Drinking alcohol has become so common in society that typically, the person who chooses not to drink faces questions from confused peers and gets sideways glances instead of the one who overindulges. Undoubtedly, alcoholism has become an epidemic, with new research showing that alcohol-induced liver disease increased during the pandemic.
So how should Christians engage with alcohol? Robby Gallaty, the senior pastor of Long Hollow Church in Tennessee, recently discussed whether it’s wise for believers to drink alcohol. Gallaty, an alcoholic celebrating 20 years of sobriety, used expert analysis, statistics, and Bible verses to make his case, putting the rest the idea that there’s a difference between being “buzzed” and drunk.
The pastor stated, “You can’t be full of the Spirit and buzzed at the same time,” later directing to two police officers in the audience whom he said would assure his assertion that being buzzed and drunk are the same because neither person is sober.
Some may point out that one of Jesus’ first miracles was turning water into wine in John 2:1-11. However, Gallaty gave the verse some context. He explained that drinking wine over water in Jesus’ earthly ministry was safer because the water was typically contaminated with bacteria. Gallaty also asserted that the alcohol we drink today is more potent than biblical time wine.
To make his point, Gallaty referenced the work of Charles Quarles, a research professor of New Testament and biblical theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary who has studied the makeup of alcohol in the first century.
Quarles wrote, “A careful study of the Mishnah and Talmuds [Jewish texts] shows that the normal dilution rate among the Jews was three parts water to one part wine. This was very likely the commonly accepted dilution rate among Jews of the New Testament era as well. This dilution rate reduces the alcohol content of New Testament wine to 2.75 to 3.0 percent.”
The pastor was careful to note consuming alcohol is, in and of itself, not a sin and cautioned churchgoers to follow their convictions. But he warned that the line between wise and unwise when it comes to drinking is particularly blurry.
Gallaty turned to the apostle Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:15-18, where he wrote: “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk — not as unwise people but as wise — making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit” (CSB).
The preacher said, in essence, that Paul is telling us to watch how we live and pay attention to things that cause us to go off track. He continued, “Do you ever walk barefoot at night, in the dark? Never! Why? Because you may step on something you will regret. So if you won’t walk in the dark in the backyard in a grassy area because of dogs, then what he’s saying is don’t you dare walk in this world as unwise people, not taking account of how you’re living.”
He also explained that, in his opinion, there are few circumstances where someone drinks without saying they want to get buzzed or drunk, which he argued are both sinful. He also pointed out that some people use drinking as a coping mechanism to numb their pain. Ultimately, Gallaty explained he had to go through rehab twice because he tried at first to find sobriety and wholeness “without Christ, which is why I tell people sobriety without Jesus is always a dead-end street.”