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.
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Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
63-0627 §33
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59-0412A §11
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62-0518 §92
...le children. His little boy come up, little bitty fellow about five years old, said, "Brother Branham," said, "we got a good daddy now." Said, "Every night he'd come in and get drunk, and whip us and everything. But," said, "tonight we all asked the blessing at the table." He had passed from death unto life. Just before I got ready to preach, he said, "Brother Branham, would you spare me a moment till I could say something?" he said. I said, "Yes, sir. Come on up here, brother." He come up there. He said, "I was on...
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63-0607 §41
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Questions and Answers
59-0628E §39
Now therefore, I believe that the eating of the cracker... Now, I do not believe that kosher bread should be substituted for a cracker. I believe that it should be a holy unleavened bread, the type of the unleavened bread that was made in Egypt. And I believe that the blood should not be grape juice, but it should be wine. Grape juice sours, and spoils as it gets old. But wine gets better and stronger as it gets old; it never loses its strength. And the blood of Christ doesn't sour and spoil; as it gets older, it g...