I was once discussing this with an elderly Chritian gentleman who brought up a very good point. He said "One beer might not send me to hell, but it could lead ten people there who saw me, and followed my example."

To quote Gleason Archer; "If we really care about the souls of men, and if we are really in business for Christ, rather than for ourselves, then there seems to be no alternative to total abstinence-not as a matter of legalism, but rather as a matter of love...?