2 March 2008 - Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew
DRINK WINE FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES?
1 Timothy 5:23 , “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.”
The drinking of alcohol is a common phenomenon today, even among Christians. This is sad as they jeopardize their witness very badly because of it. Some who do not indulge in social drinking would drink privately (on the quiet) in their homes. Their argument is that no ones sees and therefore no one is stumbled. [NOTE—we shall evaluate this line of argument at a later date.] Others, on the other hand, would use the “medicinal” reason to drink their daily or nightly dosage. The biblical basis for this practice is 1Timothy 5:23 .
Timothy was a young man given a most difficult task of pasturing the mature church in Ephesus. The apostle Paul was languishing in prison awaiting death. He could not be present to pastor the church which he had founded by the grace of God. He sent Timothy to be the pastor but he was young, compared to some of the elders in that church. Some of the elders were probably “carnal” and they despised his youthfulness.
Nevertheless Timothy was a man of God who followed the Bible implicitly. He ensured that his conduct was beyond reproach since some of the enemies of Christ were inside the church. How tiresome it was for a youthful pastor desiring to serve God to have old elders finding fault with his every move and discouraging him. Timothy was told by Paul to remain stedfast. Regarding the drinking of alcohol, Timothy could have been called a teetotaller. He would not drink any alcohol at all for the sake of his faith and witness. This was also in accordance to the requirements given by the apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 . It is most likely that Timothy did not drink at all as Paul had to instruct him here “to use a little wine for thy [his] stomach’s sake.” If Timothy had already been drinking Paul would not have had to write what he did.
The phrase “drink no longer water” means “do not drink water only”. Probably the water in those days was not as clean as what we have in Singapore. They did not have the purification process that we have. Even when the water is piped in via the aqua ducts from the cool mountain springs, they would have been contaminated by the time they reached the city. If the water was provided from wells, then the contamination might even have been worse. A person like Timothy with a weak stomach would not be able to take this kind of water. Timothy suffered stomach discomfort which might even include diarrhea. This would definitely affect his ministry.
Paul advised him to take a little wine. This means the water that Timothy was drinking should be mixed with a little wine. The fermented grape juice acted as a purifying agent to purify the water. It was more water than wine, hence the use of the adjective “little”. This word means “puny”. This extremely diluted usage of wine was for medicinal purposes so that Timothy’s stomach problem might be cured. It was used like present day chlorine for the purification of water.
The fact that Timothy was told to use wine for “his stomach’s sake” highlights the fact that it was not for pleasure or social reasons or any other excitement. Timothy did not drink it to make himself forget his woes or to be happy. He was commanded by Paul to take it solely because it was regarded as necessary for the promotion for his health. If Timothy had a choice he would not have gone near any form of alcoholic drink no matter how low the alcohol content was. He took his faith and ministry very seriously. Hence the use of the present imperative in the phrases, “drink no longer” and “use a little wine.” Timothy had other ailments as well.
Today we have medicine for our stomach and other ailments without the use of alcohol. The principle applied from this text is that for the Christian today it is not necessary for him to drink alcohol at all. The reason is that the alcohol today is unlike the fermented grape juices of biblical times which had a low alcohol percentage. It was so diluted at that time that it was more water than alcohol – when Timothy drank it with water for medicinal reasons, there was no way he could have gotten drunk by it. Timothy’s temperance of teetotalism is most commendable, especially as a youthful leader, unlike the leaders of today. Learn from Timothy and abstain form drinking at all costs! AMEN.