Scripture offers guidance on the consumption of alcohol, warning of its potential dangers and excesses. In Proverbs, wisdom literature cautions against intoxication, noting that wine can lead to debasement and poor decision-making, as seen in Proverbs 20:1 and the vivid portrayal in Proverbs 23:29-35. The apostle Paul advises against drunkenness in Ephesians 5:18, instead encouraging believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and also lists drunkenness as a work of the flesh in Galatians 5:21. Additionally, 1 Timothy 5:23 suggests moderate use of wine for medicinal purposes, highlighting the importance of balance and self-control in all aspects of life.
Relevance Score
25%
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Stop drinking only water and use a little wine instead, because of your stomach and your frequent ailments.
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has needless wounds? Who has bloodshot eyes? Those who linger over wine, who go to taste mixed drinks. Do not gaze at wine while it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a snake and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your mind will utter perversities. You will be like one sleeping on the high seas or lying on the top of a mast: “They struck me, but I feel no pain! They beat me, but I did not know it! When can I wake up to search for another drink?”
Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat. For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.
He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
“You and your sons are not to drink wine or strong drink when you enter the Tent of Meeting, or else you will die; this is a permanent statute for the generations to come.