Are we making progress here?
You actually admitted that there are verses that approve of alcoholic beverages.
I doubt StandingFirmInChrist would even admit that. Right, StandingFirmInChrist?
I had to laugh when I read your "Drinking in the Old Testament" link you posted yesterday. StandingFirmInChrist "liked" your post. The article supported me and proved him wrong about the Hebrew word "shekar."
You two guys should probably actually read the information you post and "like."
Well, I guess I'll go count the verses that approve alcoholic beverages as compared to verses that condemn and warn against it. This might take me a while.
First, I don't think a believer has to agree 100% on every point on the topic of Absentationism or other issues in the Bible so as to approve of somebody's written work. Many times folks will "like" a few words in what someone has to say and not agree 100% witin that topic. What you are doing is trying to divide us as brothers. Me and "Standing Firm in Christ" both agree on the heart of the issue here. That Jesus did not serve strong alcoholic wine and or contributing in intoxicating a bunch of people who were already drunk. We also both believe that abstaining from alcohol is the best choice for a Christian within his walk and it is nothing to be ashamed of. That it is is an honorable decision. Whether we agree exactly on every passage in regards to the word "wine" or the word "strong drink" is irrelevant. We come to the together as brothers in Christ and are fighting against the major issue at hand here (Which is defending the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ and the holiness of His people).
Second, I am not afraid I make mistakes and don't I don't always double check all my sources by crossing my "T's" and dotting my "I's." I am human and I am not perfect. But I am glad you caught that. You are right. I don't believe that one tid bit of information about Shekar that the author at Lavista Church had written. I had written before in another thread that I don't believe everything the author writes or believes.
Anyways, to keep it brief,
Deuteronomy 14:26 is actually talking about unfermented wine and strong fruit beverages (strong in fruit and not in alcohol). How so? Well,
Deuteronomy 14:22-26 dealt with the tithe offerings to the Lord. These tithes were offerings unto God. And the daily offerings included meat and drink offerings. Leaven, which is a yeast, is forbidden in the daily meat offerings (
Leviticus 2:11 KJV). In fact,
Leviticus 2:11 specifically states, "
ye shall burn no leaven... in any offering of the LORD made by fire." And the drink offerings most of the time were made by fire (Which included the daily offerings: (
Exodus 29:41 KJV) (
Numbers 28:7,
8) the First fruits Feast of Weeks: (
Leviticus 23:18 KJV) and the Feast of Trumpets: (
Numbers 29:6 KJV)).
For leaven (yeast) is representative of sin within the Bible.
And alcoholic wine is made by the yeast activating with the sugars within the alcohol. Many times this yeast is naturally present as a powder like substance upon the skin of the grape; And sometimes it is not there in significant quantity due to rainy seasons and off many native grape populations for making fermented wine.