Recognizing Biblical Pastors and Pastoring (4 of 8)
Elders, Ale, and Alcoholism
(There are no children's questions in this sermon)Pastor Kerry Kinchen, Bridgeway Bible Church
Please turn to 1 Timothy 3. I also recommend that you bookmark Titus 1. We will be using both this morning. As you are turning there, we need to remember that we are examining qualifications for eldership. The qualifications show us who is eligible to be an elder and who is not. Knowing this, we must recognize something about God's qualifiers for identifying pastors. God never intended for the qualifiers to be legalistic requirements for perfection. There are no Christians who do everything flawlessly. This goes for elders too. Elders are not a special class of men who must be perfect. Elders live by the perfect Spirit (just like you). When they manifest godliness, they do so by the Spirit (just like you). When the manifest sin--and they will--(just like you) then they are convicted by the same Spirit (just like you). Further, they are forgiven by the Spirit through the work of Christ in salvation (of course, just like you). Keeping this in mind, then, we must recognize that the qualifications for eldership are for identifying general traits that already exist. They reflect stability, godliness, and spiritual maturity. We also need to recognize that the qualifiers may be interpreted with subjective opinion. Take for example the qualifiers that an overseer must be respectable, and sensible, in 1 Timothy 2:2 and Titus 1:8. These are things that require a certain type of wisdom and discernment to identify. What I mean is that two spiritually minded men may interpret the qualifier's application to another individual in different ways. One may be more lenient. He may see respectability and sensibility where another man only sees no respect and general foolishness. Therefor, these kinds of qualifications require something that is just as important. Listen carefully. This is very significant. What I am talking about is the element of grace. If we don't have grace, then we can, and we will, find something in any man's life that we may think is not respectable. Without grace, we can eventually find something we think is not very sensible. This is why I encourage all of us, as we go through these qualifications, to make sure we seek discernment that is backed by God-given wisdom, governed by God-given grace, by His God-given Spirit, in respect to His word. With this in mind, I ask you to prepare your heart to learn, along with me, in this sermon with the theme title,
Recognizing Biblical Pastors and Pastoring (4 of 8)
"Elders, Ale, and Alcoholism"
[prayer]
The somewhat poetic, and even odd sounding theme of this sermon--elders, ale and alcoholism, has do with one of the qualifications for elders. We read in 1 Timothy 3:2-3,
"An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine ..." 1 Timothy 3:2-3
In this passage, I am focusing upon temperance, and not being addicted to wine. The Titus text has,
"For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine," Titus 1:7
I am wanting us to especially notice is that both epistles state that someone who wants to be an overseer should not be addicted to wine. Also Paul added temperance in 1 Timothy.
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This leads us to examine our first principle in respect to elders, ale, and alcoholism. It has to do with temperance and addiction. Let's think about that word "temperate." It is a Greek word (nephalion) that is used only two other times in the New Testament. Both times are in our epistles under study--1 Timothy and Titus. For example, Paul uses the word for describing the character conduct that is expected of Christian women,
"Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, temperate, ..." 1 Timothy 3:11
The other place Paul used the word was in Titus in teaching the character conduct of older men,
"Men who are older are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, ..." Titus 2:2
It is important for us to know the specific sense of this word. In classical Greek which was the standard language used centuries before Christ, this word's literal meaning was "not mixed with wine." In later usage the term came to have the broader sense of "temperate" or "sober." In the Common Greek usage of Paul's culture (koine) it became a word that describes moderation in drinking alcoholic wine. When Paul makes this qualification known he says that the man must be being temperate. Then Paul connects this to what he means by saying that the man must not be addicted to wine. When you think of a temperate man, think of someone who is being conscious of being sober and in charge of his faculties. In respect to drinking, he is a man who is not over indulgent when drinking alcohol. It makes sense that this is a qualification for eldership. Drunkenness leaves one in a state of being out of control. It is where the alcohol controls the man. It controls him in the drunkenness. If he becomes addicted to alcohol, then he is controlled by it in a worse way because he is like a narcotics addict who is controlled by the next fix. When we consider the qualification of temperance, a question that naturally comes to the minds of many American Christians is;
"Does this qualification mean that someone who wants to be an overseer, or who is an overseer, can NOT drink alcohol containing wine, beer, rum, ale, or whatever?"
In answering this, I want to point out an important point in respect to the word, temperate. We need to be careful, and we need to be accurate. We must recognize that the word "temperate" itself does not suggest that an elder can not drink any alcohol containing wine ever. The reason is because being temperate does not mean to abstain, or cease, from something. If Paul had meant abstinence, he would have used a different word. He would have used a word like apecho--meaning to abstain.
Q. So what does temperate mean?
A. Being temperate means moderation. It means self-control in drinking--not abstinence from ever drinking. It has to do with a governing aspect of quantity and frequency.
Some people may wonder why Paul would say for an elder candidate to be temperate instead of saying that an elder should abstain from wine altogether. In fact, there are Christians in our culture who think drinking something that contains alcohol is sinful. This reminds me of something that happened to a missionary friend of mine who is the head of an international missions organization. He relates the story of being at large missionary conference held in Germany. He was one of the guest speakers. He tells of being invited to a wealthy German man's estate with a bus full of missionaries. They were invited there for a large dinner and some fellowship time. When they arrived at the house, they were led into a large room that had a very long wooden table. The man who invited them over could not speak English so they had an interpreter communicate as the lively German host had everyone sit down and relax. The German man was jovial and laughing and smiling as he enjoyed hosting the missionaries in fellowship; so was the rest of the group. I can almost imagine myself there. How nice it must have been. As everyone was settling in, the man went over to a cabinet and pulled out some very large antique beer mugs. He walked over to some big oak kegs with spigots and started filling up the mugs from one of the kegs that had some exceptional beer meant just for special occasions. Speaking in German, he was exuberant as he clomped down the mugs one by one in front of each man in the group. My missionary friend said that the other men in the room became instantly quiet. The only sounds that were heard were the laughing and continuous talking and gesturing from this wonderfully sanguine Christian German host and the clomping down of beer filled mugs. Finally, one of the more perturbed men in the group got the attention of the translator. Taking it upon himself to speak for the whole crowd (and unfortunately, also for American Christians in general) he told the interpreter to tell the German man that they apologized, but they were not going to have any beer. When the interpreter started speaking, my missionary friend said you could see the host's countenance instantly change from happiness to one of confusion and concern. Now the room was really quiet. So, in the new tone and atmosphere, the man went from beer mug to beer mug picking up the untouched vessels filled with his special German brew. As he was retracting his offer, he asked the interpreter why?--Why don't the guests want to drink the beer? The dissenting man who spoke up, told the interpreter to tell the German host the dissenting man's opinion. He informed the host of his conviction that in America, Christians don't drink beer. The German host was clearly shocked (as I was when I first heard this story). Nevertheless, he mustered up enough composure to ask the interpreter what the American would like to drink instead. The man answered that he would like coffee if the host had some. Immediately, in what I would call good German fashion (being of German decent myself I can say that and not get into trouble) the host answered with a smile; saying to the interpreter,
"Please tell the American that I apologize. I do not have any coffee. You see, Christians don't drink coffee in Germany."
Such an event reflects, to some degree, some of the controversial issues that tend to surround this subject. This reminds me of another situation that illustrates the controversy around alcohol consumption that I am talking about. A friend of mine, who is a Southern Baptist pastor, told me that every once and awhile under the rule of temperance he likes to drink wine and beer in moderation. Years ago before he had graduated from seminary with his Doctorate degree, he was serving as an elder on staff in a large Southern Baptist church. One day he was traveling with the senior (sometimes called "directing") pastor of that church. On their trip, they conversed about many things. In the course of their conversation, my friend happened to mention that occasionally he would drink a glass of wine with a meal around the Christmas or Thanksgiving holiday season. As they were driving, the friendly conversation immediately turned into an abrupt confrontation. The directing pastor became offended. He launched into a diatribe in which he asserted that drinking wine in any manner and at any time was sinful, especially for an elder. It was at that moment that the head pastor altered his relationship with my friend. A short time later, my friend was asked to resign from that church as an elder. Now, this brings us to recognize even more tension, and even irony, in the controversy. You see, my friend has since received his Phd from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He still serves as an elder, overseer, shepherd, in the capacity and office of a pastor in a Southern Baptist church. He also still drinks wine containing alcohol. He will occasionally have a beer containing alcohol. He is no longer a pastor at the church that has the elder who forbids that an other elder drink any alcohol anywhere at any time, but regardless of that, my friend is definitely a pastor. So this brings us to consider a few questions about his pastoral call and office:
"Is this man really a Holy Spirit ordained pastoring-overseeing-shepherding elder since he drinks wine and beer?"
"Does it really matter whether or not he drinks wine or beer?"
There are other questions;
"Is the other pastor's policy of no wine, really Biblical?"
The other pastor certainly thinks that it is. A number of American Christians think that it is, and they even have they gaul to speak up for the rest of us Christians in that respect. Some will go so far as to say that Christians who drink alcohol can not possibly by saved. Ultimately, the really big question looms there waiting to be answered,
"Just what exactly is the correct Biblical stance on this anyway?"
Maybe you have wondered about these same types of things. Maybe you have wondered about any Christian drinking alcoholic beverages. Your sensibilities tell you that a condition like alcoholism is a horrible state to be in. You realize a clearly logical deduction; There would be no such thing as alcoholism, if there was no consumption of alcohol. It is pure logic. Aside from that, we know that drunkenness kills thousands of people each year in automobile accidents, in violent acts, and in stupid mistakes. Families all over the world are destroyed by the consequences of drunkenness. Alcoholism is so detrimental that it has been labeled as a disease. Think about this as a so-called disease classification. People don't usually start off drinking alcohol like it is an infection thinking that someday they are going to be addicted to it. They don't usually start out with the ambition of someday becoming a drunkard. What usually happens is that excessive drinking that results in inebriation on a consistent and constant basis, leads to alcoholism. It is like the excessive eating of trans fats, certain refined sugars, and other junk foods. Those foods lead to health problems. The principle is that because people overdo it, they become overwhelmed by it. Excessiveness, which is the opposite of temperance, eventually becomes the norm for the unrestrained. Before you know it chemical addiction to alcohol overcomes the man. These kinds of facts add to the controversy of this subject. So for some folks, when the subject of drinking wine is touched in any way, an immediate association is made with drunkenness, alcoholism, and wrecked lives. You'll even hear some people go so far as to say plainly "Alcohol is evil;" "Whisky is wicked;" "Beer is of Beelzebub;" "It's firewater from the pits of hell." "It's the devil's drink," etc. etc. All of this is scary stuff. So, again we are left wondering what we are to make of all of this, especially in light of what Paul says next concerning elders and alcohol? After temperance, Paul goes on to say that an overseer must not be addicted to wine. In 1 Timothy, Paul's instruction ties in with the qualification that an overseer must be temperate. This follows the same sense of the many warnings against drunkenness in the rest of the Bible--especially for kings and those who are in positions of authority. As we continue to look at this, I want to point out something first. It is the classic-historical interpretation. The classic interpretation of this qualification is that Paul is not saying that an elder should drink no wine at all. Rather Paul has been understood to be saying that if an elder drinks wine, it should be in moderation. Because it is in moderation he will not stumble down the pathway of drunkenness and addiction. Now I want us to think about the phrase "addicted to wine" (me paroinon). "Addicted to wine" is a compound word of two Greek words. It is from para, which means "at" and oinos which means "wine." It literally means "to be continually alongside wine" or "one who sits long beside or in the presence of wine." The sense here is that wine is not to be the man's constant companion. He is not to linger long with wine. In 1 Timothy 3:8, Paul says about the same thing in the qualifications for someone to be an official deacon. He says:
"8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine ...," 1 Timothy 3:8
Notice that Paul uses the word "much" (pollo in the Greek) in clarifying that deacons must not be "addicted to much wine." Paul's usage of the word "much" makes Paul's point clearer. Moderation is Paul's prime consideration when he says not to be addicted to wine. "Much" is a word that is somewhat like temperance in that it suggests quantity. The word "addicted" suggests unrestrained lack of moderation--or the result of lack of temperance.
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This leads us to consider a second principle. It has to do with the various kinds of wine that were commonly drunk in Paul's day as well as in Old Testament times. We need to know what was being referred to if we are to consider what being temperate in moderation means in respect to it. Primarily the wine was the juice that was pressed out of grapes. The wine was either nonalcoholic because it had not yet fermented, or it was the kind of juice that had been fermented. Some of the grape juice was concentrated. It would be stored that way. When it was used it would be mixed with water to make a beverage. Then there is the drink that was the result of the fermented kind of juice that was acidic. This kind of vinegar (mixed with wine Matthew 27:34) is what Jesus drank up on the cross to fulfill the ancient Messianic prophecy of Psalm 69:21. Then there was fermented wine that was not vinegar. It was alcoholic wine. Sometimes people in the ancient world would mix fermented juice with water because the drinking water that was available was contaminated. The alcohol in common wine would act as a disinfectant that would kill the microorganisms. Alcoholic wine was also considered to have other health benefits. Paul told Timothy to
"No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments" 1 Timothy 5:23
Timothy evidently only drank water exclusively which shows us that wine was not always mixed with water to purify it, or to water down the wine, like some eager opinions have suggested. Another important point about this instruction to Timothy is the plain fact that Paul is encouraging young Timothy (the overseer) to actually drink some wine. He clarifies the quantity by saying "a little wine" which again implies moderation. So, one cultural norm was that grape juice was drunk. Sometimes it was mixed with water. Another norm is that alcoholic wine was drunk in a manner that it was mixed with water to kill microorganisms. Another cultural norm, as is the case with Timothy, water was drunk exclusively unless sick. Then alcoholic wine was drunk to correct the ailment. But, there was also another cultural norm. Wine was also drunk regularly as a common beverage in its aged alcoholic fermented form. Drinking this kind of wine can result in getting drunk if you had too much of it. This is what Paul is talking about in this qualification. Paul is speaking of Christians being addicted to wine that was alcoholic enough, or was consumed in amounts that were large enough, to cause intoxication.
But still, what are we to do with the assertion that alcoholic wine should never be drunk at any time and for any reason by Christians--especially by overseers?
Once again we must go beyond personal opinion and seek the scriptures for a solid answer. When we do, we find that alcoholic wine was indeed used and allowed for consumption among God's people in moderation. All the leading Old and New Testament Lexicons, and etymological resources affirm that the major terms used for wine represent a fermented beverage. The fermented beverage is alcoholic wine. It is not merely a grape juice, or a grape paste concentrate that is absent of any alcohol content like some people want to assert. It is not merely wine-vinegar. The most important terms used for wine in the Bible are shekar and yayin in Hebrew, and oinos in the Greek. All major English translations of the Bible, translate the English equivalents shekar and oinos, as wine, rather than grape juice, or just simply juice. Shekar is translated as "strong drink" in Deuteronomy 14:26. The noun form of the verb shekar means "become drunk" which is indicative of the fact that shekar is strong alcoholic wine. Another thing that we must consider is that many of the verses in the Bible that condemn drunkenness make reference to yayin, shekar, and also oinos. What this means is that the context negates any presupposed distinctions that some people want to make between alcoholic wine for one special word over here, and then nonalcoholic wines for other words. A good example is the word "yayin." Some people think yayin must necessarily refer to only nonalcoholic wine. But this simply is not true. In 2 Samuel 1 we read,
"28 Absalom commanded his servants, saying, 'See now, when Amnon's heart is merry with yayin wine, and when I say to you, 'Strike Amnon,' then put him to death.;'" 2 Samuel 13:28
The wine that made Amnon's heart merry was yayin. Amnon's merry heart is a description of drunkenness. The same description is found in Esther, where the King's heart is described as merry with yayin wine:
"10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with yayin wine, ..." Esther 1:10
In other words, the king was drunk. No matter how much someone wants to argue against these facts from ignorance, these men's hearts did not become merry by merely drinking something like Welch's grape juice. In Ecclesiastics 9 we read the instruction to drink your yayin wine with a cheerful heart--and then in the next chapter in 10:19 we find this:
"19 Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and yayin wine makes life merry." Ecclesiastes 9:7
In Zechariah 9 we find this prophesied blessing from God,
"Yahweh of hosts will defend them. And they will devour and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink and be boisterous as with yayin wine;" Zechariah 9:15
Being boisterous as with yayin wine is to manifest a state that is comparable to drunken exuberance. And then in the next chapter,
"Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from yayin wine ..." Zechariah 10:7
The scriptural record of the Old Testament is clear--yayin has the ability to make one become ya-ya which is my theological word for being inebriated. Then there is the Scripture where the aging of wine is mentioned as referencing the fermentation process. In Isaiah 25, Isaiah speaks of a blessing of the Lord,
"Yahweh of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine." Isaiah 25:6
Notice that Isaiah's prophecy mentions that the wine is aged. God's banquet has aged wine--refined aged wine at that. At this point we must not pretend naivete'. We must come to grips with the fact that aging grape juice is the essential description of the method for making alcoholic wine. Concerning Isaiah 25:6, Dr. E.J. Young writes in his work, "The book of Isaiah":
"By means of gradation, Isaiah now characterizes the banquet as one of wine that is matured by resting undisturbed on the lees. A play upon words as well as a gradation appears between shemanium [lavish] and shemarim (lees) [aged wine]. This latter word originally signified holders or preservers and then came to designate the wines that had rested a long time on sediment or dregs, and so had become more valuable. The wine lay on the lees to increase its strength and color." Young, The Book of Isaiah (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1969), 3.193.
This is what made the wine so good. With these things in mind in gleaning from the Scriptures we want to know what Jesus had to say about a subject, if He had anything to say about it at all. In Luke 5, Jesus said,
"And no one, after drinking aged wine wishes for new; for he says, "The aged is good." Luke 5:39
Here Jesus illustrates a point by saying that people prefer aged wine over new. They call the aged wine the good wine.
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The next principle I want to mention in respect to elders, ale, and alcoholism, is something called "qualified silence" concerning scripture. Qualified silence describes the fact that there is no distinction made in scripture between a type of wine that is allowed to be consumed and a kind of wine that is forbidden to be consumed. It seems logical that there would probably be a mandate somewhere in scripture against fermenting wine if God thought it was a bad process, right? But there is no such mandate. The reality is that Scripture lacks any recommendation of fresh grape juice over fermented alcoholic wine. Further, Scripture lacks any recommendation of watered down wine over wine that is pure. In fact, what I am about to reveal to you may shock you if you adhere to the doctrines of men. Isaiah states that watered down wine is something negative that has happened to Zion in Isaiah 1:22, where Isaiah says,
"Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water." Isaiah 1:22
And no, Isaiah does not mean your water is diluted with water. Also, no, he does not mean that your water has been diluted with wine. Yes, he means that your wine has become diluted with water. All I am doing this morning is presenting the facts as they are. So we see that an honest assessment reveals that fermented alcoholic wine's usage is extant in the Bible; but there is more. What I am going to share with you next is even harder to handle for some people than Isaiah proclaiming that watered down wine is a curse that has come upon Zion.
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It is the fourth principle to consider in respect to elders, ale, and alcoholism. What I am talking about is the amazing fact that alcoholic wine was used to accomplish acts of righteousness. In Genesis 14:18 we find Melchizedek the priest of God, giving yayin wine to Abraham. But there is more. Yayin wine in Exodus 29:40, and shekar wine in Numbers 28:7, were both used as offerings to God in worship. Yes, I said offering to Yahweh in worship of Him. Further, yayin wine and shekar which you'll remember is translated as "strong drink" were allowed by the Old Covenant Mosaic Law to be purchased with the Tithe of Rejoicing, and then they were to be drunk before the Lord. This instruction from God is found in Deuteronomy 14:26, where we read,
"You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen, or sheep, or [yayin] wine, or [shekar] strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh your God and rejoice, you and your household." Deuteronomy 14:26
Here in the Mosaic Law, wine, and strong drink are clearly allowed to be purchased and consumed in a holy place. What is that place? That place is the presence of the Lord. Of course there is also the Isaiah 25:6 passage,
"Yahweh of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine." Isaiah 25:6
Isaiah is clearly prophesying that aged wine is a righteous blessing here. In fact we would think that refined aged wine of Yahweh is the ultimate standard of what the term "Vintage" would mean. Speaking of wine being used in the performance of righteousness, we must remember Jesus' classic miracle as recorded in John 2:6;
"Now there were six stone water pots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each. Jesus said to them, 'Fill the water pots with water.' So they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, 'Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.' So they took it to him. When the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom, and said to him, 'Every man serves the good wine first, and when the people have drunk freely, then he serves the poorer wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." John 2:6-10
Notice that the head waiter called the wine that Jesus miraculously made, "the good wine." A couple of observations about this briefly: First is that it is reasonable, if not probable, that the good wine that Jesus created is like the "good wine" He mentioned in Luke 5:39, which is aged fermented wine. Remember In Luke 5:39 Jesus states that
"... no one, after drinking aged wine wishes for new; for he says, 'The aged is good." Luke 5:39
So, Jesus states that aged wine is what men call "good" wine. Aged wine is what men preferred. Aged wine is fermented alcoholic wine. The head waiter speaks in the same terms in respect to good wine and poorer wine. I also want us to consider some other details about this scene. We must also remember that this is Jesus' first miracle. The onlookers were not familiar with the fact that Jesus could do these kinds of things. There were magicians that would go around and do illusions like we see today, but Jesus was doing something extraordinary. To produce superior aged alcoholic wine in an instant would be quickly recognized by onlookers as a difficult and unlikely magicians trick because the wine that Jesus produced was considered better than the original wine the party started out with. To produce common grape juice, though, would be a relatively easy trick if someone were to use a grape concentrate. But, in turning the water into prime quality aged alcoholic wine, Jesus was demonstrating that he could not be accused of using a grape concentrate through some ingenious slight of hand set up by him, his mother, and his brothers. They would have had to have smuggled in about 150 gallons of good aged alcoholic wine to trick everybody in the midst of a crowded wedding party. Everyone who heard of this miracle knew that it was unlikely to be a trick. The main point is that in turning the water into good alcoholic wine which was superior to what everyone had enjoyed already--Jesus demonstrated a virtually inarguable miracle. There is another thing I want to bring out in respect to Jesus. Jesus was a partaker of the Sabbath Holy Day observance of Passover in which unleavened bread was eaten, and alcoholic wine was drunk by Israelites in ceremony. The wine that was drunk, and is still drunk in modern Jewish imitations of this ceremony is inarguably alcoholic wine. But there is more. Christ was accused of being a drunkard. The reason why Jesus could be accused of this is because Christ, God manifested in the flesh, was actually known for drinking wine aside from the passover custom. In Luke 7 we find Jesus talking to the Pharisees, saying,
"33 For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, [don't miss that because it is important] and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, ..." Luke 7:33-35
The son of man said that he has come eating and drinking; and as an eater and drinker he was accused of getting drunk. The bottom line on this (whether Jesus suffered false accusation by pharisees or not) is that you can not be accused of being a drunkard if you are known for only drinking unfermented grape juice, or exclusively water. The is made even more clear in Christ's own comparisons in respect to drinking wine. Christ boldly declared this about himself in contra to John the Baptist; "John ... has come eating no bread and drinking no wine ... The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, ..." Jesus is stating that John the baptist did not drink wine, but Jesus did. Though it is a fact that Jesus drank alcoholic wine and ate bread, there is no indication that Jesus ever got drunk, or was a glutton. He was only accused of excess because the wicked pharisees wanted to use the fact that He ate and drank as something to base their accusations upon.
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This leads to a fifth principle in respect to elders, ale, and alcohol. It has to do with something that I briefly touched upon already. Alcoholic wine was used in the communion services of the first century church which followed the legacy of the bread and wine elements of the Jewish passover meal. But that is only half of this point. Let me explain the first part of my point. Unfortunately problems of selfishness surfaced for the Christians of Corinth while they celebrated the communion meal together. The problem was that when they would get together to worship Christ in observing the remembrance meal, they would have a big party that was kind of like the pagan feast parties that they were used to from the lost world culture. When they would get together they would eat huge amounts of the bread that was meant for remembrance of Christ's body. They would also drink large quantities of the alcoholic wine that was meant to be the element in recognition of Christ's shed blood. In doing so, they would get drunk. This is why Paul rebuked them,
"Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing?" 1 Corinthians 11:20-25
Notice that they were getting drunk which by necessity means that alcoholic wine was being used in the communion services of the early church. But also notice that Paul does not condemn them for drinking alcoholic wine during communion. Instead, Paul chastises them for getting drunk and overeating the communion bread to the point of not leaving enough for others. They were being gluttons in blatant disregard of two things:
1) the fact that they are supposed to be worshipping God in the celebration;
and
2) disregard for the rest of the people who were there to worship God.
Now a key aspect of this point here is that even though Paul rebukes them for overindulgence, he never tells them to quit drinking alcoholic wine. This is only the first part of my point. I also want us to notice that instead of telling them to quit drinking the alcoholic wine, Paul asks them a rhetorical question,
"Don't you have houses in which to eat and drink?"
In other words, Paul is using friendly sarcasm to express that they have other places to fill themselves up with bread and wine. The important point is that Paul never tells them not to drink alcohol in their own homes, or during communion. Paul's concern is with selfishness. Paul's concern is with drunkenness. His concern is with lack of temperance. He sees it as a character problem. This is why he says in the Ephesians letter "do not get drunk with wine for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit" Ephesians 5:18. This is what we are talking about with elders too.
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This leads to the next principle in respect to elders, ale, and alcoholism. There are prohibitions specifically against drinking wine in the New Testament. Paul taught in Romans 14 that among the pagans, drinking the wine and eating the meat that had been used for sacrifice to idols was commonplace. Paul was alerting the Christians, who knew that they were saved by real grace, that such a practice of drinking the wine used for pagan sacrifice might cause another Christian brother to stumble in his conscience. Paul explained that we know that when we drink, we are not part of the pagan worship like pagans believe that they are. We just see it as wine. Those of us who have proper knowledge of the gospel recognize that the sacrificial meat is merely ordinary meat. But Paul has the higher law of love for others in mind. So Paul recommends that one should just go ahead and forgo one's liberty that one has in Christ to consume wine and meat that had been used in idol sacrifices. What is the result? In loving wisdom, you are avoiding any theological, or conscious oriented, problems for an immature Christian who is weaker in the faith. Paul says don't drink the wine, but he means for a certain reason that has to do with what someone else is going to see in complete misunderstanding. Paul makes no mention of the alcohol in the wine, or of getting drunk. He simply says that it is better to abstain from both the meat and the wine. This, then, is a good teaching for elders in respect to how to deal with individual cultural considerations that may employ the same essential underlying principle. The main point in this sermon has to do with the qualification for becoming an elder.
As we recap we know that when it comes to alcoholic wine Paul's overarching rule, is that of temperate moderation. Whether a general Christian, or someone who desires to be an elder, we should not get drunk with wine because that is dissipation. Rather we are to be being filled with the Spirit which is impossible to be too full of. Instead of being addicted to wine, where wine controls us, we should be the ones in control. We are to reflect the plain wisdom of Proverbs,
"Do not linger long over wine." Proverbs 23:30
What we have seen from Scripture in this qualification for eldership from Paul is that self control in temperance is the big issue. This is what God wants in an elder. The chemical content of wine in and of itself is not the issue. [Amen]
