Permitted and praised; drunkenness condemned
Wine
Scripture blesses wine and warns about it, sometimes in the same book.
Interpretation← Food Guide
Where it appears in Scripture
Psalm 104:15; Proverbs 20:1 and 23:29-35; John 2; 1 Timothy 5:23; Ephesians 5:18.
What Scripture says
- Wine is described as gladdening the heart of man.
- Drunkenness is consistently condemned.
- Paul advises Timothy to use a little wine for his stomach.
- Some people in Scripture vowed to abstain (Nazarites, Numbers 6).
What Scripture does NOT say
- Scripture does not command every believer to drink, nor does it require total abstinence of all.
- It gives no quantity that counts as moderate.
- It does not present wine as a health supplement.
New Testament context
Christians hold different convictions here, including total abstinence out of wisdom, care for the weak, or personal history. Romans 14 governs how we treat one another in this.