In Acts 2:13, in the middle of Pentecost, as the disciples were speaking in tongues, they were accused of being full of new wine (ESV and KJV, NIV simply says they had too much wine). If new wine in the bible was unfermented must, then how could someone be accused of being drunk on it?
Also, we are commanded in Ephesians 5:18 not to be drunk on wine. How is this wine any different than the supposedly non-alcoholic wine of Jesus' first miracle?
Throughout church history, up until the last century or so, alcohol has not been a big issue. Martin Luther's wife was a master beer brewer. John Calvinrequired in his pastoral contract something like 200 gallons of wine per year. The word "bridal" comes from the beer that the men of the church would brew for a bride when she was to be married known as the "bride ale." The first permanent building the pilgrims built after landing in the New World was a brewery. Niether the Bible nor church history condemn the making and the moderate use of alcohol. It wasn't until the late 1800s, I believe, with the rise of feminism and support of liberal Christianity, that the morality of alcohol was brought into question. The women of the day were upset that their husbands were always at the pub and not at home, and liberal Christianity, per definition, went with the parlence of the times rather than Scripture. Hence, Prohibition. I find it interesting that fundamentalist (who are no fun at all by the way
) clung to this thought of alcohol as sin.
Jesus teaches us that it is not what enters a person that defiles him, but what comes out of a person (Mark 7:14-23, Matthew 12:33-37 for example). We humans, as a result of Adam's sin, are naturally sinful and will pervert any and all of God's creation towards sin. God has made all things good (see Genesis 1 and 2 and Acts 10:9-16). It is our sin that uses the good things God has given us and uses them for sin. Think about it. God gave us food, we eat too much and become gluttons. God gave us sex. We pervert it and use it outside of His intentions for it. God gives us a beautiful earth and we use it to our own gain with no thought of proper stewardship. God gives us prosperity (a.k.a. money) and we are greedy. And God gives us alcohol and we get drunk. No my friends, it is not God's creation that is sinful, only our sinful use of those things.
I think the big issue here is where the focus is. Satan has used legalism in our day, much like he did for the Pharisees in Jesus' day. Keep God's people focused on man-made rules that are intended to somehow make us more holy and deserving of God's love. If Satan can keep us focused on that, then he has succesfully kept us from worshipping and loving our lord and saviour and friend Jesus and he has kept us from effectively loving our neighbors and spreading the good news of the Gospel!
And that brings me to where all things should point. To Jesus. Because of our sinful nature, we are separated from God. We were created good, but we believed the lie that we could be like God and we fell into sin. We willingly turn away from Him to follow our own way (Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:10-18 etc.). Because of this, we justly deserve punishment. Scripture says we deserve eternal death a payment for our willing rebellion (Romans 6:23). But God, in his uncomprehendable mercy, lowered himself and became human. He (Jesus) lived the perfect life we could never live and became the perfect sacrifice for our atonement. His death paid the price we deserve and his rise from the grave demonstrates His victory over Satan, sin, and death! The beauty of the Gospel is that not only did Jesus' death and resurection clean us from sin, but it also imputes to us Jesus' righteousness. Therefore, if we repent of our rebelliousness and trust in Jesus as our only hope, we are able to begin to live lives to the glory of God, which is the source of all true joy. As we grow in the faith we are given, we begin to be able to use God's good creation rightly, which includes making delicious, mouth watering, wines, to the glory of our creator!
Here's a couple links to some really good sermons on alcohol and Christianity if anyone's interested:
Mark Driscoll:
http://www.marshillchurch.org/audio/alcohol_driscoll_5pm_south_03_24_02.mp3
Leif Moi (part 1):
http://www.marshillchurch.org/audio/alcohol_moi_8pm_03_24_02_part1.mp3
Leif Moi (part 2):
http://www.marshillchurch.org/audio/alcohol_moi_8pm_03_24_02_part2.mp3