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.
Have not I sent thee?
62-0124 §85
She said, "Oh, yes, Brother Branham." She said, "Who would have me?" see. Said, "What could I offer a man?" Said, "I've nothing but a cruel life. Get drunk and carry on and things." Said, "What could I do?" And I said, "Well, God can straighten that out." She said, "Mr. Branham, I've prayed and turned over new pages and everything else." Said, "I just don't know what's the matter with me." Kept just catching her spirit to see what was wrong, you see. And just kept watching for a few minutes, and she said... I said,...
The Key to the door
62-1007 §55
...ispute in the Bible times, it was a dispute then. The people misunderstood the Lord's supper, when they come to the table. Paul told those Corinthians. They were coming and getting drunk at the Lord's table. See, it was misunderstood right then. He said, "If you want to eat, eat at home."
Why many Christians struggle to live the Christian life
57-0303A §15
Now, the Bible has told us that you can't put new wine in old bottles. That once stumbled me. I couldn't understand. A bottle is... I know up here, and we in America, is a glass affair. And what difference would it make if we put wine in the new bottle or the old bottle? But when I was in the Orient, I learned that the bottle in the Bible day, was not a glass bottle. It was a bottle that was made out of animal skin. They'd taken the skin from the animal and tanned it. Now, as long as the oil from the animal skin is...
The invisible union of the Bride of Christ
65-1125 §44
Notice, that is committed to her: sacred virtue, sacred womanhood, and then sacred motherhood ... honor her husband. Just look today. In certain cities, many cities, they even have big parties in what is called society---church members, too---set their hats in the floor and they all get drunk and pitch their keys into it; each woman goes and picks a key out of the hat for the man she will live with over the weekend. All kinds of such parties, which, I've got so much to say here, if the Lord willing, I haven't got t...
Abraham's covenant confirmed
61-0318 §18
...smart, and as educated, and as consecrated lives as they were living; and yet they were sinners. Why? They didn't commit adultery, they didn't smoke cigarettes, they didn't get drunk, they didn't go to dances, they didn't play cards. But they disbelieved! That's the reason they were sinners. That's the reason I sling it at Pentecost today. No matter how much you dance in the Spirit, and speak in tongues... I believe in that; but you could speak in tongues like pouring peas on a dry cowhide---and still lost. Right....