The Christian who advocates or condones “drinking in moderation” is providing Satan an opening he would not have with an individual committed to total abstinence. By medical definition, alcohol is a drug. The moderate drinker is naive if he does not recognize the peril of eventually becoming addicted himself.
The condition of the drunkard is tragic; and God’s Word gives clear warning of the final tragedy. The individual who refuses to have anything to do with such a dangerous taskmaster is wise indeed. No alcoholic ever intended to become an alcoholic when he/she took the first drink. And no individual who persistently refused to take the first drink ever became an alcoholic. The church of Jesus Christ must take a bold stand against this evil that in the end “bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper” (Proverbs 23:32, NKJV).
The effects of alcohol are vividly described in Proverbs 23. There is a physical and emotional impact. “Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?” (Proverbs 23:29, NKJV). The answer is obvious: “Those who linger long at the wine” (v. 30). But the woe, the sorrow, the contention, the complaints, the injuries, are not reserved for the drunkard in the gutter. They begin all too frequently with the social drink.
Just like every other temptation of Satan, the drinking of alcoholic beverages has its attraction. Hence the warning of Holy Scripture: “Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly” (Proverbs 23:31, NKJV). The warning is so strong because the attraction of the temptation soon turns the pleasure seeker into a pathetic embarrassment to the human race: “Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things” (23:33, NKJV). Even the normal physical protection systems of pain and caution are defeated by alcohol (23:34,35).
“Wine is a mocker, intoxicating drink arouses brawling, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1, NKJV). God’s will is for His people to abstain from this deceitful betrayer that mocks and destroys the basic dignity of mankind.

Position Papers