The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 1301, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.

Question

What is the right Christian stand on drinking?

Answer

What about drinking?  Well, the Bible says so much about that and I’ve said it all in the past.  Recently, a new article came out that I thought was very, very interesting.  It was in Christianity Today and I thought I’d give you some thoughts from it that were very helpful.  Written by Robert Stein, it says this (among other things): “The wine of the Bible was not unfermented grape juice.  Yes, it was different from the wine of today.”  What he means by that is some people would say, “Well, the wine Jesus drank wasn’t fermented.”  Of course it was fermented.  How could they keep it from being fermented?  But it was different from today. 

Listen: “In ancient times, wine was usually stored in large pointed jugs called amphorae.  When wine was to be used, it was poured from the amphorae into large bowls called craters where it was mixed with water.  From the kraters, cups or kylixs were then filled.  What is important for us to note is that before wine was ever drunk, it was mixed with water.  The kylixs were filled, not from the amphorae, but from the kraters.  The ratio of water to wine varied.  Homer mentions a ratio of 20:1”—twenty parts water to one part wine.  “In ancient works, Athenaeus, The Learned Banquet written to AD 200, we find in book 10 a collection of statements from earlier writers about drinking practices.  A quotation from a play by Aristophanes reads, ‘Here, drink this also: mingle three and two.’  Demus (sp.) says, ‘Zeus, but it’s sweet and bears the three parts well!’

So here again is an indication of history that it was always mixed.  There are mentions of everything from 2:1 to 20:1.  Now sometimes in history, the ratio of mixing water to wine goes down to 1:1 and when it does, it is not called wine, but it is called ‘strong drink.’”  This is important.  “Drinking wine unmixed, on the other hand, was looked upon as a ‘Scythian’ or barbarian custom. 

“Athenaeus, in his work, quotes Mnesitheus of Athens, and this is what he says: ‘The gods have revealed wine to mortals to be the greatest blessing for those who use it right, but for those who use it without measure, the reverse, for it gives food to them that take it and strength in mind and body and medicine that is beneficial.  It can be mixed with liquid and drugs and bring aid to the wounded.  In daily life, to those who mix and drink it moderately, it gives good cheer.  But if you overstep the bounds, it brings violence.  Mix it half and half, and you get madness!  Unmixed, bodily collapse!’ 

“From these incidents in history, it is evident that wine was seen in ancient times as a medicine or a solvent for medicines, and, of course, as a beverage!  Yet, as a beverage, it was always thought of as a mixed drink.  Plutarch says, ‘We call a mixture wine, although the larger of the components is water!’  The ratio of water might vary, but only barbarians drank it unmixed, and the mixture of wine and water of equal parts was called ‘strong drink’ and frowned on.  The term wine (or ‘oinos’ in the ancient world) then did not mean wine as we understand it today, but wine mixed with water!  In fact, when it was unmixed, they used the term ‘achratestaron,’ (sp.) which meant ‘unmixed wine.’”

Barbarians drank that, people who wanted to play around with the edges drank 1:1, but people who had sense and propriety always drank it mixed.  Even the Bible makes the distinction: “And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying, ‘Drink no wine nor strong drink,” and there’s the differentiation, “when you go to the tent of the meeting.”

Well, there you can see people, the safest and easiest method of making water safe to drink was mixing it with wine, which acted a purifier.  But the wine was always safely diluted.  To say, “Because they drank wine in Bible times, I am free to drink it today” is to miss the point.  They drank it diluted because it purified the water.  In fact, in the early church an interesting note: unmixed wine was found unacceptable.  Always it had to be mixed with water.

I think that’s interesting.  To consume the amount of alcohol, listen, that is in two martinis, by drinking wine containing three parts water to one part wine, you would have to drink 22 glasses.  In other words, it is possible to become intoxicated from wine mixed with three parts of water, but one’s drinking would probably affect the bladder long before it affected the mind.  That’s pretty clear, isn’t it? 

People, what it means is this: nobody drank strong drink unless they were considered a barbarian.  That just adds to the things we’ve already said in the past about it.  I hope that’s helpful. 

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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