ANSWER: No! One who drinks cannot be a faithful Christian and only faithful Christian men can become deacons (I Timothy 8-13)! Please read Proverbs 23:29-35; Isaiah 5:11; Habakkuk 4:2; I Corinthians 6:9-11; and Galatians 5:19- 21. In addition to the clear teaching of these passages, also consider the fact that the partaking of alcoholic beverages (in any amount) lowers one’s resistance to temptation and, further, that those who do so, very often yield to all sorts of ungodly sins. How can one who drinks alcohol pray (as all have been commanded to do) that they will not be led into temptation (Matthew 6:13)? To do so would be to make a mockery of God and His word! The apostle Paul in I Corinthians 6:19 states that, as Christians, we are not our own; that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, belonging to Him! It follows then that to introduce any substance of harm (such as drugs, alcohol or tobacco) into that which houses the Holy Spirit would be inappropriate. As well, such activity in one’s body certainly does not glorify God and would, therefore, be a violation of I Corinthians 6:20.

Some have foolishly opted to exempt deacons from the foregoing on the basis of I Timothy 3:8, which states that they are not to be “given to much wine.” This passage is not authorizing the deacons (or any other) to take wine in small amounts. It simply says that in order for one to be qualified as a deacon he cannot to be given to drunkenness!