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Judging Food & Drink from Col 2:16
One of the arguments used to justify the consumption of modern day alcoholic beverages is by appealing to Paul’s instruction in Col 2:16 – “Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day.” In this verse, did Paul intend to include the various views of whether or not it is right to consume alcoholic beverages?
First, it is ironic that those who teach abstaining from alcohol never use this verse against those who defend its consumption. If this verse truly means we are to never make a judgment against another person for their opinions regarding food or drink, it would be just as wrong to rebuke someone who teaches abstinence as it would be to rebuke someone who teaches moderation. But if it is right to rebuke someone who encourages abstinence toward alcohol beverages, it would be just as right for abstainers to use this verse against imbibers when they are rebuked for taking their stand. If not, why not (Rom 2:21a)?
Second, if we are not careful, it is possible to misinterpret and twist bible verses to achieve our own end (Matt 4:6; 2 Pet 3:16) even if it is unintentional. There is a context behind Col 2 that we need to consider. In the first century, one of the first Christian sects that began teaching a false gospel was the Judaizing teachers (Gal 1:6-9). These were Jewish Christians who were not satisfied with Gentiles becoming Christians unless they observed rites such as circumcision, Sabbath keeping, and various other aspects of Mosaic Law (Acts 15; Gal 5:1-4). The Apostle Paul spends a large part of his ministry combating this teaching and the entire letter to the Galatian churches was written to warn them against it. One aspect of Mosaic Law involved certain dietary restrictions (Lev 11) of which even Daniel would not defile himself (Dan 1:8); but Jesus has since lifted those restrictions (Acts 10:1-17). Col 2:16 does not merely mention food and drink, but other Mosaic customs such as the Sabbath, New Moons, and Festivals. All of these, as vs. 17 reveals, were shadows of the Law (Heb 10:1) that pointed to better things to come in Christ. Can the Jews eat pork? Yes. Can they abstain from pork? Yes. But no one was to judge them concerning their choice in the matter. Understanding this context should show why this is not a verse we should turn to as a defense for the consumption of modern day alcoholic beverages as it simply does not line up with the context. It would be much more enlightening to instead consider other teaching throughout scripture that specifically refers to strong drink.
Third, not all judging is wrong – this cannot be overstated. Self-righteous and hypocritical judgment is prohibited (Matt 7:1-5) along with unrighteous judgment based on insufficient premises and ill-will (John 7:24). But Jesus commands Christians to judge false teachers by their fruit (Matt 7:15-20) and to judge righteous conduct amongst one another (1 Cor 6:1-5). A Christian does not err when he encourages and pleads with another concerning sin or unwise decisions. We are commanded to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3) and to be the “pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). Therefore, not only do Christians have the right to judge in such matters, we have the obligation to do so. Otherwise, there is no way we can defend the purity of the truth and sanctity of the church against false positions. When a bible subject is properly exegeted and evidence and facts are ascertained, the result for all who consider such subjects will be either belief or unbelief – this is always indicative of the heart of the one considering the teaching (Matt 13:14-15). Proper Christian judging has nothing to do with personalities and everything to do with principles. We hate the sin and love the sinner. Therefore if the consumption of modern day alcoholic beverages is wrong, we will confront it with biblical and historical evidence in an attempt to “persuade men” (2 Cor 5:11) against its consumption. If it is right to consume them, we must be willing to defend this consumption with stronger and more robust evidence. But we must not pander to and follow the path of a society that condemns any and all judging as they liberally judge the judgments of us judgmental Christians – at least that is my judgment.
