Independence Baptist Church uses wine for the liquid element of the Lord's Supper without apology.  I and Independence Baptist Church have studied this element in great detail, looking at every place I can look to see if unfermented grape juice is wine, or if it is proper to use fermented grape juice (wine) in the Lord's supper.

My investigation (which includes personally speaking to people who use grape juice) has shown that every time unfermented grape juice is used in the Lord's Supper, the reasoning is that wine is bad because it has alcohol in it.  The conclusion of those that use unfermented grape juice is that alcohol is bad, therefore wine is bad and cannot represent the pure blood of  Christ.  The Bible nowhere declares that wine is bad, but the Bible states in many places that the misuse of wine is bad.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 states, "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time..." 

Genesis 1:31 states, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good..." 

Titus 1:15 declares, "Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled..." 

You see, it is not things that are wicked, it is the way things are used that makes them wicked.  I trust this will be made more clear in the chapter on Unleavened Grape Wine.

In my investigation as to what others believe about using wine or grape juice in the Lord's supper, I have listened intently as they present their views on using grape juice instead of wine.  Many times people have told me that the use of wine is offensive, that it turns people away from the Lord's Supper, away from their church, away from the true doctrines of Christ, and away from salvation. They therefore conclude that wine should not be used in the Lord’s Supper as wine is a hindrance to Christian growth.

Many of the doctrines taught in the Bible are offensive and a "hindrance" to Christian growth.  Salvation is offensive because the Bible teaches total depravity. The Bible actually declares that some people are in hell right now, and others are going to hell because they don't repent and believe.  The Bible doctrine of the local church is offensive because some people believe in the universal (invisible or visible) church.  The Bible doctrine of "closed" communion is offensive to some folks as they believe everybody should be able to take the Lord's Supper anywhere and anytime they want.  The Bible doctrine of separation of lifestyle is offensive to some because these folks believe they can act, talk, dress, and be like the world and still be a "Christian."

I haven't stopped believing and preaching the doctrine of salvation, total depravity, and repentance from dead works, the doctrine of the local church, the doctrine of closed communion, or the doctrine of separation.  It is not my intention to offend anybody.  It is especially my intention not to offend God.  Therefore, I continue to believe, preach and practice his doctrines.

Should I stop believing, preaching and practicing Bible doctrines because those doctrines are offensive to some?  Of course not.

Should I stop believing, preaching and practicing Biblical separation from sin, and worldliness because some folks don’t like those doctrines? Of course not. There have been people stop attending Independence Baptist Church because of the Bible doctrine of separation. This makes me very sad. Should Independence Baptist Church slack off so those people will come back? Of course not. We must continue to believe, preach and practice the whole counsel of God.

Should I stop believing, preaching and practicing wine for the Lord's Supper because that doctrine is offensive to some?  Of course not.

Frankly, it is my prayer that no Bible doctrine be offensive to any of God’s children. I pray each child of God will diligently read, study, and mediate on the Word of God so they can understand exactly what God is saying.

I don't want to be offensive, but if the doctrines of the Word of God offend, that is another matter altogether.  I cannot change what the Bible says for any man, even myself.

I have been told that if a drunk was saved, scripturally baptized, and added to the church, then took the Lord’s Supper and wine was served as the liquid element, that saved, baptized (formerly drunkard) church member would go back to his old habits of drinking. I have been told that the temptation of using wine in the Lord’s Supper would be too great for the newly saved church member to withstand. Personally, I was not a drunkard before the Lord saved me, so I don’t know by personal experience, but there are members of Independence Baptist Church who were drunkards, and they have told me the use of wine in the Lord’s Supper is completely different from the drinking they did when they were lost. These faithful church members have told me they are not thinking about wine when they take the Lord’s Supper any more than they think about the taste of the unleavened wheat bread. They are concentrating on worshipping and honoring God Almighty and what he did for them. They are remembering his sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. They are praising God that he saved them from their sins, from their past life, and has given them new hope in this life, and a heavenly hope of eternal life. They have no desire whatsoever to return to their former life. Their past life is repugnant to them. This same testimony has been repeated to me by many faithful church members, in many churches.

I very firmly believe that this subject needs to be studied from God’s perspective, not man’s perspective. Preachers are responsible before God to carefully examine the Word of God to discover what God says. Every person, preachers included, will stand before God one day and give account to him on this issue (and every other issue).

Let me ask you this question: Would you submit to using wine in the Lord’s Supper if you saw it in the Word of God? I am not talking about using wine as a beverage. Would you honestly and prayerfully ask God to help you in this study? Would you ask God to remove from your mind the man made objections to wine, and place in your mind his word on the subject? Would you study the Bible for the right answer? Or have you already made up your mind? If God asked you to change churches because you came to see that wine is the proper ingredient in the Lord’s Supper, would you do it?

I very sincerely desire to hear from you about anything I have said or written on this web site. You can contact me at:  email pastor