The document discusses the biblical view on social drinking and argues that it is condemned. It provides several biblical examples showing that drunkenness is sinful, including passages in Ephesians, Galatians, and 1 Corinthians. It also argues that even small amounts of alcohol are harmful to the brain and body. While some try to justify social drinking, the document responds to these arguments and concludes that Christians must be sober since any amount of alcohol leads to drunkenness, a state the Bible condemns.

1. What About SocialWhat About Social
Drinking?Drinking?
(Alcoholic Beverages)(Alcoholic Beverages) 1 Cor.1 Cor.
10:110:1
Drunkenness is a problem nearly as old as man.
Noah got drunk - Gen. 9:20-ff
Lot got drunk - Gen. 19:30-38
We all know that drunkenness is sin.
But what about social drinking – in moderation?
“Responsible drinking” the occasional beer or wine?

2. Social Drinking Is A SinfulSocial Drinking Is A Sinful
Act!Act!
It Is Drunkenness: Bible Condemns It!
• In Ephesians 5:18 God used the word G3182
Methusko (meth-oos'-ko)
• Drunk = signifies to make drunk, “to grow
drunk” “…the process of the state.”
(Vine’s p.333)
If you drink (alcoholic) beverage(s) you are
participating in “the process of the state,”
therefore sinning.

3. Example’s ofExample’s of Ephesians 5:18Ephesians 5:18
(ESV) And do not get drunk with wine, for that
is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
(ISV) Stop getting drunk with wine, which
leads to wild living, but keep on being filled
with the Spirit.
(KJV+) And be not drunk 3182, 3361
with wine,3631
wherein is excess;810
but be filled with the
Spirit;

4. Condemned In Galatians 5:19-21
• v. 21 Envyings,5355
murders,5408
drunkenness,3178
(“meth'-ay = an intoxicant, that is, (by implication)
intoxication: - drunkenness.” Strong’s) revellings,2970
and2532
such5125
like:3664
of the which3739
I tell you before,
4302,5213
as2531
I have also2532
told you in time past,4277
that3754
they which do4238
such things5108
shall not3756
inherit2816
the kingdom932
of God.2316
If it takes you 5 beers to get you “stone drunk,”
one beer makes you 1/5 drunk. Yet you’re still
drunk, more just leads to a greater state of
drunkenness!

5. Fact: A Little Alcohol IsFact: A Little Alcohol Is
Very Harmful To YouVery Harmful To You
• In an article entitled “What Alcohol Does To The
Brain” from Listen magazine published several
years ago stressed that, “The frontal lobe of the
brain, the reason and self control center, is affected
by as little as .01 to .10% of alcohol which is
comparable to about a half shot of whiskey.
• Reader’s Digest article of June 1970 with statistics
argues that “Evidence indicates that there is no
guarantee of a safe level of drinking, no absolute
threshold below which alcohol fails to damage or
destroy groups of cells in the brain and other vital
organs.”
• Do you really love yourself? Mt. 22:39; Eph. 5:29

6. ……Condemned inCondemned in 1 Cor. 6:9-111 Cor. 6:9-11
• V.9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind,
• V. 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor3777
drunkards,3183
(“methusos” a noun describing
one(s) who get drunken, intoxicated Thayer)
nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God.
• V. 11 And2532
such5023
were some of you: but ye are
washed, but ye are sanctified, butye are justified
inthe name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of
our God.

7. Same Truth ContrastedSame Truth Contrasted
inin 1 Thes. 5:6-81 Thes. 5:6-8
• V.6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others;
but let us watch and be sober.3525
• V.7 For they that sleep sleep in the night;
and they that be drunken3182
(methusko = “…
the process of the state” Vine’s) are drunken3184
(“get drunk” Strong’s) in the night.
• V.8 But let us, who are of the day, be
sober,3525
putting onthe breastplate of faith
and love; and for a helmet, the hope of
salvation.

8. Strong Drink is CondemnedStrong Drink is Condemned
Prov. 20:1 “Wine3196
is a mocker,3887
strong drink7941
is raging:1993
and whosoever is deceived thereby
is not wise.”
• H7941 shekar̂ ̂ BDB Definition: 1) strong drink,
intoxicating drink, fermented or intoxicating
liquor
• In N.T. in Luke 1:15 G4608 sikera 1) strong
drink, an intoxicating beverage, different from
wine; it was a artificial product, made of a
mixture of sweet ingredients, whether derived
from grain and vegetables, or from the juice of
fruits (dates), or a decoction of honey (Thayer)

9. Alcoholic Drinks of TodayAlcoholic Drinks of Today
Are Strong By Comparison:Are Strong By Comparison:
• Palestine Wines 5-8% of alcohol content
• Distilled 45% to 54.32%
• Malt 4-6%, 10%
• Wines 10% to 29.42%
• Prof. R. Laird Harris says, “ All the wine [in ancient
times] was light wine, i.e., not fortified with extra
alcohol.” (Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Covenant
Theological Seminary of St. Louis, Missouri.)
• Concentrated alcohol was only known in he middle ages
when the Arabs invented distillation (alcohol is an
Arabic word) so what is now called liquor or strong
drink (i.e. whiskey, gin etc.) And the 20% fortified wines
were unknown in Bible times”
(Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament 1980 I, p.376)
God condemned light
wines today’s drinks
are much worse!

10. Social Drinking Condemned!Social Drinking Condemned!
• 1 Peter 4:3
Forthe timepast of our life may suffice
us to have wrought the will of the
Gentiles, when we walked in
lasciviousness, lusts,
excess of wine,3632
revellings,2970
banquetings,4224
and abominable
idolatries:

11. In 1 Pet. 4:3 God Condemns
Drinking
“Excess of wine” is from “Oinophlugia” G3632
Means = drunkenness, debauchery (Vine’s p. 215)
“Revellings” or Carousals is from G2970 Komos̄
“…used generally of feasts and drinking parties
that are protracted till late at night and indulge in
revelry” (Thayer) “…the consequence of
drunkenness” (Vine’s p.532)
“Banquetings” from G4224 Potos Thayer simply
calls it “a drinking”. “The drinking bout, the
banquet, …not of necessity excessive”
(Trench p. 225)

12. Christians MUST Be SOBER!!!Christians MUST Be SOBER!!!
1 Peter 5:8 & 1 Thes. 5:6, 8 tells us to be “Sober”!
• Gk. G3525 nephō ̄ nay'-fo = to abstain from wine (keep
sober) (Strong’s)
• (B.A.G.D.) “be free from every form of mental and
spiritual drunkenness”
• (Vine’s) “signifies to be free from the influence of
intoxicants”
• Must Also Be Sober Minded 1 Pet. 4:7 G4993
sophroneo =̄ to be of sound mind,” “to be in one’s
right mind,” “to exercise self control,” “to curb one’s
passions (Thayer)
Who In Their Right Mind Knowing This
Would Recommend Any Drinking? 1 Thes. 5:22

13. Arguments Often Used To TryArguments Often Used To Try
To Justify Social DrinkingTo Justify Social Drinking
• Wine / Gk. Oinos is a generic word for grape juice,
context shows whether fermented or not
– Fermented (Alcoholic) Eph. 5:18 “drunk with wine”
– Unfermented (No alcoholic content) Mt. 9:17
“new3501
(youthful; fresh Strong’s) wine3631
into old bottles”
• Jesus Turned Water to Wine: Jn. 2:1-11
• No evidence fermented v. 10 “good2570
wine3631
”
G2570 kalos “...good (literally or morally), that is,
valuable or virtuous for appearance or use” (Strong’s)
Did Jesus make many gallons of intoxicating wine?Did Jesus make many gallons of intoxicating wine? NO!NO!

14. Arguments Often Used To TryArguments Often Used To Try
To Justify Social DrinkingTo Justify Social Drinking
1 Tim. 5:23 (No longer drink only water, but
use a little3641
wine3631
for the sake of your
stomach and your frequent ailments.) (ESV)
• We know God condemns drinking alcoholic
drink already – Alcohol not reasonable here.
• Wine does not have to be fermented
(alcoholic)
• For medicinal use here (1 Tim. 5:23) implies
“a little wine,” to be mixed with water.

15. Arguments Often Used To TryArguments Often Used To Try
To Justify Social DrinkingTo Justify Social Drinking
Elder must not be “addicted to wine”
1 Tim. 3:3; & Titus 1:7
• The Greek expression, paroinos, means “given to
wine, drunken” (G3943 Thayer, Greek Lexicon). To
read into that some sort of license for moderate
drinking is an irresponsible stretch. Would an
admonition against “drug addiction” be interpreted
as a license for the moderate use of cocaine?
“The deacons be …not given to much wine”
1Tim. 3:8 The fact is, within the same context, church
officers are charged to be “sober”, which signifies
“to be free from the influence of intoxicants”
• Again, Forbidding Excess Does Not Justify Less.

16. Stop The “New Wine” Confusion
• Acts 2:13 KJV “Others mocking said, These
men are full of new wine.1098”
• Used only once G1098 gleukos (glyoo'-kos)
Akin to G1099; sweet wine, that is,
(properly) must (fresh juice), but used of the
more saccharine (and therefore highly
inebriating) fermented wine: - new wine.
Strong’s
• Acts 2:13 “Others said jokingly, "They're
drunk on sweet wine.” GW, ISV, MKJ, YLT,

17. Salvation Is Important!
• That’s why Jesus died for you. Rom. 5:8
• That’s why we need to live right for God!
• Come and begin your New Life in Christ
today? If you have heard Christ’s Gospel…
– Believe the Gospel – Romans 10:9
– Repent of Sins – Acts 2:38
– Confess Christ – Rom. 10:10
– Be Baptized – Acts 22:16
– Then, Live for Jesus faithfully – Rev. 2:10b