“For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’” (Luke 7:33-34). Of John the Baptist it is written, “And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God” (Luke 1:14-16). John was under a vow not to drink wine or strong drink.

It is written, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Sex abusers, abusers of personal property (thieves), abusers of money (extortioners), nor abusers of alcohol will inherit the kingdom of God. The Church supports the proper use of sex, personal property, and money – some offering practices look and sound a lot like extortion (pay to keep off a curse) – but when it comes to alcohol, any amount is a sin. Jesus didn’t sin, but He drank wine.

Some say that to worry is a sin. The words of a popular song say, “Take it to the Lord in prayer.” Take what? The song states, “Everything to God in Prayer.” Is pain a sin? Pain tells us when something is wrong with our body. Was our body created to feel pain? Who created our bodies? What is worry? Worry is a warning sign that something may be wrong. It is a mental pain that alerts us to something. A lifestyle of worry may be or lead us to sin, but worry is not sin. “And being in agony, He (Jesus) prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Jesus never sinned, but He worried, and He took it to God in prayer.

Do we really need to make up our own rules for what is sin, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23)? Is it that we want to be better than another person, so we increase their sins by our rules? “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Matthew 7:2). Do we really want to add new things to hold against our brethren?

People will argue that the scriptures do not say what they say. They will claim that Jesus drank grape juice (fruit of the vine). They will also say that Jesus did not worry or have fear. Jesus said, “Fear not,” so fear is a sin; except when we fear like the Old Testament tells us. No! Jesus sweated blood and that takes a considerable amount of worry and fear – it is not the fear or the worry that is sin, but what you do with it. Jesus took it to the Father. Jesus did not let fear stop Him from loving one another.

If you need to compare yourself with someone, compare yourself with Jesus. On the cross, as He died, He said, “Forgive them Father.” He turned water in the ritual cleansing water pots into wine, as an example of the baptism of water as an acceptance of the baptism of Spirit. The water cleansing ritual into the Spirit cleansing of grace. There is an issue in this world of drunkenness – the Church is called to set them at liberty – but a communion cup filled with wine is not drunkenness. There is an issue in the Church of the denial of the Spirit – turning wine into grape juice. You were judged righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 6:11). Except to protect and keep one with an issue of the abuse of drink, we choose to use grape juice, out of love not law. Take it to the Lord in prayer.

© 2007, 2017 Tim D. Coulter Sr.