A TASTE OF NEW WINE

Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now (John 2:10-11).

The United States has a long-standing tradition of temperence.  We owe the Methodist circuit riding preachers a debt of gratitude.  They recognized what unrestricted consumption of home-brewed alcohol was doing to children and families.  They preached against it and worked for legislation against it.  Thomas Welch was a Methodist minister who started making non alcoholic grape juice with which to celebrate the Lord's Supper.

Today, within the Stone-Campbell restoration movement, there are quite a number of preachers, ministers and pastors who regularly drink alcoholic beverages.  The purpose of this bullet is not to consign such leaders to hell, but it is intended to remind each one of their responsibility to be an example.  I have known of such drinking leaders who, when they go on paid leave to a Christian convention, will, skip the convention to celebrate their "freedom in Christ" by partying and drinking.  They wouldn't be employed at my church very long.  The Church must be a safe place for addicts and sinners! 

In the United States, each year approximately 80,000 deaths are directly attributed to alcohol consumption.  Gun violence, domestic abuse, automobile accidents all increase as alcohol consumption increases.  Because of how alcohol effects the brain, one under the influence KNOWS what he is doing, he just doesn't care.  There are 14 million alcohol addicts in the United States.  The cost of alcohol to the U.S. economy is about $230 billion dollars each year.  Is it any wonder that Solomon warned his sons, 'Do not even wish you could have some wine' (Tom Steele paraphrase of Proverbs 23:31).

I do not believe Jesus consumed wine with alcohol.  I know there are scholars who will "guffaw" this and think I am ignorant, so be it.  But I am willing to do a word-study with you if you like.

Experts say that the use of yeast for making alcoholic wine has been around since about 4,000 BC.  That is fairly consistent with the Biblical record of Noah's wine making.  Generally, from the beginning to the end, the Bible takes a dim view of alcohol consumption, but commends those who abstain.  Among those are the Rechabites of Jeremiah 35 of whom God said they "shall never lack a man to stand before me" because they obeyed the command of  Jonadab, their father, to not drink alcohol.

What would Jesus do?

Our Father's Love,
Tom

*It's just an opinion of mine that the water Jesus turned to wine was what wine will be in the new creation.