A few thoughts about drinking:
Proverbs 23:20
Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat,
Seems to indicate that some drinking some wine was acceptable, but not in large quantities.
Proverbs 23:31
Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!
I would guess that this is referring to not drinking strong wines. Some would say that this verse is saying that we should only drink non-fermented wine and that in Bibical times wine and grape juice were both known as "wine." Going on this verse alone, this would seem to make sense, except then the prior verse that I gave (Proverbs 23:20), saying not to drink too much wine, would not make much sense-- unless 23:20 is only referring to gluttony.
Proverbs 31:6
Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish;
Liquor had a purpose in Bibical time beyond social aspects. Proverbs 31:6 seems to be encouraging its use much like we might use pain killers or anti-depressants (those who are in anguish) in modern times.
SYNONYMS FOR ANGUISH:
*PAIN: affliction, agony, distress, dole, grief, heartache, heartbreak, hurting, misery, pang, rue, sorrow, suffering, throe, torment, torture, woe, wretchedness
*SORENESS: hurt, misery, pang, pounding, smarting, soreness, spasm, suffering, throb, throbbing, throe, twinge
*AFFLICTION: adversity, calamity, cross, crux, depression, difficulty, disease, disorder, distress, grief, hardship, illness, infirmity, misery, misfortune, ordeal, pain, plague, plight, scourge, sickness, sorrow, suffering, torment, trial, tribulation, trouble, woe
As for drunkeness, the New Testament is very clear about this:
1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Galatians 5:20,21
20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
The argument between most churches is whether it is a sin to drink at all. In my opinion, if a person can drink but does not have a problem with getting drunk, and to his/her conscience it is not a sin, then it is not a problem.
Though the topic of the chapter is whether or not it is a sin to eat food sacrificed to idols (rather than in reference to alcohol), in Romans 14, Paul talks about how something can be a sin to one person (because it bothers their conscience), but not to another. When the answer is not clear-cut, a person should then obey their conscience. He also makes it a point to say that if eating that food in front of another Christian (who has a problem with it) causes him to stumble, it is not a good thing. Likewise, it could be argued, that if you have a Christian friend over for company and he feels it is a sin to drink, even if your friend is wrong, (even if you feel it is not a sin for you to drink), Paul would probably argue that it would be in the best interest of Christian edification for you to hold back while your friend is at your house. (see Romans 14:19-23 below).
Romans 14
1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11It is written:
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.' " 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
