If a Believer Takes Wine Moderately, Does Not Get Drunk and Does Not Weaken His Brothers Conscience nor Hurt His Testimony, Has He Sinned?
1) Direct answer
No—if he truly remains sober, is not under its power, does not wound a weaker conscience, and his own heart is clear before God, he has not sinned. But the higher, cleaner way is abstinence.
2) Scriptural explanation
- The Bible shows real wine existed and could be used without sin in proper measure: Jesus made wine at Cana (John 2:10), and Timothy was told, “use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake” (1 Timothy 5:23).
- Drunkenness and being influenced by drink are condemned: “Be not drunk with wine” (Ephesians 5:18); drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:10; Galatians 5:21).
- Liberty is judged by love and conscience: “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth” (Romans 14:21). “Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth… whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:22–23).
- Wisdom warns of its snare: “Wine is a mocker” (Proverbs 20:1); “Look not thou upon the wine… at the last it biteth like a serpent” (Proverbs 23:31–32).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- The sin is not in the mere existence of wine, but in loss of sobriety, bondage, and harmful influence.
- If there is no drunkenness, no offense, and no self-condemnation, there is no sin in that act. Yet the safest testimony and the strongest walk is to abstain, to avoid the snare, and to be filled with the Spirit rather than influenced by wine (Ephesians 5:18).
4) Reinforcing statement
You see, the Bible does not command drunkenness; it commands sobriety. But love chooses the higher road. Abstinence keeps the vessel clean and the witness bright.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Hearing, recognizing, acting on the Word of God
60-0221 §96
One man can go out here and go through here and get drunk, and tear up everything he wants to; and go down there, he knows everybody, so there's nothing said. Let a poor man, or somebody don't know, try to do it, and they're sent to the penitentiary. Corruption, low-down, filth, 40% of them homosexuals. Think of it, Sodom and Gomorrah again! There's the group, supposed to be religious.
The testimony of a true witness
61-1105 §58
But them that have erred through wine [now listen], and through strong drinks are out of the way [out of "the" way]; the priest and the prophets have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine, they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, and stumble in judgment. In other words, in "vision," they don't even believe in such a thing. And in "judgment," they say, "Oh, as long as you join the church, it's all right." What have we got? A bunch of drunks. Watch what the prophet said. H...
The greatest news flash in history
61-0424 §33
...ng, and wanting to be like the world? How can you do it when you're still eating ... longing for garlic? the fleshpots of Egypt? No. Keep in step with Joshua. That's right. Get the new grapes, and the new Pentecostal wine. Get drunk on it, brother. You won't even look to the world anymore. Something'll happen to you. Oh, let's us go forward following the steps of our great leader, and conquer. Remember, God told Joshua, "Every place the soles of your foot steps, that's possession." Brother, them footsteps means pos...
Position of a believer in Christ
55-0227A §53
Look, and if you do, in perfection, believe that He was laid in your place and God raised Him up for your justification, that's [unclear words]. The very Spirit that was in your dead Lamb returns to you and puts you in fellowship with God. For how long? How long? Listen. That believer went out of there, going to commit adultery again; he wants to shoot his next neighbor if he killed one. But oh, the spirit that was in the lamb could not perfect the believer. Let's see what Paul says about it. Amen. Don't get scared...
Questions and Answers, Part 2
64-0823E §74
Now, if you see the Holy Spirit... For instance, what if the Holy Spirit would come down here and discern like it does, and what if that would be the Holy Ghost, and you didn't believe it was, and you went out and made fun of it and talked about it; I don't care what you ever do, you're finished. And you cannot do it. That proves right there that you're not of God, because the seed of God remains in the man and he cannot sin. And what is sin? Unbelief. When he sees the Word made manifest, he'll believe it. And he c...