[Diligent]

Originally Posted by Cody1611

1 Timothy 3:
2 "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;"

If bishops are forbidden wine, then why should we as Born Again Christians drink wine period?

The phrase is "given to wine," and five verses later, it says "given to much wine." (I hope you are not suggesting that the definition of wine changes in the space of five verses and that "much wine" means "much grape juice.") "Given to" is the key -- as in "given to hospitality."

Luke 1:15 "For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."

The above verse is talking about John. He never drank wine or strong drink.

Clearly you are correct here.

This leads me to think that the abstinence of wine will improve our spiritual life. Wine is for the flesh, not the spirit. Alcohol has brought so much death, so why even take a sip of it?

Paul told Timothy to use "a little wine," and since grape juice is not used medicinally, and given the other uses of the same word by Paul, I can't abide by your declarations here. However, based on Romans 12, you should clearly not be drinking any alcohol at all -- and I have nothing negative to say about anyone who comes to that conclusion in their life. What bothers me is the condemnation of people who consume light amounts of alcohol (not to excess or drunkenness) when there is no basis for such blanket condemnation beyond traditions and culture.

The word "wine" is used throughout the Bible and to define what wine means in different passages you will need much study and the Holy Spirit to lead you.

You then proceed to quote several things that did not come from the Holy Spirit. I'm at a loss on how to deal with that, other than to suggest you Google "young wine" (in the same spirit you have offered your extra-Biblical authorities). Young/new wine is not non-alcoholic. But it is not my wont to offer extra-Biblical sources for understanding the Bible, which is why I have restricted myself to only comparing Scripture with Scripture. Nobody seems to want to explain to me how Romans 12 makes any sense if "wine" isn't wine.