(Clip) Is It a Sin to Drink Alcohol?

Well, may I say to you, I have never believed in total abstinence myself. I don't think the Bible teaches total abstinence at all. And my feeling is that when the Lord at the wedding made the water into wine, it was not alcoholic in any way whatsoever.

And at the Passover and the other Jewish feasts, they could never have used alcoholic wine for the simple reason that it would have in it leaven. And leaven was forbidden. In fact, that's what turns grape juice into wine, is the leaven that's in it.

That would be forbidden. And therefore, they never used the intoxicating kind. And that was an excuse the man gave me was he says, well, Jesus turned the water into wine.

I can drink wine. Well, if you drank what he made, you'll be drinking some very good grape juice, by the way. Now, let me come to the question in point.

And the point is, should a Christian drink wine? I think he should not, but not because it's sinful, because it's on a different basis altogether, not on the basis of being sinful at all. I'd like to make a distinction for you that isn't made at all. Today, that's pretty well cut and dried.

But if you go over to the 12th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, you'd find, wherefore seeing we're compassed about with so great a cloud of witness, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us. Now, he says, let us lay aside every weight and then lay aside every sin. Now, there are certain things that are not sinful, but they are weights for you.

You'd be held back by them in the race of life, for instance. You notice the racers today, they don't run in big, heavy tennis shoes. They got these little racing shoes that weigh practically nothing.

And they get on as little as possible. Actually, the Greek racers raced naked because they didn't want any hindrance at all. And so, let us lay aside every weight.

We're talking about a thing that's a weight. And drinking wine is not sinful, but it's a weight. May I say to you, it can do several things.

It can lead to a habit that will make you an alcoholic. In other words, you can become a drunkard by starting out with the wine. Many drunkards have come up.

And then you're setting a very bad example to other Christians when you do that. It may be all right for you too, but there may be a weak brother there. Paul said, you know, because of that weak brother, I drink no wine.

Not because it's wrong for me too or sinful, but I will hurt that other brother. And today, there's too many Christians saying, well, I'm free as a Christian and I can do this, that, and the other. How many other Christians are you hurting today by your life? How many Christians today are you leading really to live a life for the glory of God? May I say, that's the real test.

And that's where wine comes in today. I wouldn't argue five minutes with you whether drinking wine is sinful. But I want to say this, it'll sure wreck your testimony.

And it will ultimately get you into trouble. I won't call it sinful. No, it's just a weight that you don't need to carry around with you today as you try to live the Christian life.