As followers of Christ, we should adopt His mindset in our approach to every aspect of our lives; this involves discontinuing the sins we previously committed to live for the will of God. “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God” (1 Pet. 4:1, 2). The inspired apostle Peter lists some sins Christians no longer practice: “For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:” (1 Pet. 4:3). Give some attention to the three items in this list relating to alcohol.
First, the phrase “excess of wine” in the KJV is not referring to the amount of wine consumed, but rather the nature of the sin—that it involves excess or debauchery. Notice that the next verse has the phrase “excess of riot” (1 Pet. 4:4). This does not mean that a little bit of riot is all right if one does not go to excess. The excess refers to license, irresponsibility, and disregard for proper principles of conduct. Christians avoid alcoholic wine and the excess with which it is associated. Consider how other versions translate this word in 1 Peter 4:3; the ASV renders this word “winebibbings,” and several other versions render it “drunkenness.”
Just because the Bible condemns drunkenness does not mean that it allows a little bit of drinking. Where is biblical authority for moderate, social drinking? Some go to 1 Timothy 3:8 where one of the qualifications for a deacon is that he must not be “given to much wine.” However, this is a hyperbolic statement much like Ecclesiastes 7:17, “be not over much wickedness.” Wickedness in moderation is not being taught here, neither is alcohol in moderation being taught in 1 Timothy 3:8. Jesus warned, “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly” (Lk. 21:34 NKJV). Can one pursue a little bit of carousing and drunkenness so long as one’s heart does not become “weighed down” with such? Certainly, this is not the way the Lord intends His words to be applied. Consider the next qualification in 1 Timothy 3:8. The deacon is one who is “not greedy of filthy lucre,” so, does this mean he can participate in some underhanded means for dishonest gain so long as he is not greedy for it? Obviously not.
Second, Peter mentioned “revellings” in 1 Peter 4:3, which would indicate the carousing and wild parties where alcohol would be involved. The ESV renders this word “orgies.” The first two items that Peter listed in this verse, namely “lasciviousness,” and “lusts,” would be pursued on such occasions. Sensuality, self-abandonment, and giving oneself over to base desires go hand in hand with the excess of alcohol consumption. Again, note the principle that if the Bible condemns a sin, this does not mean it gives permission for one to pursue activities that lead to that sin. Consider the parallel with sexual sin. Proverbs 5-7 gives several warnings against committing adultery. Fornication is wrong, but lust that leads to fornication is not permitted. To the young man who would be tempted to commit fornication with the evil adulteress, Solomon warned, “Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids” (Prov. 6:25). Consider this similar warning about alcohol:
“Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again” (Prov. 23:31-35).
Solomon says don’t even look at a cup of it. Anything that leads to drunkenness or is associated with it, we would do well to avoid. Alcohol is deceptive because it impairs the judgment. Hosea 4:11 says it takes away the heart, that is, the intellect and will of man that makes decisions. The priests in Isaiah’s day erred through wine; it caused them to stumble in judgment (Isa. 28:7). Impairing judgment cannot be reconciled with the vigilance that ought to characterize a child of God (1 Pet. 5:8). Satan has a field day when we let our guard down. Let us beware of the evils of alcohol as works of the flesh for “drunkenness, revellings, and such like” keep those practicing such from inheriting the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:21).
Third, Peter mentioned “banquetings” (1 Pet. 4:3). The word is in Greek is “potos” (πότος) from which we get the word potable (drinkable). A standard Greek lexicon defines this word as “a social gathering at which wine was served” and then explains, “In the Greco-Roman world it was customary for literati to hold banquets at which topical discussions were featured, with participants well lubricated with wine.” [1] Thus, the social drink at the banquet is one activity followers of Christ have left behind to do the will of God. While many read “drinking parties” in different English versions and think of only the wild, noisy, boozing parties, the more refined banquet or toast fits this description well.
“Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise” (Prov. 20:1). Too often those who claim to follow Christ try to fit in with the world; however, followers of Christ must be different from the world (John 15:19; 17:14-16; 1 John 2:15). As Christians, we will stick out. Often those who knew us before we became Christians will be surprised at the difference in our lives; notice that the Christians to whom Peter wrote these inspired words were maligned because they no longer participated in these events (1 Pet. 4:4). Some social events must be a thing of the past for the Christian.
[1] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 857.
–Mark Day