Christians and alcohol

For most of my adult life, before being saved, I had alcohol almost every Friday and Saturday night. Weekends spent binge drinking, indulging far more than I should have, and most often pretty drunk. Then a few years ago I gave my heart to Jesus and He changed me and took away my desire for alcohol, eventually completely. I am still tee-total, in my opinion the way it should be for a professing Christian.

Yes it is true that Jesus changed water into wine. It even seems that Jesus drank wine on occasion (John 2:1-11; Matthew 26:29). In New Testament times, the water was not very clean. Without modern sanitation, the water was often filled with bacteria, viruses, and all kinds of contaminants.
In that day, wine was fermented (containing alcohol), but certainly not to the degree it is today. It is incorrect to say that it was grape juice, but it is also incorrect to say that it was the same thing as the wine commonly used today. Again, Scripture does not forbid Christians from drinking beer, wine, or any other drink containing alcohol. Alcohol is not, in and of itself, tainted by sin. However, as Christians who love the Lord, we should definitely not have a lifestyle that glamourizes the consumption of or imagery associated with alcohol.

*** It is drunkenness and addiction to alcohol that a Christian must absolutely refrain from (Ephesians 5:18;1 Corinthians 6:12) ***

Consumption of small quantities of alcohol is a matter of Christian freedom. Drunkenness and addiction are sin.
However, due to the biblical concerns regarding alcohol and its effects, due to the easy temptation to consume alcohol in excess, and due to the possibility of causing offence and/or stumbling of others, it is often best for a Christian to abstain from drinking alcohol.

I think we need to ask ourselves what does alcohol bring to our walk with God, if the answer to that is nothing or even worse any kind of hindrance,  then we should really think about casting it aside.