Should Christians Drink Alcohol?: Sipping and Slipping

By Jill Y. Walker

Sometimes it seems you see alcoholic beverages everywhere you look. What was once available only in liquor stores can now be found in many neighborhood grocery stores and even gas stations. It’s almost impossible to avoid. While drinking alcoholic beverages was once unthinkable in Christian circles, social drinking is on the rise today, even among Christians. Many pastors also endorse this practice. But what does the Bible say about drinking alcohol? Is it acceptable for Christians to drink wine? Can believers be a testimony in atmospheres where alcohol is served?

In Should Christians Drink Alcohol?, author Jill Walker explores these questions and more. She provides biblical evidence stating that Christians should abstain from drinking all alcoholic beverages. She also explains why eating where alcoholic beverages are served can be a bad choice. Walker shares personal stories and scriptural references with the intent of enlightening the hearts of others and challenging them to be completely abstinent.

This study and personal testimony consider questions about alcohol and faith, exhorting Christians to abstain from drinking altogether.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664224940

Jill Y. Walker

Jill and her husband, Mike live in Mattoon, Illinois. They have children and grandchildren. Jill is a pastor of a non-denominational church and has hosted and produced her own  t.v. and radio programs throughout the years. You can visit her website at: www.jillwalker.org and her Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/revjillwalker. Her YouTube channel is: Rev.Jill Walker.

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Copyright © 2021 Jill Y. Walker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2495-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-2494-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021903708

WestBow Press rev. date: 03/04/2021

Contents

1 Sipping and Slipping

2 Should Christians Eat at Restaurants that Serve Alcohol?

3 You Can Make a Difference

4 Who Cares What People Think?

5 The Consequences of Drinking

6 Closing Remarks

1

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Sipping and Slipping

Should a Christian drink alcohol and eat where alcohol is served? This has been a controversial question for the past thirty years or more.

Let’s first examine what a tavern is. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines it as a saloon; bar. I looked up saloon and found the definition to be as follows: a place where alcoholic beverages are sold; bar.

Years ago, Christians—those who have truly experienced a personal encounter with Jesus after being born again—would never go to a liquor store, tavern, or bar to buy a bag of potato chips or other snacks. Even if they were not going to drink alcohol, they knew better than to do something like that. Why? Because there was a clear distinction between a tavern (saloon or bar) and a regular family restaurant or grocery store that didn’t sell alcohol. If you are from the generation that still remembers what I’m talking about, then you will understand. The only places where one could buy alcohol were the local liquor stores, which, by the way, are virtually out of business today and, local taverns. It was unheard of to find alcohol at gas stations, grocery stores, or family restaurants.

In the 1970s, something very subtle began to creep into American society—and probably into other societies around the world. Liquor licenses became readily available and more easily obtainable for owners of establishments other than local taverns or liquor stores. This was probably a liquor store owner’s worst nightmare! Now the chain grocery stores and gas stations were offering alcoholic beverages at the checkout area or in the refrigeration cases where pop, juices, and other drinks were offered for sale. The public was growing accustomed to seeing beer signs, ads, and displays almost everywhere gas or food was sold. Satan was slowly unfolding his plan to stifle the Christian’s stance on drinking by promoting his insidious agenda. What was at the core of it? Get Christians used to seeing alcohol in many places—ordinary, everyday places where they shopped, ate, relaxed, and enjoyed recreation. Almost everywhere believers looked, they saw alcohol.

What began developing, coming full circle about two decades later, was a generation of people who were falling for this keen, crafty plan. Alcohol was numbing people’s consciences and diluting their testimonies to others.

Satan, the deceiver transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), and he was having a lot of success in gaining converts to alcohol! I’m not talking about the sinners who need Jesus. Now I pull the curtain back. I’m speaking of the Christians who defend drinking, amazingly enough.

Since 1970, alcohol has been creeping into church parishioners lives. Now I’d like to discuss the reasons why drinking is wrong and why it is not the wisest choice to eat at restaurants where alcoholic beverages are served—even if you don’t drink. Many Christians today truly believe that drinking alcohol in moderation is just fine. They are firmly, yet ignorantly, convinced that Jesus