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A fine young brother by the name of Jon Burnett out of Texas wrote an excellent article on the concept of Social Drinking. This practice has become standard in many Christians lives and needs to be addressed from a Bible perspective. God bless him for standing for the truth and may we all approach this study with an open mind.
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Peter on Social Drinking
by Jon Burnett
In 2006, 32% of traffic fatalities in the United States involved an alcohol-impaired driver. In these accidents 13,470 souls ended their sojourns on earth, including 306 children ages fourteen and under (from “Alcohol Alert”). Alcohol’s full effect, however, is not only felt in the number of lives it takes but also in the many lives it ruins. While no direct correlation has been established between alcohol and other evils such as divorce, domestic violence and rape, alcohol rarely makes these situations better and usually serves as a catalyst to deeper and broader harm for those involved.
Many Christians, however, are wary of condemning what many call ‘social drinking.’ Usually, these brethren see non-drinking as a matter of principle rather than one of precept (as if the former is any less binding), even though they often agree that other equally harmful activities are wrong on the same grounds. In 1 Peter 4:3-5, however, Peter gives us good reason to question this common view. There he exhorts, “For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in … winebibbings, revellings, carousings … wherein they think strange that ye run not with them into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (emphasis added). The remainder of our space here will discuss these three words and their application for the Christian today.
Winebibbings. The Greek word oinophlugiais is a plural noun meaning ‘wine-bubblings’ (cf. Strong’s 3632 and Vincent’s note on 1Pe 3:4). Though this word is often rendered as ‘drunkenness,’ a distinction should be made between ‘winebibbing’ and the word methe, which is translated as ‘drunkenness’ in Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13 and Galatians 5:21 by most reliable translations (e.g. ASV, ESV, KJV, NASB and NKJV). Peter’s word choice emphasizes the “abundance of wine” (as Barnes notes) while methe emphasizes the effect of any drink on the drinker (i.e. inebriation). With this distinction in mind, Peter condemns an abundance of wine, regardless of whether it leads to excess or drunkenness.
‘Revellings.’ Peter then turns to a more explicitly ‘social’ form of drinking. The word rendered ‘revellings’ is komoi, which Thayer gives two meanings. First, it refers specifically to, “a nocturnal and riotous procession of half-drunken and frolicsome fellows who after supper parade through the streets with torches and music in honor of Bacchus [or, in Greek, Dionysus] or some other deity, and sing and play before the houses of their … friends.” The second is a more generic use referring to, “feasts and drinking-parties that are protracted till late at night and indulge in revelry” (emphasis in the original). Since the word exists only as a plural noun in the Greek New Testament (cf. Rom 13:13; Gal 5:21), the inspired writers seem to use the word in this second sense only, condemning revelings in general, including (but not limited to) the Feast of Dionysus. In other words, Peter condemns public events where drinking is a primary activity.
Carousings. Peter uses one final word to refer to various forms of ‘social drinking,’ the Greek word potois. Like komoi, potois has both a specific and a generic meaning. A Greek – English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition (abbreviated ‘BDAG’ from the surnames of its contributors), refers to this specific usage in stating that, “In the [Greco-Roman] world it was customary for literati to hold banquets at which topical discussions were featured, with participants well lubricated with wine.” Freeman states elsewhere that such gatherings (known in Classical Greece as symposia) were held in private dining rooms with a maximum of fifteen men (Egypt, Greece and Rome, p. 217). More generally, however, the word simply refers to “a social gathering at which wine was served” (BDAG). Unless Peter was condemning book clubs or good conversation, then, the Apostle’s concern is primarily with private gatherings where alcohol is served.
This does not mean that consuming alcohol is not wrong in principle as well. Solomon condemns it without any mention of the amount consumed (Pro 20:1). Elders, older men and younger men are all commanded to be sober-minded (i.e. ‘to be in control of oneself,’ BDAG; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8; 2:2, ASV) while older women are to teach younger women to do the same (Tit 2:5, ASV), a principle we turn from with our first drink. Peter merely expounds upon these principles by giving specific instances where they should be applied: an abundance of wine, public events where drinking is a primary activity and private gatherings where alcohol is served. When all things are considered, we begin to understand that there is nothing ‘social’ about ‘social drinking;’ it is not a matter of opinion but a practice wholly incompatible with the Christianity revealed in the New Testament.
Many Christians, however, are wary of condemning what many call ‘social drinking.’ Usually, these brethren see non-drinking as a matter of principle rather than one of precept (as if the former is any less binding), even though they often agree that other equally harmful activities are wrong on the same grounds. In 1 Peter 4:3-5, however, Peter gives us good reason to question this common view. There he exhorts, “For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in … winebibbings, revellings, carousings … wherein they think strange that ye run not with them into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you” (emphasis added). The remainder of our space here will discuss these three words and their application for the Christian today.
Winebibbings. The Greek word oinophlugiais is a plural noun meaning ‘wine-bubblings’ (cf. Strong’s 3632 and Vincent’s note on 1Pe 3:4). Though this word is often rendered as ‘drunkenness,’ a distinction should be made between ‘winebibbing’ and the word methe, which is translated as ‘drunkenness’ in Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13 and Galatians 5:21 by most reliable translations (e.g. ASV, ESV, KJV, NASB and NKJV). Peter’s word choice emphasizes the “abundance of wine” (as Barnes notes) while methe emphasizes the effect of any drink on the drinker (i.e. inebriation). With this distinction in mind, Peter condemns an abundance of wine, regardless of whether it leads to excess or drunkenness.
‘Revellings.’ Peter then turns to a more explicitly ‘social’ form of drinking. The word rendered ‘revellings’ is komoi, which Thayer gives two meanings. First, it refers specifically to, “a nocturnal and riotous procession of half-drunken and frolicsome fellows who after supper parade through the streets with torches and music in honor of Bacchus [or, in Greek, Dionysus] or some other deity, and sing and play before the houses of their … friends.” The second is a more generic use referring to, “feasts and drinking-parties that are protracted till late at night and indulge in revelry” (emphasis in the original). Since the word exists only as a plural noun in the Greek New Testament (cf. Rom 13:13; Gal 5:21), the inspired writers seem to use the word in this second sense only, condemning revelings in general, including (but not limited to) the Feast of Dionysus. In other words, Peter condemns public events where drinking is a primary activity.
Carousings. Peter uses one final word to refer to various forms of ‘social drinking,’ the Greek word potois. Like komoi, potois has both a specific and a generic meaning. A Greek – English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition (abbreviated ‘BDAG’ from the surnames of its contributors), refers to this specific usage in stating that, “In the [Greco-Roman] world it was customary for literati to hold banquets at which topical discussions were featured, with participants well lubricated with wine.” Freeman states elsewhere that such gatherings (known in Classical Greece as symposia) were held in private dining rooms with a maximum of fifteen men (Egypt, Greece and Rome, p. 217). More generally, however, the word simply refers to “a social gathering at which wine was served” (BDAG). Unless Peter was condemning book clubs or good conversation, then, the Apostle’s concern is primarily with private gatherings where alcohol is served.
This does not mean that consuming alcohol is not wrong in principle as well. Solomon condemns it without any mention of the amount consumed (Pro 20:1). Elders, older men and younger men are all commanded to be sober-minded (i.e. ‘to be in control of oneself,’ BDAG; 1Ti 3:2; Tit 1:8; 2:2, ASV) while older women are to teach younger women to do the same (Tit 2:5, ASV), a principle we turn from with our first drink. Peter merely expounds upon these principles by giving specific instances where they should be applied: an abundance of wine, public events where drinking is a primary activity and private gatherings where alcohol is served. When all things are considered, we begin to understand that there is nothing ‘social’ about ‘social drinking;’ it is not a matter of opinion but a practice wholly incompatible with the Christianity revealed in the New Testament.
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