“No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23).
1 Timothy 5:23 has been the source of considerable controversy for many within the Christian community over the years. We can begin our consideration of this passage with a question: why would Paul the Apostle advise this course of action?
To address this question, it’s helpful to remember that water quality in the ancient world was often poor. This meant that wine (or wine mixed with water) was sometimes safer to drink. Since the fermentation process helped eliminate some of the harmful elements that might be present within a body of water, a person who suffered from a digestive disorder would be better served to drink a little wine.
This brief passage also touches upon two larger topics: alcohol consumption and the permissibility of medicinal remedies.
We can begin with the medicinal aspects of this passage by remembering that the context of this verse involved Timothy’s physical health. With this in mind, it’s interesting to note that the Biblical author Luke is known to have accompanied Paul during the period in which he wrote this letter. Since Luke was a physician by trade, it’s possible that he had a hand in suggesting this course of treatment. (1)
We should also note that “a little” wine was prescribed for Timothy’s digestive ailment and his “frequent infirmities.” Today, we might associate this directive with the word “dosage.” In other words, “wine” was the prescribed remedy for Timothy’s afflictions and “a little” was the recommended dosage.
This has led one Biblical scholar to conclude, “Paul recognizes a medicinal value of wine. Believers are free to make use of ordinary means in caring for themselves. It is no mark of faith to reject the advice of doctors or to forego medical treatment.” (2) Another commentator bridges the gap between wine as a medicinal remedy and the subject of alcohol consumption that we’ll consider next…
“This is a text which has much troubled those who are advocates of total abstinence. It must be remembered that it does not give any man a licence to indulge in drink to excess; it simply approves the use of wine where it may be medicinally helpful. If it does lay down any principle at all, E. F. Brown has well stated it: ‘It shows that while total abstinence may be recommended as a wise counsel, it is never to be enforced as a religious obligation.’ Paul is simply saying that there is no virtue in an asceticism which does the body more harm than good.” (3)
(1) See Coffman, James Burton. “Commentary on 1 Timothy 5:23”. “Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament”. “https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/1-timothy-5.html“. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
(2) Sproul, R. C. (Ed.). (2015). The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (p. 2162). Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust.
(3) Barclay, William. “Advice For Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23)”. “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/1-timothy-5.html . 1956-1959.