Wine at the Lord's Supper - Why We changed
May. 13, 2020
We are grateful to acknowledge that our Lord Jesus Christ is a good shepherd in every way. He always leads His sheep to green pastures and still waters. All of His ways are pleasant ways and all of His words are true and good. We rejoice to have such a kind and beneficial shepherd. This booklet addresses our desire to follow such a good shepherd in the change of our worship practices regarding the use of wine instead of grape juice in our observance of the Lord’s Supper.
It is important that we, along with every other church, continue to reform our practices according to our understanding of the word of God. So while undertaking this change, we pray that God will continue to bring conviction upon us so that our worship is increasingly free from human traditions. In Mark 7:6-13, Jesus rebukes those who make the word of God of no effect through traditions that have been handed down. Scripture alone should regulate the worship of God in the church, and we earnestly desire to live out that belief by identifying traditions that, though we did not understand it previously, invalidate what God has actually said in His word.
Even though Scripture promotes the use of wine in the Lord’s Supper and church history affirms it, we are aware that the majority of modern evangelicals have rejected its use. We, however, have come to believe that this majority view that it is inappropriate to use wine in the Lord’s Supper has resulted in a tradition of men. Thus, using grape juice instead of wine makes the teaching of Scripture of no effect. Our perspective is that the use of grape juice, which has only been prominent among the Lord’s people for the last 125 years, is not consistent with the testimony of Scripture, church history or the great Protestant confessions of faith.
We recognize that everyone has existing personal convictions that have been influenced by experiences, personal preferences, and past theological instruction. Some have a background of terrible and defiling experiences with alcohol in their own li