Customer Reviews

Sipping Saints

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Inspired by God and fired up by the Holy Spirit, David Wilkerson has a reputation of confronting difficult topics forthrightly. He does so here.

Wilkerson says, "Drinking is not the sin. The decision to drink is the sin." Not splitting hairs, he argues that there is no scriptural, loving, caring, or Christ-like reason to drink alcohol. None. At the end of the road of drinking lies destruction and death. There is nothing of God on that road.

While avoiding condemning Christians who beleive otherwise, Wilkerson builds a powerful case that Jesus would never encourage drinking alcoholic beverages, even wine. While the Hebrew text does not distinguish between alcoholic and non-alcoholic wine, he maintains that the miracle of Cana was surely of the non-alcoholic variety. That Jesus would never have given people he loved a drink that made them stupid, provocative, and lustful.

When I started the book, I was willing to believe that, taken in moderation, a little wine was alright for the believer to enjoy. After all, "it makes the heart merry", "is good for the stomach", "was better than the first wine", etc.

I am now persuaded otherwise. I believe that Wilkerson has it right. That God would have us enjoy the drink made from the boiled grape, a must, mixed with water and not partake of the "spirits" of alcohol.

David Wilkerson, founder of Tenn Challenge with more than 200 drug and alcohol treatment centers around the world, has seen the devastation of alcohol face-to-face. I believe I yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit when I say, leave alcohol alone, flee from it. There is nothing of God in it for us.

There have been a number of comments in past reviews alleging the lack of exegetical soundness in Sipping Saints. Views certainly do vary. Dr Walter Martin (see his name with a dotorg afterwards) makes the point that the wedding at Cana can't be read any other way than if the wine in question is alcoholic. Likewise, many evangelicals regard themselves as "honest" about the way Scripture handles alcohol and mould their social lives around that view.

As an Australian, I can say that there is a strong overlap between Christians here who drink alcohol and who affirm the ordination of women - and of homosexuals. Then there are the other questions of denying the existence of hell and the exclusiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ as providing salvation. I am sure this experience is much the same throughout the West.

Christians need to decide, and I feel I am speaking in agreement with Wilkerson, whether they want to go the way of the world, and the way of the liberal theologian and of unbelief, or if they side with the fundamentalist Christian, who won't compromise on the truth, who believes in moral absolutes and in the sovereignty of God in all things. Decide! Compromise with the world? Or walk not in the counsel of the ungodly.

I wholeheartedly recommend Wilkerson's excellent book. 5 stars.

Written about 40 years ago this is a wide reaching rebuke to those who want to call themselves Christians and continue to indulge a taste for drinking! Pastor Wilkerson pulls no punches as he lines up all the Bible reasons for avoiding alcoholic drinks. He takes all the arguments, reasoning and excuses for continuing to use alcohol away and lays them bare before you. If you are ready to make a change in this aspect of your life I highly recommend this to you. It is highly motivating and convincing. DO NOT READ this unless you are willing to be convicted on this subject.

The premise of this book is fallacious.

Rev. Wilkerson seems to me to be a good and godly man who has done much and been used much by our Lord to advance the gospel and His kingdom. I am sure that we agree on much, and on what is most important in this life and in eternity.

However, the only way to exegete John 2:10 "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now" is to interpret that, in that historical and cultural context: 1) all weddings served alcoholic wine; (2) guests drank too much of it; (3) the cheaper wine was served after the best wine because wine quality mattered less to guests who had drunk too much; (4) Jesus' changing water to wine was alcoholic wine.

Also, basic biochemistry dictates that the naturally occuring yeasts on grapeskins will cause fermentation, converting fructose to alcohol--in absence of technologies such as refrigeration, which were not available or practiced during Jesus' earthly days.

Wine is permissible, and sometimes beneficial. Without sufficient faith, it can be abused, and it's consumption could cause immature ones to stumble. I am all for having constructive discussion of alcohol, but against injecting fallacy into that discussion.

Rev. Wilkerson has successfully and significantly advanced the gospel and kingdom of Jesus Christ. The legalistic and non-biblical part of his agenda will stall his otherwise noble advances. Just as the early church fathers should not have edited out part of John 8 because they felt that Jesus appeared soft on adultery, Rev. Wilkerson should ask for more faith to accept God's Word as it has been dictated, and thus better steward the sheep under his care, instead of leading them down the wrong path, as harmless as that path might ultimately be. Jesus' sheep need care (and the truth) from their pastors--not shielding from the truth!

Jesus transcended all cultural trappings in His life's mission to the world. We should follow His example, instead of holding on to non-biblical mandates, such as ascetism towards wine.

David Wilkerson wrote this book many years and i do not believe this is a fair judgment of Christians who drink. His books tends to look at people who drink heavily and he then goes on to judge and say that anyone who drinks alcohol will not go to heaven! David you do a good work but I think you really need to repent for what you have written.

This is a terrible book. I'm sure the author was not influnced by christian theologians. This book reminds me of 'The Screwtape Letters" by C. S. Lewis. In the screwtape letters, satan is the tea toting kill joy. In sippin saints, Wilkenson takes this role.

My wife read the book Sipping Saints many years ago before I became a christian and would like to read it for myself.