A Sober-Minded Approach to Alcohol

The useful part

He created it to gladden the heart (Psalm 104:15), to brighten life (Ecclesiastes 10:19), and to heighten celebration on the happiest occasions (John 2:1–11). Perhaps most telling, he designed this substance as an edible metaphor for the blood of Jesus, one that can help us taste the thrilling love of God. Yet, precisely because it is so good, Scripture relentlessly warns us about the dangers of abusing it.

How it works

• Given this biblical tension and with Oktoberfest — the world's flagrant celebration of drunkenness — now here, how should sober-minded Christians approach alcohol?
• Knowing when and how to receive the cup requires wisdom, knowledge of God's word, and prayer.
• After all, corruption of the best is the worst (if you don't believe me, just consider what the world has done with sex).
• We know "everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving" (1 Timothy 4:4).
• To that end, we've curated a handful of resources to help navigate the pleasures and pitfalls of alcohol.

What to take from it

In this 2013 episode of Ask Pastor John, John Piper outlines a biblical theology of alcohol.

Details worth keeping

As seventeenth-century Anglican priest George Herbert reflected in his poem " The Agonie," Communion is "that liquor sweet and most divine, which my God feels as blood, but I as wine." The Bible makes it clear that alcohol is full-proof divine goodness.