Many Christian advocates of drinking alcoholic wine point to a verse in 1 Timothy. Paul says, Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities (1 Tim 5:23). What did Paul mean when he instructed Timothy to take a little wine for thy stomachs sake?
Its obvious that Paul was not advocating social drinking in this passage. He clearly states, Drink no longer water, (Anyone who has traveled in the Middle East knows the difficulty of getting pure, unpolluted water), but use a little wine for thy stomachs sake and thine often infirmities.
Whatever kind of wine Paul was talking about (fermented or unfermented), it is exceedingly plain that the purpose of his counsel to Timothy was due to his stomach ailments.
Pauls counsel related to a medicinal use, not a social enjoyment. What kind of wine was Paul recommending? Would the apostle encourage the moderate us of a drink which Proverbs 23:31 says Look not upon the wine when it is red, a drink which brings woe sorrow, babbling, and wounds (Proverbs 23:29). A drink which is deceptive (Proverbs 20:1), a drink which perverts the judgment causing tine eyes to behold strange women and thine heart to utter strange things (Proverbs 23:32-33).
