1 Timothy 3:
2 "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;"
If bishops are forbidden wine, then why should we as Born Again Christians drink wine period?
Luke 1:15 "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."
The above verse is talking about John. He never drank wine or strong drink. This leads me to think that the abstinence of wine will improve our spiritual life. Wine is for the flesh, not the spirit. Alcohol has brought so much death, so why even take a sip of it?
The word "wine" is used throughout the Bible and to define what wine means in different passages you will need much study and the Holy Spirit to lead you.
"Juice when newly expressed, and before it has begun to ferment, is called 'must', and in common language 'new wine'." Dr. Ure, Dictionary of Arts
"Sweet wine is that which has not yet fermented." Chamber's Cyclopedia 6th edition (1750)
"The juice or liquor pressed out of the ripe grapes is called vinum (wine)." Parkinson, Theatrum Botanicum
"When on the south coast of Italy last Christmas, I enquired particularly about the wines in common use, and found that those esteemed the best were sweet and unintoxicating...The Calabrians keeps their intoxicating and unintoxicating wines in separate apartments...I found that the unfermented wines were esteemed the most. Great pains were taken in the vintage season to have a good stock of it laid by." Captain Treat, in 1845, Dr. Lee's Works
From the above quotes, we see wine does not always contain alcohol.
|