Whining About Wine

I was in a conversation, or battle, with this professing Christan named Wilson over at Triablogue and I thought it would be a good post because of the subject and points that was made about alcohol. This guy that I was talking to is not the point here, even though his ego needed a check, the point was what was said about the consumption of Alcohol.

My points were these:

Is getting drunk a sin? Yes! (1 Corinthians 6:10)

Keep in mind that the blood of Christ is "new wine."

Because of all the parasites in the water back then it was safer to squeeze grapes for drinks but that is called 'new wine' and do you know what new wine is? Grape juice.

Jesus turned water into grape juice. Remember the verses about putting new wine into old skins...(Luke 5:33-39)

Personally, I try to do all things that glorify God and I cannot see drinking hard liquor as glorifying God.

Is tobacco a sin? Probably, if you put it before your kids health, it may be. If you place it before your own health, and lose a leg like my Father In-Law, it may be. Is hoarding, if it causes your kids to be unhealthy or unsafe? Sure. Not being considerate of others can be evil. If you will not give it up for anything or anyone, that you covet it more then God Himself, then sure, it is a sin.

When the Lord spoke about it as favorable in Isaiah 65:8 "Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all." (my emphasis)

Also, a wine press does not create wine, AT ALL!!! A wine press (referenced throughout the Bible) makes grape juice.

Fermenting grapes makes the wine and is called many things because of it. Other terms fermented wine is referenced in the Bible as: Wine, Strong drink, Vinegar of wine, Vinegar of strong drink, Liquor of grapes, Dried grapes, The kernels, The husk.

This was not a conversation about Kashrut but look what it says in Numbers 6:3-5 "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried.

All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree, from the kernels even to the husk. "

To avoid Fermented grapes "until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the LORD, he shall be holy,"

To be Holy is to separate yourself from fermented grapes!!

To be a drunkard is a sin and you are anything but a Christian if you are one. (1 Corinthians 6:10)

Does that mean that whoever drinks a glass of wine is going to hell? Of course not, but if you are an alcoholic and you are tempting yourself with wine that leads to other things then you may be sinning.

Look at Hosea 9:2 and Proverbs 3:10 Do you see that the Bible makes a distinction between wine and new wine to let us know the difference between fermented wine and grape juice? Jesus taught that new wine was not put into old bottles because they couldn’t expand with the pressure. (Matthew 9:17) Right?

Because the fermentation process, yeast acts on the sugar in the grapes to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide which builds pressure. According to the Bible, new wine is, therefore, not fermented. Also, the Lord's Supper was grape juice, evidenced because when Jesus spoke of the "fruit of the vine" (Matthew 26:29) He was speaking of new wine. He didn't even use the term wine, but fruit.

Logic also says that the fermentation of wine is the result of adding yeast, a leavening agent, to the grape juice to make alcohol. Correct?

At the supper of unleavened bread, do you think the Lord would offer a drink made with yeast?

There is no way He would logically do that. Grape Juice is new wine.

bit.ly/Whinewine