Chapter 2
II. Was Paul Telling Timothy To Drink Alcoholic Wine To Help His Physical Infirmities?
I Timothy 5:23
A. No, because Timothy was a church leader.
Note: We saw earlier that Proverbs 31:4 said that it was not for kings or princes to drink wine or strong drink. Verse 5 tells why: “Lest they drink, and forget the ______, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.” Religious leaders ought not to drink alcoholic drinks for the same reason.
A person does not suddenly get drunk when a legal
limit has been reached. A person becomes more drunk
with every sip of liquor. With each sip, he is less in control
of his reflexes. With each sip, he is less in control of being
able to think quickly and clearly. No one suddenly
gets drunk — it happens one sip at a time.
For these reasons, no one should drink alcohol. A person who does such, is allowing himself to be put under the power of a substance that takes away his ability to act responsibly. If that is true for every person, then how much more should leaders stay away from alcohol? Leaders not only make decisions that affect themselves, but many other people. Therefore, a leader is all the more responsible to have a clear and alert mind. Timothy was a leader in the church. The apostle Paul could not possibly have been trying to get him to start drinking a little liquor. That would be teaching this young preacher Timothy to disobey the very Word of God that he was trying to get him to preach and teach faithfully.
1. Timothy was told in I Timothy 1:3 to abide at the city of Ephesus, “that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other ________________.”
Note: Doctrine is “Bible teaching.” Timothy would need to be on his toes and sharp mentally, so he could discern when error was being taught, and thus refute it. He needed to be a wise leader that was mentally alert.
2. According to I Timothy 4:6, Timothy was told that he “put the brethren in ______________________ of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ.”
3. In I Timothy 4:11, Timothy is told: “These things command and __________.” 4. I Timothy 5:22 emphasizes the great need for leaders (like Timothy) to be very alert, because they are to “Lay hands ________________ on no man.”Note: The context here is not that of laying hands on someone to fight with him, but to ordain him into the gospel ministry. Please see Bible Course #BC-E-103 on the Church for further information on ordination, and the laying on of hands used in that.
It is very important to not ordain an ungodly, irresponsible man to the ministry. Timothy needed to be alert every day to watch and evaluate men who were serious about serving the Lord — men who were growing in the Lord, and who could in turn lead others.
If Paul would have been telling Timothy to start drinking
a little alcohol, then he would have had to deal with Timothy
laying hands on people to fight with them, because that
is the natural result of drinking liquor — fighting.
Proverbs 23:29,30 asks the question, “Who hath contentions?” and “Who hath wounds without cause?” And it answers it in verse 30, “They that tarry long at the ________; they that go to seek __________ wine.” Needless fights and arguments are started when a person begins to drink alcohol.
5. I Timothy 5:22 also continues, “neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself ________.”
Alcoholic drinks are a big factor in causing immoral
thoughts, adulteries, and resulting divorces.
Note: The context of Proverbs 23:20-35 mentions the immoral factor of alcoholic drinks. It mentions in verse 27 that a “___________ is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.” A deep ditch and a narrow pit have something in common — they are both very difficult to get out of once you have entered. Even so it is when you have entered into an immoral relationship with a person — it is very difficult to get out of it, once you have started.
Notice that verse 28 also says of the immoral woman: “She also lieth in ________ as for a prey.” A prey is something or someone that you are trying to trap. The immoral woman waits to catch a man in her trap. And guess who is the most likely to fall into her ditch and narrow pit? Verse 29 starts right in telling you who is most likely to be her prey — the man who drinks alcohol.
Who is the least likely to be able to drive by a deep ditch without getting
too close and sliding down into it? The driver who has been drinking alcohol.
Who is the least likely to be able to walk by a narrow pit without falling into it?
The one who has been drinking alcohol. Even so, who is the least likely
to be able to resist immoral thoughts and immoral relationships?
The one who has been drinking alcohol.
Proverbs 23:33 says that the drinker’s “eyes shall behold ______________ women.” The Bible uses the word strange in the sense of the wrong type of woman — an immoral, improper woman.
Who could begin to count how many marriages have been ruined in the bar, or ruined in the restaurant that serves liquor, or ruined when some man/woman was at a party where liquor was being served? In fact, many people go to such places or parties for that very thing — to find an immoral relationship. That is exactly what Habakkuk 2:15 describes: “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor __________, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their __________________.”
It would be absolutely senseless to tell Timothy to
keep himself pure in I Timothy 5:22, and then in the
next verse tell him to quit drinking just water, and to
start drinking a little alcohol. That would be giving a
command, and then trying to get him to disobey it!
People who drink alcohol are not going to have pure thoughts. They are going to feel relaxed and drawn to immorality like a magnet to steel. Paul would have never told a young preacher to start drinking alcohol. It would surely be the ruin of such a young man. He told him quite the opposite in II Timothy 2:22, “Flee also youthful __________: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a ________ heart.”
— Was Paul telling Timothy to drink alcoholic wine?
B. No, because Timothy had frequent stomach trouble of some kind.
1. In I Timothy 5:23, Timothy was told to “use a little wine for thy __________________ sake and thine __________ infirmities.” 2. The last words of the previous verse are “keep thyself ________.”Note: Notice that Timothy was not being told to supplement his water with some other beverage once in a while, but to “drink no longer water” — “stay away from water completely, Timothy.” If he was being told to drink only alcohol, and to stay completely away from water, then he would be encouraged to be an alcoholic or a drunkard!
Even the world says that a person is an alcoholic if he has to
have a drink every day to function — let alone for every meal.
So anyone would have to admit that a person who drinks
only alcoholic drinks, is obviously an alcoholic — a drunkard.
The Bible makes it clear that a nation is in big trouble when its leaders start having to have their alcohol, and in even bigger trouble when they start out doing it even in the morning. Ecclesiastes 10:16,17 says, “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the ______________! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for ______________________!”
Any honest person would have to readily admit that the Bible would never tell someone to drink only alcohol. That would make absolutely no sense, and would contradict everything else the Bible teaches about alcoholic drinks.
Note: It is interesting to note that purity should be mentioned in I Timothy 5:22, and then for verse 23 to start out telling Timothy to “Drink no longer __________.”
Purity is mentioned, and then trouble with water is
mentioned. For anyone who has traveled abroad, the
connection is immediately made. The water in many places
of the world is not very pure. If your body is accustomed to drinking
fairly pure water, and then you drink some water from another country
that has a higher level of bacteria in it, you may get sick.
One such sickness is called Cholera. One of the ways the bacteria that causes this sickness is spread is through polluted water, or raw fruits and vegetables where there is poor hygiene. The more under-developed the nation, the more likely that you will have this problem. The symptoms of this disease are abdominal pain and severe diarrhea. (The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide, Random House, page 462) This is what that book recommends if you are abroad and find yourself with these symptoms: #1 — If the symptoms do not improve within a few hours, then get medical help immediately; #2 — Drink as much non-alcoholic fluid as you can.
In Bible times, there were not always deep wells from which to drink, like in John 4:11 where the woman said to Jesus, “Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is ________.” The more shallow the well, the warmer the water tends to be, and the more probable to find bacteria present and thriving. That is why there are guidelines now in many areas of this country, as to how shallow your well can be. The more shallow it is, the more susceptible it is to contamination.
So Timothy may have been having something similar to Cholera.
If so, it would make sense that Paul told him to stay away completely
from drinking water. Impure water would be keeping his stomach
trouble going. But he would then need something else to drink. Paul
thus told him to drink wine — grape juice.
Now we have already seen that you have to look at the context in the Bible to determine whether the word wine is being used in an alcoholic sense or not. In this case, it is clear to see that it was definitely not alcoholic wine that was being recommended. Notice once again the #2 instruction above: “Drink as much non-alcoholic fluid as you can,” if you have this type of stomach trouble.
If that is the best medical advice, then Paul would have been telling Timothy to do exactly the opposite of what he should be doing, if he was telling Timothy to start drinking only alcoholic wine. If man knows you should not drink alcoholic drinks when you have a case of cholera, then how much more would God know about it? The Bible says in I Corinthians 1:25, “Because the foolishness of God is __________ than men.” God would never give instructions to make a person’s sickness worse, but better. So Timothy was not being told to drink alcoholic wine, but to drink a little grape juice.
With the context talking about purity, and then immediately dealing with water and stomach trouble, this type of sickness is no doubt what his problem was.
Others have suggested that Timothy’s trouble was ulcers, or a similar problem of some sort. They suggest that Timothy, being just a young pastor, was under a lot of stress, and thus developed ulcers. The context in no way insinuates that that was Timothy’s problem. If it had been, and if Paul’s advice to Timothy was to start drinking a little alcoholic wine, then his advice was the exact opposite of what the medical field says is the proper treatment of ulcers today.
The same medical book as quoted above states under a section on stomach ulcers, “You are especially likely to develop a stomach ulcer if you smoke or drink heavily.” (The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide, Random House, page 465) Timothy had obviously not been drinking heavily, because he had to be encouraged to drink something besides water. So he obviously had not developed an ulcer from drinking too much alcohol. Secondly, if he had gotten an ulcer some other way, and if Paul’s advice was telling him to drink a little alcoholic wine, then that also would have been the exact opposite counsel that he should have given. The same medical book goes on to say how to treat an ulcer, “Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.” (The American Medical Association Family Medical Guide, Random House, page 466)
Even the medical field says that if you have an ulcer — stay away
from alcohol! Does not God know what the medical field knows, and much more?
Indeed He does. He would never command in His Word that man should do
something that would harm his body or compound his troubles.
3. Proverbs 30:5 says, “Every word of God is ________: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”
4. According to Psalm 119:160, God’s Word is “________ from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.”
5. Joshua was told in Joshua 1:8 to study the Word of God and do it, because “then thou shalt make thy way __________________, and then thou shalt have good success.”
6. Romans 12:2 reminds us to not be conformed to the world, but through the Word of God be transformed by the renewing of our minds, “that ye may prove what is that ________, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
7. According to John 10:10, Jesus did not come to be a thief to steal your life from you, or to steal away from you any and all fun that you might be able to have in life. “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more ____________________.”
8. Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which _______________ right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” 9. According to Proverbs 19:21, “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall __________.”Note: What God says is always right, and will never be proven wrong by man. God would never have had it written down in His Word for Timothy to do something that would harm his body. So if Timothy’s problem had been ulcer problems, God would never have had it written down in His Word that Timothy should drink alcoholic wine for it. (But it should still be noted that the context points to impure water as the cause of Timothy’s stomach trouble — not ulcer problems.) The point is that in neither case is alcoholic wine the thing to drink. In either case, even the medical field says “No alcoholic drinks when you have one of these conditions.”
— Was Timothy being told to drink alcoholic wine?
C. No, because Timothy was warned that all sins — even secret ones — will be brought out at the judgment seat. 1. I Timothy 5:24 could not rightly follow verse 23, if verse 23 was telling Timothy to drink alcoholic wine, because it was warning Timothy that “Some men’s sins are ________ beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow __________.”
Note: That verse would make absolutely no sense, if you were telling someone to start drinking alcoholic wine, and no water whatsoever.
When people are under the influence of alcohol, they may do some things
which they later do not even recall doing. But according to verse 24,
whether their sin is open (known by others, and/or by themselves),
or whether it was done in secret (with no other witnesses present,
and maybe even the person who committed it too drunk to remember) —
open or secret, all sin is going to one day be judged.
2. Proverbs 23:33 tells a person under the influence of alcohol, “thine heart shall utter ________________ things.”Now, would it not seem strange to encourage the drinking of alcoholic drinks, and then state such a truth about the coming judgment? On the contrary, because of such a coming judgment, it would be natural to totally discourage the drinking of any alcoholic drinks.
Note: That may be a secret sin, a sin in the heart, but according to I Timothy 5:24, it will be judged one day. So it would be contradictory to say “Drink alcoholic wine,” and then say, “Watch out — because every sin that you do, secret or open, will be judged one day!”
REVIEW:
1. Paul was not telling Timothy to drink alcoholic wine, because Timothy was a church ____________.
2. For the same reason that political leaders are not to drink alcoholic drinks, neither are __________________ leaders to drink them.
3. A person does not suddenly become drunk when a legal __________ has been reached.
4. A person becomes more drunk with every ______ of liquor that he/she drinks.
5. With each sip of liquor, a person is less in ______________.
6. Leaders not only make decisions that affect themselves, but many other people. Therefore, a leader is all the more responsible to have a clear and __________ mind.
7. Timothy would need to be on his toes and sharp mentally, so he could discern when __________ was being taught, and thus refute it.
8. Proverbs 23:29,30 asks and answers the question, “Who hath contentions?” “They that tarry long at the ________; they that go to seek __________ wine.”
9. Alcoholic drinks are a big factor in causing ______________ thoughts, adulteries, and resulting divorces.
10. Who is most likely to fall into the immoral woman’s trap? The man who drinks ______________.
11. Who is the least likely to be able to resist immoral thoughts? The one who has been drinking ______________.
12. Who could begin to count how many marriages have been ruined in the ______, or ruined in the restaurant that serves liquor, or ruined at a party where liquor was being served?
13. Many people go to parties where liquor is being served for that very reason, but Habakkuk 2:15 warns, “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor __________, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their __________________.”
14. Paul was not telling Timothy to drink alcoholic wine, because Timothy had frequent ______________ trouble of some kind.
15. If Paul was telling Timothy to stay away completely from water, and to only drink alcoholic wine, then Paul was encouraging Timothy to become an __________________ or a drunkard.
16. Any honest person would have to readily admit that the Bible would never tell someone to drink only ______________, because that would make no sense, and would contradict everything else the Bible teaches about alcoholic drinks.
17. It is interesting to note that ____________ is mentioned in I Timothy 5:22, and then that trouble with water is mentioned in the next verse.
18. Anyone who has traveled to another country knows that the water in many countries is not very ________ — it often has a higher bacteria level in it, which can make you sick.
19. One of the ways that Cholera is spread is through ________________ water.
20. If you find yourself with the symptoms of the above sickness, the American Medical Association recommends two things: #1) If the symptoms do not improve within a few hours, then get medical help immediately; #2) Drink as much __________________________ fluid as you can.
21. The more shallow the well, the ____________ the water tends to be, and the more probable to find bacteria present and thriving in it.
22. If Timothy was suffering from something like Cholera, then it would make sense that Paul told him to stay away ___________________ from drinking water — impure water would keep his stomach trouble going.
23. Some people have suggested that maybe Timothy’s trouble was ____________, because he was under a lot of stress, but the context in no way insinuates that was his problem.
24. But if that was his problem, Paul’s advice (if he was telling him to drink alcohol) to him would be exactly the opposite of what the medical field says to do today to treat ulcers, because they say, “Avoid smoking and drinking ______________.”
25. God would never command in His Word that man should do something that would ________ his body or compound his troubles.
26. John 10:10 says that Jesus came “that they might have life, and that they might have it more ____________________.”
27. Timothy was not being told to drink alcoholic wine, because he was warned that all sins — even ____________ ones, will be brought out at the judgment seat.
28. That would be foolish to tell Timothy to drink alcoholic drinks, and then to warn him about secret sins, because when people are under the influence of alcohol, they may do some things which they later cannot ____________ doing.
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