“The latest innovation in inebriation, called Booz2Go, is available in 20-gram packets that cost $1.35-$2. Top it up with water and you have a bubbly, lime-colored and flavored drink with just 3 percent alcohol content. …

‘We are aiming for the youth market.’” CNN news, 7 June 2007

The truth about "Social Drinking"

The Def.: drinking alcoholic beverages at any time excluding for medicinal purposes and the Lord’s Supper.

The Risk: Our souls, and even our earthly lives.

The Issue: Justifying our actions. Col. 3:17

The Need: Clear evidence. Nothing questionable.

The Knowledge.

I. Culture Cop-out:

A. “American culture is anti-drinking; we expect you to argue against it. European culture is pro-drinking; we will argue for it.”

If something concerns a moral truth, then it is above culture/location.

• Dn. 1:8

• 1 Co. 6:9-10, fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, drunkenness, etc.

B. LMT:

1. B.C. – weekend warrior

B. Y.C. – refrained from social drinking to avoid temptation and show change, but thought it was authorized

C. 2006 – intensive study led me to conclude that drinking is probably sinful

II. Four False Arguments:

A. “In ancient times, unfermented grapes and grape juice were available only during harvest time.”

1. “She must have a large store of dried pears, figs, raisins, preserved pears and grapes. She must also keep preserved grapes in grape pulp and in pots buried in the ground” (Cato, b. 234 B. C, On Farming, 143) • Pliny (d. A.D. 79), “through the winter” • Josephus, “100 years” • 2 Sm. 16:1, 100 clusters of raisins…summer

fruits

2. 3 ways to prevent grape juice from vinous fermentation:

Two necessary conditions:

• Exact proportions of sugar and water and yeast

• A constant temp of between 50–75 degrees (10-24 Celsius)

2. Lowering the temperature below 7 degrees

Boiling the juice

• “There is no wine sweeter to drink than Lesbian; that it was like nectar, and more resembled Ambrosia than wine; that it was perfectly harmless, and would not produce intoxication” (Horace, b. 65 B.C., Bible Wines, p. 25)

• The Mishna (c. A.D. 70 – 200), Jews were in the habit of using boiled wine (Kitto, Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, v. 2, p. 477)

• Prov. 9:2; SoS. 7:2, mixed

Excluding air. Mt. 9:17

B. “‘Wine’ implies alcohol.”

1. “Sweet wine…really is not wine at all in spite of its name; for it does not taste like wine and consequently does not inebriate like ordinary wine does.” (Aristotle, d. 322 B.C.)

2. “[Drimacus] at the time of festivals, he went about, and took from the fields wine.” (Nymphodorus, 3rd.

cent B.C.) Isa. 65:8

C. Jn. 2:1…10, "Jesus turned water into wine. It must have been alcoholic wine. Thus, Jesus condoned drinking."

1. Have drunk freely denotes abundance:

• Isa. 34:5, 7, the land soaked…• Isa. 58:11, a well watered garden• Lucian (d. A.D. 180), drinking parties

2. Every man serves the good wine first, then the poorer wine.

This is true with alcoholic beverages

Does this necessarily exclude nonalcoholic beverages?

Good wine

“The most wholesome wine is that to which nothing has been added in the state of must…”

(Pliny, d. A.D. 79, McGuggain, p. 45)

3. Nonalcoholic “wine” was served at Jewish feasts:

3. Jn. 2

4. Ex. 12:15 (Lk. 22), Passover

5. Hab. 2:15, woe to you who make your neighbors drink…

D. “Deacons are told not to be ‘addicted to much wine’….” 1 Tm. 3:8

D. “Moderate drinking is permissible"

Ecc. 7:17, Be not excessively wicked

Prov. 20:1

III. Last Call:

“Science hasn’t yet proved that smoking causes cancer.”