Under
the Influence
One of the big problems on our national highways is
drivers who get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol.
While the phrase 'under the influence' typically has alcohol in mind,
there are any number of drugs whose influence upon a driver could
impair their ability to drive. The current national DUI standard is a
blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08. Members of the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are lobbying many states to reduce
that threshold to 0.05. In technical terms, intoxication and impairment
begin with one drink. In legal terms, the number of drinks required to
reach the drunk driving threshold varies according to body mass. For
example, a 160-pound man is considered 'under the influence' with just
one 12-ounce beer. The same 160-pound man, after consuming four beers,
will reach the 0.08 BAC threshold, at which point the law considers him
'legally drunk'. The purpose for setting forth
these statistics is to establish a secular baseline for a discussion
about the consumption of alcohol and Christianity. In my early
twenties, I developed an addiction to alcohol. I occasionally drank
wine and hard liquor, but beer was my beverage of choice. It became a
daily habit that I found myself unable to break. I don't know if I was
alcoholic, but I sure felt like one. On January 5, 1971 the Lord
delivered me from drink in response to my surrender to him. After God
called me to the ministry, I preached 'Total Abstinence' as my
position on alcohol. Since then I've modified my stance a bit. Rather
than advocating total abstinence, I believe the Bible teaches total
temperance (self-control) as a fruit of the Spirit. The
first mention of wine in scripture is not a pretty one. It involves
Noah, who drank wine to a state of drunkenness and was naked
(“uncovered”) in his tent (Genesis 9:21-24). It's safe to say that Noah
was 'under the influence' to the point of impairment. The word “wine”
is the Hebrew yayin, from a
root meaning “to effervesce.” The picture is a 'bubbling up' or
fermentation. The wine that Noah drank had a level of alcohol content.
In the third mention of wine, the two virgin daughters of Lot gave him
wine to drink for the express purpose of producing an intoxicated state
so he could impregnate them by means of incestuous sex (Genesis
19:32-35). The scripture provides us with multiple examples of the
dangers of wine consumed in excess. Proverbs 20:1 is classic: “Wine is
a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is
not wise.” Proverbs 31:4 says: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is
not for kings to drink wine , nor for princes strong drink.” Kings and
princes, in their positions of authority with corresponding duties,
need to maintain unimpaired judgment at all times. The biblical
warnings against the influence of alcohol as it pertains to wine and
strong drink are unmistakable and irrefutable. The
second mention of wine adds another perspective. Melchizedek king of
Salem “brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most
high God” (Genesis 14:17-20). In context, Abram had just finished
rescuing his nephew Lot. Melchizedek provided Abram and his men with
food and something to drink. The beverage was wine. While on the
surface this may appear to be a contradiction, it is clear that the
wine served by Melchizedek was in no way intended to produce
intoxication. Abram consumed wine in moderation with the bread. It
never produced intoxication or impairment of judgment in Abram or his
men. We must remind ourselves that the final arbiter as to the meaning
of a text is the context in which a word is found. While the word yayin
may suggest fermentation, its context with Melchizedek could very well
mean the king of Salem served Abraham and his men freshly
squeezed, unfermented wine to go with their bread. The matter of intoxication (impaired judgment)
is a gravely serious business with God, who instructed Aaron and his
priestly descendants: “Do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou, nor
thy sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation,
lest ye die” (Leviticus 10:9). God expected priests to have ALL their
wits about them, unimpaired, in the business of Tabernacle service. A priest
entering the tabernacle 'under the influence' of as much as a single
cup of wine was struck dead by God. This OT prohibition has particular
significance to Jesus as he hung on the cross. The scripture says: “And
they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not”
(Mark 15:23). Some say Jesus refused the wine so as not to diminish his
suffering. The primary reason he refused it is linked to what he was
doing at the time. He was performing his duty as our High Priest. On
his cross, Jesus literally became the mercy seat upon which divine
blood was sprinkled. In refusing the wine, Jesus complied with
Leviticus 10:9. The New Testament uses two different Greek words translated “wine.” The first is oinos.
It appears to be the more general word for wine. The context in which
it's used, as with yayin, determines whether it refers to new wine (unfermented) or to
wine that has intoxicating qualities (fermented). It is used 33 times
in the NT. The second is gleukos
(Eng. “glucose”). It refers to sweet juice freshly pressed from grapes.
Again, its context can demand “the more saccharine (and therefore
highly inebriating) fermented win” (Strong's). It is used only 1 time
in the NT. The single NT use of gleukos
is in Acts 2:13. The context is Pentecost. The Holy Ghost had fallen
upon the disciples (Galilaeans). They were speaking in foreign
languages (tongues) unknown to them. Some observers of this phenomenon
mocked, and said: “These men are full of new wine.” The mockers saw the
disciples operating under a heavenly influence. But they could only assign an earthly cause, that of wine. The context here demands the meaning of gleukos to be fermented wine. Assigning a meaning of freshly squeezed grape juice would insult the intelligence. Now for a few usages of oinos.
Of John the Baptist, the Bible says: “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”
(Luke 1:15). The link with “strong drink” demands a fermented meaning
of oinos. There would never be
as much as a moment in John's life wherein he would experience impaired
judgment or intoxication. He would have his wits about him at all
times. John 2:1-10 records for us the first
miracle performed by Jesus in his earthly ministry. At a wedding feast
he turned six waterpots of 2-3 firkins apiece into wine. Let's round
off these numbers. A firkin is about 9 gallons. If the average size of
those waterpots was 20 gallons, Jesus miraculously created 120 gallons
of wine (oinos). The context
demands a meaning of new (fresh) wine that has not undergone
fermentation. The 120 gallons of wine produced by Jesus had NO
alcoholic content whatsoever. At no time were the wedding guests at
risk for intoxication or judgment impairment. Arguing that Jesus made
alcoholic or fermented wine in violation of OT precepts is an exercise
in futility. A key scripture is found in Ephesians 5:18-21: “And be not drunk with wine [oinos],
wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to
yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things
unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” In this
passage, Paul juxtaposes wine and the Spirit. The admonition has to do
with the influence or control to which a man yields himself. The
word "drunk" is methusko
(to intoxicate, to become intoxicated). No specific level or degree of
intoxication is implied. But we are told that intoxication due to wine
is a breeding ground for excess. The word "excess" is asotia (a = without + sotia =
savability; lit., "without savability." Thayer's Lexicon adds
a meaning of "incorrigibleness"
(incapable of being corrected). The Bible does NOT teach here that
a man intoxicated with wine (fermented drink) is unsaved or unsavable.
What it DOES teach is that habitual intoxication lends itself
to incorrigibility of spirit.
That is, a regular
coming 'under the influence' of wine (beer, strong drink) may be
indicative of an underlying stubborness that makes one
unsavable, incapable of bending or yielding to
Christ's authority. An incorrigible spirit manifests itself
when a professing Christian seeks to justify his drinking.
Whereas a man 'under the
influence' of wine is prone to incorrigibility, a man 'under the
influence' of the
Spirit is prone to engage in scripture, singing, melody making,
thanksgiving and submission to the proper authorities in his life.
The logical deduction is that one cannot be 'under the influence'
of
(intoxicated with) both wine and the Spirit at the same time. In Paul's
juxtaposition, the two
conditions are
mutually exclusive. We know for a biblical fact that ANY
behavior by a Christian, including intoxication, that
grieves or quenches the Spirit (Ephesians 4:30; 1
Thessalonians 5:19) is SIN! The lost man who refuses to let go of
his wine may one day find himself unsavable, incapable of yielding to
and being corrected by Christ. The saved man who gives himself to wine
and intoxication is certain to endure the corrective discipline of his
heavenly Father. The
proper biblical question then for a Christian who insists that it's no
sin to drink
should be: “How many drinks can I consume before I'm considered 'under
the influence' of or 'intoxicated' with whatever it is I'm drinking?”
According to NTSB
standards, the answer is: “One beer!” For our aforementioned
160-pound man, he'd be 'legally drunk' after four beers. Do you think
God's standards are stricter or more lenient than man's standards? Do
you think God's OK with you being "buzzed" as long as you're
not driving a motor vehicle? If
you knew Jesus considered you to be 'intoxicated' after a
single beer and 'legally drunk' after four, how would that knowledge
affect your view of a six-pack? If an 'under the influence' or 'legally
drunk' condition fails to meet YOUR 'sin' threshold, how drunk
(intoxicated) would
you have to be before it became sin for YOU? Remember, for the OT
priest,
entering the Tabernacle 'under the influence' of just one dose of wine
was enough for God to strike him dead! One of
the many qualifications for a bishop (pastor) is that he is “not given
to wine” (1 Timothy 3:3; Titus 1:7). The phrase “given to wine” is the
translation of paroinos (para = to the side of, oinos
= wine). It literally means one who keeps wine alongside, one who
lingers with his wine and is thus given to wine. The man 'given to
wine' comes 'under the influence' of wine and thus suffers from
impaired judgment. Such a man is disqualified from being a pastor.
Questions arise: (1) “Does coming 'under the influence' of wine mean
one is given to wine?” (2) Is it possible for a man to consume wine and
still meet the biblical qualification for pastor?” Some might say the
time taken to consume as much as one glass of wine constitutes
lingering time. If it IS possible for a man to drink a little wine
without coming 'under the influence' of wine and having one's judgment
impaired, then yes, that man is still qualified to serve as pastor.
After all, Paul instructed Timothy to “use a little wine for thy
stomach's sake, and thine often infirmities" (1 Timothy 5:23). As it
pertains to deacons, Paul specified they likewise should be men “not
given to much wine” (3:8). The references here
are clearly to fermented wine. No man, whether pastor or deacon, would
be in any jeopardy of intoxication for consuming a gallon of fresh,
unfermented grape juice. It's worth noting that the medicinal value of
wine lies in the grape itself, not alcohol content. The oinos
to which Paul refers in these contexts may very well refer to
unfermented
wine. But for the sake of argument, if Paul had fermented wine in mind,
we can be certain Timothy would not have become intoxicated by
using the 'little' amount Paul recommended. I know of pastors who have
a glass of wine with their meals but never become intoxicated. There
are churches around the world that use fermented wine in observence of
the Lord's Supper where participants never
become intoxicated. It is an exercise in
futility to use these pastoral passages to justify general wine
(alcohol) consumption. We're talking about fermented drink in the
neighborhood of a few ounces, maybe a shot of NyQuil, not a six-pack of
Miller Lite.
The preponderence of biblical testimony warns against
wine and strong drink. By extrapolation, we can include any fermented
beverage. The Bible may not yield itself to a doctrine of total
abstinence. But it DOES make an ironclad case for no 'intoxication' and no
'under the influence' drinking. A Christian, to whom God has given a NT
priesthood, who seeks to justify his or her drinking, social or
otherwise, is mired in deception. Fortunately, the God of all grace and
longsuffering gives addicted saints the opportunity to
be delivered from addiction to drink. God's OT priests,
on the other hand, never got
a second chance! Here's
the bottom line: The man who regularly, habitually yields himself
to the influence of alcoholic beverages CANNOT yield himself to
the control of the Spirit. Any man who claims he can do both at the
same time is deceived. Such a man is headed for
'excess', unsavability or incorrigibilrness, the mark of a lost
man!
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