How do you reconcile that with this?
Romans 14: KJB
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
The issue in the text you cite is not alcohol. Rather, the issue is not being a stumbling block to your brothers and sisters in Christ.
If you look at the whole passage, many things jump out:
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:13-23, ESV)
Verse 14 tells us that nothing is "unclean" in and of itself. So, alcohol, pork (for a Jew), etc. is not unclean by definition. However, there are people who will be uncomfortable with such things--Jews who are believers in Christ who are still uncomfortable with pork, etc.
The entire thrust of the passage demonstrates that the one with the problem, who takes offense at the eating of pork or the drinking of alcohol, is what is called "the weaker brother" in v. 1 of the chapter.
The issue, then, is the stronger brother looking down on the weaker brother or making that weaker brother uncomfortable by what the stronger brother eats or drinks.
The issue here is liberty and license. All Christians have the liberty to eat or drink anything. No Christian has the license to eat or drink whatever he or she pleases
IF that eating or drinking will damage the weaker believer.
There is a familial analogy here: I like to watch the TV series
The Walking Dead. During the season when it airs, it's on at 9:00 PM. Now, I have two young daughters who are usually falling asleep in the living room at that time. As the dad do I have the "right" to watch whatever I want? Sure. As the dad--looking our for the "weaker" people in my family--do I insist that I watch that show at that time? NO WAY! Why? Because the concept of Zombies, etc. will do unnecessary damage to my daughters--nightmares, etc. So...I willingly miss the 9:00 PM airing of the show so that my daughters do not suffer nightmares. Do I watch the show later? Yes, when my girls are in bed. Some day, years from now, might I watch the DVDs of
The Walking Dead with my girls in, perhaps, their high school years? Sure. But...then they'd be "strong" enough to handle it, knowing it is fiction and being able to process it properly.
The issue with alcohol is the same. Do I have the liberty to drink? Yes. Do I have a license to drink? No. In either case, I have neither the liberty nor license to get drunk. But let's say there's someone in my church who's been a believer for a short time and he came out of a situation where alcohol was not abused, per se, but taken often and was for the purposes of getting drunk. He might, as being weaker in the faith, equate alcohol with the sinfulness of his past. As the stronger brother, is there any way I'm going to insist on an alcoholic drink if we meet together at a restaurant? No. If in a few years he grows in his faith to the point where he is accepting of alcohol as long as one does not get drunk, would I share a drink with him at a local restaurant? Perhaps. Of course, for an alcoholic, drinking is a sin--only because it will always lead to drunkenness...but that's a different issue entirely.
The Archangel
PS. My "drink" of choice is Coca-Cola. When I want a treat, I order a Coke with no ice. I don't think any alcoholic beverage would or could taste better than that.