Drinking is not a sin, and it is often a God-given blessing. However, Scripture's overwhelming testimony is that drinking alcohol can be spiritually dangerous. Christians are allowed by God to drink alcohol, but we are forbidden to get drunk.
Galatians 5:19–21: "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: ... drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Ephesians 5:18: "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.
The Bible does present drunkenness as something to avoid and resist. Why? Because drunkenness opposes the goods of sober-mindedness, alertness, and freedom. The Proverbs equates addiction to strong drinks with folly that destroys lives as opposed to the wisdom that gives life.
“On this way drunkenness is a mortal sin, because then a man willingly and knowingly deprives himself of the use of reason, whereby he performs virtuous deeds and avoids sin, and thus he sins mortally by running the risk of falling into sin.
It is not for kings, O Lemuel— not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Christians are allowed by God to drink alcohol, but we are forbidden to get drunk. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18; also see Proverbs 20:1, 23:20, Isaiah 5:22). This is a command from the Spirit-inspired apostle.
Coffee is an acceptable vice. Unlike alcohol, which many evangelicals either abstain from or approach warily, coffee has been enthusiastically embraced. On other hand, some Christians give yoga the stink eye because of its Hindu origins.
Examples of mortal sins include murder, adultery, blasphemy, and idolatry. Some extreme instances of these sins, such as violence against the pope, can even result in ex-communication from the church which is a severe punishment that excludes a person from the sacraments and other aspects of the faith.
These sins are vices and are defined as contrary to the Christian virtues of holiness. They are pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony, and sloth (acedia).
Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother." The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft.
Alcohol was once thought to have mystical properties that could turn common metals into gold. This magical essence, which was believed to be the substance's life force, was referred to as having a “spirit.”
Prov. 31. [4] It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: [6] Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
In the Bible, Psalms 149:3 says, “Let them praise his name with dancing…Praise him with tambourine and dance…”3 In 2 Samuel 6:14–22, David dances before the Lord with all his might, providing us with a wonderful example of what it truly means to surrender to God in worship.
Health care providers consider your drinking medically unsafe when you drink: Many times a month, or even many times a week. 3 to 4 drinks (or more) in 1 day. 5 or more drinks on one occasion monthly, or even weekly.
So wines at the time of the Bible were big, round, juicy, austere wines, red or amber in color. That austerity was often cut with water. It was basically required in the ancient world to dilute your wine with a little bit of water to round it out, and you were seen as a barbarian if you didn't do so.
In Abrahamic religions, eating pig flesh is clearly forbidden by Jewish (kashrut), Islamic (halal) and Adventist (kosher animals) dietary laws. Although Christianity is also an Abrahamic religion, most of its adherents do not follow these aspects of Mosaic law and are permitted to consume pork.
You do not need to confess to a pastor, priest, or spiritual leader to be forgiven. You do not need another human mediator, since (by faith) you already have Jesus Christ: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” (1 Timothy 2:5).
A Mortal Sin
On New Year's Eve 1930, the Roman Catholic Church officially banned any "artificial" means of birth control. Condoms, diaphragms and cervical caps were defined as artificial, since they blocked the natural journey of sperm during intercourse.
According to 1 John, “Sin that leads to death is deliberate refusal to believe in Jesus Christ, to follow God's commands, and to love one's brothers. It leads to death because it includes a deliberate refusal to believe in the One who alone can give life, Jesus Christ, the Son of God" (248).
The unpardonable sin refers to Jesus' words in the Gospel of Matthew: “Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
WE LEARN in the New Testament that Jesus ate fish from the Sea of Galilee, and, after the resurrection, that he even cooked fish and bread over coals for himself and his disciples (John 21.9). “We certainly know that Jesus ate clean unpolluted fish almost every day of his life,” Colbert concludes.
Some Christians take issue with tattooing, upholding the Hebrew prohibition. The Hebrew prohibition is based on interpreting Leviticus 19:28—"Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you"—so as to prohibit tattoos. Interpretations of the passage vary, however.
Even though some Christians advocate for the total abstinence of alcohol as a moral mandate for all believers, the Bible never requires all believers to abstain from alcohol.