[John Weaver] I'll pull this out next week, but you realize all medicine is alcohol-based. You can't have a medicine, a pharmaceutical, without being alcohol-based. I was preaching up in New Jersey, and while I was up there for the meeting, I was going to help ordain a friend of mine into the ministry. And he had a little cold, cough, hack, whatever, and he reached in his coat pocket, he pulled this little bottle out, tipped it up and put it back in his pocket. And I looked at him teasingly, I said, John, why don't you just go ahead and get a bottle of wine and drink it? And he looked at me, he said, I would never do that. I said, you wouldn't? No, sir. I said, well, let me see that little bottle you just put back in your pocket. I read, I said, do you see this? 35% alcohol. I said, you know a bottle of wine only has 10 or 12 percent. I said, the reason you don't drink wine is you don't want to cut down on your intake.

[John Weaver] But I was just teasing him. But do you realize, you look at how much alcohol is in NyQuil. My father used to swear by that stuff. He said, son, you get a cold or something, you take some of this, you'll sleep. I looked at it, 40 percent alcohol, no wonder you'll sleep. I mean, you know, come on. But this is what he's saying. I've heard people say all my life, well, I don't want to drink a glass of wine. I want to tell you something, folks. I'd rather have a glass of wine for stomach trouble than I have to take a pill that I don't know what's in it. I'm just saying. So there is a commendation of it here when it's used correctly, even medicinally, in this particular point. Now, it is also commended Proverbs 31 if you will turn there by expressing the exceptional instances well by let me just say it's commended by it's being recommended for the depressed and the dying notice if you would look what he says

[John Weaver] Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of a heavy heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."

[John Weaver] Now what does God say? Give strong drink unto them that are ready to perish, and wine to the heavy heart. Do you know why our Lord was given wine on the cross, mingled, you know, there with the spices? That's what they, when He tasted it, He wouldn't take it. That's what they would do. They would give them that to dull the pain. I mean, it's just like you getting a shot of morphine or a shot of drugs. I mean, that's what he's saying.

[John Weaver] So here's commended for those who are depressed and for those who are dying. Now, I'm not going to make you turn to these passages, but I'm going to tell you that there there is a commendation of wine. In the sense that there are times that its abstinence is demanded. For instance, since you're in Proverbs 31, look there at verses 4 and 5. It is recommended that kings, or those in authority, abstain when they have momentous decisions to make. It is not for kings, O Emuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. Why? Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.

[John Weaver] I had a fellow come to our church one time who had served under five presidents. He was White House security. He brought a program on the Living White House and he told me that LBJ often made momentous decisions after drinking a whole pint of whiskey straight. And he was basically a drunkard is what it amounted to. Well, God says, no, no, you don't do that. I'll explain this more later on, but do you realize that priests were required to abstain from wine or any alcohol while they're ministering in the tabernacle later on the temple? After they got through their service, according to Numbers chapter 18, they were to have the best of the wine. But while they were ministering to God, they had to abstain. Likewise, and I'll explain this later, the Nazarite who took the vow had to abstain from drink.

[John Weaver] And by the way, while I'm on this, let me just ask you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3. I just want to point something out to you. Not that As an individual, I care to drink. I could really care nothing about alcohol in and of itself, but I do want to be honest with scripture, and I do want you to see this. In 1 Timothy chapter 3, Paul is laying out some of the qualifications for elders and deacons, and in verse 3 he says this. Notice 1 Timothy 3 and verse 3, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous. So the pastor men should not be one who's given to wine. Now, let me ask you a question. Does that say don't drink any wine at all? No, it doesn't. Skip down to verse eight. Likewise, must the deacons be grave, not double tongue, not given to what? To much wine. Not greedy of filthy lucre. Now, not given to much wine in verse eight.

[John Weaver] and not given the wine in verse 3 are basically the same. What that text simply says is this, the elder and the deacon cannot be one who is using his wine as an excuse. In other words, well, the reason I got mad or the reason I got upset and the reason I cussed, I just had too much wine to drink. No. God said a pastor or an elder cannot be one that uses wine as an excuse. What he is condemning in 1st Timothy 3 is an intemperate and an unlawful use of wine. He's not saying that preachers cannot have any wine at all. Read Albert Barnes, read John Gill, read any commentator that you want to read, and you're going to find out that every one of them is going to say that basically speaking, what is forbidden here It's for the pastor to use wine as an excuse for his actions. Well, I just had too much to drink.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that is also the excuse that most drunkards give when they do something wrong? Well, I didn't know what I was doing. I just had too much to drink. So 1 Timothy chapter 3 does not forbid wine to a pastor or to a deacon. And then next, I'm going to say that wine is commended in scripture by the condemnation of its abuse. We've already looked at that. I'm not going to cover that. One last point. Wine is committed in scripture by its being given for a ceremonial and an ecclesiastical use.

[John Weaver] Now, I do want you to turn to two passages, OK? I want you to turn to Leviticus 23. We read that passage last week. But I also want you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, that's our text. I'm going to show you why it is commended in that it is given for an ecclesiastical or religious use. So in the book of Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 13, look what the Bible says. Leviticus 23 verse 13, God says, and the meal offering shall be two-tenths deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour, and of the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hen." So wine was given to God in the offering. Now, if you look in 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 21, 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 21, Look how the Apostle Paul is condemning the abuse and the misuse of wine in the agape and in the Lord's Supper. He says this, for in eating everyone taketh for other his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is, what's that word?

[John Weaver] Drunken. You know what the word drunken is? The Greek word is methilo, which means literally to be soaked with wine or alcohol. What were these people doing? They were getting drunk. They were observing the Lord's Supper. What does that tell us? Number one, it tells us that wine was used. Number two, it tells us that the same apostle who commended wine on different occasions condemned the misuse of it here. It is not wine that is condemned, it is the misuse and the abuse of it. And by the way, this word, drunken, is the same word that is used in Acts 2 and verse 15 when the apostles were accused of being drunk with new wine. Someone has said, well, God has promised us new wine. New wine is not fermented. Well, you read Acts 2 and verse 15, it is fermented. because they were accused of being drunken on new wine.

[John Weaver] Now, you have its condemnation, you have its commendation. Let me make two applications and I want you to turn with me to two passages of scripture. Go ahead and find first Corinthians three. And then find first. Timothy, chapter six, OK. First, Timothy, chapter six, I want you to find that one. And then 1 Corinthians chapter 3. We're not going to read those just yet, but we shall read them just momentarily.

[John Weaver] So what is the biblical position on wine? What is the biblical position on alcohol? Here it is. Alcohol, like anything else, should be viewed as a gift and as the blessing from God as long as it is used as it is commanded and commended in scripture. However, at the same time, we must despise and detest its misuse and abuse. In other words, both views are to be held simultaneously. You have to understand that the biblical position is You understand wine, you understand alcohol, and you view it as the blessing of God and as a gift of God on the one hand, as long as it is used as God commanded and as it is commended in the Bible, but on the other hand, you have to despise and detest any and all misuse and abuse of it. Period. That's the biblical view on wine and alcohol.

[John Weaver] The second application is this, and listen to me carefully as I give you this application. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 21. 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 21. The Apostle Paul says this, Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours. Now he's writing to the Christians at Corinth and he says, for all things are yours. Let me ask you a question.

[John Weaver] How much belongs to Jesus Christ? Everything. Do you remember the Bible in Romans chapter 8 says, so then we are joint heirs with Christ. Well, if we're joint heirs, what does that mean? We get everything, too. Whatever Christ has, we have. OK, now watch, he says in verse 21, therefore, let no man glory and men for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apostle or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come. All things are yours. And your Christ and Christ is God's. How much?

[John Weaver] has been given to you and I as Christians. All things. Look in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 17. 1 Timothy 6 and verse 17. Charge them that are rich in this world that they should not be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

[John Weaver] Now, my question is this. How much has been given to us? All things. How much has been given to us to enjoy? And the answer is, all things. Let me make the statement very plain. In reality, I believe that it's only a Christian that can use and enjoy all of God's creation. and use it without abusing it and without perverting it. I don't care if you're talking about wine, I don't care if you're talking about food, I don't care if you're talking about sex, I don't care if you're talking about marriage, because only a Christian has had his heart regenerated and renewed and knows the Word of God and knows that he is to do everything in faith for God's honor and God's glory. Only God's people are able to use without abusing and to use it rightly for God's honor and for God's glory. If we've been given all things in Christ, that's what he said, whether this world or things present or things to come, it doesn't matter, all are yours. And you're Christ's and Christ is God's.

[John Weaver] So everything is secure in him. So our attitude concerning wine, our attitude concerning alcohol should be this. As long as it is used as God commands it, as long as it is used as God commends it, it is right and proper. But at the same time, you have to despise and detest any abuse in an initius of it. For we do not live to ourselves, but we live unto God, who shall judge the quick and the dead. Let's pray.

[John Weaver] Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. Thank you, Lord, for your word and your truth. We do pray, Father, for these that Janet has mentioned in the prayer request earlier, all of those who are traveling. We pray, Lord, against the abortion and the murder in this land, against the wickedness, the ungodliness. We pray, Father, that you would give us grace that we may serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear and that we would bow to your word and submit our hearts to it. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

[John Weaver] You may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N, Street, Suite 705, PMD 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912-925-7000.

[John Weaver] You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com

The Lord's Supper - Part 8

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	51506084
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Genesis: Abraham, Covenant, and Promise
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-03-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 041: The Lord's Supper — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	95

Formatted Transcript

Opening

1 Corinthians chapter 11, and we're dealing with part eight of the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 11, beginning there with verse 20.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 11:20-26

"When you come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in eating everyone taketh before others his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunken. What? Have you not houses to eat and drink in, or despise you the church of God, and shame them that have not?" "What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'Take ye, this is my body, which was broken for you, this do in remembrance of me.' After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, 'This cup is the New Testament in my blood, this do ye, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come.'"

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews previous parts of the series, covering the names, significance, partakers, reproof, and elements of the Lord's Supper, including the unleavened bread and the wine, and the distinction between social and religious use of alcohol.

"What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'Take ye, this is my body, which was broken for you, this do in remembrance of me.' After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, 'This cup is the New Testament in my blood, this do ye, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come.'"

Now let me stop there today because we are going to cover an awful lot of ground. This is part eight on the Lord's Supper. We've looked at the names that are given to it in the Bible, the significance of it, dealing of course with the different kinds of meals that it represents. We've looked at the partakers of it. We've looked at the reproof that the Apostle Paul gave to these Corinthians and they were dividing over the Lord's Supper as well as over numerous other things as well. And then last week we began to look at the elements. And I pointed out, first of all, the bread and I thought that there was absolutely no discussion upon it because very obviously, it was unleavened bread. It was taken from the Passover table. We went back and looked in the Old Testament where God required it to be unleavened. And then, of course, we began to deal with the liquid, and I said that it was wine and not grape juice. And then, of course, I went down through the Bible and showed you that there is a difference between the social use of alcohol and the religious use of alcohol.

I also dealt with this phrase in Luke 22 and verse 18, where Jesus told his disciples that he would no longer, or he would not drink anymore the fruit of the vine until he drank it new with them again in the kingdom of God. Now, when I bring the last message in this series, I'm going to deal with that verse particularly. But I told you that the phrase, "the fruit of the vine," was a metonymy. And a metonymy, of course, is where the matter or the substance of a thing is given for the thing itself. We went through the Bible and I showed you where the fruit of the body, the fruit of the womb, the fir trees, all of these are metonymies and we looked at them in the Bible.

Then I showed you once again that there is indeed a difference between the social use of alcohol and the religious use of alcohol. The social use fell under the area of Christian liberty, and I gave you three reasons why we could forego the lawful exercise of our liberty, and that was number one, for personal holiness, or number two, for the furtherance of the gospel, and number three, out of consideration of the weaker brother. But then I went and showed you different passages where God commanded wine to be used in those offerings, and there was no substitution available. There was no choice in it. It had to be just as God commanded. We looked at Leviticus 23, verse 13, Numbers 15, verse 5, and verse 10, and a multitude of others where God demanded wine.

Now, today I want to come and bring a message which I've entitled, "Wine, Its Condemnation and Its Commendation." Or you could say it's use and abuse.

Sin Resides in the Heart, Not in Matter

Weaver emphasizes that evil does not exist in material things; alcohol is not inherently evil. Sin is in the heart of man, not in matter, and locating evil in matter is paganism.

Now, I'm going to emphasize a point this morning which I will develop more thoroughly next week and explain it next week. But let me just simply put it very pointedly. Evil or sin does not exist in matter. There is nothing that is inherently evil in and of itself, that is, when we're talking about matter. Nothing that God created is inherently evil in and of itself. What does the Bible say? God created everything in the world, and behold, it was what? Good. So, evil does not reside in matter. Alcohol is not evil in and of itself, even in its most potent form. Like I said, I'll explain this more next week.

Sin resides in the heart of man, not in material things. Once you begin to locate evil or sin in something material, then you've gone into paganism to the nth degree. So sin then is in man, it is not in matter. But there is indeed a condemnation in the Bible of the abuse and misuse of wine.

Condemnation of the Abuse and Misuse of Wine

Drunkenness and all acts associated with alcohol abuse are condemned in Scripture. Paul states that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God, and there is no such thing as a Christian drunkard.

Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and get ready to look at some passages. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and listen carefully before we read the scripture and let me make a statement. Here it is. Drunkenness, vileness, lewdness, and all acts associated with the abuse and misuse of alcohol are condemned in Scripture. All acts associated with the abuse and misuse of alcohol are condemned in scripture. Paul makes that exceedingly plain in 1 Corinthians 6. And let's begin reading there with verse 9. Look what he says.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

"Know you not. Here's something you ought to know. Plain and simple, he says, is the nose on your face. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Now look what he says. Neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 11. Now watch the past tense. "And such were, past tense, some of you, but you are washed, but you're sanctified, but you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Now, what does the Apostle Paul say? He says, don't be deceived about this thing. There's no drunkard that is a Christian. There's no whoremonger that is a Christian. There's no adulterer that is a Christian. There's no abuser of themselves that is a sodomite who is a Christian. He says, don't be deceived about this thing.

Now, let me just point it out what he is saying. He said, "and such were some of you." Listen to me plainly. There is no such thing as a Christian drunkard. Does that shock you? That's what Paul is saying. There's no such thing as a Christian drunkard. There's no such thing as a Christian prostitute. Paul said, you may have used to have been some of these things in times past, but no longer.

You've been washed, you've been sanctified and you've been justified. There is no such thing. Listen to me carefully. There is no such thing as a Christian becoming a drunkard. Now, I did not say that a Christian could not get drunk. Certainly a Christian can get drunk, and if he does, it is sin, it is wicked, it is vile. But what I did say is there's no such thing as a Christian becoming a drunkard. That is someone who constantly and continually is drunk. Now, God condemns drunkenness.

I'll explain this more next week as well. But I want you to look in your Bibles to Proverbs 20 and verse 1 because we're looking at the condemnation of wine and you're going to see that every time that wine or alcohol is condemned it is usually the abuse and misuse of it that is condemned. Notice in Proverbs 20 and verse 1 the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 20:1

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Now look what he says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 20:1

"wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Proverbs on the Consequences of Drunkenness

Proverbs 20:1, 23:21, and 26:9 show that wine mocks, strong drink rages, and drunkenness leads to poverty, laziness, and pain. Proverbs 23:29-35 vividly depicts the woes of the drunkard.

Now the drunkard is the man that usually scoffs at that which is holy and righteous. Strong drink causes one to rage. And what Proverbs 20 and verse 1 is telling us that the one who abuses alcohol, his desolate madness, breaks through the limits of morality and he is a wicked, wicked man. Anyone who is brought under its spell, anyone who is brought under its slavish desire and subjection to it is deceived. That's what he's saying. So he's not necessarily condemning wine, but he's condemning the fact that those who are deceived by it are brought under its spell, and they are the ones that are always improper, profane, and mockers, and they are raging. Now look in Proverbs 23 and verse 21. In fact, we are going to look at two passages. Proverbs 23 and verse 21. He says, "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags."

Now watch that passage very carefully. "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags." Now look in Proverbs 26 and verse 9. Here's another verse talking about drunkenness.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 26:9

"As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools."

Now let me just point out that these two passages, Proverbs 23 and verse 21, and Proverbs 26 and verse 9 demonstrate the result and the abuse of alcohol. Note if you would what is associated with the result of the misuse and abuse of alcohol. It is laziness, poverty, and pain that always accompanies the misuse and the abuse of alcohol.

Drunkards usually will not work. Or if they do work, they don't work very long. They work just long enough to get them some money, and then they're off hitting the bottle again somewhere. I remember there was a gentleman who used to come to our farm every summer and work. He had no home. He traveled around the world, so to speak, but not really the world. It was either Georgia or Florida. Because of the off-season, he would—when there were no crops coming in in Georgia, he'd be down in Florida picking oranges or doing something.

The man was a drunk. And I never will forget that he would work just long enough to get him a little bit of money, and then he was gone for a week or two. And then he'd come back and he'd work some more. But he never had anything. And although he was related to a cousin of mine, you could never depend upon him for anything.

Now, this is exactly what the Bible is saying. Look back in Proverbs 23 and verse 21. What does he say for the drunkard? Help me out now. And the what? Glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Do you realize there are three things that are being condemned in verse 21? What are they? Drunkenness, gluttony, and laziness. And those three things are put on a par in Scripture. So it's not just the—listen to me—it's not just the abuse and misuse of alcohol that is condemned, it's also the misuse and abuse of food that is condemned, and also the misuse and abuse of rest that is condemned. And God says they're going to be brought into poverty. Now if you look in Proverbs 23, beginning there with verse 29, I suppose that this is one of the leading passages in the Bible showing the condemnation on the misuse and abuse of wine. Let's begin reading with verse 29. Proverbs 23, verse 29.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:29-35

"Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast, that is, the top of a ship. They have stricken me, thou shalt say, and I was not sick."

"They have beaten me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again." Now this passage gives an absolutely perfect picture of a drunkard. I mean, woe, wounds, poverty, contentions, pain, and enslavement.

The Lustful Look and the Danger of Desire

Proverbs 23:31 warns against looking at wine with greedy desire, similar to lusting after a woman. The prohibition is on intemperate desire, not the substance itself.

Here's those who have that. "They that tarry long at the wine, and they that go to seek mixed wine." Now, usually when you're seeking mixed wine, wine is mixed with other spices to make it more potent, to make it stronger. Now, look in verse 31. He says, "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright."

Now, you've got to ask yourself this question. When God says, "Look not thou upon the wine because it is red," or when it shows itself red. By the way, red wine was the basic wine in the land of Canaan. It was the wine that was the most sustained. It was that which was considered the best color and the best tasting. It was good. It was beautiful to look upon. It was bright. Now, he says in verse 31, "look not upon the wine when it is red." Here's my question. Listen to me. Is it a sin to look upon a glass of wine? No. Well, what does he mean then when he says, "look not thou upon the glass of wine"? Is God forbidding us to even look at a bottle of wine or look at a glass of wine? No. It is not that it is unlawful to look at the wine.

But that it should not be looked at with a greedy and covetous desire, which means that we would vehemently desire it. Such a desire always leads to the intemperate use of it, or its abuse and misuse. It's just like our Lord said in Matthew 5 and verse 28. You remember there? Verily, verily, he said in verse 27, "Thou hast heard it said of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery." "But I say unto you, whosoever looketh upon a woman"—oh, let me stop right there. Is it a sin to look upon a woman? No, I'm looking at a lot of women this morning. But he said, "whosoever looketh upon a woman, to what? To lust after her." There's a difference in the way that you look. The same thing is stated in 1 Corinthians 7, verse one, the apostle Paul said, "it is good for a man not to touch a woman." What? I hugged your necks when you came in this morning, shook your hands. Does that mean I can't ever touch you or shake your hand or hug your neck? No. But when he's saying it's good for a man not to touch a woman, he's saying it's good for a man not to touch her lustfully, desiringly, wickedly. It's the same thing here. He is not forbidding us to look at wine. He is saying we cannot look upon it lustfully and greedily desiring it. Now, look what he says in verse 31. "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright."

In other words, don't let the beauty of it or the attractiveness of it seduce you. There's an old saying that goes like this, "He that drinks wine sets his eye upon the cup and the vintner sets his eye upon his purse." So one is looking at the cup and the other is looking at the money. Now he says, "look not thou upon the wine when it moveth itself aright," that is when it sparkles in the glass, when it would go down the throat pleasantly, appears to the eye to be beautiful. In other words, he is condemning a greedy, lustful desire for it. Let me give you a quote by John Trapp, the old Puritan. Listen to what he said. This is so wonderful.

It sums up what I'm trying to say. John Trapp said, "Many men die of the wound in the eye. Many men die of the wound in the eye. It is not unlawful to look, but because of looking comes lusting. Therefore, laws are to be laid upon our looks. If we do not let sin in at the window of our eye or by the door of the ear, it cannot enter into our hearts. The prohibition is not upon wine itself, but upon an intemperate and unlawful use of it."

Now let me give you another interesting interpretation to this verse. When he says in verse 31, "look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." When it moveth itself aright. There are some scholars that say that this verse refers to what is known as green wine. Now, not the color green, because he's talking about the color red. But green wine is a term that is given to wine that has not finished its fermentation process.

Commendation of Wine in Scripture

Wine is commended as a token of God's blessing, a symbol of the Messianic age, a cheer to God and man, a medicine, and a ceremonial element. Many godly figures used wine without condemnation.

Two totally different purposes. So it does not matter how one looks at the picture. Let me explain it like this. The abuse and the misuse of alcohol is always wicked, wrong, and sinful. It is not just drunkenness that is condemned. That is condemned. But it is also the misuse of it in regards to adultery and fornication and perversion. Anyone who abuses and misuses alcohol in any way, shape, form or fashion is brought under the judgment and condemnation of God. It's that simple. Now, does God condemn the abuse and misuse of alcohol? Yes. So there is its condemnation.

I want you to look secondly with me at its commendation, or its use, its proper use. One will search the Scriptures absolutely in vain for a condemnation of wine and strong drink. As I've just pointed out to you, it is not wine and strong drink that are condemned. It's their abuse and misuse. I remember years ago, and it was a long time ago, that I had to study out this subject of alcohol. And I was a much younger preacher back then, because this took place 25-30 years ago. And when I got through the scripture, and I began to realize that God did not condemn wine or alcohol, He condemned the abuse and misuse of it.

Well, I automatically knew that the understanding that I had come to was diametrically opposed to 99% of the Baptist preachers in this land and a lot of others. So I said, well, I better check myself. So I went to a professor friend of mine. In fact, he taught me when I was in college. He was a dear, dear friend. We've been friends ever since. And I went to him and I talked with him, I said, "Doc, let me ask you a question." By the way, let me tell you this, this man had taught the Bible at this time for over 50 years.

That doesn't count his own personal studies. I mean, he was in his 70s, but he had actually taught the Bible for over 50 years. So when I told him the conclusion that I had come to, I looked at it, I said, "Now, am I right or am I wrong?" He looked at me, said, "John, I wish that I could say that you were wrong, but I cannot." He said, "My father was a drunkard for most of his life and was converted only in his latter years." He said, "I know the agony and the heartache of the abuse and misuse of alcohol can bring. However," he said, "to be honest with scripture, I have to say that you're right. Scripture does not condemn wine or alcohol, it condemns its abuse and misuse." Do you understand that throughout the Bible, when you just read, I don't care the Old Testament or New Testament, wine is always regarded as a necessity of life and not as a mere luxury? It was always a necessary part, even of the simplest meals.

For instance, look in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 14 and verse 18. Genesis 14 and verse 18. We've got to do this quickly because I have an awful lot of scriptures. But look in Genesis 14 and verse 18. Here's Melchizedek. And look what happens. Genesis 14 verse 18.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 14:18

"And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine. And he was the priest of the Most High God."

So he comes out to celebrate Abraham's victory. And he brings forth bread and wine. Look in your Bibles very quickly to Judges 19 and verse 19. Some of these scriptures I'll just quote to you and some just ask you to write them down because there are so many of them. But look in the book of Judges chapter 19 and verse 19. Notice if you would please, here the Bethlehemite said this, "Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses, and there is bread and wine also for me and for thine handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants."

There is no want of anything. Note what he said, "there is both straw and provender for our asses, there is bread and wine also." In 1 Samuel 16 in verse 20, there's bread and wine. When you get to Isaiah 55 verse 1, which is an open invitation to the gospel, so to speak, what does God say? "Ho, let him who is thirsty come. Yea, let him come and drink water without money, without price. Yea, let him drink milk and wine." Isaiah 55 and verse 1. Wine was an indispensable provision for a fortress.

If you were to turn there, do not do so, please. But in 2 Chronicles 11 and verse 11, you will find they stored wine in their fortresses. Wine in the Bible was drunk by all classes of people and all ages of people, even children. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations, right after the book of Jeremiah, Lamentations chapter 2, and let's read verses 11 and 12. Lamentations 2, verses 11 and 12. Notice if you would, Jeremiah writes, "My eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth. Why? For the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children"—now he's talking about the children—"the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers," here's what the children are saying to their mothers, "'Where is corn and wine?' When they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out under their mother's bosom."

So what are they asking for? They're asking for corn or bread and wine. In the book of Zechariah, chapter 9, and verse 17, once again, it's the same thing. Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 17. And let me just turn there very quickly and read that for you. Zechariah 9 verse 17, "For how great is his goodness and how great is his beauty. Corn shall make the young men cheerful and new wine the maids." So wine then was drunk by all classes and all ages of people. Wine is always bracketed in the Bible as a basic staple. You'll find that in Genesis 27 and verse 28, when Jacob was being blessed by his father. He said, "The Lord bless thee with an abundance of wine."

Failure of the wine crop was considered a national calamity in Israel. In fact, if you'll read Deuteronomy 28 verses 30 and 39, God promised if they did not obey Him, He would curse their vineyards. You will also find in Isaiah 62 and verse 8, Isaiah 65, 21, Micah 6 and verse 15, and Zephaniah 1 and verse 13, how the failure of the wine crop was considered absolutely disastrous to the nation and to the people. So you will find that wine is bracketed with grain as a basic staple.

Now, let me give you very quickly six or seven ways in which wine is commended in the scripture. Okay, let's go. Here we go. Number one, wine is commended in that it is a special token of God's blessings. Wine is commended in that it is a special token of God's blessings. Let's go back in our Bible to Genesis 27, verse 28. And like I say, I'm not going to ask that you turn to all of these scriptures.

I will call out some of them to you, but I do want you to see a couple. Genesis 27. Notice, if you would please, verse 28. Jacob—Isaac is blessing Jacob. He says,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 27:28

"Therefore, God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine."

Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 verse 13. In fact, let's read verse 12.

"Wherefore it shall come to pass if you hearken to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant of thy mercy, and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers. And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee. He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thine kind, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee." You'll also find this in Isaiah 65 and verse 8, and Amos 9 and verse 14. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this here, wine is referred to as a blessing of God. I want you to look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter three and go ahead and find Joel two. And then let me ask you a question after we read these passages, look in Proverbs three. And then we're going to look in Joel chapter two. Okay. Hosea, Joel, Amos. All right. Now let's go to Proverbs chapter three first. And let's begin reading there with verse five, Proverbs three, verse five. I want you to notice what the word of God says. Most of us can quote these passages.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." Help me out now. "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase." He's talking about tithing. "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."

Now what did he say? If you honor me, I will honor you. And one of the blessings that I'm going to give you is plenty of wine. Now look in Joel 2 and verse 19. In fact, let's read verse 18 to show God's special jealousy and blessing upon His people. Joel 2, verse 18. "Then will the Lord be jealous for His land and pity His people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, 'Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.'" Now here's my question. If in the Bible wine is presented to us as the blessing of God, and it is, how can some people refer to it as the devil's juice?

Just stop and think about it. How can it be the devil's juice if it is presented to us as the blessing of God? By the way, here's the second way wine is commended to us. Wine is commended to us in that an extraordinary abundance of it is the token of the messianic age. Go back in your Bibles to Joel chapter 2. Hope you haven't turned from there. Joel chapter 2.

I want you to look, if you would, let's begin reading with verse 18 again. Okay. Joel chapter 2 and verse 18. Notice what the Word of God says, Joel 2 verse 18, "Then will the Lord be jealous for His land and pity His people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, 'Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen, but I will remove far off from you the northern army and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the East Sea, and his hinder part toward the Utmost Sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice, for the Lord will do great things.'" And all of this deals basically with the Messianic age. You'll also find this in Amos 9 verses 13 through 15. In fact, turn right over to Amos chapter 9, you're right there. Amos 9, beginning there, verse 13. Look what he says, Amos 9, verse 13. "Behold, the days come," and we're talking about the Messianic age. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed, and the mountain shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt."

Scripture Reading — Amos 9:13-15

"And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof. They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord God."

And you'll find the same thing in Zechariah 9, you don't have to turn there, verses 16-17, but an abundance of wine. is an example of the Messianic age. Don't you remember the promise is that every man shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree. So an abundance of wine then is a symbol of the Messianic age. Number three, wine is commended to us in that it is given, listen carefully, to cheer the heart of God and the hearts of men. I want you to see that in the Bible, so turn if you would to Judges chapter 9 and then we're going to Psalm 104. Okay? So look in Judges chapter 9 first and verse 13. Do you remember how that those offerings that God commended should be given to him daily always had wine in them.

We read that last week. But notice in Judges 9, verse 13, what the scripture says. Judges 9, verse 13. Here it is.

Scripture Reading — Judges 9:13

"And the vine said unto them, 'Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?'"

Which cheereth God and man. How could wine be said to cheer the heart of God? Evidently it was that wine that God demanded in His offerings.

If you will look in Psalm 104 verses 14 and 15. Psalm 104 verse 14.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:14-15

"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:14-15

"and wine that maketh glad the heart of man."

So those drink offerings that were given to God evidently cheered his heart. And the Bible says that there's nothing wrong with a moderate cheering of the heart of man. In fact, it is not considered sin or reprehensible. You'll find that in, let me just give you the scriptures, 2 Samuel 13, 28, Esther 1, 10, Ecclesiastes 9, 7, Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 19, and Zechariah 9, 15, and 10, 7. In fact, I want to turn in my Bible and just read to you from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Look, if you would, please, Ecclesiastes 9, 7. He says, "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works." What does he say? "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God accepteth thy works." Now look in 10 and verse 19, Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 19. "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry, but money answereth all things." So there's nothing wrong then, he says, with wine cheering the heart of God or of man.

So it's commended to us in that sense. I'm not going to ask you to turn to any of these passages, but I do want you to listen. There were a multitude of godly men and women in the Bible who used wine properly and were never condemned for it. Melchizedek and Abraham, Genesis 14. Isaac and Jacob, Genesis 27. Jesse and Saul, 1 Samuel 16. Abigail and David, 1 Samuel 25. The Israelites who came to make David king with a perfect heart, they're in 1 Chronicles 12. Solomon and Hiram, 2 Chronicles 2. Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 33. Nehemiah, Nehemiah 2.

Esther in Esther 5 and 7. Paul and Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 5, Daniel in Daniel chapter 10, and even the Lord himself in Luke chapter 7. These are just a few examples of where wine was used and used properly. And those who used it were not condemned and were not considered reprehensible. So nowhere in scripture then is there a moderate and improper use of wine condemned. However, the abuse of it is always condemned in scripture. Number five, wine is commended in scripture for its medicinal properties, both externally and internally. Now, we look at Luke 10 and verse 34, where he poured wine into the wounds of that man. Well, in all probability, he gave him some internally as well. I don't know.

The Bible does not say that. But if you look in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 23, you'll find that Paul did commend wine to Timothy. Notice if you would please 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 23, he said this, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." So there is a medicinal use of wine as well. Drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Do you realize there are some countries that it's unsafe to drink water in?

Wine for the Depressed and Dying, and Abstinence in Certain Cases

Proverbs 31:6-7 commends strong drink for the perishing and wine for the heavy heart. Kings and priests were to abstain when making decisions or ministering, but not permanently.

"Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of a heavy heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more." Now what does God say? Give strong drink unto them that are ready to perish, and wine to the heavy heart. Do you know why our Lord was given wine on the cross, mingled, you know, there with the spices? That's what they—when He tasted it, He wouldn't take it. That's what they would do. They would give them that to dull the pain. I mean, it's just like you getting a shot of morphine or a shot of drugs. I mean, that's what he's saying.

So here's commended for those who are depressed and for those who are dying. Now, I'm not going to make you turn to these passages, but I'm going to tell you that there is a commendation of wine in the sense that there are times that its abstinence is demanded. For instance, since you're in Proverbs 31, look there at verses 4 and 5. It is recommended that kings, or those in authority, abstain when they have momentous decisions to make. "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. Why? Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted."

I had a fellow come to our church one time who had served under five presidents. He was White House security. He brought a program on the Living White House and he told me that LBJ often made momentous decisions after drinking a whole pint of whiskey straight. And he was basically a drunkard is what it amounted to. Well, God says, no, no, you don't do that. I'll explain this more later on, but do you realize that priests were required to abstain from wine or any alcohol while they're ministering in the tabernacle later on the temple? After they got through their service, according to Numbers chapter 18, they were to have the best of the wine. But while they were ministering to God, they had to abstain. Likewise, and I'll explain this later, the Nazarite who took the vow had to abstain from drink.

And by the way, while I'm on this, let me just ask you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3. I just want to point something out to you. Not that as an individual, I care to drink. I could really care nothing about alcohol in and of itself, but I do want to be honest with scripture, and I do want you to see this. In 1 Timothy chapter 3, Paul is laying out some of the qualifications for elders and deacons, and in verse 3 he says this. Notice 1 Timothy 3 and verse 3, "not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous." So the pastor men should not be one who's given to wine. Now, let me ask you a question. Does that say don't drink any wine at all? No, it doesn't. Skip down to verse eight. "Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to what? To much wine. Not greedy of filthy lucre." Now, "not given to much wine" in verse eight

Biblical Position and Application

The biblical view holds both that wine is a gift from God to be enjoyed when used properly, and that its abuse must be detested. Christians, as joint-heirs with Christ, are given all things to enjoy without abusing them.

So what is the biblical position on wine? What is the biblical position on alcohol? Here it is. Alcohol, like anything else, should be viewed as a gift and as the blessing from God as long as it is used as it is commanded and commended in scripture. However, at the same time, we must despise and detest its misuse and abuse. In other words, both views are to be held simultaneously. You have to understand that the biblical position is you understand wine, you understand alcohol, and you view it as the blessing of God and as a gift of God on the one hand, as long as it is used as God commanded and as it is commended in the Bible, but on the other hand, you have to despise and detest any and all misuse and abuse of it. Period. That's the biblical view on wine and alcohol.

The second application is this, and listen to me carefully as I give you this application. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 21. 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 21. The Apostle Paul says this, "Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours." Now he's writing to the Christians at Corinth and he says, "for all things are yours." Let me ask you a question. How much belongs to Jesus Christ? Everything. Do you remember the Bible in Romans chapter 8 says, "so then we are joint heirs with Christ." Well, if we're joint heirs, what does that mean? We get everything, too. Whatever Christ has, we have. OK, now watch, he says in verse 21, "Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come. All things are yours. And ye are Christ's and Christ is God's." How much

has been given to you and I as Christians? All things. Look in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 17. 1 Timothy 6 and verse 17. "Charge them that are rich in this world that they should not be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."

Now, my question is this. How much has been given to us? All things. How much has been given to us to enjoy? And the answer is, all things. Let me make the statement very plain. In reality, I believe that it's only a Christian that can use and enjoy all of God's creation, and use it without abusing it and without perverting it. I don't care if you're talking about wine, I don't care if you're talking about food, I don't care if you're talking about sex, I don't care if you're talking about marriage, because only a Christian has had his heart regenerated and renewed and knows the Word of God and knows that he is to do everything in faith for God's honor and God's glory. Only God's people are able to use without abusing and to use it rightly for God's honor and for God's glory. If we've been given all things in Christ, that's what he said, whether this world or things present or things to come, it doesn't matter, all are yours. And you're Christ's and Christ is God's.

So everything is secure in him. So our attitude concerning wine, our attitude concerning alcohol should be this. As long as it is used as God commands it, as long as it is used as God commends it, it is right and proper. But at the same time, you have to despise and detest any abuse and iniquity of it. For we do not live to ourselves, but we live unto God, who shall judge the quick and the dead. Let's pray. Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. Thank you, Lord, for your word and your truth. We do pray, Father, for these that Janet has mentioned in the prayer request earlier, all of those who are traveling. We pray, Lord, against the abortion and the murder in this land, against the wickedness, the ungodliness. We pray, Father, that you would give us grace that we may serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear and that we would bow to your word and submit our hearts to it. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Sin is in the heart, not in material things

Summary: Evil does not reside in matter; alcohol is not inherently evil. Sin is located in the human heart, and to locate evil in matter is paganism.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'Evil or sin does not exist in matter. There is nothing that is inherently evil in and of itself... Sin resides in the heart of man, not in material things.'

Condemnation of drunkenness and alcohol abuse

Summary: Scripture consistently condemns drunkenness and the misuse of alcohol, associating it with poverty, immorality, and exclusion from God's kingdom.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Proverbs 20:1, 23:21, 26:9, and 23:29-35 to show that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom and that abuse leads to woe.

Wine as a blessing and gift from God

Summary: Wine is presented in Scripture as a blessing, a staple of life, and a token of God's favor, used by godly men and women without condemnation.

Evidence: Weaver references Genesis 27:28, Deuteronomy 7:13, Proverbs 3:10, Joel 2:19, and others to show wine as a blessing, and lists figures like Melchizedek, Abraham, and Paul who used it.

Proper use vs. abuse of alcohol

Summary: The Bible distinguishes between the lawful, moderate use of wine and its intemperate, sinful abuse. The same substance can be used for good or evil depending on the heart.

Evidence: Weaver contrasts the Good Samaritan's medicinal use (Luke 10:34) with the immoral use in Habakkuk 2:15, and notes that 1 Timothy 3 warns against being 'given to wine' as an excuse.

Christian liberty and responsibility

Summary: Christians are given all things to enjoy, but must use God's gifts without abusing them, holding both commendation and condemnation of wine simultaneously.

Evidence: Weaver cites 1 Corinthians 3:21-23 and 1 Timothy 6:17 to argue that all things belong to believers, who alone can use creation rightly for God's glory.

Key Arguments

No such thing as a Christian drunkard

Summary: Paul's list in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 shows that drunkards, like other unrepentant sinners, will not inherit the kingdom. A Christian may fall into drunkenness but cannot be characterized as a drunkard.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'There is no such thing as a Christian drunkard... Paul said, you may have used to have been some of these things in times past, but no longer.'

Proverbs 23:31 forbids lustful desire, not looking

Summary: The command 'look not thou upon the wine' is not a ban on seeing wine, but a warning against covetous, greedy desire that leads to intemperance, analogous to Jesus' teaching on lust.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'It is not that it is unlawful to look at the wine. But that it should not be looked at with a greedy and covetous desire...' and quotes John Trapp.

Wine is a blessing, not 'the devil's juice'

Summary: Since Scripture repeatedly presents wine as a blessing from God, it cannot be inherently evil. Calling it 'the devil's juice' contradicts biblical testimony.

Evidence: Weaver asks: 'If in the Bible wine is presented to us as the blessing of God, and it is, how can some people refer to it as the devil's juice?'

1 Timothy 3 does not require total abstinence for leaders

Summary: The qualifications 'not given to wine' and 'not given to much wine' condemn intemperate use and using wine as an excuse, not any consumption.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'What that text simply says is this, the elder and the deacon cannot be one who is using his wine as an excuse... He's not saying that preachers cannot have any wine at all.'

The Lord's Supper involved real wine, and abuse was possible

Summary: The Corinthians' drunkenness at the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:21) proves that fermented wine was used, and Paul condemns the abuse, not the element itself.

Evidence: Weaver notes: 'What were these people doing? They were getting drunk. They were observing the Lord's Supper. What does that tell us? Number one, it tells us that wine was used.'

Scripture References

1 Corinthians 11:20-26

Context: The opening text for the series on the Lord's Supper, recounting the institution of the bread and cup.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Context: Paul lists drunkards among those who will not inherit the kingdom, but notes that some Corinthians were such before being washed and sanctified.

Proverbs 20:1

Context: Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived by it is not wise.

Proverbs 23:21

Context: The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.

Proverbs 26:9

Context: As a thorn goes up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

Proverbs 23:29-35

Context: A vivid description of the woes of the drunkard: woe, sorrow, contentions, wounds, redness of eyes, and the deceptive allure of wine that bites like a serpent.

Matthew 5:28

Context: Jesus' teaching that looking at a woman to lust after her is adultery in the heart, used as an analogy for the lustful look at wine.

Joel 3:3

Context: People cast lots for God's people, giving a boy for a harlot and selling a girl for wine, showing the depths of addiction.

Habakkuk 2:15

Context: Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink to make him drunk in order to look on his nakedness, condemning the use of alcohol for immoral purposes.

Luke 10:34

Context: The Good Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounded man's wounds, commending the medicinal use of wine.

Genesis 14:18

Context: Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine as a priest of the Most High God, showing wine as a staple and blessing.

Judges 19:19

Context: The Bethlehemite had bread and wine for himself and his household, indicating wine as a common provision.

Lamentations 2:11-12

Context: Children ask their mothers for corn and wine, showing wine was drunk by all ages.

Genesis 27:28

Context: Isaac's blessing on Jacob includes plenty of corn and wine, showing wine as a token of God's blessing.

Deuteronomy 7:13

Context: God promises to bless the fruit of the land, including wine, as part of His covenant blessing.

Proverbs 3:10

Context: Honoring the Lord with firstfruits results in barns filled with plenty and presses bursting with new wine.

Joel 2:19

Context: God promises to send corn, wine, and oil as a blessing and to remove reproach.

Amos 9:13-15

Context: In the Messianic age, the mountains will drop sweet wine, and Israel will plant vineyards and drink the wine.

Judges 9:13

Context: The vine says its wine cheers God and man, indicating wine's role in offerings and human joy.

Psalm 104:14-15

Context: God gives wine that makes glad the heart of man, along with oil and bread.

Historical References

Mel Trotter

Context: A drunkard who stole his baby's shoes to pawn for whiskey, later saved and started a mission in Chicago.

John Trapp (Puritan commentator)

Context: Quoted on the danger of the lustful look: 'Many men die of the wound in the eye... laws are to be laid upon our looks.'

LBJ (Lyndon B. Johnson)

Context: Mentioned as a president who made momentous decisions after drinking a pint of whiskey, illustrating the danger of leaders drinking.

Important Quotes

Evil or sin does not exist in matter. There is nothing that is inherently evil in and of itself, that is, when we're talking about matter. Nothing that God created is inherently evil in and of itself.

Significance: Establishes the foundational principle that sin is in the heart, not in material things like alcohol, which is key to the sermon's argument.

There is no such thing as a Christian drunkard. Does that shock you? That's what Paul is saying. There's no such thing as a Christian drunkard. There's no such thing as a Christian prostitute.

Significance: Emphasizes the incompatibility of a lifestyle of drunkenness with genuine Christian faith, based on 1 Corinthians 6.

Many men die of the wound in the eye. It is not unlawful to look, but because of looking comes lusting. Therefore, laws are to be laid upon our looks. If we do not let sin in at the window of our eye or by the door of the ear, it cannot enter into our hearts. The prohibition is not upon wine itself, but upon an intemperate and unlawful use of it.

Significance: A Puritan quote that captures the sermon's hermeneutic on Proverbs 23:31: the issue is lustful desire, not the substance.

If in the Bible wine is presented to us as the blessing of God, and it is, how can some people refer to it as the devil's juice?

Significance: A rhetorical question highlighting the inconsistency of calling wine inherently evil when Scripture calls it a blessing.

Alcohol, like anything else, should be viewed as a gift and as the blessing from God as long as it is used as it is commanded and commended in scripture. However, at the same time, we must despise and detest its misuse and abuse.

Significance: Summarizes the balanced biblical position Weaver advocates: both commendation and condemnation held simultaneously.

In reality, I believe that it's only a Christian that can use and enjoy all of God's creation, and use it without abusing it and without perverting it.

Significance: Argues that only regenerate hearts can properly enjoy God's gifts, including wine, without falling into sin.

Discussion Questions

How does the principle that 'sin resides in the heart, not in matter' change the way we evaluate the use of alcohol and other potentially abused substances?

Context: Weaver argues that nothing material is inherently evil, and sin is a matter of the heart. This raises questions about how we discern between use and abuse.

What does it mean that there is 'no such thing as a Christian drunkard'? How does this relate to the doctrine of perseverance and the possibility of a believer falling into sin?

Context: Weaver distinguishes between a Christian who may get drunk and a 'drunkard' as a lifestyle. This touches on assurance and sanctification.

How should we apply the warning of Proverbs 23:31 about not looking at wine with lustful desire in a culture saturated with alcohol advertising and social pressure?

Context: Weaver explains that the prohibition is on covetous desire, not mere sight. This calls for practical wisdom in avoiding temptation.

In what ways does the Bible present wine as a blessing, and how should that shape our attitude toward it, even if we personally abstain?

Context: Weaver lists numerous passages where wine is a token of God's blessing, a symbol of the Messianic age, and a source of cheer.

How do we reconcile the command to 'give strong drink to him who is ready to perish' (Proverbs 31:6) with the overall biblical warnings against drunkenness?

Context: Weaver notes this commendation for the dying and depressed, which seems to conflict with other passages. This invites discussion on context and mercy.

What does it mean for Christians that 'all things are yours' (1 Corinthians 3:21), and how does this apply to the use of alcohol and other controversial liberties?

Context: Weaver uses this verse to argue that believers are given all things to enjoy, but must do so without abuse, for God's glory.

Applications

View alcohol as a gift from God when used properly

Summary: Believers should recognize wine and alcohol as blessings from God, not inherently evil, and enjoy them within the bounds of Scripture's commands and commendations.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'Alcohol, like anything else, should be viewed as a gift and as the blessing from God as long as it is used as it is commanded and commended in scripture.'

Despise and detest the abuse of alcohol

Summary: While acknowledging wine as a gift, Christians must simultaneously hate its misuse, including drunkenness and using it for immoral purposes.

Evidence: Weaver says: 'However, at the same time, we must despise and detest its misuse and abuse.'

Guard against lustful desire for alcohol

Summary: Avoid looking at wine with greedy, covetous desire, as such desire leads to intemperance and sin, just as lustful looks lead to adultery.

Evidence: Weaver explains Proverbs 23:31: 'It is not that it is unlawful to look at the wine. But that it should not be looked at with a greedy and covetous desire.'

Use all of God's creation without abusing it

Summary: As joint-heirs with Christ who are given all things to enjoy, Christians should use every gift—food, drink, sex, marriage—in faith for God's glory, without perversion.

Evidence: Weaver concludes: 'Only a Christian can use and enjoy all of God's creation, and use it without abusing it and without perverting it.'

Do not use alcohol as an excuse for sin

Summary: Leaders especially must not be 'given to wine' in the sense of using it as an excuse for anger, poor judgment, or immoral behavior.

Evidence: Weaver interprets 1 Timothy 3: 'the elder and the deacon cannot be one who is using his wine as an excuse.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:30:53Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T16:20:25Z

Clean Transcript

The Lord's Supper - Part 8

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

1 Corinthians chapter 11, and we're dealing with part eight of the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 11, beginning there with verse 20. "When you come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in eating everyone taketh before others his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunken. What? Have you not houses to eat and drink in, or despise you the church of God, and shame them that have not?"
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"What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'Take ye, this is my body, which was broken for you, this do in remembrance of me.' After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, 'This cup is the New Testament in my blood, this do ye, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come.'"
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Now let me stop there today because we are going to cover an awful lot of ground. This is part eight on the Lord's Supper. We've looked at the names that are given to it in the Bible, the significance of it, dealing of course with the different kinds of meals that it represents. We've looked at the partakers of it. We've looked at the reproof that the Apostle Paul gave to these Corinthians and they were dividing over the Lord's Supper as well as over numerous other things as well.
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And then last week we began to look at the elements. And I pointed out, first of all, the bread and I thought that there was absolutely no discussion upon it because very obviously, it was unleavened bread. It was taken from the Passover table. We went back and looked in the Old Testament where God required it to be unleavened. And then, of course, we began to deal with the liquid, and I said that it was wine and not grape juice. And then, of course, I went down through the Bible and showed you that there is a difference between the social use of alcohol and the religious use of alcohol.
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I also dealt with this phrase in Luke 22 and verse 18, where Jesus told his disciples that he would no longer, or he would not drink anymore the fruit of the vine until he drank it new with them again in the kingdom of God. Now, when I bring the last message in this series, I'm going to deal with that verse particularly. But I told you that the phrase, "the fruit of the vine," was a metonymy. And a metonymy, of course, is where the matter or the substance of a thing is given for the thing itself. We went through the Bible and I showed you where the fruit of the body, the fruit of the womb, the fir trees, all of these are metonymies and we looked at them in the Bible.
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Then I showed you once again that there is indeed a difference between the social use of alcohol and the religious use of alcohol. The social use fell under the area of Christian liberty, and I gave you three reasons why we could forego the lawful exercise of our liberty, and that was number one, for personal holiness, or number two, for the furtherance of the gospel, and number three, out of consideration of the weaker brother. But then I went and showed you different passages where God commanded wine to be used in those offerings, and there was no substitution available.
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There was no choice in it. It had to be just as God commanded. We looked at Leviticus 23, verse 13, Numbers 15, verse 5, and verse 10, and a multitude of others where God demanded wine.
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Now, today I want to come and bring a message which I've entitled, "Wine, Its Condemnation and Its Commendation." Or you could say it's use and abuse.
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Now, I'm going to emphasize a point this morning which I will develop more thoroughly next week and explain it next week. But let me just simply put it very pointedly. Evil or sin does not exist in matter. There is nothing that is inherently evil in and of itself, that is, when we're talking about matter. Nothing that God created is inherently evil in and of itself. What does the Bible say? God created everything in the world, and behold, it was what? Good. So, evil does not reside in matter. Alcohol is not evil in and of itself, even in its most potent form. Like I said, I'll explain this more next week.
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Sin resides in the heart of man, not in material things. Once you begin to locate evil or sin in something material, then you've gone into paganism to the nth degree. So sin then is in man, it is not in matter. But there is indeed a condemnation in the Bible of the abuse and misuse of wine.
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Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and get ready to look at some passages. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and listen carefully before we read the scripture and let me make a statement. Here it is. Drunkenness, vileness, lewdness, and all acts associated with the abuse and misuse of alcohol are condemned in Scripture. All acts associated with the abuse and misuse of alcohol are condemned in scripture. Paul makes that exceedingly plain in 1 Corinthians 6.
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And let's begin reading there with verse 9. Look what he says. "Know you not. Here's something you ought to know. Plain and simple, he says, is the nose on your face. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Now look what he says. Neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
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Now I want you to pay close attention to verse 11. Now watch the past tense. "And such were, past tense, some of you, but you are washed, but you're sanctified, but you're justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
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Now, what does the Apostle Paul say? He says, don't be deceived about this thing. There's no drunkard that is a Christian. There's no whoremonger that is a Christian. There's no adulterer that is a Christian. There's no abuser of themselves that is a sodomite who is a Christian. He says, don't be deceived about this thing.
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Now, let me just point it out what he is saying. He said, "and such were some of you." Listen to me plainly. There is no such thing as a Christian drunkard. Does that shock you? That's what Paul is saying. There's no such thing as a Christian drunkard. There's no such thing as a Christian prostitute. Paul said, you may have used to have been some of these things in times past, but no longer.
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You've been washed, you've been sanctified and you've been justified. There is no such thing. Listen to me carefully. There is no such thing as a Christian becoming a drunkard. Now, I did not say that a Christian could not get drunk. Certainly a Christian can get drunk, and if he does, it is sin, it is wicked, it is vile. But what I did say is there's no such thing as a Christian becoming a drunkard. That is someone who constantly and continually is drunk. Now, God condemns drunkenness.
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I'll explain this more next week as well. But I want you to look in your Bibles to Proverbs 20 and verse 1 because we're looking at the condemnation of wine and you're going to see that every time that wine or alcohol is condemned it is usually the abuse and misuse of it that is condemned. Notice in Proverbs 20 and verse 1 the Bible says, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." Now look what he says, "wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."
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Now the drunkard is the man that usually scoffs at that which is holy and righteous. Strong drink causes one to rage. And what Proverbs 20 and verse 1 is telling us that the one who abuses alcohol, his desolate madness, breaks through the limits of morality and he is a wicked, wicked man. Anyone who is brought under its spell, anyone who is brought under its slavish desire and subjection to it is deceived. That's what he's saying. So he's not necessarily condemning wine, but he's condemning the fact that those who are deceived by it are brought under its spell, and they are the ones that are always improper, profane, and mockers, and they are raging. Now look in Proverbs 23 and verse 21. In fact, we are going to look at two passages. Proverbs 23 and verse 21. He says, "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags."
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Now watch that passage very carefully. "For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags."
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Now look in Proverbs 26 and verse 9. Here's another verse talking about drunkenness. "As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools." Now let me just point out that these two passages, Proverbs 23 and verse 21, and Proverbs 26 and verse 9 demonstrate the result and the abuse of alcohol. Note if you would what is associated with the result of the misuse and abuse of alcohol. It is laziness, poverty, and pain that always accompanies the misuse and the abuse of alcohol.
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Drunkards usually will not work. Or if they do work, they don't work very long. They work just long enough to get them some money, and then they're off hitting the bottle again somewhere. I remember there was a gentleman who used to come to our farm every summer and work. He had no home. He traveled around the world, so to speak, but not really the world. It was either Georgia or Florida. Because of the off-season, he would—when there were no crops coming in in Georgia, he'd be down in Florida picking oranges or doing something.
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The man was a drunk. And I never will forget that he would work just long enough to get him a little bit of money, and then he was gone for a week or two. And then he'd come back and he'd work some more. But he never had anything. And although he was related to a cousin of mine, you could never depend upon him for anything.
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Now, this is exactly what the Bible is saying. Look back in Proverbs 23 and verse 21. What does he say for the drunkard? Help me out now. And the what? Glutton shall come to poverty and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Do you realize there are three things that are being condemned in verse 21? What are they? Drunkenness, gluttony, and laziness. And those three things are put on a par in Scripture. So it's not just the—listen to me—it's not just the abuse and misuse of alcohol that is condemned, it's also the misuse and abuse of food that is condemned, and also the misuse and abuse of rest that is condemned. And God says they're going to be brought into poverty. Now if you look in Proverbs 23, beginning there with verse 29, I suppose that this is one of the leading passages in the Bible showing the condemnation on the misuse and abuse of wine. Let's begin reading with verse 29. Proverbs 23, verse 29. "Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast, that is, the top of a ship. They have stricken me, thou shalt say, and I was not sick."
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"They have beaten me, and I felt it not. When shall I awake? I will seek it yet again."
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Now this passage gives an absolutely perfect picture of a drunkard. I mean, woe, wounds, poverty, contentions, pain, and enslavement.
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Now I want you to know that fornication and idolatry, or fornication and perversions, are usually involved with drunkenness and misuse and the abuse of alcohol. Many times a drunkard does not even know who he is with or what he's doing. That's why I said in verse 33, "thine eyes shall behold strange women." You don't know where you are. You don't know who you're with. You don't know what you're doing.
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I've told you this before, but—and I laugh every time I think about it. But I have a pastor friend who, before God saved him, was a drunkard. And the man was bigger than I am. I mean, he was a big man. And his wife was about the size of Alice, or maybe even smaller. Well, Bill came home one night absolutely stark raven drunk. In fact, he was so drunk, he fell down on the sidewalk out in front of his house. He never even made it into the house.
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His wife looked out the window and saw him. And that little woman went out and somehow, I don't know how, she got that 250 pound man up off the ground, had his arm around her shoulders, her arm around his back. She was getting him inside the house. And Bill, in his drunkenness, looked at his wife and said, "If my wife knew I was going home with you, she'd kill me."
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I often said, I'd have dropped that sucker right there. I'd have let him stay outside. It's what I'd have done. But then that's what the scripture says. You don't know who you're with. You don't know what you're doing. So, God here is condemning the abuse and misuse of alcohol. Look in verse 30. After he asked, "Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contention? Who hath babblings? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?"
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Here's those who have that. "They that tarry long at the wine, and they that go to seek mixed wine." Now, usually when you're seeking mixed wine, wine is mixed with other spices to make it more potent, to make it stronger.
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Now, look in verse 31. He says, "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright."
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Now, you've got to ask yourself this question. When God says, "Look not thou upon the wine because it is red," or when it shows itself red. By the way, red wine was the basic wine in the land of Canaan. It was the wine that was the most sustained. It was that which was considered the best color and the best tasting. It was good. It was beautiful to look upon. It was bright. Now, he says in verse 31, "look not upon the wine when it is red." Here's my question. Listen to me. Is it a sin to look upon a glass of wine? No. Well, what does he mean then when he says, "look not thou upon the glass of wine"? Is God forbidding us to even look at a bottle of wine or look at a glass of wine? No. It is not that it is unlawful to look at the wine.
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But that it should not be looked at with a greedy and covetous desire, which means that we would vehemently desire it. Such a desire always leads to the intemperate use of it, or its abuse and misuse. It's just like our Lord said in Matthew 5 and verse 28. You remember there? Verily, verily, he said in verse 27, "Thou hast heard it said of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery."
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"But I say unto you, whosoever looketh upon a woman"—oh, let me stop right there. Is it a sin to look upon a woman? No, I'm looking at a lot of women this morning. But he said, "whosoever looketh upon a woman, to what? To lust after her." There's a difference in the way that you look. The same thing is stated in 1 Corinthians 7, verse one, the apostle Paul said, "it is good for a man not to touch a woman." What? I hugged your necks when you came in this morning, shook your hands. Does that mean I can't ever touch you or shake your hand or hug your neck? No. But when he's saying it's good for a man not to touch a woman, he's saying it's good for a man not to touch her lustfully, desiringly, wickedly. It's the same thing here. He is not forbidding us to look at wine. He is saying we cannot look upon it lustfully and greedily desiring it. Now, look what he says in verse 31. "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright."
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In other words, don't let the beauty of it or the attractiveness of it seduce you. There's an old saying that goes like this, "He that drinks wine sets his eye upon the cup and the vintner sets his eye upon his purse." So one is looking at the cup and the other is looking at the money.
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Now he says, "look not thou upon the wine when it moveth itself aright," that is when it sparkles in the glass, when it would go down the throat pleasantly, appears to the eye to be beautiful. In other words, he is condemning a greedy, lustful desire for it. Let me give you a quote by John Trapp, the old Puritan. Listen to what he said. This is so wonderful.
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It sums up what I'm trying to say. John Trapp said, "Many men die of the wound in the eye. Many men die of the wound in the eye. It is not unlawful to look, but because of looking comes lusting. Therefore, laws are to be laid upon our looks. If we do not let sin in at the window of our eye or by the door of the ear, it cannot enter into our hearts. The prohibition is not upon wine itself, but upon an intemperate and unlawful use of it."
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Now let me give you another interesting interpretation to this verse. When he says in verse 31, "look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." When it moveth itself aright. There are some scholars that say that this verse refers to what is known as green wine. Now, not the color green, because he's talking about the color red. But green wine is a term that is given to wine that has not finished its fermentation process.
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So it is still fermenting. That means the bubbles are still coming up from the bottom of it. It's still in the process of fermenting. So it is called green wine. Oftentimes, winos develop a fungus in the linings of their stomachs. And they're oftentimes annoyed with an irritating itch that they cannot scratch. How can you scratch the lining of your stomach? Well, the answer is you really cannot. But what the winos found out is if they took green wine, wine that is not finished fermenting, and drink it, the bubbling of it and the fizzing of it would give some degree of relief from the itch in their stomach lining. In other words, here are men that are so addicted and so misuse and abuse wine that they're not only drunkards, but now they're trying to use the green wine to scratch the itch that they have internally.
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What is the result of that? Well, look in verse 32. "At the last, it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Serpents and adders are venomous. They kill. He says, when you have gotten to that point, you are basically dead. Do you realize that drunkenness is always associated with adultery, idolatry and uncleanness? Some are so addicted to alcohol, they're willing to sell their children for a drink. Look in your Bibles to the book of Joel. You remember Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos. Look in the book of Joel, chapter 3 and verse 3. Joel 3 and verse 3. Look what the Bible says. "And they have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine that they might drink." Given a boy for a harlot. In other words, be willing to trade their own son for a harlot, and traded their own girl for a drink. Some of you older people remember a man by the name of Mel Trotter. Remember Mel Trotter was a drunk.
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He's also the fellow that started, I believe, the mission in Chicago for drunks. But Mel Trotter had stolen the shoes off his baby while she was in the crib and he was on his way to pawn them so that he could get a drink of whiskey. When he heard an evangelistic service and people were singing and he thought, well, I'll go in just for a minute and he sat down and God saved him. But here was a man who had stolen the shoes off his baby's feet and was on his way to trade them for a drink of whiskey.
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Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Habakkuk. Turn right on over just a few more pages to the book of Habakkuk chapter two. And verse 15, here's a passage that demonstrates how some people will use alcohol not so that they may become drunk, but they will use it for immoral purposes. And Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 15, look what God says, "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink." Now, God's not talking about just offering your neighbor a glass of wine. "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look upon their nakedness." So here's someone who's not getting drunk himself, but he's making someone else drunk for immoral purposes.
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So once again, you can see how the abuse and misuse of alcohol is usually associated with adultery, fornication, and idolatry. Please listen. In fact, go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 10. I was going to just quote this, but I'll show it to you. Look at Luke chapter 10. It is not wine or alcohol that is condemned in the passage like Habakkuk 2 and verse 15, but rather it is the abuse and misuse of it. It would be neighborly and righteous to give wine to a wounded man. In fact, if you look in Luke 10 and verse 34, our Lord himself is talking about the Good Samaritan says this, "And he went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him." So our Lord is commending the Good Samaritan who used wine there and he's condemning the man who used alcohol in the book of Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse 15.
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Two totally different purposes. So it does not matter how one looks at the picture. Let me explain it like this. The abuse and the misuse of alcohol is always wicked, wrong, and sinful. It is not just drunkenness that is condemned. That is condemned. But it is also the misuse of it in regards to adultery and fornication and perversion. Anyone who abuses and misuses alcohol in any way, shape, form or fashion is brought under the judgment and condemnation of God. It's that simple. Now, does God condemn the abuse and misuse of alcohol? Yes. So there is its condemnation.
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I want you to look secondly with me at its commendation, or its use, its proper use. One will search the Scriptures absolutely in vain for a condemnation of wine and strong drink. As I've just pointed out to you, it is not wine and strong drink that are condemned. It's their abuse and misuse. I remember years ago, and it was a long time ago, that I had to study out this subject of alcohol. And I was a much younger preacher back then, because this took place 25-30 years ago. And when I got through the scripture, and I began to realize that God did not condemn wine or alcohol, He condemned the abuse and misuse of it.
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Well, I automatically knew that the understanding that I had come to was diametrically opposed to 99% of the Baptist preachers in this land and a lot of others. So I said, well, I better check myself. So I went to a professor friend of mine. In fact, he taught me when I was in college. He was a dear, dear friend. We've been friends ever since. And I went to him and I talked with him, I said, "Doc, let me ask you a question." By the way, let me tell you this, this man had taught the Bible at this time for over 50 years.
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That doesn't count his own personal studies. I mean, he was in his 70s, but he had actually taught the Bible for over 50 years. So when I told him the conclusion that I had come to, I looked at it, I said, "Now, am I right or am I wrong?" He looked at me, said, "John, I wish that I could say that you were wrong, but I cannot." He said, "My father was a drunkard for most of his life and was converted only in his latter years."
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He said, "I know the agony and the heartache of the abuse and misuse of alcohol can bring. However," he said, "to be honest with scripture, I have to say that you're right. Scripture does not condemn wine or alcohol, it condemns its abuse and misuse." Do you understand that throughout the Bible, when you just read, I don't care the Old Testament or New Testament, wine is always regarded as a necessity of life and not as a mere luxury? It was always a necessary part, even of the simplest meals.
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For instance, look in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 14 and verse 18. Genesis 14 and verse 18. We've got to do this quickly because I have an awful lot of scriptures. But look in Genesis 14 and verse 18. Here's Melchizedek. And look what happens. Genesis 14 verse 18. "And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine. And he was the priest of the Most High God."
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So he comes out to celebrate Abraham's victory. And he brings forth bread and wine. Look in your Bibles very quickly to Judges 19 and verse 19. Some of these scriptures I'll just quote to you and some just ask you to write them down because there are so many of them. But look in the book of Judges chapter 19 and verse 19. Notice if you would please, here the Bethlehemite said this, "Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses, and there is bread and wine also for me and for thine handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants."
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There is no want of anything. Note what he said, "there is both straw and provender for our asses, there is bread and wine also." In 1 Samuel 16 in verse 20, there's bread and wine. When you get to Isaiah 55 verse 1, which is an open invitation to the gospel, so to speak, what does God say? "Ho, let him who is thirsty come. Yea, let him come and drink water without money, without price. Yea, let him drink milk and wine." Isaiah 55 and verse 1. Wine was an indispensable provision for a fortress.
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If you were to turn there, do not do so, please. But in 2 Chronicles 11 and verse 11, you will find they stored wine in their fortresses. Wine in the Bible was drunk by all classes of people and all ages of people, even children. If you'll look in your Bibles to the book of Lamentations, right after the book of Jeremiah, Lamentations chapter 2, and let's read verses 11 and 12. Lamentations 2, verses 11 and 12. Notice if you would, Jeremiah writes, "My eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth. Why? For the destruction of the daughter of my people, because the children"—now he's talking about the children—"the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city. They say to their mothers," here's what the children are saying to their mothers, "'Where is corn and wine?' When they swooned as the wounded in the streets of the city, when their soul was poured out under their mother's bosom."
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So what are they asking for? They're asking for corn or bread and wine. In the book of Zechariah, chapter 9, and verse 17, once again, it's the same thing. Zechariah chapter 9 and verse 17. And let me just turn there very quickly and read that for you. Zechariah 9 verse 17, "For how great is his goodness and how great is his beauty. Corn shall make the young men cheerful and new wine the maids." So wine then was drunk by all classes and all ages of people. Wine is always bracketed in the Bible as a basic staple. You'll find that in Genesis 27 and verse 28, when Jacob was being blessed by his father. He said, "The Lord bless thee with an abundance of wine."
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Failure of the wine crop was considered a national calamity in Israel. In fact, if you'll read Deuteronomy 28 verses 30 and 39, God promised if they did not obey Him, He would curse their vineyards. You will also find in Isaiah 62 and verse 8, Isaiah 65, 21, Micah 6 and verse 15, and Zephaniah 1 and verse 13, how the failure of the wine crop was considered absolutely disastrous to the nation and to the people. So you will find that wine is bracketed with grain as a basic staple.
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Now, let me give you very quickly six or seven ways in which wine is commended in the scripture. Okay, let's go. Here we go. Number one, wine is commended in that it is a special token of God's blessings. Wine is commended in that it is a special token of God's blessings. Let's go back in our Bible to Genesis 27, verse 28. And like I say, I'm not going to ask that you turn to all of these scriptures.
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I will call out some of them to you, but I do want you to see a couple. Genesis 27. Notice, if you would please, verse 28. Jacob—Isaac is blessing Jacob. He says, "Therefore, God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine." Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 verse 13. In fact, let's read verse 12.
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"Wherefore it shall come to pass if you hearken to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant of thy mercy, and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers. And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee. He will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thine kind, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee." You'll also find this in Isaiah 65 and verse 8, and Amos 9 and verse 14. Now, the point I'm trying to make is this here, wine is referred to as a blessing of God.
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I want you to look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter three and go ahead and find Joel two. And then let me ask you a question after we read these passages, look in Proverbs three. And then we're going to look in Joel chapter two. Okay. Hosea, Joel, Amos. All right. Now let's go to Proverbs chapter three first. And let's begin reading there with verse five, Proverbs three, verse five. I want you to notice what the word of God says. Most of us can quote these passages.
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"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." Help me out now. "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase." He's talking about tithing. "So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."
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Now what did he say? If you honor me, I will honor you. And one of the blessings that I'm going to give you is plenty of wine.
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Now look in Joel 2 and verse 19. In fact, let's read verse 18 to show God's special jealousy and blessing upon His people. Joel 2, verse 18. "Then will the Lord be jealous for His land and pity His people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, 'Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.'" Now here's my question. If in the Bible wine is presented to us as the blessing of God, and it is, how can some people refer to it as the devil's juice?
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Just stop and think about it. How can it be the devil's juice if it is presented to us as the blessing of God? By the way, here's the second way wine is commended to us. Wine is commended to us in that an extraordinary abundance of it is the token of the messianic age. Go back in your Bibles to Joel chapter 2. Hope you haven't turned from there. Joel chapter 2.
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I want you to look, if you would, let's begin reading with verse 18 again. Okay. Joel chapter 2 and verse 18. Notice what the Word of God says, Joel 2 verse 18, "Then will the Lord be jealous for His land and pity His people. Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto His people, 'Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith, and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen, but I will remove far off from you the northern army and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the East Sea, and his hinder part toward the Utmost Sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice, for the Lord will do great things.'" And all of this deals basically with the Messianic age. You'll also find this in Amos 9 verses 13 through 15. In fact, turn right over to Amos chapter 9, you're right there. Amos 9, beginning there, verse 13. Look what he says, Amos 9, verse 13. "Behold, the days come," and we're talking about the Messianic age. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed, and the mountain shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt."
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"And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof. They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord God." And you'll find the same thing in Zechariah 9, you don't have to turn there, verses 16-17, but an abundance of wine.
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is an example of the Messianic age. Don't you remember the promise is that every man shall sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree. So an abundance of wine then is a symbol of the Messianic age. Number three, wine is commended to us in that it is given, listen carefully, to cheer the heart of God and the hearts of men. I want you to see that in the Bible, so turn if you would to Judges chapter 9 and then we're going to Psalm 104. Okay? So look in Judges chapter 9 first and verse 13. Do you remember how that those offerings that God commended should be given to him daily always had wine in them.
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We read that last week. But notice in Judges 9, verse 13, what the scripture says. Judges 9, verse 13. Here it is. "And the vine said unto them, 'Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?'" Which cheereth God and man. How could wine be said to cheer the heart of God? Evidently it was that wine that God demanded in His offerings.
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If you will look in Psalm 104 verses 14 and 15. Psalm 104 verse 14. "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart." Note if you would, "and wine that maketh glad the heart of man." So those drink offerings that were given to God evidently cheered his heart. And the Bible says that there's nothing wrong with a moderate cheering of the heart of man.
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In fact, it is not considered sin or reprehensible. You'll find that in, let me just give you the scriptures, 2 Samuel 13, 28, Esther 1, 10, Ecclesiastes 9, 7, Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 19, and Zechariah 9, 15, and 10, 7. In fact, I want to turn in my Bible and just read to you from the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9. Look, if you would, please, Ecclesiastes 9, 7. He says, "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works." What does he say? "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart, for God accepteth thy works." Now look in 10 and verse 19, Ecclesiastes 10 and verse 19. "A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry, but money answereth all things." So there's nothing wrong then, he says, with wine cheering the heart of God or of man.
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So it's commended to us in that sense. I'm not going to ask you to turn to any of these passages, but I do want you to listen. There were a multitude of godly men and women in the Bible who used wine properly and were never condemned for it. Melchizedek and Abraham, Genesis 14. Isaac and Jacob, Genesis 27. Jesse and Saul, 1 Samuel 16. Abigail and David, 1 Samuel 25. The Israelites who came to make David king with a perfect heart, they're in 1 Chronicles 12. Solomon and Hiram, 2 Chronicles 2. Hezekiah, 2 Chronicles 33. Nehemiah, Nehemiah 2.
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Esther in Esther 5 and 7. Paul and Timothy, 1 Timothy chapter 5, Daniel in Daniel chapter 10, and even the Lord himself in Luke chapter 7. These are just a few examples of where wine was used and used properly. And those who used it were not condemned and were not considered reprehensible. So nowhere in scripture then is there a moderate and improper use of wine condemned. However, the abuse of it is always condemned in scripture. Number five, wine is commended in scripture for its medicinal properties, both externally and internally. Now, we look at Luke 10 and verse 34, where he poured wine into the wounds of that man. Well, in all probability, he gave him some internally as well. I don't know.
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The Bible does not say that. But if you look in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 23, you'll find that Paul did commend wine to Timothy. Notice if you would please 1 Timothy chapter 5 and verse 23, he said this, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities." So there is a medicinal use of wine as well. Drink a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities. Do you realize there are some countries that it's unsafe to drink water in?
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I remember my father-in-law was in World War II. He went plenty of places where he was not allowed to drink the water. If you drank the water, you got sick or nearly died. And same thing when you go down to Mexico now, you drink the water, usually you're in trouble. But you say, I'm going to tell you this. He said, "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities."
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I'll pull this out next week, but you realize all medicine is alcohol-based. You can't have a medicine, a pharmaceutical, without being alcohol-based. I was preaching up in New Jersey, and while I was up there for the meeting, I was going to help ordain a friend of mine into the ministry. And he had a little cold, cough, hack, whatever, and he reached in his coat pocket, he pulled this little bottle out, tipped it up and put it back in his pocket. And I looked at him teasingly, I said, "John, why don't you just go ahead and get a bottle of wine and drink it?" And he looked at me, he said, "I would never do that." I said, "You wouldn't?" "No, sir." I said, "Well, let me see that little bottle you just put back in your pocket." I read, I said, "Do you see this? 35% alcohol." I said, "You know a bottle of wine only has 10 or 12 percent. I said, the reason you don't drink wine is you don't want to cut down on your intake."
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But I was just teasing him. But do you realize, you look at how much alcohol is in NyQuil. My father used to swear by that stuff. He said, "Son, you get a cold or something, you take some of this, you'll sleep." I looked at it, 40 percent alcohol, no wonder you'll sleep. I mean, you know, come on. But this is what he's saying. I've heard people say all my life, "Well, I don't want to drink a glass of wine." I want to tell you something, folks. I'd rather have a glass of wine for stomach trouble than I have to take a pill that I don't know what's in it. I'm just saying. So there is a commendation of it here when it's used correctly, even medicinally, in this particular point. Now, it is also commended in Proverbs 31 if you will turn there by expressing the exceptional instances—well, by let me just say it's commended by its being recommended for the depressed and the dying. Notice if you would Proverbs 31 verses 6 and 7. Proverbs 31 verses 6 and 7. Look what he says.
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"Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of a heavy heart. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more."
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Now what does God say? Give strong drink unto them that are ready to perish, and wine to the heavy heart. Do you know why our Lord was given wine on the cross, mingled, you know, there with the spices? That's what they—when He tasted it, He wouldn't take it. That's what they would do. They would give them that to dull the pain. I mean, it's just like you getting a shot of morphine or a shot of drugs. I mean, that's what he's saying.
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So here's commended for those who are depressed and for those who are dying. Now, I'm not going to make you turn to these passages, but I'm going to tell you that there is a commendation of wine in the sense that there are times that its abstinence is demanded. For instance, since you're in Proverbs 31, look there at verses 4 and 5. It is recommended that kings, or those in authority, abstain when they have momentous decisions to make. "It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes strong drink. Why? Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted."
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I had a fellow come to our church one time who had served under five presidents. He was White House security. He brought a program on the Living White House and he told me that LBJ often made momentous decisions after drinking a whole pint of whiskey straight. And he was basically a drunkard is what it amounted to. Well, God says, no, no, you don't do that. I'll explain this more later on, but do you realize that priests were required to abstain from wine or any alcohol while they're ministering in the tabernacle later on the temple? After they got through their service, according to Numbers chapter 18, they were to have the best of the wine. But while they were ministering to God, they had to abstain. Likewise, and I'll explain this later, the Nazarite who took the vow had to abstain from drink.
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And by the way, while I'm on this, let me just ask you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 3. I just want to point something out to you. Not that as an individual, I care to drink. I could really care nothing about alcohol in and of itself, but I do want to be honest with scripture, and I do want you to see this. In 1 Timothy chapter 3, Paul is laying out some of the qualifications for elders and deacons, and in verse 3 he says this. Notice 1 Timothy 3 and verse 3, "not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous." So the pastor men should not be one who's given to wine. Now, let me ask you a question. Does that say don't drink any wine at all? No, it doesn't. Skip down to verse eight. "Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to what? To much wine. Not greedy of filthy lucre." Now, "not given to much wine" in verse eight
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and "not given to wine" in verse 3 are basically the same. What that text simply says is this, the elder and the deacon cannot be one who is using his wine as an excuse. In other words, "Well, the reason I got mad or the reason I got upset and the reason I cussed, I just had too much wine to drink." No. God said a pastor or an elder cannot be one that uses wine as an excuse. What he is condemning in 1st Timothy 3 is an intemperate and an unlawful use of wine. He's not saying that preachers cannot have any wine at all. Read Albert Barnes, read John Gill, read any commentator that you want to read, and you're going to find out that every one of them is going to say that basically speaking, what is forbidden here is for the pastor to use wine as an excuse for his actions. "Well, I just had too much to drink."
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Do you realize that is also the excuse that most drunkards give when they do something wrong? "Well, I didn't know what I was doing. I just had too much to drink." So 1 Timothy chapter 3 does not forbid wine to a pastor or to a deacon. And then next, I'm going to say that wine is commended in scripture by the condemnation of its abuse. We've already looked at that. I'm not going to cover that. One last point. Wine is commended in scripture by its being given for a ceremonial and an ecclesiastical use.
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Now, I do want you to turn to two passages, OK? I want you to turn to Leviticus 23. We read that passage last week. But I also want you to turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11, that's our text. I'm going to show you why it is commended in that it is given for an ecclesiastical or religious use. So in the book of Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 13, look what the Bible says. Leviticus 23 verse 13, God says, "And the meal offering shall be two-tenths deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour, and of the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin." So wine was given to God in the offering. Now, if you look in 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 21, 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 21, look how the Apostle Paul is condemning the abuse and the misuse of wine in the agape and in the Lord's Supper. He says this, "For in eating everyone taketh before other his own supper, and one is hungry, and another is"—what's that word?
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"Drunken." You know what the word "drunken" is? The Greek word is methuo, which means literally to be soaked with wine or alcohol. What were these people doing? They were getting drunk. They were observing the Lord's Supper. What does that tell us? Number one, it tells us that wine was used. Number two, it tells us that the same apostle who commended wine on different occasions condemned the misuse of it here. It is not wine that is condemned, it is the misuse and the abuse of it. And by the way, this word, "drunken," is the same word that is used in Acts 2 and verse 15 when the apostles were accused of being drunk with new wine. Someone has said, "Well, God has promised us new wine. New wine is not fermented." Well, you read Acts 2 and verse 15, it is fermented, because they were accused of being drunken on new wine.
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Now, you have its condemnation, you have its commendation. Let me make two applications and I want you to turn with me to two passages of scripture. Go ahead and find 1 Corinthians 3. And then find 1 Timothy chapter 6, OK. 1 Timothy chapter 6, I want you to find that one. And then 1 Corinthians chapter 3. We're not going to read those just yet, but we shall read them just momentarily.
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So what is the biblical position on wine? What is the biblical position on alcohol? Here it is. Alcohol, like anything else, should be viewed as a gift and as the blessing from God as long as it is used as it is commanded and commended in scripture. However, at the same time, we must despise and detest its misuse and abuse. In other words, both views are to be held simultaneously. You have to understand that the biblical position is you understand wine, you understand alcohol, and you view it as the blessing of God and as a gift of God on the one hand, as long as it is used as God commanded and as it is commended in the Bible, but on the other hand, you have to despise and detest any and all misuse and abuse of it. Period. That's the biblical view on wine and alcohol.
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The second application is this, and listen to me carefully as I give you this application. Look in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 21. 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 21. The Apostle Paul says this, "Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours." Now he's writing to the Christians at Corinth and he says, "for all things are yours." Let me ask you a question.
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How much belongs to Jesus Christ? Everything. Do you remember the Bible in Romans chapter 8 says, "so then we are joint heirs with Christ." Well, if we're joint heirs, what does that mean? We get everything, too. Whatever Christ has, we have. OK, now watch, he says in verse 21, "Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come. All things are yours. And ye are Christ's and Christ is God's." How much
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has been given to you and I as Christians? All things. Look in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 17. 1 Timothy 6 and verse 17. "Charge them that are rich in this world that they should not be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy."
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Now, my question is this. How much has been given to us? All things. How much has been given to us to enjoy? And the answer is, all things. Let me make the statement very plain. In reality, I believe that it's only a Christian that can use and enjoy all of God's creation, and use it without abusing it and without perverting it. I don't care if you're talking about wine, I don't care if you're talking about food, I don't care if you're talking about sex, I don't care if you're talking about marriage, because only a Christian has had his heart regenerated and renewed and knows the Word of God and knows that he is to do everything in faith for God's honor and God's glory. Only God's people are able to use without abusing and to use it rightly for God's honor and for God's glory. If we've been given all things in Christ, that's what he said, whether this world or things present or things to come, it doesn't matter, all are yours. And you're Christ's and Christ is God's.
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So everything is secure in him. So our attitude concerning wine, our attitude concerning alcohol should be this. As long as it is used as God commands it, as long as it is used as God commends it, it is right and proper. But at the same time, you have to despise and detest any abuse and iniquity of it. For we do not live to ourselves, but we live unto God, who shall judge the quick and the dead. Let's pray.
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Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus Christ that you would help us, that you would teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. Thank you, Lord, for your word and your truth. We do pray, Father, for these that Janet has mentioned in the prayer request earlier, all of those who are traveling. We pray, Lord, against the abortion and the murder in this land, against the wickedness, the ungodliness. We pray, Father, that you would give us grace that we may serve thee acceptably with reverence and godly fear and that we would bow to your word and submit our hearts to it. In the name of Jesus Christ we ask and pray, Amen.
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You may contact Freedom Ministries by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N, Street, Suite 705, PMD 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912-925-7000.
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You can also visit our website at www.freedomministry.com
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You may contact Dominion Ministry by mail at 7400 Abercorn, that's A-B-E-R-C-O-R-N, Street, Suite 705, PMD 175, Savannah, Georgia, 31406. Or give us a call at 912-925-7000.
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You can also visit our website at www.dominionministry.com
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T03:30:53Z

The Lord's Supper - Part 8

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, John Weaver continues his series on the Lord's Supper by examining the biblical teaching on wine, focusing on its condemnation when abused and its commendation when used properly. He argues that sin resides in the human heart, not in material things like alcohol, and that Scripture consistently condemns drunkenness and the misuse of wine while commending it as a blessing from God, a symbol of the Messianic age, a source of cheer, a medicine, and a ceremonial element. The sermon concludes that Christians, as joint-heirs with Christ, are given all things to enjoy, but must simultaneously despise any abuse of God's gifts.

Opening

1 Corinthians chapter 11, and we're dealing with part eight of the Lord's Supper, 1 Corinthians 11, beginning there with verse 20.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 11:20-26

"When you come together into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in eating everyone taketh before others his own supper, and one is hungry and another is drunken. What? Have you not houses to eat and drink in, or despise you the church of God, and shame them that have not?" "What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I have delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'Take ye, this is my body, which was broken for you, this do in remembrance of me.' After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, 'This cup is the New Testament in my blood, this do ye, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord's death till he come.'"

Introduction and Review

Now, today I want to come and bring a message which I've entitled, "Wine, Its Condemnation and Its Commendation." Or you could say it's use and abuse.

Sin Resides in the Heart, Not in Matter

Weaver emphasizes that evil does not exist in material things; alcohol is not inherently evil. Sin is in the heart of man, not in matter, and locating evil in matter is paganism.

Condemnation of the Abuse and Misuse of Wine

Drunkenness and all acts associated with alcohol abuse are condemned in Scripture. Paul states that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God, and there is no such thing as a Christian drunkard.

Scripture Reading — 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

"Know you not. Here's something you ought to know. Plain and simple, he says, is the nose on your face. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived. Now look what he says. Neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 20:1

"Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Now look what he says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 20:1

"wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Proverbs on the Consequences of Drunkenness

Proverbs 20:1, 23:21, and 26:9 show that wine mocks, strong drink rages, and drunkenness leads to poverty, laziness, and pain. Proverbs 23:29-35 vividly depicts the woes of the drunkard.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 26:9

"As a thorn goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 23:29-35

"Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine, they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast, that is, the top of a ship. They have stricken me, thou shalt say, and I was not sick."

The Lustful Look and the Danger of Desire

Proverbs 23:31 warns against looking at wine with greedy desire, similar to lusting after a woman. The prohibition is on intemperate desire, not the substance itself.

Commendation of Wine in Scripture

Wine is commended as a token of God's blessing, a symbol of the Messianic age, a cheer to God and man, a medicine, and a ceremonial element. Many godly figures used wine without condemnation.

Scripture Reading — Genesis 14:18

"And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine. And he was the priest of the Most High God."

I will call out some of them to you, but I do want you to see a couple. Genesis 27. Notice, if you would please, verse 28. Jacob—Isaac is blessing Jacob. He says,

Scripture Reading — Genesis 27:28

"Therefore, God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine."

Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 and verse 13. Deuteronomy 7 verse 13. In fact, let's read verse 12.

Scripture Reading — Amos 9:13-15

"And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof. They shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord God."

We read that last week. But notice in Judges 9, verse 13, what the scripture says. Judges 9, verse 13. Here it is.

Scripture Reading — Judges 9:13

"And the vine said unto them, 'Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees?'"

Which cheereth God and man. How could wine be said to cheer the heart of God? Evidently it was that wine that God demanded in His offerings.

If you will look in Psalm 104 verses 14 and 15. Psalm 104 verse 14.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:14-15

"He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth, and wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart."

Note if you would,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 104:14-15

"and wine that maketh glad the heart of man."

Wine for the Depressed and Dying, and Abstinence in Certain Cases

Proverbs 31:6-7 commends strong drink for the perishing and wine for the heavy heart. Kings and priests were to abstain when making decisions or ministering, but not permanently.

Biblical Position and Application

The Lord's Supper - Part 8

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	51506084
Subject	Old Testament Studies
Course	Genesis: Abraham, Covenant, and Promise
Genre	Sermon
Date	2006-03-19
Dictation Name
Book	Book 041: The Lord's Supper — Chapter 8
Source Timed Segments	95

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver reviews previous parts of the series, covering the names, significance, partakers, reproof, and elements of the Lord's Supper, including the unleavened bread and the wine, and the distinction between social and religious use of alcohol.
Sin Resides in the Heart, Not in Matter: Weaver emphasizes that evil does not exist in material things; alcohol is not inherently evil. Sin is in the heart of man, not in matter, and locating evil in matter is paganism.
Condemnation of the Abuse and Misuse of Wine: Drunkenness and all acts associated with alcohol abuse are condemned in Scripture. Paul states that drunkards will not inherit the kingdom of God, and there is no such thing as a Christian drunkard.
Proverbs on the Consequences of Drunkenness: Proverbs 20:1, 23:21, and 26:9 show that wine mocks, strong drink rages, and drunkenness leads to poverty, laziness, and pain. Proverbs 23:29-35 vividly depicts the woes of the drunkard.
The Lustful Look and the Danger of Desire: Proverbs 23:31 warns against looking at wine with greedy desire, similar to lusting after a woman. The prohibition is on intemperate desire, not the substance itself.
Commendation of Wine in Scripture: Wine is commended as a token of God's blessing, a symbol of the Messianic age, a cheer to God and man, a medicine, and a ceremonial element. Many godly figures used wine without condemnation.
Wine for the Depressed and Dying, and Abstinence in Certain Cases: Proverbs 31:6-7 commends strong drink for the perishing and wine for the heavy heart. Kings and priests were to abstain when making decisions or ministering, but not permanently.
Biblical Position and Application: The biblical view holds both that wine is a gift from God to be enjoyed when used properly, and that its abuse must be detested. Christians, as joint-heirs with Christ, are given all things to enjoy without abusing them.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

No such thing as a Christian drunkard

Paul's list in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 shows that drunkards, like other unrepentant sinners, will not inherit the kingdom. A Christian may fall into drunkenness but cannot be characterized as a drunkard.

Weaver says: 'There is no such thing as a Christian drunkard... Paul said, you may have used to have been some of these things in times past, but no longer.'

Proverbs 23:31 forbids lustful desire, not looking

The command 'look not thou upon the wine' is not a ban on seeing wine, but a warning against covetous, greedy desire that leads to intemperance, analogous to Jesus' teaching on lust.

Weaver explains: 'It is not that it is unlawful to look at the wine. But that it should not be looked at with a greedy and covetous desire...' and quotes John Trapp.

Wine is a blessing, not 'the devil's juice'

Since Scripture repeatedly presents wine as a blessing from God, it cannot be inherently evil. Calling it 'the devil's juice' contradicts biblical testimony.

Weaver asks: 'If in the Bible wine is presented to us as the blessing of God, and it is, how can some people refer to it as the devil's juice?'

1 Timothy 3 does not require total abstinence for leaders

The qualifications 'not given to wine' and 'not given to much wine' condemn intemperate use and using wine as an excuse, not any consumption.

Weaver states: 'What that text simply says is this, the elder and the deacon cannot be one who is using his wine as an excuse... He's not saying that preachers cannot have any wine at all.'

The Lord's Supper involved real wine, and abuse was possible

The Corinthians' drunkenness at the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:21) proves that fermented wine was used, and Paul condemns the abuse, not the element itself.

Weaver notes: 'What were these people doing? They were getting drunk. They were observing the Lord's Supper. What does that tell us? Number one, it tells us that wine was used.'

Scripture References

1 Corinthians 11:20-26: The opening text for the series on the Lord's Supper, recounting the institution of the bread and cup.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Paul lists drunkards among those who will not inherit the kingdom, but notes that some Corinthians were such before being washed and sanctified.
Proverbs 20:1: Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whoever is deceived by it is not wise.
Proverbs 23:21: The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
Proverbs 26:9: As a thorn goes up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
Proverbs 23:29-35: A vivid description of the woes of the drunkard: woe, sorrow, contentions, wounds, redness of eyes, and the deceptive allure of wine that bites like a serpent.
Matthew 5:28: Jesus' teaching that looking at a woman to lust after her is adultery in the heart, used as an analogy for the lustful look at wine.
Joel 3:3: People cast lots for God's people, giving a boy for a harlot and selling a girl for wine, showing the depths of addiction.
Habakkuk 2:15: Woe to him who gives his neighbor drink to make him drunk in order to look on his nakedness, condemning the use of alcohol for immoral purposes.
Luke 10:34: The Good Samaritan poured oil and wine on the wounded man's wounds, commending the medicinal use of wine.
Genesis 14:18: Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine as a priest of the Most High God, showing wine as a staple and blessing.
Judges 19:19: The Bethlehemite had bread and wine for himself and his household, indicating wine as a common provision.
Lamentations 2:11-12: Children ask their mothers for corn and wine, showing wine was drunk by all ages.
Genesis 27:28: Isaac's blessing on Jacob includes plenty of corn and wine, showing wine as a token of God's blessing.
Deuteronomy 7:13: God promises to bless the fruit of the land, including wine, as part of His covenant blessing.
Proverbs 3:10: Honoring the Lord with firstfruits results in barns filled with plenty and presses bursting with new wine.
Joel 2:19: God promises to send corn, wine, and oil as a blessing and to remove reproach.
Amos 9:13-15: In the Messianic age, the mountains will drop sweet wine, and Israel will plant vineyards and drink the wine.
Judges 9:13: The vine says its wine cheers God and man, indicating wine's role in offerings and human joy.
Psalm 104:14-15: God gives wine that makes glad the heart of man, along with oil and bread.

Historical References

Mel Trotter: A drunkard who stole his baby's shoes to pawn for whiskey, later saved and started a mission in Chicago.
John Trapp (Puritan commentator): Quoted on the danger of the lustful look: 'Many men die of the wound in the eye... laws are to be laid upon our looks.'
LBJ (Lyndon B. Johnson): Mentioned as a president who made momentous decisions after drinking a pint of whiskey, illustrating the danger of leaders drinking.

Important Quotes

Evil or sin does not exist in matter. There is nothing that is inherently evil in and of itself, that is, when we're talking about matter. Nothing that God created is inherently evil in and of itself.

Establishes the foundational principle that sin is in the heart, not in material things like alcohol, which is key to the sermon's argument.

There is no such thing as a Christian drunkard. Does that shock you? That's what Paul is saying. There's no such thing as a Christian drunkard. There's no such thing as a Christian prostitute.

Emphasizes the incompatibility of a lifestyle of drunkenness with genuine Christian faith, based on 1 Corinthians 6.

Many men die of the wound in the eye. It is not unlawful to look, but because of looking comes lusting. Therefore, laws are to be laid upon our looks. If we do not let sin in at the window of our eye or by the door of the ear, it cannot enter into our hearts. The prohibition is not upon wine itself, but upon an intemperate and unlawful use of it.

A Puritan quote that captures the sermon's hermeneutic on Proverbs 23:31: the issue is lustful desire, not the substance.

If in the Bible wine is presented to us as the blessing of God, and it is, how can some people refer to it as the devil's juice?

A rhetorical question highlighting the inconsistency of calling wine inherently evil when Scripture calls it a blessing.

Alcohol, like anything else, should be viewed as a gift and as the blessing from God as long as it is used as it is commanded and commended in scripture. However, at the same time, we must despise and detest its misuse and abuse.

Summarizes the balanced biblical position Weaver advocates: both commendation and condemnation held simultaneously.

In reality, I believe that it's only a Christian that can use and enjoy all of God's creation, and use it without abusing it and without perverting it.

Argues that only regenerate hearts can properly enjoy God's gifts, including wine, without falling into sin.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does the principle that 'sin resides in the heart, not in matter' change the way we evaluate the use of alcohol and other potentially abused substances?

[Context]

Weaver argues that nothing material is inherently evil, and sin is a matter of the heart. This raises questions about how we discern between use and abuse.

[Question]

What does it mean that there is 'no such thing as a Christian drunkard'? How does this relate to the doctrine of perseverance and the possibility of a believer falling into sin?

[Context]

Weaver distinguishes between a Christian who may get drunk and a 'drunkard' as a lifestyle. This touches on assurance and sanctification.

[Question]

How should we apply the warning of Proverbs 23:31 about not looking at wine with lustful desire in a culture saturated with alcohol advertising and social pressure?

[Context]

Weaver explains that the prohibition is on covetous desire, not mere sight. This calls for practical wisdom in avoiding temptation.

[Question]

In what ways does the Bible present wine as a blessing, and how should that shape our attitude toward it, even if we personally abstain?

[Context]

Weaver lists numerous passages where wine is a token of God's blessing, a symbol of the Messianic age, and a source of cheer.

[Question]

How do we reconcile the command to 'give strong drink to him who is ready to perish' (Proverbs 31:6) with the overall biblical warnings against drunkenness?

[Context]

Weaver notes this commendation for the dying and depressed, which seems to conflict with other passages. This invites discussion on context and mercy.

[Question]

What does it mean for Christians that 'all things are yours' (1 Corinthians 3:21), and how does this apply to the use of alcohol and other controversial liberties?

[Context]

Weaver uses this verse to argue that believers are given all things to enjoy, but must do so without abuse, for God's glory.

Applications

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