Being Sober

Table of Contents

Being Sober – Does the Bible Teach Drinking in Moderation? 2022 06 12

1 Thessalonians 5:6 – 9

For many years, conservative, Bible believing Christians have practiced total abstinence from alcoholic beverages. Many sermons have been preached against the use of alcohol, and in fact, it was churches that worked so hard to bring in the prohibition in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The question of Christians imposing what we know to be true on those who are not Christians is not the subject of this message. What we are looking at is the whole question of what being sober means. Many churches now teach drinking in moderation. Indeed, there’s a book out, often advertised by conservative, so-called Christian news organizations, titled, “Beer is Proof that God Loves Us.” Yet, does the Bible really teach drinking in moderation, or does it teach abstinence?

1 Thessalonians 5:6 – 9

One of the most misused and perhaps misunderstood passages about drinking alcohol, which seems to either contradict our passage, today, or at least to teach moderate drinking, is 1Timothy 5:23:

“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”

What does the Bible really say about drinking what we today call “wine?” Does it say that we should drink alcoholic beverages of any kind?
Does the Bible say that drinking a little wine with alcohol in moderation is a good practice?
Does the Bible teach that we should use alcoholic beverages like wine for our health?
Today we will look at some passages from the Bible that give us a clear understanding of the question of what being sober means and at the same time, what the Bible does or does not say about drinking in moderation, something that many more Christians practice today, than did just a few decades ago.

I – Sobriety and Pastors

1 Timothy 3:2,3
1. These instructions were written by Paul to Timothy, the very person to whom Paul wrote to, “use a little wine…”
  1. First: Are there any contradictions in the Bible? Therefore, either being sober simply means having a sound mind and therefore a little alcohol is fine – or – it means having a mind completely free from anything that would alter its function, and therefore, that the wine Paul told Timothy to drink contained virtually no alcohol.
  2. Secondly: What does the Bible tell us?
2. First of all, in this passage to Timothy, the young pastor, the word that is rendered, “sober” is the Greek word, “sophron,” meaning of sound mind, self-controlled, sober-minded.
  1. Being of sound mind does not mean, having had a glass of wine. Once a person has one glass of wine, one bottle of beer, or one alcoholic drink of any kind, the mind is no longer 100% sound. Every little bit of alcohol diminishes the soundness of the mind. Yet the Bible here says to be sober. That is absolute, nothing less than 100%. Remember that Jesus told us to be perfect (Matthew 5:48)!
  2. Society now sets an arbitrary legal definition of sober as a total percentage of alcohol in the blood, based on the maximum amount of alcohol, on average, that can be in a person’s blood before their judgment is impaired enough to potentially cause harm. There is a GREAT difference between this definition and the true definition of sober!
3. Yet the argument still arises that this is ONLY for pastors, but that it is all right for every other Christian to drink, if it’s in moderation. One of the passages used to support this argument is this very instruction to Timothy, to take a little wine (moderation?) Yet this same Timothy was instructed to be sober.

II – Sobriety and Watchfulness

1 Thessalonians 5:6 – 8
1. The word here translated as “sober” is “nepho,” meaning to be free from the influence of intoxicants. It means to have nothing in your body that has any kind of intoxicating effect. In other words, no alcohol or mind-altering drugs. It means, “intoxicant free.”

If you put even the smallest amount of intoxicant in your body, you are affected by it. You are no longer scripturally sober. You may be sober under the law of this world, but not by Biblical standards.

This is referring to the same kind of condition you would keep yourself in as you headed off to work. Most people would not take a glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage before going to work.

III – Sobriety and Holiness

1 Peter 1:13 – 16
1. Once again, the word here translated, “sober” is “nepho,” to abstain from wine, to be free from any influence of intoxicants.
2. We are told to be sober, or intoxicant free, till Christ returns Ephesians 5:18 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;”
3. As Christians, we are to be sober, as obedient children, Spirit-filled, not doing the same things that people without Christ who have no hope do.
4. Christians are instructed to be sober and holy, because God, our Father, is holy and has told us to be holy like him.
5. holiness and sobriety go together

IV – Sobriety and Resisting Evil

1 Peter 5:8,9
1. Here is another time that we are told to be sober, “nepho,” free from any influence of intoxicants
2. we are told to be sober to be able to fight our adversary, the devil
3. alcohol is the devil’s all-time favourite tool for bringing and keeping people in bondage and under his power. Taking alcohol into your body is taking in one of the devil’s most useful and powerful weapons!
4. In order to properly resist evil, we need to be sober, free from any influence of evil.

V – Sobriety and Timothy’s Wine

1 Timothy 5:23
1. Paul instructed Timothy by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to use a little wine for his stomach’s sake and his many sicknesses.
2. But Paul had already told Timothy to be sober – in other words – not to take intoxicants into his body!
3. This wine that Paul instructed Timothy to use is what we would now call pure grape juice. It was made the same way as other wine, but the pulp and skins, which are covered in natural yeast, were quickly removed once the grapes were crushed.
4. The wine considered best in Palestine in New Testament times was wine that had no alcohol in it, unfermented, and with no added alcohol. The best wine was described as harmless or innocent. This was the kind of wine that Jesus made at the wedding in Cana, not corrupted, or fermented wine, something that is completely contrary to the character of Jesus.
5. Pure grape juice has been shown to be very soothing and good for the stomach. It is also a very healthy and wholesome drink, useful for providing an immediate and healthy boost, as well as providing many antioxidants, vitamins and other health benefits.
6. This is the wine that Paul would have recommended to Timothy, not fermented wine with alcohol in it, which was very unstable, expensive, and difficult to store.
  1. Fermented wine very quickly turned to vinegar without the additives that are used in modern wine making.

Proverbs 20:1
1. Wine with alcohol in it is called a mocker, because it makes fools out of those who drink it.
2. Strong drink is said to be raging, something that causes people to do crazy things, something that deceives those who think they can control it. The Bible says that those who are deceived by it, are not wise.

Wine and other alcoholic beverages are NOT safe to use, are not recommended for Christians, and are strongly warned against.
1. Alcohol has been recognized as the most widely abused and dangerous drug of all, involved in more fatal accidents and injuries, broken homes, sexual promiscuity, job absenteeism, disease, and crime than any other drug. Yet it is widely promoted socially by the world and is becoming increasingly popular even among conservative, Bible believing Christians.
2. There is an increasingly dangerous idea creeping into Christian homes that moderate drinking is all right and even taught in the Bible. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible never tells Christians to ingest any kind of intoxicant. The Bible says, as we have seen today, that Christians are to be sober, free from any kind of intoxicant!
3. The only time that the Bible recommends the use of wine as an intoxicant is for those who have no hope, who are ready to perish. Christians do not perish, and always have hope!
A favourite argument of those who would use wine is that we are not specifically told not to use wine (actually, that is not true, as we have already seen, today), and that as Christians we are free to do as we please.
1. After all, what we take into our bodies is not what defiles us… what about what happens after you become intoxicated?
2. The Bible says, 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” Just because we have great freedom in Christ does not mean we should freely sin, nor that we should give our bodies over to bondage!
3. Again, the Bible says, 1 Corinthians 10:23 “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” Something that is called a mocker, as wine is, does not edify or build anyone up, but tears down and destroys the witness of those who come under its power.

Conclusion

Timothy’s wine, the wine that Paul told him to drink, did not contain alcohol. Paul had already instructed him, as a pastor and a Christian, to be sober, or to abstain from intoxicants.
The Bible tells us all to be sober, not simply self-controlled or sound-minded, but further than that, including that, completely free from intoxicants of any kind.
Drinking in moderation is not taught in the Bible; in fact, the Bible does not teach Christians to take any kind of intoxicant in any amount into our bodies, at all. Quite the contrary, the Bible teaches us to be sober, “nepho,” free from the influence of any intoxicants.
We are not to be filled with spirits, but Spirit-filled! When your faith is in Jesus Christ, you have something SO much better than anything the world can offer! Be sober, be holy, because your Father in heaven is holy! 1 Corinthians 2:9 “… as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
(Trust God, put your faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, and love and obey Him! Be sober, be holy, and be ready for heaven, because your Creator loves you and is ready for you!)