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.
A testimony on the sea
62-0720 §83
Now, smoking, drinking, committing adultery, cursing, that's not sin. There's only one sin. That's unbelief. You do those things because you are an unbeliever. If you was a believer, you wouldn't do those things. There's only two things---one of them is faith, and the other one's unbelief. One of them possesses you. And if you're a little doubt about the Word of God, every word of it being true, then you're an unbeliever. The Holy Spirit doesn't dwell in you. If you dispute one word of God's promise, or question it...
Church Order
63-1226 §13
Now, Paul never one time had to speak to the Ephesian church or to the Roman church, or any of those other churches, about their spiritual gifts, about how to put them in order. But he did have to speak to the Corinthians continually about it, because they made it an issue all the time. And Paul said, when he come among them, if they found out that one had a tongue and one had a psalm, and he thanked the Lord for all their fine gifts and things like that. And if you'll notice in the first chapter or two of Corinthi...
Three kinds of believers
63-1124E §55
Now look, God had testified--the Bible said, Hebrews the 4th chapter ... or the 11th chapter--God testifying of His gift that he was righteous. God vindicated his offering; God made proof that that was what He accepted; that was His Word, His plan, and told Cain, said, "Do the same thing, and live." But do you think he would forfeit his idea? No, sir. He was a unbeliever. He walked right out. That's right. Cain did the same thing, Nimrod did the same thing--unbelievers. He did not believe. Belteshazzar, the same th...
Church Order
63-1226 §67
A deacon takes care of the house of God. Someone come in, speak to them; be there to greet them, shake their hand. You're the policeman, "Could we show you the cloak room?" or "Would you be seated?" "Could we hand you a songbook or something?" or "Now we would like for you to enjoy yourself here, and pray, and we're happy you're here with us tonight." Lead them right down to the place, and say, "Would you like to be closer or would you like to be back here?" or whatever more. That's hospitality. A policeman (or the...
At Thy Word, Lord
54-0221 §33
I said here some time ago, preaching in a Methodist church. I said, "Drinking whiskey is not a sin; smoking cigarettes, committing adultery's not a sin." The little old sanctified Methodist mother sitting there, she said, "Then, preacher, what is sin?" I said, "Unbelief! That's sin." Smoking, drinking, gambling, committing adultery, and stealing, lying, and so forth is not sin; it's the attributes of sin. You do that because you're an unbeliever, and you don't... You say, "Well, I'm a Christian, I don't smoke, I do...