Many use the Word to argue in support of drinking, pointing out that wine and drink are mentioned throughout the Bible, always mentioning that Jesus’ first miracle was to turn water into wine, or could even reference 1 Timothy 5:23 to say that the Apostle Paul encouraged drinking in moderation.

I’d be lying if I said I’d never stumbled in my own faith walk with alcohol or used those same arguments to justify myself. “All things in moderation… it’s the drunkenness that’s the sin, one or two won’t hurt…” But let’s be honest here, most people don’t go out with friends and actually stop at just one or two.

I once read an article in which a pastor said, as believers who say our peace is found in Jesus, and He has all the answers we need, He is enough in all things… What message do we send when we need a glass of wine to relax or a few drinks to have a good time, or after a long week or day at work we say “I need a drink”? That certainly doesn’t support our witness of “Jesus is enough,” does it? That really left me convicted in my spirit. I’ve since quit drinking completely; I can’t recall the last time I had a drink or even the desire for one to be honest.

And then yesterday, as I read Proverbs 31, something caught my attention. So much focus is always placed on the virtuous woman described in verses 10-31, that no one seems to notice what the first nine verses are telling us. It was verses four through seven that jumped out at me:

It is not fit for kings, O Lemuel, to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol. For if they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed. Alcohol is for the dying, and wine is for those in bitter distress. Let them drink to forget their poverty and remember their troubles no more.

-Proverbs 31:4-7, NLT

As I read these verses, I began to see them in light of who we are, IN CHRIST:

In Christ, we are the sons and daughters of God, called to rule and reign as kings in the authority He gives us, in the earth. “It is not fit for kings to guzzle wine… Rulers should not crave alcohol.”

(1 John 3:1, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 5:17, Hebrews 2:8, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Ephesians 3:12, Psalms 119:45)

In Christ, we are called to be alert, vigilant, of sober mind. “If they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice…” Meaning, they will have clouded judgment and not think rationally or use wisdom.

(1 Peter 5:8)

In Christ, we are ALIVE, experiencing eternal life as a present possession, the gift of life intimately shared by the Lord, the quality of God’s life belongs to us RIGHT NOW, in THIS earthly life. “Alcohol is for the dying, & wine for those in bitter distress.” Who is dying? Who is in bitter distress? Those who are spiritually separated from God. To not know the One by Whom and for Whom you were created, is to live a life without purpose or hope- a spiritually dead life of distress.

(John 1:1-4, 3:16, 10:10, 14:6, Romans 6:8-11, 8:33,34, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, Ephesians 2:4,5, Colossians 2:13-15, 3:1-3, 1 Peter 3:18)

In Christ, we have all that we need for life and godliness, and life abundantly. He is the answer to any trouble that may come our way, be it poverty, sickness, disease, or anything else in this life. We can stand up to the mountains of our earthly troubles in His Name and watch them move! “Let them drink to forget their poverty and remember their troubles no more.”

(John 10:10, Mark 11:23,2:Peter 1:3,4, Philippians 4:13, 4:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9, James 5:15, 2 Thessalonians 1:2)

When you see what the Word says, through the lens of who you are in Christ, what conclusion would you draw? Should Christians drink alcohol?

–Walking in My Identity in Christ by Faith, & Finding the Blessings, Gerri