• Ryrie: “Faith means confidence, trust, to hold to something as true. Faith must have content. There must be confidence or trust about something. To have faith in Christ unto salvation means to have confidence that He can remove the guilt of sin and grant eternal life.”
• Erickson: The “positive aspect” of conversion whereby “one lays hold upon the promises and work of Christ” (310).
• Bible: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1, NASB)
• Luther: “Faith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God…Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith” (An Introduction to St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, 124-25)
• Grudem: “trust in Jesus Christ as a living person for forgiveness of sins & eternal life with God” (308)

Biblically speaking there are three components of faith.

1. Content (Acts 8:37; 16:31; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Thes 4:14; Heb 11:6): “Faith is a form of knowledge.”
2. Agreement/Assent/Understanding (1 Cor 2:19; Heb 11:1; 1 Jn 4:1): Yet something more!  (cf. James 2:19)
3. Personal Trust: the most vital element and it involves action/deeds (Rom 10:9-10).

Knowledge/Content: Cannot have a contentless faith. Cannot have faith in faith. Cannot say that I am a faithful person without stating that they have a faith in something or that something. However, today it is virtuous to have a contentless faith. Can faith be in and of itself? Is faith an object? Always ask them what their faith is in? However, this is not enough. Christology of demons, James 2:19

Agreement/Assent: There are different levels of assent and doubt. With every belief there is a level of doubt. Mark 9:24; Thomas, Jn 20:24-25; Rom 12:3. It is not just a blind leap, but it is also not just a logical step. It is foolish to say that the greatest faith seeks the least evidence. Historical reaction against reason (Enlightenment). By learning more about God we don’t have less faith or less reason to have faith. Reason shows that faith is logical. “We believe that we may understand,” also shows that faith is necessary to truly understand biblical logic. People go to two extremes: logic only and a complete abandonment of logic. This combined with the previous is the status of demons.

Trust: This is the human element, and the most vital element. This is the emotional element, and it involves action and the alignment of the will. The first one is about the mind, but there is more than the mind that is required. Emotionally healthy spirituality requires authenticity and alignment of the mind, the heart, and the will. This is the confidence that God is who is says He is and someone who acts accordingly. There is an utter commitment of the heart and will upon the grace and care of God. There is a release of one’s will, dreams, anxieties, cares, concerns, plans, etc. over to God. There is a complete abandonment of oneself into the care and provision of God. With the alignment of the mind, heart, and will, there will be an alignment of one’s actions with the help and complete and utter dependence on the Holy Spirit. While faith is so simple that it can be explained as such, it is immensely complex in its inter-workings with the will, with one’s actions, and with prayer.

So let’s take the example of smoking. Someone can know that smoking is bad for them. They can know that it causes cancer and all the things about smoking. They can even advocate for it and agree with it. However, if they continue to smoke, they don’t believe the message(s) about smoking. In the least, they don’t believe the message(s) about smoking for himself. He may believe that these things are true for everyone else except him. However, if he does not stop smoking, then he lacks trust; he lacks faith.

1. Remove Programs.
2. Reset phone: You can always use the Master Reset from system tools, or just make sure the Q9h is off, then hold down E and Z on the keyboard, then turn on while holding the E and Z. That’s it.
3. Reset Text Input: Its the very last option in the settings menu “Text Input”. Just uncheck the box that says “Text Prediction”
4. Install Intellisync first.
5. To shrink the SMS text, go to the email, select a message and scroll into the body of the email. Then press the right soft key and highlight view > and then text size.
6. Install Facade.
7. To change the Right SoftKey. Start > My Stuff > Personalize My Q > Internet Explorer

In previous posts on wine, strong drink, liquor, and drunk/drunkenness in anticipation of this post, I have added all the verses that I could think of in word search order (based on the New American Standard by English word by BibleWorks). While every verse is important and should be considered, here are some of the basic arguments for each side.

Arguments for Alcohol include:

1. Jesus went to a wedding & converted water into wine (Jn 2:1-10).
2. Jesus drank wine (Luke 7:33-34).
3. Food (and implicitly fluids) declared clean (Matt 15:10-20).
4. Paul commanded Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach (1 Ti 5:23).
5. Allowed in moderation. The word “given” means addicted as shown in the ASV, NASB, and NIV (1 Ti 3:1-3)
6. Wine used at Lord’s Supper (Matt 26:27-29; 1 Cor 11:16, 20-22).

Arguments against Alcohol include:

1. Drunkenness is condemned in the Bible by Jesus, Paul and Peter (Luke 21:34; Eph 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3).
2. When Jesus and Paul/Timothy encouraged the drinking of wine either through command or example, they did so because it was culturally better for them to drink wine than water. From Pete Mullins: “Wine consumed in the New Testament, already very low in alcohol content, was typically diluted to a ratio of 3 to 4 to 1 (80%) with water. One American beer today (4-5% alcohol volume by weight) would be considered excessive by Jews, Greeks, and Romans of the New Testament Age.”
3. OT priests who were ministering and Nazirites were forbidden to drink (Lev 10:9; Num 6:2).
4. 1 Cor 6 and 10: “While all things may be lawful, not all things are profitable.” Abuse of alcohol is not consistent with a spiritually mature lifestyle. (1 Corinthians 6:9)
5. We must follow the law of the land and anyone under the age of 21 in America cannot drink (Rom 13:1; Heb 13:17; 1 Pet 2:13-14).
6. Consequences of alcohol are lack of self-control (1 Thess 5:7-8) and is associated with various forms of sexual immorality (OT; Rom 13:13).

Here are some questions to consider when deciding on whether drinking is permissible, sinful, or good in moderation. Disclaimer: This post is written to anyone who considers themselves to be a Christian. And therefore, I am assuming that they have the basic Christian values of having the Bible as their supreme authority.

1. Culturally, what reputation does drinking have? What is related to drinking: sex, drugs, socializing, etc?
2. Do I live in a bubble or in isolation from anyone else? If this is yes, why? Or, what makes you think that? Do you go to church? Why or why not? Should you go to church (see Heb 10:25)?
3. Given that Jesus drank wine and Paul commanded Timothy (an elder, even a pastor?) to drink wine, we need to understand what wine was culturally. From Pete Mullins: “Wine consumed in the New Testament, already very low in alcohol content, was typically diluted to a ratio of 3-4 to 1 (80%) with water. One American beer today (4-5% alcohol volume by weight) would be considered excessive by Jews, Greeks, and Romans of the New Testament Age.” Furthermore, it was typically “safer” for a person to drink wine over water due to cleanliness (non-religious). So considering this, would Jesus still have set the example and would Paul have commanded Timothy? Furthermore, since they only used wine, does this imply that one can expand this to include liquor, strong drink, or even beer? Or is it ok for Christians and Christian leaders to drink wine, but not liquor, strong drink, or even beer?
4. What about the other Christian principles of stronger brother-weaker brother (Rom 14) and being above reproach (Phil 2:15; 1 Tim 3:2; 5:7; Tit 1:6-7)? Do they have a place in this discussion?
5. What is the balance between legalism and license and grace (Rom 6; Gal 5)?
6. Personally, do you or anyone in your family struggle with addictive behaviors?

First, I think it needs to be said, drinking alcohol in and of itself in moderation (without the slightest buzz, good feeling, or any other supposed “benefit”) is possibly ok depending on the culture in which you find yourself. For example, in some cultures, it would be disgraceful to deny a beer with someone. Yet on the other hand, any reasonable person would understand if you chose to abstain and gave an excellent, well thought-out statement to such regards (that does not over simplify the answer and thus become offensive).

Second, I have hear people and writers say that it is a personal matter; however, I strongly believe that is not the case whatsoever. First, we are made to be in community. Look at all the one another commands in Scripture (approx. 60 verses!). We are not forsake the gathering of believers (community, Heb 10:25). We are members of one another (Eph 4:25). The Trinity exists in community. So nothing we do is made in a bubble or in isolation. So what do I mean by the cultural caveat? Well, we must ask ourselves what does drinking alcohol mean in America, Europe, Asia, etc? What kind of assumptions do people make of those who drink in America or Germany? It’s one thing here in America and one thing completely different in Germany. So does that mean I should fly to Germany to be able to have a beer? No, because there are other factors to consider as well.

Third, it appears that the next generation of Christian leaders that are coming up after Dobson (etc) are a little more tolerant than the previous generation, and I am not so sure that is a good thing. It is apparent that American culture has rubbed off on what many Christian leaders think about such matters as dancing (not just ballroom, but all kinds and it pervades TV), playing cards (it’s even on ESPN now), drinking, pre-marital sex (or even oral sex and all the sexual innuendos), etc. American culture has probably rubbed off on us more than we would like to admit, even Wallace makes this observation. So whatever happened to the thoughts of being “above reproach?” I can remember when I first heard that phrase. I thought, “Man! Those are some old words!” Then I checked and I wasn’t reading the King James Bible. So I re-read it and had to look up the word, reproach. Reproach simply means “disgrace, shame” or “criticism.” So to be above reproach would be to live in such a way that no one can find anything wrong. The best example that I know of is Daniel. In Daniel 1, Daniel decided not to defile himself with food and lived according to kosher rules in a foreign land (Dan 1:8-17). Later Daniel then began to separate himself from the others through his exemplary life (Dan 6:3). This made the others jealous and angry, so they set out to find out something against Daniel and found nothing! (Dan 6:4-5). That’s above reproach! How does that carry over to today? Well, going to a liquor store or to a bar is not being above reproach because of the associations, reputations, and the speculations that go along with these. Many want to use evangelism as the reason they go to bars, etc. However, can we not evangelize these same people somewhere else? Yes, and yes it would prove to be more difficult, but Jesus didn’t say that it would be easy. As Christians, we must not only think of the lost, we must also think of our weaker brothers/sisters. Would them knowing that we went to a bar or liquor store encourage them in their walk or cause them to stumble? Could any who knew that I went to a bar fall back into their alcoholism? Could anyone use what I’ve done taking it to its logical extreme and rationalize their own sinful behavior? Are we willing to forsake our own desires in sacrifice for the greater good of someone else (Rom 14:21)?

As an aside, I believe it is important to agree with Dr. Wallace on one important issue: the weaker brother. For many the weaker brother is wrongly assumed to be the one who appears to have no rules. While in some cases this may be true, especially if they haven’t thought through the issue (whatever that may be); however, it should be noted that “(1) Christians tend to compile rules and regulations that go beyond what is written; and (2) when such grey zones are considered evil, those who do not abide by such rules are often viewed as ‘the weaker brother.’ In reality, the weaker brother in Scripture is the one who has too many scruples, not too ferw (cf. Romans 14)!”

Finally, I am certain that this issue is one of degrees. For example, this is a debatable issue and Christians are allowed to come down on both sides of the fence. For me, it almost entirely depends on one’s culture and that culture changes from city to city, state to state, country to country. So I cannot and will not say that drinking is entirely wrong and a sin always, simply because I believe that to be stretching the biblical record. However, for me, as one who aspires to be a Christian leader and does not want to be the source of anyone else’s drinking (whether rationally or irrationally), one who has addictive tendencies, and as one who promised his wife that I would not drink, drinking is wrong.

So, let’s clarify a few things. First, should we not drink because Nazirites didn’t drink? No, Nazirites took a vow not to drink and one should only use this parallel if they too have taken a similar vow. This should not be pushed on to others as a requirement of good Christian living or maturity.

Second, should we not drink because priests were not allowed to drink while ministering (Lev 10:9) since we took are of the priesthood of believers (1 Pet 2:5, 9)? To the basic layperson, I believe that this verse does not apply. However, the interpretation of this verse lies almost completely on whether one is a dispensationalist or a covenantalist because of their respective hermeneutics.

Third, the Bible is both neutral (Genesis 14:18; Esther 5:6; 7:1-2; Job 1:13; Daniel 10:3, cf. Matt 9:17; 21:33; John 15; 1 Tim 5:23), positive (Deut 14:26; Ps 4:7; 104:14-15; Prov 3:10; Song 1:2, 4; 4:10; 7:9; Isa 25:6; lack of wine = judgement, Jer 48:33; Lam 2:12; Hos 2:9; Jer 48:33; Lam 2:12; Hos 2:9; Joel 1:10; Hag 2:16; andits provision a blessing from the Lord, cf. Gen 27:28; Deut 7:13; 11:14; Joel 2:19, 24; 3:18; Amos 9:13-14; also Isa 55:1; Jer 31:12; Zech 9:17), and negative (Eph 5:18) (and yes both can refer to 2 or 3 things; see also Wallace, “Bible and Alcohol“).

So is the notion, everything in moderation an apt notion to follow in regards to alcohol? I do not believe it is. Let’s take that notion or idea in moderation. Not everything is good in moderation. Some things are better when there is less and other things when there is more. To me, the drinking question finally boils down to one issue: the heart. Are we asking the question to rationalize our own wants, desires, and selfishness? Or, are we truly seeking out what God wants in our lives? Have we weighed all the issues? In one sense drinking wine/alcohol is all right; however, in another sense it is completely wrong. At best, the decision to drink is situational and circumstantial. But is this an issue we are willing to lose fellowship over? Is this an issue that we are willing to leave a church over? Is this an issue that we are willing to cause the destruction or the beginning of the destruction or a relapse into destruction of another brother/sister based on their perception (and yes, their perception can be controlled to a degree)? I am not sure that I am willing to allow that in my life, and while I have other issues that I need to work on that may even parallel the severity of this issue in regards to the weaker brother-stronger brother issue and being above reproach, I have come to a conclusion on this. Yet, I do not want to push it onto others. I simply want to challenge their thought processes. And just as Jesus and John the Baptist both went two directions and both were leaders (though this really doesn’t compare since I seriously doubt that Jesus got drunk in any way), we still should judge or condemn or regard one another with contempt based on our decisions though we can discuss freely and even lively (cf. Rom 14:3).

^NAS Genesis 9:21 And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.

^NAS Leviticus 11:34 ‘Any of the food which may be eaten, on which water comes, shall become unclean; and any liquid which may be drunk in every vessel shall become unclean.

^NAS Deuteronomy 29:6 “You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God.

^NAS Deuteronomy 32:42 ‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.’

^NAS Ruth 3:7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down.

^NAS 1 Samuel 1:13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk.

^NAS 1 Samuel 1:14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.”

^NAS 1 Samuel 1:15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

^NAS 1 Samuel 25:36 Then Abigail came to Nabal, and behold, he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. And Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she did not tell him anything at all until the morning light.

^NAS 1 Samuel 30:12 And they gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters of raisins, and he ate; then his spirit revived. For he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights.

^NAS 2 Samuel 11:13 Now David called him, and he ate and drank before him, and he made him drunk; and in the evening he went out to lie on his bed with his lord’s servants, but he did not go down to his house.

^NAS 1 Kings 13:22 but have returned and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which He said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water”; your body shall not come to the grave of your fathers.’”

^NAS 1 Kings 13:23 And it came about after he had eaten bread and after he had drunk, that he saddled the donkey for him, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

^NAS 1 Kings 16:9 And his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. Now he was at Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household at Tirzah.

^NAS 1 Kings 20:16 And they went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the temporary shelters with the thirty-two kings who helped him.

^NAS 2 Kings 6:23 So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.

^NAS Psalm 73:10 Therefore his people return to this place; And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

^NAS Ecclesiastes 10:17 Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time– for strength, and not for drunkenness.

^NAS Song of Solomon 5:1 “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”

^NAS Isaiah 29:9 Be delayed and wait. Blind yourselves and be blind. They become drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with strong drink.

^NAS Isaiah 49:26 “And I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

^NAS Isaiah 51:17 Rouse yourself! Rouse yourself! Arise, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk from the LORD’s hand the cup of His anger; The chalice of reeling you have drained to the dregs.

^NAS Isaiah 51:21 Therefore, please hear this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine:

^NAS Isaiah 63:6 “And I trod down the peoples in My anger, And made them drunk in My wrath, And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

^NAS Jeremiah 13:13 then say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land– the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem– with drunkenness!

^NAS Jeremiah 25:27 “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you.”‘

^NAS Jeremiah 48:26 “Make him drunk, for he has become arrogant toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a laughingstock.

^NAS Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad.

^NAS Jeremiah 51:39 “When they become heated up, I shall serve them their banquet And make them drunk, that they may become jubilant And may sleep a perpetual sleep And not wake up,” declares the LORD.

^NAS Jeremiah 51:57 “And I shall make her princes and her wise men drunk, Her governors, her prefects, and her mighty men, That they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up,” Declares the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.

^NAS Lamentations 3:15 He has filled me with bitterness, He has made me drunk with wormwood.

^NAS Lamentations 4:21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, Who dwells in the land of Uz; But the cup will come around to you as well, You will become drunk and make yourself naked.

^NAS Ezekiel 23:33 ‘You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, The cup of horror and desolation, The cup of your sister Samaria.

^NAS Ezekiel 39:19 “So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

^NAS Nahum 3:11 You too will become drunk, You will be hidden. You too will search for a refuge from the enemy.

^NAS Habakkuk 2:15 “Woe to you who make your neighbors drink, Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk So as to look on their nakedness!

^NAS Haggai 1:6 “You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”

^NAS Luke 12:45 “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;

^NAS Luke 17:8 “But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me until I have eaten and drunk; and afterward you will eat and drink ‘?

^NAS Luke 21:34 “Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap;

^NAS John 2:10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is poorer; you have kept the good wine until now.”

^NAS Acts 2:15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;

^NAS Romans 13:13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.

^NAS 1 Corinthians 11:21 for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk.

^NAS Galatians 5:21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

^NAS Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

^NAS 1 Thessalonians 5:7 For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night.

^NAS 1 Peter 4:3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.

^NAS Revelation 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

^NAS Revelation 17:6 And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. And when I saw her, I wondered greatly.

^NAS Revelation 18:3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”

^NAS Micah 2:11 “If a man walking after wind and falsehood Had told lies and said, ‘I will speak out to you concerning wine and liquor,’ He would be spokesman to this people.

^NAS Luke 1:15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’s womb.

^NAS Numbers 6:3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh or dried grapes.

^NAS Numbers 28:7 ‘Then the libation with it shall be a fourth of a hin for each lamb, in the holy place you shall pour out a libation of strong drink to the LORD.

^NAS Deuteronomy 14:26 “And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.

^NAS Deuteronomy 29:6 “You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God.

^NAS Judges 13:4 “Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

^NAS Judges 13:7 “But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

^NAS Judges 13:14 “She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded.”

^NAS 1 Samuel 1:15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

^NAS Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

^NAS Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

^NAS Proverbs 31:6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

^NAS Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink; Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!

^NAS Isaiah 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing strong drink;

^NAS Isaiah 24:9 They do not drink wine with song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

^NAS Isaiah 28:7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment.

^NAS Isaiah 29:9 Be delayed and wait. Blind yourselves and be blind. They become drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with strong drink.

^NAS Isaiah 56:12 “Come,” they say, “let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”

^NAS Genesis 9:21 And he drank of the wine and became drunk, and uncovered himself inside his tent.

^NAS Genesis 9:24 When Noah awoke from his wine, he knew what his youngest son had done to him.

^NAS Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.

^NAS Genesis 19:32 “Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.”

^NAS Genesis 19:33 So they made their father drink wine that night, and the first-born went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

^NAS Genesis 19:34 And it came about on the morrow, that the first-born said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.”

^NAS Genesis 19:35 So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose.

^NAS Genesis 27:25 So he said, “Bring it to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, that I may bless you.” And he brought it to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine and he drank.

^NAS Genesis 27:28 Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine;

^NAS Genesis 27:37 But Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Behold, I have made him your master, and all his relatives I have given to him as servants; and with grain and new wine I have sustained him. Now as for you then, what can I do, my son?”

^NAS Genesis 49:11 “He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.

^NAS Genesis 49:12 “His eyes are dull from wine, And his teeth white from milk.

^NAS Exodus 29:40 and there shall be one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and one-fourth of a hin of wine for a libation with one lamb.

^NAS Leviticus 10:9 “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you may not die– it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations–

^NAS Leviticus 23:13 ‘Its grain offering shall then be two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the LORD for a soothing aroma, with its libation, a fourth of a hin of wine.

^NAS Numbers 6:3 he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh or dried grapes.

^NAS Numbers 6:20 ‘Then the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD. It is holy for the priest, together with the breast offered by waving and the thigh offered by lifting up; and afterward the Nazirite may drink wine.’

^NAS Numbers 15:5 and you shall prepare wine for the libation, one-fourth of a hin, with the burnt offering or for the sacrifice, for each lamb.

^NAS Numbers 15:7 and for the libation you shall offer one-third of a hin of wine as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

^NAS Numbers 15:10 and you shall offer as the libation one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a soothing aroma to the LORD.

^NAS Numbers 18:12 “All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you.

^NAS Numbers 18:27 ‘And your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat.

^NAS Numbers 18:30 “And you shall say to them, ‘When you have offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor, and as the product of the wine vat.

^NAS Numbers 28:14 ‘And their libations shall be half a hin of wine for a bull and a third of a hin for the ram and a fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering of each month throughout the months of the year.

^NAS Deuteronomy 7:13 “And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you.

^NAS Deuteronomy 11:14 that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil.

^NAS Deuteronomy 12:17 “You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or new wine, or oil, or the first-born of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand.

^NAS Deuteronomy 14:23 “And you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the first-born of your herd and your flock, in order that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

^NAS Deuteronomy 14:26 “And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.

^NAS Deuteronomy 15:14 “You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.

^NAS Deuteronomy 16:13 “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat;

^NAS Deuteronomy 18:4 “You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep.

^NAS Deuteronomy 28:39 “You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm shall devour them.

^NAS Deuteronomy 28:51 “Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish.

^NAS Deuteronomy 29:6 “You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, in order that you might know that I am the LORD your God.

^NAS Deuteronomy 32:14 Curds of cows, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs, And rams, the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the finest of the wheat– And of the blood of grapes you drank wine.

^NAS Deuteronomy 32:33 “Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly poison of cobras.

^NAS Deuteronomy 32:38 ‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their libation? Let them rise up and help you, Let them be your hiding place!

^NAS Deuteronomy 33:28 “So Israel dwells in security, The fountain of Jacob secluded, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens also drop down dew.

^NAS Judges 6:11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites.

^NAS Judges 7:25 And they captured the two leaders of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb, and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at the wine press of Zeeb, while they pursued Midian; and they brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon from across the Jordan.

^NAS Judges 9:13 “But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my new wine, which cheers God and men, and go to wave over the trees?’

^NAS Judges 13:4 “Now therefore, be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing.

^NAS Judges 13:7 “But he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and now you shall not drink wine or strong drink nor eat any unclean thing, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’”

^NAS Judges 13:14 “She should not eat anything that comes from the vine nor drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing; let her observe all that I commanded.”

^NAS Judges 19:19 “Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.”

^NAS 1 Samuel 1:14 Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.”

^NAS 1 Samuel 1:15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD.

^NAS 1 Samuel 1:24 Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh, although the child was young.

^NAS 1 Samuel 10:3 “Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine;

^NAS 1 Samuel 16:20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by David his son.

^NAS 1 Samuel 25:18 Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread and two jugs of wine and five sheep already prepared and five measures of roasted grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and loaded them on donkeys.

^NAS 1 Samuel 25:37 But it came about in the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him so that he became as a stone.

^NAS 2 Samuel 13:28 And Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “See now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then put him to death. Do not fear; have not I myself commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.”

^NAS 2 Samuel 16:1 Now when David had passed a little beyond the summit, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine.

^NAS 2 Samuel 16:2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” And Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine, for whoever is faint in the wilderness to drink.”

^NAS 2 Kings 6:27 And he said, “If the LORD does not help you, from where shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the wine press?”

^NAS 2 Kings 18:32 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey, that you may live and not die.” But do not listen to Hezekiah, when he misleads you, saying, “The LORD will deliver us.”

^NAS 1 Chronicles 9:29 Some of them also were appointed over the furniture and over all the utensils of the sanctuary and over the fine flour and the wine and the oil and the frankincense and the spices.

^NAS 1 Chronicles 12:40 Moreover those who were near to them, even as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought food on donkeys, camels, mules, and on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes and bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen and sheep. There was joy indeed in Israel.

^NAS 1 Chronicles 27:27 And Shimei the Ramathite had charge of the vineyards; and Zabdi the Shiphmite had charge of the produce of the vineyards stored in the wine cellars.

^NAS 2 Chronicles 2:10 “Now behold, I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 kors of crushed wheat, and 20,000 kors of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil.”

^NAS 2 Chronicles 2:15 “Now then, let my lord send to his servants wheat and barley, oil and wine, of which he has spoken.

^NAS 2 Chronicles 11:11 He also strengthened the fortresses and put officers in them and stores of food, oil and wine.

^NAS 2 Chronicles 31:5 And as soon as the order spread, the sons of Israel provided in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of all.

^NAS 2 Chronicles 32:28 storehouses also for the produce of grain, wine and oil, pens for all kinds of cattle and sheepfolds for the flocks.

^NAS Ezra 6:9 “And whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail,

^NAS Ezra 7:22 even up to 100 talents of silver, 100 kors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt as needed.

^NAS Nehemiah 2:1 And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.

^NAS Nehemiah 5:11 “Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine, and the oil that you are exacting from them.”

^NAS Nehemiah 5:15 But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

^NAS Nehemiah 5:18 Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep, also birds were prepared for me; and once in ten days all sorts of wine were furnished in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

^NAS Nehemiah 10:37 We will also bring the first of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the oil to the priests at the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are they who receive the tithes in all the rural towns.

^NAS Nehemiah 10:39 For the sons of Israel and the sons of Levi shall bring the contribution of the grain, the new wine and the oil, to the chambers; there are the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers, and the singers. Thus we will not neglect the house of our God.

^NAS Nehemiah 13:5 had prepared a large room for him, where formerly they put the grain offerings, the frankincense, the utensils, and the tithes of grain, wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests.

^NAS Nehemiah 13:12 All Judah then brought the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses.

^NAS Nehemiah 13:15 In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food.

^NAS Esther 1:7 Drinks were served in golden vessels of various kinds, and the royal wine was plentiful according to the king’s bounty.

^NAS Esther 1:10 On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas, the seven eunuchs who served in the presence of King Ahasuerus,

^NAS Esther 5:6 And, as they drank their wine at the banquet, the king said to Esther, “What is your petition, for it shall be granted to you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”

^NAS Esther 7:1 Now the king and Haman came to drink wine with Esther the queen.

^NAS Esther 7:2 And the king said to Esther on the second day also as they drank their wine at the banquet, “What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done.”

^NAS Esther 7:7 And the king arose in his anger from drinking wine and went into the palace garden; but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm had been determined against him by the king.

^NAS Esther 7:8 Now when the king returned from the palace garden into the place where they were drinking wine, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. Then the king said, “Will he even assault the queen with me in the house?” As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

^NAS Job 1:13 Now it happened on the day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

^NAS Job 1:18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house,

^NAS Job 24:11 “Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but thirst.

^NAS Job 32:19 “Behold, my belly is like unvented wine, Like new wineskins it is about to burst.

^NAS Psalm 4:7 Thou hast put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound.

^NAS Psalm 60:3 Thou hast made Thy people experience hardship; Thou hast given us wine to drink that makes us stagger.

^NAS Psalm 75:8 For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed, and He pours out of this; Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.

^NAS Psalm 78:65 Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, Like a warrior overcome by wine.

^NAS Psalm 104:15 And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart.

^NAS Proverbs 3:10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.

^NAS Proverbs 4:17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.

^NAS Proverbs 9:2 She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table;

^NAS Proverbs 9:5 “Come, eat of my food, And drink of the wine I have mixed.

^NAS Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

^NAS Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not become rich.

^NAS Proverbs 23:20 Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;

^NAS Proverbs 23:30 Those who linger long over wine, Those who go to taste mixed wine.

^NAS Proverbs 23:31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it goes down smoothly;

^NAS Proverbs 31:4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Or for rulers to desire strong drink,

^NAS Proverbs 31:6 Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to him whose life is bitter.

^NAS Ecclesiastes 2:3 I explored with my mind how to stimulate my body with wine while my mind was guiding me wisely, and how to take hold of folly, until I could see what good there is for the sons of men to do under heaven the few years of their lives.

^NAS Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go then, eat your bread in happiness, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart; for God has already approved your works.

^NAS Ecclesiastes 10:19 Men prepare a meal for enjoyment, and wine makes life merry, and money is the answer to everything.

^NAS Song of Solomon 1:2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.

^NAS Song of Solomon 1:4 “Draw me after you and let us run together! The king has brought me into his chambers.” “We will rejoice in you and be glad; We will extol your love more than wine. Rightly do they love you.”

^NAS Song of Solomon 4:10 “How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, And the fragrance of your oils Than all kinds of spices!

^NAS Song of Solomon 5:1 “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; Drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”

^NAS Song of Solomon 7:2 “Your navel is like a round goblet Which never lacks mixed wine; Your belly is like a heap of wheat Fenced about with lilies.

^NAS Song of Solomon 7:9 And your mouth like the best wine!” “It goes down smoothly for my beloved, Flowing gently through the lips of those who fall asleep.

^NAS Song of Solomon 8:2 “I would lead you and bring you Into the house of my mother, who used to instruct me; I would give you spiced wine to drink from the juice of my pomegranates.

^NAS Isaiah 5:2 And He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it, And hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.

^NAS Isaiah 5:10 “For ten acres of vineyard will yield only one bath of wine, And a homer of seed will yield but an ephah of grain.”

^NAS Isaiah 5:11 Woe to those who rise early in the morning that they may pursue strong drink; Who stay up late in the evening that wine may inflame them!

^NAS Isaiah 5:12 And their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the LORD, Nor do they consider the work of His hands.

^NAS Isaiah 5:22 Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine, And valiant men in mixing strong drink;

^NAS Isaiah 16:10 And gladness and joy are taken away from the fruitful field; In the vineyards also there will be no cries of joy or jubilant shouting, No treader treads out wine in the presses, For I have made the shouting to cease.

^NAS Isaiah 22:13 Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”

^NAS Isaiah 24:7 The new wine mourns, The vine decays, All the merry-hearted sigh.

^NAS Isaiah 24:9 They do not drink wine with song; Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.

^NAS Isaiah 24:11 There is an outcry in the streets concerning the wine; All joy turns to gloom. The gaiety of the earth is banished.

^NAS Isaiah 25:6 And the LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine.

^NAS Isaiah 27:2 In that day, “A vineyard of wine, sing of it!

^NAS Isaiah 28:1 Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine!

^NAS Isaiah 28:7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment.

^NAS Isaiah 29:9 Be delayed and wait. Blind yourselves and be blind. They become drunk, but not with wine; They stagger, but not with strong drink.

^NAS Isaiah 36:17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

^NAS Isaiah 49:26 “And I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, And they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; And all flesh will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

^NAS Isaiah 51:21 Therefore, please hear this, you afflicted, Who are drunk, but not with wine:

^NAS Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost.

^NAS Isaiah 56:12 “Come,” they say, “let us get wine, and let us drink heavily of strong drink; And tomorrow will be like today, only more so.”

^NAS Isaiah 62:8 The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm, “I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies; Nor will foreigners drink your new wine, for which you have labored.”

^NAS Isaiah 63:2 Why is Your apparel red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?

^NAS Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the wine trough alone, And from the peoples there was no man with Me. I also trod them in My anger, And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My raiment.

^NAS Isaiah 65:8 Thus says the LORD, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’ So I will act on behalf of My servants In order not to destroy all of them.

^NAS Isaiah 65:11 “But you who forsake the LORD, Who forget My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,

^NAS Jeremiah 13:12 “Therefore you are to speak this word to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”‘ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’

^NAS Jeremiah 23:9 As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, All my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, Even like a man overcome with wine, Because of the LORD And because of His holy words.

^NAS Jeremiah 25:15 For thus the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it.

^NAS Jeremiah 31:12 “And they shall come and shout for joy on the height of Zion, And they shall be radiant over the bounty of the LORD– Over the grain, and the new wine, and the oil, And over the young of the flock and the herd; And their life shall be like a watered garden, And they shall never languish again.

^NAS Jeremiah 35:2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”

^NAS Jeremiah 35:5 Then I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!”

^NAS Jeremiah 35:6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever.

^NAS Jeremiah 35:8 “And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,

^NAS Jeremiah 35:14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again; yet you have not listened to Me.

^NAS Jeremiah 40:10 “Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather in wine and summer fruit and oil, and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.”

^NAS Jeremiah 40:12 Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance.

^NAS Jeremiah 48:33 “So gladness and joy are taken away From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab. And I have made the wine to cease from the wine presses; No one will tread them with shouting, The shouting will not be shouts of joy.

^NAS Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, Intoxicating all the earth. The nations have drunk of her wine; Therefore the nations are going mad.

^NAS Lamentations 1:15 “The Lord has rejected all my strong men In my midst; He has called an appointed time against me To crush my young men; The Lord has trodden as in a wine press The virgin daughter of Judah.

^NAS Lamentations 2:12 They say to their mothers, “Where is grain and wine?” As they faint like a wounded man In the streets of the city, As their life is poured out On their mothers’ bosom.

^NAS Ezekiel 27:18 “Damascus was your customer because of the abundance of your goods, because of the abundance of all kinds of wealth, because of the wine of Helbon and white wool.

^NAS Ezekiel 44:21 “Nor shall any of the priests drink wine when they enter the inner court.

^NAS Daniel 1:5 And the king appointed for them a daily ration from the king’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king’s personal service.

^NAS Daniel 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.

^NAS Daniel 1:16 So the overseer continued to withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept giving them vegetables.

^NAS Daniel 5:1 Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.

^NAS Daniel 5:2 When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, in order that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.

^NAS Daniel 5:4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

^NAS Daniel 5:23 but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and your ways, you have not glorified.

^NAS Daniel 10:3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all, until the entire three weeks were completed.

^NAS Hosea 2:8 “For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine, and the oil, And lavished on her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal.

^NAS Hosea 2:9 “Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time And My new wine in its season. I will also take away My wool and My flax Given to cover her nakedness.

^NAS Hosea 2:22 And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine, and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel.

^NAS Hosea 4:11 Harlotry, wine, and new wine take away the understanding.

^NAS Hosea 7:5 On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; He stretched out his hand with scoffers,

^NAS Hosea 7:14 And they do not cry to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn away from Me.

^NAS Hosea 9:2 Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, And the new wine will fail them.

^NAS Hosea 9:4 They will not pour out libations of wine to the LORD, Their sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners’ bread; All who eat of it will be defiled, For their bread will be for themselves alone; It will not enter the house of the LORD.

^NAS Hosea 14:7 Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

^NAS Joel 1:5 Awake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, On account of the sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth.

^NAS Joel 1:10 The field is ruined, The land mourns, For the grain is ruined, The new wine dries up, Fresh oil fails.

^NAS Joel 2:19 And the LORD will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine, and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

^NAS Joel 2:24 And the threshing floors will be full of grain, And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.

^NAS Joel 3:3 “They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

^NAS Joel 3:13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

^NAS Joel 3:18 And it will come about in that day That the mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD, To water the valley of Shittim.

^NAS Amos 2:8 “And on garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar, And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

^NAS Amos 2:12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’

^NAS Amos 5:11 Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poor And exact a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of well-hewn stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted pleasant vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.

^NAS Amos 6:6 Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph.

^NAS Amos 9:13 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine, And all the hills will be dissolved.

^NAS Amos 9:14 “Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.

^NAS Micah 2:11 “If a man walking after wind and falsehood Had told lies and said, ‘I will speak out to you concerning wine and liquor,’ He would be spokesman to this people.

^NAS Micah 6:15 “You will sow but you will not reap. You will tread the olive but will not anoint yourself with oil; And the grapes, but you will not drink wine.

^NAS Habakkuk 2:5 “Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man, So that he does not stay at home. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, And he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all nations And collects to himself all peoples.

^NAS Zephaniah 1:13 “Moreover, their wealth will become plunder, And their houses desolate; Yes, they will build houses but not inhabit them, And plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”

^NAS Haggai 1:11 “And I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.”

^NAS Haggai 2:12 ‘If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches bread with this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered and said, “No.”

^NAS Haggai 2:16 from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there would be only twenty.

^NAS Zechariah 9:15 The LORD of hosts will defend them. And they will devour, and trample on the sling stones; And they will drink, and be boisterous as with wine; And they will be filled like a sacrificial basin, Drenched like the corners of the altar.

^NAS Zechariah 9:17 For what comeliness and beauty will be theirs! Grain will make the young men flourish, and new wine the virgins.

^NAS Zechariah 10:7 “And Ephraim will be like a mighty man, And their heart will be glad as if from wine; Indeed, their children will see it and be glad, Their heart will rejoice in the LORD.

^NAS Zechariah 14:10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses.

^NAS Matthew 9:17 “Nor do men put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

^NAS Matthew 21:33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey.

^NAS Matthew 27:34 they gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

^NAS Matthew 27:48 And immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink.

^NAS Mark 2:22 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”

^NAS Mark 12:1 And He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard, and put a wall around it, and dug a vat under the wine press, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey.

^NAS Mark 15:23 And they tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it.

^NAS Mark 15:36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.”

^NAS Luke 1:15 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, while yet in his mother’s womb.

^NAS Luke 5:37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined.

^NAS Luke 5:38 “But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.

^NAS Luke 5:39 “And no one, after drinking old wine wishes for new; for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”

^NAS Luke 7:33 “For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

^NAS Luke 10:34 and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

^NAS Luke 23:36 And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,

^NAS John 2:3 And when the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

^NAS John 2:9 And when the headwaiter tasted the water which had become wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom,

^NAS John 2:10 and said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and when men have drunk freely, then that which is poorer; you have kept the good wine until now.”

^NAS John 4:46 He came therefore again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain royal official, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

^NAS John 19:29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it up to His mouth.

^NAS John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.

^NAS Acts 2:13 But others were mocking and saying, “They are full of sweet wine.”

^NAS Romans 14:21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

^NAS Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

^NAS 1 Timothy 3:3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money.

^NAS 1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,

^NAS 1 Timothy 5:23 No longer drink water exclusively, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

^NAS Titus 1:7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain,

^NAS Titus 2:3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,

^NAS Revelation 6:6 And I heard as it were a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

^NAS Revelation 14:8 And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.”

^NAS Revelation 14:10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

^NAS Revelation 14:19 And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

^NAS Revelation 14:20 And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

^NAS Revelation 16:19 And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

^NAS Revelation 17:2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

^NAS Revelation 18:3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”

^NAS Revelation 18:13 and cinnamon and spice and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and slaves and human lives.

^NAS Revelation 19:15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

1. Primitive (pre 1000 BCE): This is pre-Homeric. Little to no extant literary remains. Linear B was the first known Greek language (13-15th Century BCE) <– Don’t ask me why they call it that because they certainly didn’t ask me, though a very original name. Why didn’t they simply call it Mycenaean Greek? Anyways, it’s easy to remember this way.
2. Classical Greek (8th Century BCE-4th Century BCE). This is the Greek of the philosophers (Plato, etc) and writers (Homer, etc). It is also known as the “Golden Age.”
3. Koine Greek, also known as Hellenistic Greek or Biblical Greek (3rd Century BC -3rd Century CE). This was the common language (Lingua franca) by the 1st century BCE. This is the Greek of the Biblical writers (1st century CE) as well as the whole Greek (Alexander the Great) and Roman empire.
4. Byzantine (330 CE- 1453 CE). Roman Empire split into West (Latin) and the East (Greek). In 1453, Greece, Constantinople (the Eastern “empire”) was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.
5. Modern Greek. <– Since I already know very little about the whole of the Greek language, I will leave this section up to smarter and brighter people, like Wikipedia. Suffice it to say that Koine Greek is to Modern Greek like Old English (Chaucer/Shakespeare) is to Modern English.

Now, classical Greek had various dialects: Doric, Aeolic, and Ionic. The important part of this, is that Attic Greek, a subset of Ionic, was the language of Alexander the Great. So it became the dialect of the Athenians. As Attic Greek associated itself with the rest of the known world, it became Koine Greek, “Common” Greek. It was a simplified form of classical Greek, or literary Greek. Because of this, in common language, some subtleties were lost.

For example, in classical Greek αλλος (allos) meant “other” of the same kind while ετερος (heteros) meant “other” of a different kind. If you had an apple and you asked for αλλος, you would receive another apple. But if you asked for ετερος, you would be given perhaps an orange (Mounce 1).

While there is quite a debate as to the nature of Koine Greek, we won’t discuss that except to say that God chose a common language to communicate the gospel to everyone. He did not use some sort of Holy Ghost language. Therefore, the gospel and the New Testament should be written/translated into the common vernacular/tongue of all people.

1. Christ tells Pilate that the Jewish leaders have committed a worse sin than him, saying, “He who has handed me over to you has committed the greater sin” (Jn. 19:11, emphasis mine).

2. Certain sins in the law are distinguished in a particular context as an abomination to God, implying that others are not as severe (e.g. Lev. 18:22; Deut. 7:25, Deut. 23:18, Isa. 41:24).

3. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is set apart as a more severe sin than blasphemy of the Son (Matt. 12:31)

4. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists particular sins in such a way as to single them out because of their depraved nature, separating them from others.

5. There are degrees of punishment in Hell depending on the severity of the offense (Lk. 12:47-48).

6. Christ often evaluates the sin of the Pharisees as greater than the sins of others. You strain out a gnat while you swallow a camel (Matt. 23:24). If all sins are equal, Christ’s rebuke does not make any sense. (See also Lk. 20:46-47)

7. Similarly, Christ also talked about the “weightier things of the law” (Matt. 23:23). If all sins are equal, there is no law (or violation of that law) that is “weightier than others.” They are all the same weight.

8. Unforgiveness is continually referred to as a particularly heinous sin (Matt. 6:14-15; 18:23-35).

While he gives 8 biblical reasons, let me reduce/combine similar arguments so as not to stack arguments:

1. Christ tells Pilate that the Jewish leaders have committed a worse sin than him, saying, “He who has handed me over to you has committed the greater sin” (Jn. 19:11, emphasis mine). There are degrees of punishment in Hell depending on the severity of the offense (Lk. 12:47-48). Similarly, Christ also talked about the “weightier things of the law” (Matt. 23:23). If all sins are equal, there is no law (or violation of that law) that is “weightier than others.” They are all the same weight.
2. Certain sins in the law are distinguished in a particular context as an abomination to God, implying that others are not as severe (e.g. Lev. 18:22; Deut. 7:25, Deut. 23:18, Isa. 41:24). Proverbs 6:16-19 lists particular sins in such a way as to single them out because of their depraved nature, separating them from others. Christ often evaluates the sin of the Pharisees as greater than the sins of others. You strain out a gnat while you swallow a camel (Matt. 23:24). If all sins are equal, Christ’s rebuke does not make any sense. (See also Lk. 20:46-47)
3. There are degrees of punishment in Hell depending on the severity of the offense (Lk. 12:47-48).
4. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is set apart as a more severe sin than blasphemy of the Son (Matt. 12:31-32), and unforgiveness is continually referred to as a particularly heinous sin (Matt. 6:14-15; 18:23-35).

While one may think that these combinations do not make sense, let me explain. First, Christ tells Pilate that the Jewish leaders have committed a worse sin than him, saying, “He who has handed me over to you has committed the greater sin” (Jn. 19:11, emphasis mine). Now, why is Judas’s sin worse than the Jewish leaders’ sin? If you look at “weightier things of the law” (Matt. 23:23), you will see that these things include the abstract like mercy, justice and faithfulness similar to the Greatest Commandment(s) which the whole law and prophets hang. So Judas’s sin of unfaithfulness or apostasy or disloyalty is quite weighty.

Now comes the real point: If all sins are equal, there is no law (or violation of that law) that is “weightier than others.” They are all the same weight. I am not sure that this is the case. While this is true in one sense, this is not necessary in another sense. Let’s take Adam and Eve for example. Was eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil really as bad as murder? Was eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil really as bad as rape? Seriously! Eating the apple is just as tantamount as speeding (since Michael brought it up). However, God saw it as worthy of death! Why? Not because of the act or the natural consequences of the act, but that it was in disobedience or even rebellion against God. So, yes, in one sense there are things that are weightier than other things; however, in another sense, there really isn’t. If you take any one sin regardless of what it is (but that it is sin), then whatever that one sin is (if it really is sin), it separates us from God. Or in other words, if God is God and he hates sin, then God cannot look on any sin. Thus in one’s relation to God, any sin is like any other sin in that it separates one from God. Philosophically, if God is God, then any sin should break fellowship with God whether it be lying, coveting, stealing, murdering, etc. This is not to say that some sins do not compound into other sins thus causing more consternation and anger on behalf of God. Now Michael wrote as one of his reductio ad abserdum arguments about one’s life-theology integrity (does one live their intellectual theology?). Michael writes (emphasis mine):

If all sin is really equal in the sight of God, and one really believes this, then God’s consternation and anger will be equal for whatever sin we commit. Equally important is the fact that our relational disposition before God should suffer equally from the conviction of the Holy Spirit for all sins.  Most Christians understand what it means to have a conscience weighed down by unrepentant sin. [Most.] But this weighing down normally only comes from those sins that we perceive to be more severe. If it is true, however, that all sin is equal in the sight of God and one actually lived according to that theology, then they should be just as troubled spiritually and just as repentant before God when they break the speed limit as when they commit adultery. After all, breaking the speed limit, even by 1 mph, is breaking the law and breaking the law is sin (Rom 13).

This is completely true; however, Michael is missing some key complexities that make his conclusion (But nobody does this) flawed such as one’s sensitivity to the Spirit. We all grieve (Eph 4:30; context: words, bitterness, wrath, and anger) and quench (1 Th 5:19; context: array of miscellaneous commands) the Holy Spirit. Second, the fact that “nobody does this” is actually quite wrong. What he means is that he doesn’t know anyone who does this. However, I know a few people who are really troubled by the “small” sins. Instead Michael concludes, “Apparently our conscience bears witness that it is not as bad as other things, even if we confess differently. Either that or the ability for our theology to actually affect the way we believe and think is non-functional in this situation.” However, just because “We all see speeding down the road as water under the bridge of God,” does that make it less offensive before God? Doubtful. Instead it only testifies to the lack of conviction in the “all” which I assume to be the “Christian community.” But do our consciences bear witness that sins are hierarchical? Yes, granted. But my point is this: in one sense all sins are equal; however, it cannot be left there. Michael provides a good correction to what our Christian community has been espousing for years.

Second, the argument that “Certain sins in the law are distinguished in a particular context as an abomination to God, implying that others are not as severe (e.g. Lev. 18:22; Deut. 7:25, Deut. 23:18, Isa. 41:24)” is really an argument from silence and the implication is not necessary. Yes, God highlights certain sins at certain times. However, why can’t the implication be that other sins are also an abomination, even though the text does not say? Furthermore, the notion that “Proverbs 6:16-19 lists particular sins in such a way as to single them out because of their depraved nature, separating them from others,” is again not necessary. This forsakes the Proverb genre and the specific figurative language (i.e., enumeration) being utilized here. Why can’t Proverbs 6:16-19 just be a declaration of God’s hatred towards those sins? Elsewhere in Proverbs, God calls out the way of the wicked an abomination (15:9) as well as other sins.

Third, though we are saved by grace, there are also degrees of “reward”? in heaven (three levels?, ie. 2 Cor. 12:2ff). However, we all enter heaven on the same basis. Likewise, in one sense sin is sin and each isolated sin apart from the others (i.e., they do not exist) is equal before God. In another sense there are varying degrees. And as for James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all,” how does this not equate all sin in some sense? If any infraction = a whole infraction then how can they be different? James’s point is that we all have become equal transgressors (for a transgressor once is still a transgressor just as a transgressor many times over is still just a transgressor, cf. James 2:11). So before God, we all stand equal as sinners and transgressors regardless of the sins and transgressions we have committed. Our sins and transgressions have set our disposition before God as equal, simply we fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). However, on the other hand, why do people feel the need to use such a statement? I feel that Michael may be correct in his assertions here and let me add one more: freedom from “judgment.” Simply, if someone points out my sin, I can simply point out theirs and say we are equal. However, we may not be. There are still levels of maturation and growth within Christ. Someone who struggles with pornography is different from a person who struggles with thoughts of lust.

Finally, does the statement by Christ that Christ tells Pilate that the Jewish leaders have committed a worse sin than him, saying, “He who has handed me over to you has committed the greater sin” (Jn. 19:11, emphasis mine) necessitate that all sins are not the same? I do believe that this statement is Michael’s strongest argument, one that may be insurmountable. Because of this verse (coupled with the others), I do believe that sins are different from one another; however, I do not believe that God hates sins differently or in varying degrees (for God hates sin). On the other hand, Jesus does mark the sin of apostasy (“He who has handed me over to you has committed the greater sin”), which I equate with blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matt 12:31-32, the word spoken against the Holy Spirit would be to denounce the testimony of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the World). However, I am not sure whether I can say that there is a hierarchy of sin (i.e., adultery is not as bad as murder, etc.). I am too hard pressed to make that leap. I do not believe that the Bible gives any notion towards this—though human nature and human’s idea of social justice does. To me, it makes sense that there is one sin that is greater than all the others: apostasy or blasphemy, which is unbelief that Jesus is the Christ. Apostasy is when a person who supposedly believed but no longer believes and leaves the faith. Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is simply not believing that Jesus is the Christ, or an unbeliever (athiest, agnostic, a believer of another religion) who continues to maintain this belief that Jesus is not the Messiah.

Most of us hear about jihad and its implications, ramifications, and impact. However, not many of us hear about what Muslims call fatah. According to David Jeremiah in What in the World Is Going on?, Dr. Jeremiah writes,

Fatah is infiltration, moving into a country in numbers large enough to affect the culture. It means taking advantage of tolerant laws and accommodative policiesto insert the influence of Islam. In places where a military invsion will not succeed, the sla, systematic, and unrelenting methods of fatah are conquering whole nations [ie, France and England].

We all may have heard it said that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world; however, this has been proven as a falsehood in 2001 and in 2005. However, while I am not sure about 2009, the reality is that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world in regards to proselytizing while Islam is the fastest growing religion in relation to self-growth (# of babies). Therefore, Christians need to have more babies! However, that is not the answer for Christians! This is because being born into a Christian family doesn’t make a person a Christian, but being born in a Muslim family makes a person a Muslim by definition. Christians emphasize the need and the importance of making Jesus their personal Lord and Savior. However, Muslims simply need to do the 5 pillars:

1. Shahada: This is simply the reciting of the shahadah in Arabic: “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is the Prophet of Allah.”
2. Salat: This is the requirement that each Muslim is to pray 5 times a day (dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, night) towards Mecca.
3. Zakat: This is alms-giving, approximately 2.5%, for the poor, debtors, or travelors.
4. Sawm of Ramadan: This is fasting (ritual, repentance, or ascetic) from food, drink, and sex during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk.
5. Hajj: This is the once in a lifetime trip to Mecca required by all abled-bodied and economically secure followers that takes place during the month of Dhu-Hijah.

#s 1-2, and 4 would be very easily taught to the next generation for it is easier to do ritual/religion than to maintain a relationship. What do you think?