WEDNESDAY March 26, 2025
Church Leaders and Drinking
A bishop then must be ... not given to wine, not violent....
1 Timothy 3:2-3
The next criteria for leadership is not to be given to wine. It is best for pastors and leaders not to drink any type of fermented drink at all. It is the same standard as a Nazarite vow. A Nazarite was set apart from birth to serve God––never to cut their hair or drink wine (Numbers 6:1-21).
There was a problem of drinking in the early church that is still a problem today. People say, “Well, Jesus drank wine.” At the wedding in Cana, Jesus performed His first miracle––He turned water into wine. I want to ask you, what kind of wine did Jesus make? If you examine the culture, it was the best wine, but it was not fermented wine (John 2:1-10).
It is necessary to look at the context when Paul said to Timothy, “Drink a little wine for your stomach's sake.” Timothy had stomach problems. In those days, drinking the water made him really sick. So, what Paul was actually saying to Timothy was to add a little bit of wine to the water. Wine was for medicinal purposes; having some in the water would neutralize any bacteria in the water.
Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers about fermented wine, He said, Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18 NLT). Why should bishops, elders and Christian believers not drink? God desires that their judgment would not be clouded by alcohol.
If you feel you have the freedom to drink socially, that is between you and the Lord, but you had better read Romans 13 and 14. I advise you to drink in the privacy of your own home, because if you are seen drinking by a weaker brother and you make him stumble, God will hold you responsible.
When men drink wine or other alcoholic beverages until they are drunk, they do not have complete control of their full senses. A drunkard is capable of becoming violent. The word violent means “a striker.” A leader cannot be quarrelsome or contentious. He is to be gentle and peaceable.
According to Scripture, virtually everything that truly qualifies a person for leadership is directly related to character.
~John MacArthur~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
