195. Learning From The Scoffer’s Way, Introduction Part IV: Wine’s Deception (Proverbs 20:1)

10/19/2025

Turn with me to Proverbs 19:25-20:1. These are our verses to finish studying and memorizing.

Proverbs 19:25-20:1 Strike a scoffer and the naive may become shrewd, But reprove one who has understanding and he will gain knowledge. 26 He who assaults his father and drives his mother away Is a shameful and disgraceful son. 27 Cease listening, my son, to discipline, And you will stray from the words of knowledge. 28 A rascally witness makes a mockery of justice, And the mouth of the wicked spreads iniquity. 29 Judgments are prepared for scoffers, And blows for the back of fools. 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, And whoever is intoxicated by it is not wise.

Introduction

These verses introduce us to the next lengthy section of Proverbs which extends from here until Proverbs 22:16. Overall, this section will teach us the character and integrity that society needs to thrive. It largely does this by dealing with the major threat that the scoffing mocker poses by his defiance of family, society, government, and God.

So far, in our introduction and transition from the last section, we have looked at the lazy sluggard who needs discipline. We have also seen the shameful son who assaults his parents because of his lack of listening to discipline. Then we saw the lying mocker who delights in iniquity, but will ultimately be judged. Within these issues we see the scoffer’s mocking defiance of God’s design for work. We see his mocking defiance of God’s design for the family, and we see his mocking defiance of God’s design for government and law in society. Now finally, Proverbs 20:1 concludes this introduction by giving one more large problematic behavior that often characterizes and produces scoffers: wine’s deception.

Solomon usually likes to have a smooth transition from one section into the next to highlight their interconnectedness. He effectively does that in this case by ending our introduction on this problem of intoxication. Given the problem/solution pattern in the previous verses, we would expect a solution to follow. That naturally leads us into our next section of proverbs. By referencing the king’s anger our first main sub-section will begin by essentially reiterating the judgments that are prepared for scoffers in Proverbs 19:29. Defying the government by wicked behaviors will bring down its heavy hand to deal with them. For society to thrive, justice ought to come from the highest authority to curb dangerous, wicked behaviors. Society ought to have concrete judgments prepared for those who defy and disobey its laws.

With that overview, let’s take a closer look at Proverbs 20:1 with its warnings about intoxication.

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

The one deceived by alcohol scoffs at what is right and often becomes loud and violent. Being controlled by it is foolish.

Wine here is the common word for the alcoholic drink which specifically comes from the fermenting of grapes. Generally speaking this would have had an alcohol content of 12-16% if it was pure and unadulterated. There is debate about whether or not it would have generally been diluted with water at this time period. Ultimately, whether that occurred or not seems to have been a matter of preference—which has varied at different points in history and by different people. The later Greeks and Romans definitely seemed to have preferred it diluted. However, from the Old Testament’s standpoint the only mention of it being diluted is in Isaiah 1:22 where that practice is referenced quite negatively as an example of Israel’s apostasy and fraud. There are other references to mixed or spiced wine in the Old Testament, but that referred to the addition of spices for flavoring, or of other herbal drugs to actually enhance its intoxicating strength. ¹

Back in our proverb, the adjective form of the word for “strong drink” means someone who is drunk. It is used this way in 1 Samuel 25:36 when Nabal had a drunken feast to celebrate the finishing of the sheep shearing. It is also used of being drunk in 1 Kings 16:9 with king Elah of the northern tribes of Israel, and in 1 Kings 20:16 with king Ben-hadad of Syria. Thus the noun form of this word, which is what is found in our Proverb, is quite directly the intoxicating drink which makes one drunk. This seems to have been a bit more of a general word for a variety of alcoholic drinks made from fruits or sources other than grapes. So this could have been barley beer, pomegranate, date, apple, or honey wines.

If there is any doubt about the kind of drink in question, the end of our verse makes it even clearer what is being talked about. These are drinks which lead to intoxication. The word for intoxication there is also quite interesting. It has to do with being led astray (NET, ESV). The King James Version translates it as being “deceived.” “Intoxicated” is a good, broad word for describing the state that alcohol can leave people in, but “led astray” and “deceived” are great for picturing the dangerous effects alcohol has on people when it is misused.

In this context, this proverb is warning against the intoxication or deception that alcohol can bring because it produces the same destructive behaviors of the scoffing mocker. Giving up self-control to alcohol loosens the inhibitions that would prevent sinful humanity from acting out the sinful behaviors of their hearts within society. It gives the courage to mockers to act out their sinful thoughts. It pushes them to mocking, reviling words. It pushes them to dangerous, violent behavior. It riles up people into behavior that is detrimental to society. It deceives them into thinking that wrong behaviors are okay to do or worth doing. It prevents them from thinking clearly and rationally. It keeps them from thinking of the consequences and results of actions. It puts the focus on the immediate emotions and desires. Anger, lust, sadness, or happiness can all be magnified while other emotions, thoughts, and feelings can be deadened.

In essence reality is distorted in various deceptive ways. Actions that result while under such affects inevitably have been led astray because they are not based on truth, reality, and a right relation of things to each other. If we want to be wise we need to realize the deceptive nature of too much alcohol and the power it can have over our lives to control us. The wise person will stay far away from having their lives ruined by allowing alcohol to control them and deceive them through being intoxicated.

In our day and age these dangers would quite naturally extend to drugs as well. They very similarly, and sometimes to an even much greater extent, loosen inhibitions, become addictive, and promote sinful and dangerous behaviors. They remove the natural self-control that would prevent people from making lewd, suggestive, insulting, rude, unkind, or slanderous comments to other people. The expressions, “that is the wine talking” and that someone is an “angry drunk” comes from these realities. People lose the normal, right control of themselves that they should have when they are intoxicated.

All to often this moves far past words and the expression of strong emotions. Under the influence of alcohol and drugs, laws are broken, violence occurs, mobs become unruly, and theft and robbery proliferate. Beyond that, immorality, rape, prostitution, trafficking, and abuse become epidemically prevalent. Likewise, all kinds of additional laws are broken and harm done so that people can continue getting the supply of drugs and intoxicants that are desired.

The more these intoxicated behaviors grow collectively in a society, the more societal breakdown will occur. Often the cycles continue on in greater and more destructive ways in succeeding generations. The God-designed family unit breaks down. Destructive behaviors are normalized and grow worse. Violent responses to viewpoints that people do not like are tolerated. Shame, dishonor, and regret are drowned in the deceptive numbing and pleasure of further intoxication. Crimes increase. Incarceration rates go up—either that or people get away with their wicked injustices as law and order dissipates. Societal productivity of work goes down and the region or country economically suffers because of it. The military, the medical establishments, the construction industries, the legal establishment, the government, and everything else decreases in reliability, safety, strength, and growth. This is what happens when the scoffing, mocking way of life takes over in a society. One of the dangerous ways that all this happens is through the abuse of alcohol as our proverb warns us.

It is not wise for an individual to be controlled by alcohol or drugs, as it leads them away from right living to sinful, selfish, God-defying ways of living. That has dangerous consequences both in this life and eternally. Similarly, it is not wise for a society to allow itself to be taken over by these kinds of intoxicated behaviors. It will only lead to a community or nations own demise if left unchecked.

Scriptural Example: When we look to Scripture for examples of the foolish and dangerous abuse of wine we see it in the very first mention of wine in the Bible. According to Genesis 9:20-27, after the flood Noah planted a vineyard and got drunk. The text says that he was uncovered in his tent. That in turn resulted in his son Ham mocking and abusing him in some way. Because of that, there was the loss of blessing on Ham’s descendents. The over-indulgence on wine was the beginning of what led to such foolishness, sin, and broken relationships. Ham’s behavior, whatever it was, was completely inexcusable. Yet, at more than 600 years old Noah should have known better than to abuse wine like this. If he had not done that, he would not have been in a situation where he was out of his mind, senseless, helpless, and in whatever state that vague term refers to.

In Genesis 19:30-38, after Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction and Lot’s wife being turned to a pillar of salt, Lot avoided cities and lived in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. In that isolated context wine was then used by Lot’s daughters to get him so drunk that they could commit incest to keep the family line going. In his right mind “righteous Lot,” as the New Testament calls him (2 Peter 2:7), never would have allowed himself to be gotten into that situation. Sadly, wine has been used and abused to enable wicked, immoral debauchery from time immemorial.

In the beginning of the book of Esther we find out that King Xerxes of Persia had a drunken feast (Esther 1). At it he called for Queen Vashti to be paraded before them. Upon her refusal he ended up deposing her so that her defiance would not give a bad image of his lack of authority to his kingdom. All of that could have been prevented if he had not made foolish decisions in his drunken state. Alcohol can make bad decisions seem good in the fleeting emotions and desires of the moment. They can leave one with life-long consequences. It is not wise to be controlled and led along to making hugely impactful decisions without one’s rational thinking capacity or righteous judgments.

King Belshazzar of Babylon likewise had a drunken feast (Daniel 5). Under the influence of that alcohol he had the sacred vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from God’s temple brought in so that they could all drink wine from them. He did this despite knowing how God had humbled his father Nebuchadnezzar by making him like a beast for a time. As they were drinking and praising their false gods, God’s finger of judgment appeared on the wall writing the famous words “Mene, Mene, Teqel, Upharsin.” His kingdom had been numbered, weighed, found deficient, and divided over to the Medes and Persians. That night Belshazzar the Chaldean was slain and the kingdom taken by invaders. How much different things might have been if he had not mocked God in his drunkenness, but rather humbly sought God’s help from the invading army and been alert to its presence and tricks. Instead, wine led him to praise false gods and mock God. He praised and worshipped the creation instead of the Creator.

Alcohol is a deceptive master. It provides a false bravado and courage to defy God and exalt what is not God as if it were God. Alcohol has been used throughout history in pagan worship to aid in making and worshipping false gods. Whether in a pagan temple in times past or in our own homes, bars, nightclubs, or parties in times present, alcohol deceives us from the reality that what we are worshipping and living for is not real, true, and right. It allows us to numb our consciences and live for the moment. It deceives us with a temporary fleeting happiness that is based on the mocking, scoffing, God denying way of thinking that can only lead to our ruin.

When God’s purpose for our lives is ignored, and when God’s design for wine is abused then eventually all that is left is for people to experience the scoffing, mocking, ruinous results of that defiance of God. It will not be good for an individual, and it will not be good for a society. It is not wise. In the end, it is the wine that is scoffing and mocking at the one drinking it. It is the strong drink that violently destroys the one who consumes it. It proves to be the master. It proves to be the mocking undoing of the scoffing mocker.

Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this proverb with the rest of Scripture we see both good and bad uses of wine occurring. The negative affects of wine are strongly emphasized in Hosea 4. Wine helps create the scoffing, mocking way of life. It removes understanding, leads into further defiant sins, and ultimately brings people into ruin. Notice that progression from Hosea 4:6 to 10-12 to verse 14.

Hosea 4:6, 10-12, 14 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children…. 10 They will eat, but not have enough; They will play the harlot, but not increase, Because they have stopped giving heed to the LORD. 11 Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding. 12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God…. 14 I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot Or your brides when they commit adultery, For the men themselves go apart with harlots And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined.

They were destroyed for a lack of knowledge, a lack of wisdom. They were a deceived people. How did it happen? Verse 10 says they stopped giving heed to the Lord. Verse 11 highlights two foundational ways that occurred: immorality and alcohol took away their understanding. The immoral desires of the flesh have a very strong way of blinding one to reality. All that can be seen is that strong desire for pleasure. It blinds people to right and wrong, and to long term consequences. As we have already discussed, abusing alcohol does the same thing. They both take away people’s understanding. In the end, as verse 14 says, “the people without understanding are ruined.”

This is exactly why in the law, in Leviticus 10:9, the priest were forbidden to drink wine while coming before God to serve. They were not to have anything confusing their thinking or altering their judgment while carrying out the sacrifices and sacred responsibilities that they had been given. They were to be careful to treat what was holy with complete righteousness and respect. They were to be careful to accurately represent the people before God, and to accurately represent Him before the people.²

Similarly, in Proverbs 31:4-5 both wine and strong drink are mentioned in a warning to kings against drinking alcohol because of the likelihood of perverting justice. Kings and other leaders have been given a responsibility by God to exercise justice and make decisions to righteously lead their nations. Anything that prevented that was to be avoided.

In the New Testament, this need for clear, righteous thinking is precisely why the church elders, deacons, and older women are specifically commanded to not be addicted to wine in 1 Timothy 3:3, 8, and Titus 1:7, 2:3. They all have important God-given roles in leading the church or in teaching the next generation that requires wise thinking. The elders and deacons have that responsibility in leading the church. They are not to be pugnacious, but rather to be gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money, managing their houses, and keeping their children under control with dignity. Having too much alcohol will get in the way of them doing that.

Similarly, the older women have this responsibility in reverently, without gossip, teaching the younger women what is good and in encouraging them to love their husbands, love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, and subject to their own husbands (Titus 2:3-5). They cannot do that righteously if their minds are clouded and deceived by over-indulgence on alcohol.

In those cases, God took care to explicitly highlight the need to avoid being addicted to wine. However, that does not leave everyone else off the hook. Jesus warned all of His disciples about the need to be on guard against dissipation and drunkenness in Luke 21:29-36. This warning occurs in light of our looking for God’s promised coming kingdom and of Jesus’ return.

Luke 21:29-36 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near. 31 “So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. 32 “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 34 “Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36 “But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Believers ought to be looking for Jesus’ return and be ready for it. We are going to stand before Him. May we not do it in shame because of our faithlessness. In the epistles, God echoes this in Ephesians 5:14-21.

Ephesians 5:14-21 For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” 15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. 17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; 21 and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

These verses form a strong correlation to our proverb with its warning to all of us about the foolishness of being deceived by wine the mocker and strong drink the brawler. Instead of having that deception happen to us we are to be awake, think clearly, be wise, and understand what God’s will is. We are not to be like the people mentioned in Hosea who were without understanding and blinded by wine. We are not to be drunk on wine. No. We are to be filled or controlled by God’s Spirit. His wisdom is to guide us. How are we to have that occur? We are to be meditating on God’s Word. We are to be singing God’s truth. We are to be giving thanks to God for all things. We are to be living in the fear of Christ in such a way that it affects our lives with one another.

From all this, we see that it is not simply enough to avoid being deceived by alcohol. It is not enough to simply avoid drinking it. We also need to pursue the opposite of being deceived by it. We need God’s wisdom. We need the truth. We need to be alert. We need to be carrying out God’s purpose for our lives. Are we? Simply avoiding certain behaviors does not make us what God wants us to be. Live according to the wisdom of His Word. Be controlled by the Holy Spirit and bear His fruit.

Having seen the dangers of the misuse of wine and alcohol in the big picture of God’s Word, we also see something else in the rest of Scriptures that bear on this issue which needs to be said. The Bible does not portray wine as altogether bad. It portrays the abuse and misuse of it as bad. Because of this reality we need to understand the positive sides of wine which are talked about to a great extent in Scripture. If we believe in a direct literal understanding of Scripture then we should also believe in the reality that one day we are going to be enjoying wine with Jesus in His kingdom. Because of that we ought not ignore the positive things Scriptures says about wine. Instead it would be much better and very helpful for us to understand clearly what God’s purpose and plan is for wine. Rightly understood that will help us appreciate Him and His goodness better. It will also help see more clearly how to enjoy it rightly without being tainted by the world’s abuses if we should ever choose to partake of it.

Please do not misunderstand this. If we cannot use it rightly as God designed it, we should not drink it. This is not an encouragement for anyone to drink alcohol. It has many possible dangers, as our proverb warns us about. Instead, this is an encouragement for us to understand God’s design for wine so that we know God’s goodness better and how to rightly use wine if we ever do drink it.

That being said, how should we understand God’s design for wine and our lives? First, since believers are going to be enjoying wine with Jesus in God’s kingdom, then we ought to acknowledge that God made wine and it was made for good, not bad. Second, given all the warnings in Scripture that we have already seen, we ought to firmly hold to the truth that God made our lives and it was not for being controlled or deceived by wine, food, work, sex, idolatry, or anything else. Third, from all the Scriptures we have already read, we see that God made our lives to be controlled by His Spirit, to be guided by His Word, and to be carrying out His good, righteous purposes. Fourth, since wine will be in the millennium or eternity then it must be a means by which people can glorify and enjoy God like all of God’s other good gifts.

The question that arises from that last point is how can we glorify God with wine? The answer to this seems to be found in considering how wine works and affects people. Wine appears to amplify the emotions and feelings of the heart which are being focused on while dampening other concerns and abilities. When the focus of the heart and mind is on lustful, fleshly, sinful desires, or angry, vengeful, bitter emotions, or covetous, greedy inclinations then the amplification of those things is going to result in righteousness being ignored and sin being pursued. Lust, anger, or greed will come out in words or actions.

However, when the focus of the heart is on rejoicing in the Lord, praising Him, exalting Him, and delighting in His good gifts in right ways, then if that is amplified (and other concerns or inhibitions are relaxed) there is going to be further rejoicing and enjoyment of God and His good gifts. If that is done without giving up control to fleshly desires it would indeed be to the glory of God. That sounds good theoretically, but as always the real question is whether it lines up with God’s Word.

If you study the mention of wine throughout Scripture you will see that many normal, good uses are described where drunkenness, carousing, dissipation, and violence do not occur. Wine is used, described, and encouraged in quite positive ways. In the second mention of wine in Scripture (Genesis 14:18) Melchizedek, a priest of God, brought wine to Abraham after the defeat of the enemy kings who had kidnapped Lot. Then, within the law God gave to Moses He specifically required wine to be among the daily sacrifices which were to be brought before Him in the tabernacle and temple (Exodus 29:38-42, Numbers 28:3-7, 15:1-3). God commanded it. That meant they had to have vineyards and make wine.

In line with that, the people were to have wine at the feasts of celebration when they came before the Lord with their other sacrifices. According to Deuteronomy 14:24-26 they were specifically allowed to buy wine and strong drink or whatever their heart desired when they travelled long distances for those feasts. They would have sold their original tithes for the trip and then would convert it back when they arrived to worship. Those feasts were to be times of worship, celebration, and thanksgiving. Having wine and strong drink to amplify that praise of God and the good enjoyment of times of fellowship together was fully appropriate. Drunkenness was never approved, but as foreign as it might sound, a right use of wine and other alcohols was encouraged as part of their worship celebrations.

We see this direct connection to God also brought out in the Psalms. Psalm 104:1, in conjunction with verses 14-15, blesses and praises God for the “wine which makes man’s heart glad.”

Within the law, the abundance of wine is intentionally highlighted by God as part of His blessing that would come upon Israel when they walked in obedience to Him in Deuteronomy 7:13-14, 11:13-14. The removal of enjoying that wine is also included as part of His judgment upon them for disobedience in Deuteronomy 28:39, 51, 29. The presence and use of wine is not the problem. It is its misuse and abuse.

In Solomon’s reflections on the vanity of life in Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 he encourages enjoying food, wine, one’s wife, and fruitful labor as a reward and blessing from God for hard work in life.

When we come to the prophets, quite interestingly, Isaiah 25:5-9 talks of a future time when the song of the ruthless is silenced, when God has swallowed up death for all time, wiped away tears from all faces, and removed the reproach of His people from all the earth. This is talking about something that is still yet future for all of us. Within that passage it goes on to say that in that time we are to rejoice and be glad in God’s salvation. How? God Himself will prepare a lavish feast for all peoples with a banquet of aged, refined wine. Then it is said twice for emphasis. Joel 2:18-32 also talks of this same thing.

In the New Testament, when He instituted communion at the last supper, Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 26:29 (cf. also Mark 14:25, Luke 22:18) that He would “not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Revelation 19:9 also talks about a future marriage supper of the Lamb.

Within those statements of Jesus we see that right now is not yet the time of His perfectly rejoicing together with us in His presence. Until that time of His return, when He judges all things and takes us to be with Him, He is not going to partake of wine. Partaking of that wine would picture blessing, rejoicing, fellowship, and everything good. Jesus waits to celebrate that until after all things are put under His feet, His judgment is complete, and we are with Him. We, however, are commanded to partake of communion together to remind us of what Jesus has done, is doing, and will do to bring about our complete redemption, sanctification, glorification, and inheritance with Him. We do it looking forward to the day when we will have it with Him in the kingdom of God. We do it to encourage our hearts and keep our hope fixed on Jesus. We do it to remember His goodness to us. We do it to remember and rejoice in His sacrifice for us that has bought our freedom and promises our future inheritance with Him.

With all of that throughout the totality of Scripture we see that God created wine to be a good part of His blessing on us in our fellowship, enjoyment, and pleasure with one another and Him. Man abuses it and misuses it to make it something it ought not to be. Instead of using it to glory in God’s goodness man often uses it to glory in fake fellowship and the pursuit of sinful, immoral pleasures. Regardless, that by no means implies wine or alcohol is bad. Rather, just like with every other good gift of God, it means that mankind has turned what is good and used it for bad. As Christians when we use it—whether for communion or anything else— we should look to what God’s original purpose and design for it was. Then we should use it in that way.

Just because mankind perverts and misuses authority, food, marital relations, work, leisure, hobbies, music, or anything else does not mean that we have to throw those things out altogether and completely abstain from them! No, it means we need to use them in line with God’s good and perfect purposes when we use them. Some may choose to completely avoid marriage, music, certain foods, or alcohol, or other things for different reasons, but there is no prohibition in Scripture that requires any of that. What Scripture does, though, is show us the right way to do all of these things. It tells us to do all that we do for the glory of God.

In the case of wine, it is not to control us. We are to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. We are not to be drunk. We are to controlled and guided by the Word of God. We are not to be led astray from God’s way into sin by alcohol. We are to be led by God’s wisdom into righteousness and purity. We are not to be deceived by strong drink or drugs. We are to be alert and ready for Jesus’ return. We are not to be led into lying, gossiping slander by wine. We are to be making disciples of all nations as ambassadors of Jesus, faithfully representing Him to the world. We are not to be tearing our family down and abusing them by wine. We are to be building them up and enjoying them righteously. We are not to be led away from God by wine. Rather, we are to be led to the communion table and remember Jesus’ amazing sacrifice and love for us. We are to be led to look forward to and exalt in the blessing, joy, hope, life, and goodness of God. If you use wine righteously in these ways then by all means glorify God with it. Otherwise you must not use it, because when it controls and deceives us it is sin.

Truth in Connection: As we apply this proverb to our lives, the bottom line is that it is the intoxication and abuse of wine that makes it bad. It is being controlled by an external force instead of by God’s Spirit that is problematic. It is the loosening of inhibitions to allow oneself to be controlled by sinful, fleshly desires that is so destructive. That is the problem which produces the mocking scoffer which our proverb warns us about. Wine was not made to be our God, but if you let it deceive you it will be an evil taskmaster that will enslave you, mock you, and destroy you. That would not be wise.

The reality is that wine is not the only thing that enslaves people, deceives them, and destroys them. All sin does this. Sin defies God’s good, righteous standards, it goes against His good, perfect purposes for our lives. The penalty of turning what God made for good into evil is death. That is what the sinful treason of defying God and His purposes for our lives deserves. We deserve to be eternally separated from God and His life giving presence and sustenance. That judgment is what we will receive in the lake of fire if we remain in our sins. No one can defy God and get away with it.

To make matters worse, we cannot do anything to get out of this problem. We cannot somehow fix things or pay off our sin-debt some other way. Thanks be to God, though, Jesus went to the cross Himself to pay in full the penalty for all those who turn in faith to Him as their Lord and Savior. He died in our place so that we could be forgiven. He rose to conquer sin and death and bring us righteousness and life. You cannot earn it. You do not deserve it. But He gives it. Will you repent, turning from your sin, and trust Him as your Lord and Savior? Trust Him today. Be born again by His miraculous power in your life.

May we all be continually reminded of His amazing love for us on the cross. May we be spurred on by His sacrifice on our behalf to glorify, praise, and serve Him as He deserves. May we desire to use all that we have and do all that we do for His glory. May we desire to share His amazing love with others and help them in growing to be holy followers of Jesus. May we rightly see God’s good gifts in this world and use them rightly. May we not allow them to lead us astray by misusing and abusing them.

Conclusion

In one message we do not have time to go over all that Scripture says about wine, both with its dangers and its blessings. So if you have questions on any of this or want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.

© 2025, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org