Drinking is a Sin?

Misconception: Drinking is a Sin

Some people claim that drinking is a sin. It is clearly not. Just about every book in the Bible talks about drinking. Jesus, Himself spoke fondly of wine. (Matthew 26:29) Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine (John 2:1-10). Clearly the act of drinking is not wrong.

Where the “sin” comes in is when it becomes in excess — the drinking takes over God’s place in a person’s priorities, when it results in injury to one’s own life, or to the lives of others.

Alcoholism has been convincingly (but there is controversy of course) called a disease. It is just as much a mental disease as schizophrenia. But the disease also affects the body.