Becoming
Whole After Addiction:
A Biblical Model for Christ-Centered 12-step
Recovery
Clayton R. Hall Jr., BA, MMIN
CLHA5895
Dissertation prepared in partial requirement for
the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
DISS914 – Christian Counseling
Submitted to:
Great Commission Bible College
Carl’s Junction, MO
March 15, 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Abstract
Introduction
Topic 1: Christ-Centered Recovery Restores the
Addict to Fellowship with God
Topic 2:
Christ-Centered Recovery Counseling Produces Right Thinking
Topic 3: Christ-Centered Recovery Produces
Genuine Repentance
Topic 4: Christ-Centered Recovery Produces
Genuine Sobriety
Topic 5: Christ-Centered Recovery is the Work
of The Holy Spirit
Topic 6: The Dilemma of Addiction
Topic 7: Healing Through a Christ-Centered
Process
Topic 8: The Christian Origins of the 12-Step
Process
Topic 9: Original Intent
Topic 10: Recovering Stolen Property
Topic 11: The Statistical Evidence for the
12-Step Process
Topic 12: A Christ-Centered – Biblical
Approach to 12-Step Recovery
A.
Step One
B.
Step Two
C.
Step Three
D.
Step Four
E.
Step Five
F.
Step Six
G.
Step Seven
H.
Step Eight
I.
Step Nine
J.
Step Ten
K.
Steps Eleven & Twelve
Topic 13: From Bondage to Promise
Conclusion
Works Cited/Bibliography
Acknowledgments
To
my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ whose Love and Mercy called me out of the
darkness of my sin and into the light of His Grace.
To
my wife, and my four children Rebecka, Clayton, Naomi, and Garrett. You have
never given up on me, even when it would have been the easy thing to do. I know
that loving me has been a challenge and I love you all more than words can say.
To
my grandmother, who raised me to believe that I can do all things through
Christ. Your unconditional love gave me a glimpse of Jesus as you lived out
your faith in front of me. I love you, I miss you.
To
my Pastor, Bro. Shane Giadrosich, you have been such an incredible
encouragement to me. You have taken an old broken vessel and made me feel
valuable again to the Kingdom of God. Thank you for your investment of love in
my life and the great trust you have placed in me.
To
all the men on the ministry team at my home Church, First Pentecostal Church of
Richton, MS., you all make me desire to be more like Jesus. Your dedication to
His service and your love for the Lord inspires me.
-
Thank you all so Much!
Abstract
There is an
epidemic facing our nation, and like so many other problems it has entered our
churches as well, it is the epidemic of addiction. Today all over America,
regardless of denomination, our pews are full of men, women, and children who
are trapped in the dilemma of addiction. There is only one answer to their
dilemma, Jesus. But like so many other sins, many who come to Jesus and achieve
abstinence, continue to struggle with their evil desires. Christ-centered,
biblically-based counseling is needed to guide them to a stronger relationship
with God.
The purpose
of this paper is to show that Christ-Centered recovery through biblical
counseling can produce genuine change in the heart of the addict. It proves
that the only way for the addict to be free is to find a power, a power that is
beyond themselves, that can free them from addiction. That power, is the power
of the Holy Ghost, the power of the risen indwelling presence of Jesus Christ.
But the only way that this power can rest upon them, the only way it can
deliver them, is for them to confess their weakness and inability to resolve
the dilemma of addiction on their own.
Through
Biblical evidence, I will show that for many the only way to be made whole from
the effects of addiction is through a process that produces genuine healing and
peace. I will outline a biblical approach to 12-step recovery and show how
Christ-centered recovery will lead the addict to discover freedom from
addiction through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.
It will
also show that this process strengthens the addict’s relationship with God, and
how that restored relationship leads to lifetime sobriety through repentance
and submission to God’s will.
Introduction
When people are trapped in alcoholism and drug
addiction, when they can’t seem to free themselves of the guilt and shame of
their past, or the fear of the future to the extent that they can no longer
function normally on a day-to-day basis, something needs to change. They have
been abusing substances, in many cases for years, and that addiction has taken
hold of their lives, the only way many can be set free from the chains of
addiction, for genuine change to occur, is for them to be healed. As Christian
counselors, we must encourage them to seek a process of healing that is
Christ-centered. The goal must be to restore their relationship with God.
As a Christian, I believe that the root problem
of addiction, as with all abnormal psychological behaviors, stems from the
individual’s inability to get along with God. The root problem in addiction is
sin, and that sin separates the addict from fellowship with God. I believe that
regardless of the addiction(s) that bring a person to counseling, the goal must
be to restore the relationship of the individual with God.
All sinful behavior, per the Word of God, is the
result of an individual’s resistance to an appropriate relationship with God. It
is deliberate rebellion to His will. In most cases, addiction is an attempt to
“numb out” from the guilt of a person’s violations of their conscience, or shame
felt as the result of abuse suffered at the hands of another. The only way to
restore peace, and sobriety, is to begin living out the principles of God’s Word.
Once they accept Christ, they are justified instantly and are encouraged to
leave their life of sin, but abstinence is only the beginning of
sanctification.
The goal of all biblical substance abuse
counseling is peace with God and with themselves: sobriety. The desired outcome
of biblical counselors is a real, lasting, and beneficial change that provides
the alcoholic or addict with a substantial improvement in their relationship with
God and their quality of life. The very reason that Jesus came and suffered,
the reason He took the infirmities of the world upon Himself, was to provide
the opportunity for everyone to have a life that is full:
“I have come that they may have life, and have
it to the full” (King James Bible,
Jn. 10:10b).[1]
The first step, of course, is to get the
individual to stop using drugs and alcohol, but mere behavior modification
cannot provide the type of “full” life that Jesus was referring to because it
does not deal with the root cause of the problem – the lack of power to
restrain sin. Real and lasting sobriety is not a matter of simply modifying the
addicted person’s behavior. If it were, people could be delivered through a
simple set of rules, but the Word of God is clear that a code of ethics cannot
restrain sinful behavior:
“You have died with Christ, and he has set you
free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following
the rules of the world, such as 21 “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?
22 Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use
them. 23 These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious
self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering
a person’s evil desires” (New Living
Translation, Col. 2:20-23).[2]
A set of rules, like the Ten Commandments, does
not have the power to keep the addict from abusing substances, no matter how
much self-control they think they have. The Apostle Paul said in Romans that
the Law was powerless to save us because the flesh weakened it (New International Version, Rom. 8:3), and
then in Colossians Paul said that a set of moral codes lack the power to
restrain sinful indulgences (Col. 2:23).[3]
Bill
Wilson, one of the founders of AA recognized this truth as well. He states in
chapter four of Alcoholics Anonymous that if a code of ethics was enough to
overcome alcoholism, most alcoholics, “would have recovered on their own long
ago” (Wilson, Alcoholics Anonymous, 44).[4] The Addict can desire to be moral and upright all they want, but it is
impossible for them to achieve sobriety through their own will because they
lack the power needed to abstain from substances. Wilson also recognized that a
lack of power was the problem (45).
Human resources, self-will, self-determination,
or whatever label you want to put on it, are not enough. Addicts simply do not
have the power needed to stay sober on their own. The greatest need of the
addict, is to find a power that will keep them from giving in to the desires of
their flesh, and it must be a power that is greater than anything that is
within them, it must be a “power greater than themselves” (Wilson, p.45).[5]
What they desperately need is the power that can only come from Jesus, without
His help, sobriety is impossible.
Real sobriety, sobriety that is acceptable to
God, only occurs when processes and counseling are Christ-centered. Once
abstinence has been achieved, biblical counseling and Christ-centered
recovery’s goal must be to restore the relationship of the addicted person with
God through submission to His will, genuine repentance, obedience to His Word,
and through the only power than can bring about the change in character needed for
an individual to remain sober, the transformational power of the Holy Spirit.
A Christ-centered approach to 12-step recovery
leads the addict to a place where they can turn their will over to the care of
God so that God can lead them to a place where transformation can take place.
God becomes the Shepherd, and the addict learns to trust Him to lead them, even
when He leads them through the darkest places, they can follow without fear
because they know that the Shepherd has good intentions. Eventually, the
Shepherd leads them out of the darkness, and they enjoy the blessings He has
prepared for them, and they make the conscious decision to remain in His care
for they understand He loves them and showers them with goodness and mercy and
they desire to, “dwell in His house forever” (Ps. 23:6).[6]
Topic 1: Christ-Centered Recovery Restores the
Addict to Fellowship with God
The goal of Christ-Centered recovery is to lead the addict into permanent recovery through life
transformation, not temporary abstinence through superficial change. To produce
real change, sobriety, or peace with God, the addict must come to terms with
the fact that the underlying cause of their addiction is their deliberate
rebellion against God. Once they realize that their greatest need is a restored
relationship with their Creator, through repentance, submission to the will of
God, forgiveness, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, the addict is
made whole.
The focus of
Christ-centered recovery counseling is to restore the addict’s relationship
with Jesus. Most counselors, even some Christian counselors, when dealing with
addiction wrongly focus too much on man’s interpersonal relationships with each
other as the root cause of the problem.
They take great effort to dig deep into the past of the addict, trying
to uncover the hidden events in their past that have led them to their
addiction. They get stuck in the plane of horizontal relationships; when the
real issue that leads to addiction, and their interpersonal problems on the
horizontal plane, is an incorrect relationship with God on the vertical plane.
Jesus made it clear to us that man’s
relationship with Him must be right before their relationship with other people
can be right. Jesus said:
“The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O
Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this,
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment
greater than these” (Mk. 12:29-31).[7]
One of the biggest issues, and where the most
damage usually occurs, because of addiction, is the problems that it causes in
the addict’s relationships with others. That is why the alcoholic and addicts
soon become cut off from their friends and family. No one wants to be around
them. They are selfish, liars, and in many cases, they become thieves. They
become outcasts of society, cut off from normal social interaction because
they are untrustworthy.
Jesus taught us how to have positive relationships
with other people on this horizontal plane that we live in: First our
relationship with God, the vertical relationship with our Creator, must be
right and then our dealings and relationships with those around us can be made
right. Logically therefore, the opposite must be true as well. If a person
persists in having an improper relationship with God, it will be impossible for
them to sustain proper and meaningful relationships with others.
The marriage relationship is one of the most
common victims of substance abuse and is therefore a perfect example of what I
am talking about. Couples cannot continue to have an improper relationship with
God and expect to have a meaningful relationship with each other. The Apostle
Peter wrote:
“Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them
according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,
and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not
hindered” (I Pet. 3:7).[8]
When counselors insist that the addict take
their vertical relationship with God seriously, it makes it impossible to
dismiss their failures in interpersonal relationships as immaturity or simple
incompatibility. When they are shown the situation from the perspective of
God’s Word, they realize that they have failed because they have not put their
relationship with God first. Human relationships are not a two-way, but a
three-way affair. Therefore, meaningful sobriety, sobriety that results in the
abundant life that Jesus came for all to have, must also involve an honest
change in the addict’s relationship with God. Dr. Jay Adams states:
“To that extent, it is complex, unlike
simplistic efforts to effect change without reference to God. Any counselor
that wishes to counsel biblically must reckon with the complexities of change”
(Adams, 15).[9]
Once the Christian counselor has helped the
addict discover their need for fellowship with God, then they can begin to
focus the addict’s attention on changing the way they think. Most addicts are
very selfish by nature, they must begin to change the focus of their thinking
from their own desires, to seeking God’s will for them.
Topic 2: Christ-Centered Recovery Counseling
Produces Right Thinking
Christ-centered recovery counseling should not
seek to simply modify the individual’s behavior. The goal of Christian-based
recovery is to transform the way the addict thinks and provide them with a
model of correct behavior to pattern their life after:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2).[10]
It is regrettable that many so-called
“Christian” counselors have been willing to embrace more simplistic methods of
recovery theories and practices, which were developed by humanists, and leave
no room for the centrality of God regarding life-long sobriety. That is why
their superficial successes have no power to affect real and lasting sobriety.
An effective Christian recovery counselor understands that the counselee’s welfare
depends upon their relationship with Jesus. Dr. Larry Crabb states that a lot of
counselors neglect to understand that producing the right behavior, without right
thinking, produces obedience that is labored and pressured, but right behavior
that stems from a transformation of the mind produces a joyful and natural
obedience to the Lord (Crabb, 139).[11]
When counselors choose to use these humanistic
methods of counseling their good results only appear to be good. If the centrality of God in the healing process
of the addict is ignored, it will be impossible for these seemingly good
results to last over time. Why? Because improper behavior is the result of sin,
sin is the result of temptation, and temptation is the product of our own evil
desires. If all that happens is that the alcoholic or addict ceases their
substance abuse, but the temptation to pursue their evil desire is not removed,
they will continue to be, “dragged away and enticed by their own evil desires”
(Jas. 1:14).[12]
That can clearly be seen in the case of the
alcoholic. A counselor can work with an alcoholic so that they can maintain
sobriety for long periods of time. Eventually, however, most alcoholics will
drink again unless a fundamental change occurs in their thinking. For most
alcoholics to remain sober for the rest of their life, the desire to drink must
be removed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The 12-step process only works when the addict
is willing, to be honest with God, themselves, and everyone else about their
addiction, it only works when they are willing to meticulously complete the
steps, and the purpose of the steps is to lead the addict down a path to a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Until the individual who suffers from
the spiritual malady of addiction is willing to surrender their life to God,
they almost never find any true freedom.
Most of
those who do not achieve a spiritual transformation will die from the effects
of alcoholism. Even when they are not drinking the alcoholic will find it
nearly impossible to experience true joy until their relationship with God is
restored.
Man’s relationship with God can only be restored
through honest personal introspection that produces right thinking. Once an addict realizes that sin is the root
cause of their addictive behavior, they begin the journey toward inward
healing. Inward healing and right thinking is the goal of recovery because
outward change, simple modified behavior, gives the addicted individual a wrong
sense of self-sufficiency. Once they begin to see things from God’s
perspective, the individual in recovery discovers the need to transform their
way of living, they come to a place where repentance can begin.
Topic 3: Christ-Centered Recovery Produces
Genuine Repentance
The problem with external change without heart-felt repentance is that it leads to feelings of self-righteousness. Outward
change may appear good to others, even to one’s self, but in God’s eyes, this
type of superficial change is unacceptable. Why? Counseling that creates
external changes, but does not include an inward change of the heart toward
God, usually only serves to drive the addict further away from Him. Change that may appear to society as good,
may, in fact, be spiritually evil:
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,
but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov. 14:12).[13]
Superficial results are unacceptable to God. It
Isn’t enough for the alcoholic to just stop drinking, for marriage partners
that were once at war to live in peace, or for thieves to just stop stealing. A
perfect example of this is the most self-righteous group of people that the
Bible portrays, the Pharisees.
Most
of the Jewish citizens during the life of Jesus would probably have considered
the Pharisees “good” people. The Pharisees obeyed every aspect of the Law, they
meticulously observed all the required religious ceremonies, and they were the
model of a good Jew for the others in their communities. By all external
appearances, they had arrived, their lives were in perfect order, and their
personal problems didn’t get out of control. Most of the Pharisees were
probably satisfied with themselves. But Jesus had a completely different
perspective:
“For I say unto you, that except your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye
shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).[14]
Jesus went on to point out that the
righteousness of the Pharisee was an external show and had no eternal or
spiritual value, because it was not from the heart. Their religiosity, was not
pleasing to God:
“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the
hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you,
they have their reward” (Matt. 6:5).[15]
This external form of religiosity, which
appeared outwardly to meet the requirements of God, was very self-gratifying to
those who practiced it. This can be determined from the context of scripture.
In the book of Luke chapter eighteen, Jesus portrayed the Pharisee as a
self-satisfied person in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, and
on another occasion, Jesus made it clear that the Pharisees seen no need for
repentance because they did not view themselves as being sick or in need of
help:
“But their scribes and Pharisees murmured
against his disciples, saying, why do ye eat and drink with publicans and
sinners? And Jesus answering said unto them, they that are whole need, not a
physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance” (Lk. 18:10-11).[16]
External change may look good to others, and it may
even seem good to the secular counselor and to the addict themselves, but if it
does not include repentance, it is unacceptable to God. Christ-centered
recovery counseling does not seek merely to reform the addict’s behavior so
that they appear externally righteous but to guide the addict toward spiritual
transformation that results in genuine righteousness.
For example, if an alcoholic achieves
abstinence, they no longer drive drunk, they are no longer a danger to society,
and they don’t go to jail and waste public resources; these results are good
from a social perspective, but if that external change does not involve a
change in his attitude toward God, specifically a repentant heart, it creates a
person who is pleased with themselves, but unpleasing to God. They have become
like the Pharisees. Restraining a person’s tendency toward evil is different
from helping them to become righteous. Dr. Jay Adams stated this principle in
His book, How to Help People Change, “Counselors must distinguish between
righteous change, which comes from Christ, and the self-righteous change of modern
day scribes and Pharisee” (Adams, How to
Help People Change, 17).[17]
Christian counselors involved in Christ-centered
recovery must lead the addict to true repentance for them to achieve lasting
sobriety. Christ-centered counseling must lead the addict to understand that it
is not their own power that leads them to real transformation, it is
one-hundred percent the work and power of the Holy Spirit. Once the addict
discovers the power of living a Spirit-filled life because of true repentance,
they will find the peace that has been so elusive, as they discover genuine
sobriety.
Topic 4: Christ-Centered Recovery Produces
Genuine Sobriety
There are two kinds of sobriety that can be
produced by recovery counseling, they are very different in nature, and in many
ways, they are at odds with each other. Society sees both kinds of sobriety as
“good,” but they produce very different spiritual results.
In the book of Luke (Lk. 18:19). Jesus rebuked
the rich young ruler for calling Him good. Jesus did not rebuke the young man
because He was not good, Jesus corrected him because he had a humanistic
viewpoint of what “good” involved. The young man perceived that he had achieved
goodness by observing the Law of Moses, and so he was judging Jesus by the same
standard. When he called Jesus “good,” he was judging Jesus by the opposite
standard of what God considers “good.” Jesus was, in other words, saying that
unless you are willing to call me good like God is good, then don’t call me
“good” at all. Jesus made a very clear contrast between what the young man
considered good, an external, social, pharisaic, and humanistic perspective of
goodness, and the goodness that existed in His own sinless heart.
The first kind of sobriety is the sobriety
perceived by the addict because they have changed, have stopped using, and
become positive members of society. They are now able to get along with
others, earn a living, and contribute to their communities in a manner that is
perceived as helpful.
The second type of sobriety is what the Lord
considers “good,” and calls righteousness. This is the type of life-changing
sobriety that comes when the addict turns away from their sin, yields their
life to God, and begins contributing to God’s kingdom in a way that
demonstrates their love for Him:
“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but
he that hateth reproof is brutish. A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord: but
a man of wicked devices will he condemn. A man shall not be established by
wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved” (Prov. 12:2-4).[18]
Remember, the goal of Christ-centered recovery
counseling is to lead the addict toward life transformation, not simply to
produce reformation. It should be the goal of all Christian counselors to guide
the addict toward change that is acceptable to God, and not to an outcome that
is merely “socially” acceptable. No one would argue that it is better for
everyone, the alcoholic, the families of the alcoholic, and society, for the
alcoholic to not drink; however, the goal of the Christian recovery is not to
produce positive social change in the addict, but spiritual transformation.
The goal
of every Christian counselor is to teach the Word of God, minister to the
spiritual needs of the addict, and encourage a repentant heart that results in
a restored relationship between the addict and God. God has not called the
Christian counselor into His service to produce Pharisees, He has called them
to minister His Word to the suffering, in a life-transforming way. This cannot
be accomplished through humanistic methods of recovery.
True life transformation can only be
accomplished as God himself produces a transformation in the heart of the
addict. The goal of Christ-centered recovery then is not social reform, but
spiritual transformation. Spiritual transformation, life-changing
transformation, can only take place when God draws the addict closer to Himself
through the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Topic 5: Christ-Centered Recovery is the Work of
The Holy Spirit
Christ-centered recovery, biblical recovery
counseling that results in life-long sobriety, can only be produced by the
presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the addict. Christ-centered
addiction recovery, real and lasting sobriety, is wholly the work of the Holy
Spirit.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) literature, though
thought to be by many “humanistic” in nature, recognizes the need for a power
that cannot be produced through human will. The founders of AA taught that it
was impossible to recover from alcoholism without the help of God.
“Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to
find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than
ourselves” (Wilson, 45).[19]
Although they do not go as far as naming the
power to which they refer, the truth behind their theory, especially to the
Christian, is undeniable. There is a power available to the addict that is
greater than anything within their being. A power to live a life that is full,
that is holy, and that places them directly in God’s will, if they surrender to
it. That power is the power that was promised to the believer by Jesus in Acts
1:8:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).[20]
It is this power that the disciples received on
the day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter 2. The power that enable
Peter, a man who had denied three times that he even knew Christ a mere 40 days
prior, to preach a sermon the same day he received the gift of the Holy Ghost
which resulted in the salvation of 3,000 Jews.
It was the power of the Risen Christ that the
Apostle Paul met on the Road to Damascus, a power that transformed a murderer
into the greatest missionary and evangelist the world has ever known. The power
of the Holy Spirit gave the Disciples of Jesus the strength to live for Him and
to die for Him during persecution. It is this life transformational power that
the alcoholic and addict must find if they want to be free from their
suffering.
Jesus promised all who believed in Him power,
power to be His witnesses. This is the power that the addict must meet and
embrace to recover from drug addiction. It is this power living inside of those
in recovery that allows them to live free from habitual sin. It is the presence
of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual in recovery that gives them
power to live by God’s standards of holiness, to maintain a life that is
productive, and a life that mirrors the image of Christ so that they can become
living testimonies of change, or “Witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Without the presence
of the Holy Ghost in the lives of those in recovery, without a “power greater
than ourselves” (Wilson, 45),[21]
lasting recovery is impossible.
The Word of God tells us clearly that the Holy
Spirit is our counselor:
“But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate,
Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father
will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He
will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have
told you” (The Amplified Bible, Jn.
14:26).[22]
The very purpose that God sent the Holy Spirit
was to be our counselor {Gr. παράκλητος, Lat. Paracletus}[23]
(Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon, 483).[24]
Jesus said that he was not leaving us comfortless, but that He was sending us a
comforter, or counselor, to help us deal with the issues of life so that we
could have peace in this world of chaos. It was Jesus’ intent for us to be
whole:
“I’m leaving you well and whole. That’s my
parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being
left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So, don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught”
(Peterson, The Message, John 14:27).[25]
Christ-centered recovery counseling must involve
prayer and the Word, but not simply as tools or a methodology. Prayer and scripture in recovery, as in
ordinary Christian life, are means of inviting the presence of the Living God
to become involved in our situation because The Holy Spirit alone can
transform our circumstances.
Scripture reminds the addict of the teachings
and commandments of God. Prayer and scripture will help, but a Christian
counselor should long to see the recovering addict embrace and receive the love
that God has for them, and then as the transformation begins, begin to extend
that love to others. Why should Christian counselors desire this for them?
Because there is one who desires it even more than we do; The Holy Spirit.
Since the Holy Spirit is the primary agent in
Christ-centered recovery, Christian recovery counseling is not simply a
dialogue between the counselor and the recovering addict, it is a three-way
relationship. Many books ask, “What is the role of the Holy Spirit in
recovery?” But instead of asking what the Holy Spirit’s role is in recovery, the
counselor should be seeking to determine their role in the work of the Holy
Spirit. It is vital for Christian counselors to understand that they are merely
participants in the work of the Holy Spirit.
Counselors should talk to the recovering addict,
listen to them, pray with them, and read scripture with them, but it is the
Holy Spirit that moves in their hearts so that principles, the seeds, that are
planted by the counselor can germinate and take root in their life. This can
only be accomplished as the counselor, through his relationship with the Holy
Spirit, utilizes spiritual gifts to impart the power for change. Recovery counseling that does not depend on
the impartation of spiritual gifts through the power and presence of the Holy
Ghost is not Christ-centered and it lacks the power to produce lasting
sobriety.
The primary reason that the humanistic recovery
counselor and their worldly methods cannot produce lasting sobriety in the life
of the alcoholic and drug addict is that they do not have a relationship
with the Holy Spirit. Likewise, many so-called “Christians” who counsel broken
individuals, but are not filled with the Holy Ghost, can never help them find
healing from their brokenness because they fail to avail themselves of the
power and direction of the Holy Ghost.
These religious counselors are some of the very people that the Apostle
Paul was referring to when he said, that these men have a form of godliness,
but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5). All recovery, to be considered
“Christ-centered,” must be done under the anointing, and in cooperation with
the sanctifying and regenerating ministry of the Holy Ghost. Dr. Jay Adams
states it this way:
“By-passing the Spirit amounts to the denial of
human depravity and the affirmation of man’s innate goodness” (Adams, Competent
to Counsel, 20).[26]
For those who struggle
with addiction, finding a way to be free is not always easy or quick. Once substance abuse has ceased, and abstinence has been achieved, there are many
issues that must be faced. Many people come to Jesus and the desire to use is
removed from them immediately, but the desire to turn to mind-altering
substances can be very difficult to overcome for others. Many in the Body of
Christ are less than sympathetic to those that continue to struggle with the
dilemma of addiction.
Topic 6: The Dilemma of Addiction
Everyone, at some point in their walk with God,
has had struggles in their flesh - habits that were in their lives that
shouldn’t have been, and for many, the struggle is like a war that seems as
though it will never end. They have allowed themselves to be taken captive by
the enemy and they are living in the prison of addiction. Although they have
tried to free themselves, and they have sought every ounce of self-will they
could muster, they continue to follow the same destructive pattern of addictive
behavior, over, and over again. The Apostle Paul gives us a very descriptive
look at this struggle in the book of Romans:
“I have discovered this principle of life—that
when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s
law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war
with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is
dominated by sin and death” (Rom. 7:18-25)?[27]
Addictive Behavior, is any activity, substance,
object, or pattern of behavior that has become the major focus of a person’s
life to the exclusion of all other activities, or that has begun to harm the
individual or others physically, mentally, or socially. A person can become
addicted, dependent, or compulsively obsessed with anything, and therefore
addiction is not limited to just drugs and alcohol. Some researchers imply that
there are similarities between physical addiction to chemicals, such as alcohol
and heroin, and psychological dependence on activities such as compulsive
gambling, sex, or eating disorders. But for this paper, the focus is on
addictions to drugs and alcohol.
For most people who are trapped in the chains of
their addictions, life becomes a state of never-ending hopelessness. From their
perspective, there is no relief in sight, they cannot see how they will ever be
free. Death seems like the only escape from their prison of self-inflicted
suffering and is welcomed by some. Many addicts will eventually wind up taking
their own lives due to this overwhelming feeling of despair.
The Apostle Paul did not just provide a glimpse
inside the struggle that addicts go through, he also provided the answer to
their dilemma:
“Oh, what
a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by
sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom.
7:24-25).[28]
The answer to the dilemma of addiction is Jesus!
All who come to Him are set free from this yoke of slavery. ALL who comes to
Jesus, with sincere faith, are healed. Many who seek the Lord for relief from
addiction are healed instantly, and the desire to engage in their “addictive
behavior” is taken from them immediately. However, others who manage to abstain
from their addictions for brief periods of time, continue to struggle with the
desire to return to those addictions.
For some who suffer from addiction healing is
immediate, they receive an instantaneous miracle, but for many others, whether
physical, psychological, or emotional, they continue to struggle with the
issues surrounding substance abuse, and the miracle of healing is a process.
Christ-Centered 12-step recovery provides the addict with a tool to deal with
the damage done by addiction.
Topic 7: Healing Through a Christ-Centered
Process
The Word of God
contains many examples of people that were instantly healed, instantly, because
of their faith. There is the woman with the issue of blood, blind Bartimaeus,
the lame man at the pool of Bethesda, and the paralytic who was lowered down
through a roof to Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus went about, “healing all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people” (Matt. 4:23).[29]
The truth is that Jesus has healed millions of
people instantly, but just as many people, good and God-fearing people, have
had to go through a process to receive the miracle of healing. The latter form
of healing is just as miraculous, as the former. Some are healed through the
skilled hands of a surgeon, the help of a physical therapist, chemotherapy, or through
counseling. These are processes of healing that have been provided to man by
God – this is an undeniable truth from scripture: “Every good thing given and
every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the
Creator and Sustainer of the heavens] (Jas. 1:17).[30]
A perfect example of a man who sought healing,
but was not healed immediately, is the story of a military leader named Naaman.
The account of his ordeal can be found in the book of 2 Kings chapter five.
Naaman was a great military commander, but he suffered from leprosy. Naaman was
sent by his king to receive healing from the prophet Elisha. He was expecting
to see the prophet personally, but Elisha sent a messenger to meet him with
instructions that Naaman was to go and wash seven times in the Jordon
river – Elisha gave instructions for Naaman to receive his healing through a
process (2 Kings 5:1-9).[31]
Naaman was offended that Elisha did not come out
to meet him personally. He was expecting to be healed instantly, and so, he
resisted the process given to him by the prophet. Eventually, however, Naaman
was convinced through the counsel of his servant, to follow Elisha’s
instructions. When Naaman followed the process completely, just as he had been
instructed, he was healed.
In the New Testament Jesus came across ten men
who also suffered from the disease of leprosy. The account is recorded in the
book of Luke:
“As Jesus continued toward Jerusalem, he reached
the border between Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten men
with leprosy stood at a distance, crying out, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on
us!’
He looked at them and said, ‘Go show yourselves
to the priests.”
And as they went, they were cleansed of their
leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus,
shouting, ‘Praise God!’
He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking
him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Didn’t I heal
ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God
except this foreigner?’
And Jesus said to the man, ‘Stand up and go.
Your faith has made you whole.” (Lk. 17:11-19).[32]
All ten men had the outward signs of their
suffering removed instantly, but the process of healing was not completed.
Jesus told them that they had to take another step in the process of their
healing, they had to go and show themselves to the priest. The Law of Moses
required this step before they could be declared clean and re-enter society.
After the priest saw that their bodies were free of the disease, he would
apply the blood and oil to them declaring that they had been healed (Lev.
14:14-15).[33]
There was one more step needed that Jesus hadn’t instructed them to do – they
needed to show gratitude. Only one of the men took this final step and because
he did, Jesus declared not just that he was healed, but that he was “whole”
(Lk. 17:19).[34]
This story is so appropriate to illustrate this
truth because leprosy was a disease that caused the one who suffered to be
considered an outcast of society. Leprosy alienated the leper from society and
most likely left the sufferer with enormous internal scars, emotional scars,
that were visible only to God. After being sick and cut off from their friends
and family and all social interaction with anyone other than other lepers for
long periods of time, possibly years, they would need to be made “whole” spiritually
and emotionally along with being healed physically. Jesus taught us in this
passage, that not everyone whose physical, or external suffering is relieved,
is made whole. Only one of these ten men received complete healing, only one
of them followed through the process and received the blessing of wholeness.
Leprosy is a perfect analogy for addiction
because addiction and alcoholism are viewed in the same manner by many in the
Church, as leprosy was viewed by Jesus’ contemporaries, and addiction has a
similar effect on the addict. Little by little they are cut off from the rest
of society and are considered outcasts. Much of their suffering is
self-inflicted because of the choices that they have made, but the scars that
it leaves are just as real. Even when the alcoholic or addict manages to quit
for a time, if the emotional effects of their addiction or the emotional scars
that drove them to substance abuse are not dealt with, they will never receive complete healing – they will never be made “whole” (Lk. 17:19).
For those who are not healed and delivered
instantly there needs to be a period of healing. The addict must take steps to
ensure that their sobriety is secured. Like the woman in the book of Luke that
needed to sweep the house to find her lost coin, many in recovery need to rid
their lives of the debris left by years of substance abuse, to find lasting
peace with God. The most effective and proven process for healing from
addiction that has been provided to us is the 12-step process developed by AA.
In conjunction with the Word of God, prayer, and the transformational power of
the Holy Spirit many have received the miracle of wholeness through the 12-step
process.
Topic8: The Christian Origins of the 12-Step
Process
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been one of the
most effective organizations in the world for helping individuals recover from
alcoholism for the past seventy-eight years.
Millions have benefited from its 12-step program and weekly meetings. AA
has influenced various other programs, for alcoholics, addicts, and people who
suffer from other addictions. The Twelve Steps were originally published in
1939 by AA in the first edition of Alcoholics
Anonymous, a.k.a. “The Big Book,” the primary text used by AA to help
alcoholics recover. The founders of AA were Christian converts who found Jesus
by discovering this life-transforming process.
AA was created in 1935 by Bill Wilson (Bill W.),
a recovering alcoholic. Bill W. had
failed in his Wall Street career due to his own alcoholism. His drinking had
become so severe, and life-threatening that he was admitted into sanitariums on
numerous occasions for treatment. His friends tried to help him including his
childhood friend, who at one time had been a constant drinking companion, Ebby
Thacher. Ebby had achieved sobriety
through a self-help support group known as the Oxford Group, which was a
Christian movement. Ebby believed very deeply that his own sobriety had been
firmly the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, specifically, Ebby
believed that Jesus had changed his life.
Dr. William Duncan Silkworth, a practitioner at
Towns Hospital in New York City, also influenced Bill W. with religion. Dr.
Silkworth believed that alcoholism was a disease that only God could cure because he believed that the root cause of alcoholism is spiritual in nature.
The guidance of Dr. Silkworth, the friendship of Ebby, and the Oxford Group
helped Bill W. to restore his relationship with God, and he was finally able to
quit drinking for good.
Even though Bill W. was sober, the desire for
alcohol and the temptation to drink was still very real. On a business trip to Akron, Ohio in 1935,
Bill W. met Dr. Bob Smith, another recovering alcoholic that he sought out for
support. It was shortly after that trip to Akron that the two of these men
co-founded AA. The organization was very
small in the beginning, but the two of them did manage to help about forty
alcoholics during the first two years. Together, Bill W. and Dr. Bob, worked
tirelessly with other alcoholics to achieve sobriety through a restored
relationship with God.
The Historical evidence is undeniable, but many
deny it in the same manner that many deny America’s Christian heritage, AA
started off as a very faith-based organization.
The founders of the program urged its early members to surrender their
lives absolutely, every aspect of their lives, to the only power that can free
them from the dilemma of addiction, and they clearly labeled that power “God.”
They insisted that healing from addiction could
only occur once they surrendered their will to His, remained in constant
contact with Him by devoting themselves daily to prayer, and joined with other
recovering alcoholics in a religious support group. There were five elements to
the original AA program:
1. Total abstinence from alcohol
2. Acknowledgement of Jesus as their Savior
3. Obedience to God’s will
4. Growth in fellowship with God
5. Help for other alcoholics. (www.treatmentsolutions.com)[35]
In the early days of AA, meetings were very
spiritual, and those that participated in the fellowship, openly spoke of the
healing power of God as they shared their stories. Since those early days, AA
has become a worldwide organization that has helped millions recover from the
dilemma of addiction, both to alcohol and drugs. However, the nature and
character of AA meetings has changed significantly. Many groups have remained
true to AA’s spiritual foundation, depending on the political and social
environment of the communities that the meetings serve, however; some groups
have distorted the concept of a “Higher Power.”
All AA groups still advise against the
consumption of alcohol and focus on moral character and personal change, but
today many AA groups encourage members to find or create their own “higher power”
that can help them stay sober, instead of directing them to Jesus. They have
become what the Apostle Paul warned Timothy that many would become in the last
days, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make
them godly. Stay away from people like that” (2 Tim. 3:5)![36]
The original intent of the founders of AA in the
development and implementation of the twelve-step process was to restore the
person who suffered from addiction to a proper relationship with their creator,
Jesus Christ, by replacing self-centeredness (a character trait of all
alcoholics), with a growing moral consciousness and a willingness for
self-sacrifice and unselfish constructive action.
Topic 9: Original Intent
“I have found that no
one can be permanently happy unless he lives in harmony with the rules set down
in the Good Book (The Bible). Try it sometime. You don't need to wait till
you're down and out before you ask for help. There's help waiting for you right
now, if you just ask God to help you, I Saw Religion Remake a Drunkard…"
(Smith, 84).[37]
Many people in the Christian community are
skeptical about the 12-step recovery process, and others reject it outright.
They claim that it is not from God, and their common response when the 12-step
process is mentioned, is, “you don’t need 12 steps, you need two steps – Step
one, Jesus in and step two, addiction out.”
It’s
extremely odd that these same individuals don’t apply that theory to habits
such as gossip, filthy talk, fornication, or racism. Anyone who seriously
evaluates the 12-step process, and genuinely seeks to discover its original
purpose, will find, and clearly understand that the 12 steps of AA were given
to the founders of the program by God. The whole purpose of the program is to
get Jesus in, and addiction out. But it uses a process of sanctification,
applying the power of God to the life of the addicted to bring about spiritual
transformation. This process must be accomplished in all men who struggle with
sin, regardless of their issues.
Dr. Bob often referred to Bill Wilson and
himself as, “co-founders” (Smith, 86),[38]
because he believed the same thing: God was the founder of AA. The original
intent of AA was to connect the alcoholic to a relationship with the only power
that could free a person from alcoholism, God.
There is quite a bit of evidence to support this
argument, but there are two statements from AA’s literature that prove this
theory. The first of these statements is found in Alcoholics Anonymous chapter 5, How it Works. – “Remember
that we deal with alcohol – cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too
much for us. But there is One who has all power – that One
is God. May you find Him now” (Wilson, 58-59).[39]
This statement goes against the common
understanding of many religious critics that AA encourages people to invent
their own “Higher Power.” The founders of AA clearly state here in Alcoholics Anonymous, the primary text
of AA known commonly as the “Big Book,” that they believed that there is only
“One” (Wilson, 59) who has all power. Nowhere in the text of Alcoholics Anonymous will the reader
find any teaching that encourages you to invent your “Higher Power.” The
concept that a person can make anything their higher power, such as a doorknob,
was foreign to the thinking of the founders of AA. It is true that the Big Book
only mentions Jesus once, but it refers directly to God several times.
The purpose of AA was to draw all those
suffering from alcoholism into a program where they could find that “One” (Wilson,
59) God. They deliberately left their personal understanding of God ambiguous
in the hope of attracting the agnostics and atheists into the program. This
decision by the founders may be perceived as a mistake because it provided the
opportunity for secular humanists to distort their intentions, but it has also
served to draw thousands into the program who otherwise would have never
accepted a spiritual program of recovery – and many of these agnostics now
gladly call themselves Christian. The historical evidence is undeniable, the
founders of AA were after they achieved sobriety by finding the “One who has
all power” (Wilson, 59)[40]
were Christian, and as Christians, their intent would have been to promote Jesus as the “One” (Wilson, 59) true God.
The second proof of their intent can be found in
the last step of the 12-steps of AA:
“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result
of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice
these principles in all our affairs” (Wilson, 60)[41]
In the 12th step of the program, the
founders of AA make it very clear what the purpose of the first eleven steps
are for: to lead the recovering alcoholic, through the steps, to a spiritual
awakening. Since we know from historical records that these men were Christian,
and have established that they believed that there is only “One” (Wilson, 59) God,
then we can logically conclude that their original intent was to awaken the
recovering alcoholic to the spiritual reality of Jesus. Just like many things
that God has given to man for man’s benefit, AA has been hijacked by the enemy
of God and his children, known as the devil.
A perfect example of this in our own society was
the United States Supreme Court’s decision in 1962 to take Bible reading out of
public schools. In doing so they cited no previous precedent in law, they
merely claimed that it was the “original intent” of the founding fathers to
keep church and state separate. But anyone who takes the time to do a little
research can find for themselves, that this was not the case. In fact, the very
reason that public schools were created, and funded by public tax money, was so
that everyone would learn to read. Why was this so important to our nation's
early leaders?
“This {legislature} observing
that there are many persons unable to read the English tongue and thereby
incapable to read the holy Word of God or the good laws of this colony…it is
ordered that all parents and masters shall cause their respective children and
servants, as they are capable, to be taught to read distinctly the English
tongue” (Barton, Original Intent,
81).[42]
Historical evidence
screams in the face of secular humanists, that the original intent of our
founding fathers was not to keep Bible reading from public education, but
public education was created to teach children to read the Bible. But
nevertheless, the humanists have hijacked our public education system with lies
and deception. They now promote an educational system that is far from what
history shows to be the intent of the men who founded it.
The same thing happened to the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. The historical evidence
shows that these men were Christians, that they believed in “The Good Book”
(Smith, 84), and that they believed that there was only “One” (Wilson, 59) God.
But by leaving the nature of their own belief system ambiguous, they allowed
their intent to be adulterated by humanism. The result is that many in the
fellowship, not most or even all, have changed and distorted their intent.
From the
beginning of time, the devil has been distorting the truth of God to interfere
with mankind’s relationship with his creator. From the womb to the grave, the
devil seeks to destroy every human being, to keep them from experiencing true
peace with God. Jesus describes the devil’s efforts to destroy us, and God’s
efforts to restore us, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (Jn. 10:10a).[43]
The twelve steps are a gift, a blessing from God
and so did the founders of AA: “Faith is more than our greatest gift; its
sharing with others is our greatest responsibility. May we of A.A. continually
seek the wisdom and the willingness by which we may well fulfill that immense
trust which the Giver of all perfect gifts has placed in our hands” (Wilson, As
Bill Sees It, 13).[44]
The
12-step process of AA has been hijacked, hijacked by the satanic force known as
secular humanism. Without God, as the higher power responsible for the addict’s
sobriety, the power that they depend upon will eventually fail them. AA
literature acknowledges this truth: “Remember that we deal with
alcohol—cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But
there is One who has all power—that One is God. May you find Him now” (Wilson,
55)![45]
It is my opinion, which I have come to through
the study of God’s Word, my own life experience, and the testimonies of
hundreds of men and women I know who have found Jesus through these programs,
that the 12-steps are a gift that has been given to man by God. I believe
that their purpose is to restore abundant life to the alcoholic and all those
who suffer from addiction and to provide those that suffer with a pathway to peace.
First, peace with God through submission, conversion, and repentance. Second,
peace with ourselves through confession and sanctification. Third, peace with
others through amends and loving our neighbor as ourselves. And finally, to
maintain the peace they have achieved through service to others. Only Jesus can provide the lasting power to
maintain lifelong sobriety through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Instead of
rejecting the 12 steps of AA wholly, the Church should embrace them as a gift
from the “One who has all power,” a process that He has provided which can lead
to true lasting change for those trapped by addiction. It is time for the army
of the living God to march into the enemy’s camp and take back what has been
stolen from us.
Topic 10: Recovering Stolen Property
Unfortunately,
the world has hijacked the 12-step recovery process, and it must be redeemed
and restored to the purpose for which it was created. As Christians, to create
a Christ-centered recovery program based on the 12-step model, we must go into
the enemy’s camp and take back what has been stolen.
First, the enemy must be clearly defined. The
enemy is not the members of AA, or AA itself. The enemy is the same enemy that
man has been dealing with since the garden. The enemy is Satan. He is the thief
that has stolen the gift of Christ-centered recovery through deception. We must
understand that the people involved in the program of AA are not our enemies.
Many of them, but not all of them, have been deceived into accepting the lies
of humanism that teach a distorted view of the “Higher Power.” Our enemy is a
spirit being, and can only be defeated through spiritual means. Arguing with
unenlightened individuals during an AA meeting is pointless, and powerless.
“But David found strength in the Lord his God.
Then he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring me the ephod!” So Abiathar brought
it. Then David asked the Lord, ‘Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will
I catch them?’ And the Lord told him, ‘Yes, go after them. You will surely
recover everything that was taken from you” (1 Samuel 30:6-8).[46]
Prayer, seeking the will of God, is the most
powerful weapon in the Christian’s arsenal. Prayer puts us in contact with the
“One” (Wilson, 59) who has all power. It allows us to access the presence of
God. Whenever we do battle against the enemy we must seek God’s direction
first, we must know if the actions we are taking are appropriate and part of
His will for us. David clearly demonstrated that principle to us in I Samuel
chapter 30. Not every action we would like to take, even if it seems righteous,
is a part of His plan.
If you read the entire story in I Samuel 30 it
would seem like a “easy decision” for David and his men to pursue their enemy.
The enemy had taken everything they had and they had every right to go take it
back. But it says that David asked the Lord if he should pursue them. Why?
David knew that if it was not God’s will to pursue them, it would fail. They
would be defeated and many of them, most likely, would suffer an even greater
loss.
The same is true of our efforts to establish a
Christ-centered recovery program or any other endeavor we wish to pursue, we
must make sure first that God wants us to pursue it. If God is not in it, it
will not succeed. Yes, God wants people to recover, he wants them to come to
Christ, but if our plans are not centered around His will there is a strong
possibility that we will do more damage and no one will be helped.
One of the ways to take back what was
stolen is to participate actively in AA meetings. Take every opportunity that
you have, to share your story and to acknowledge clearly that your “Higher
Power” is Jesus Christ. Share what Jesus has done in your life through the
12-Step process, quoting the Word of God when appropriate to demonstrate from
scripture the spiritual principles of the program. Affirm that it is only by
the grace and mercy of Jesus that you are sober, and that the power that keeps
you sober is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Another way that many Christians have taken back
the 12-Step recovery process is by establishing Christ-centered 12-step
programs in their churches. Meetings that, instead of using terms like, “Higher
Power,” or “God as we understood Him,” use the name of Jesus, call God our
Father, and acknowledge the power of the Holy Ghost in maintaining life-long
sobriety.
Whatever means that is used to take back this
precious gift of God, it must be taken back and redeemed from the grip of the
enemy so that it can be used for its original purpose, to glorify God. The
Church of Jesus Christ cannot continue to yield ground to the enemy, especially
in areas where the spiritual life or death of so many is at stake. God’s people
cannot afford to sit idly by and watch as the devil continues to steal, kill,
and destroy. This method of healing, is a gift of God, a gift intended to
provide those Jesus came to give abundant life to, a pathway to that life. The
Church must seek our God, as David did, for the strength and direction to take
it back and redeem it for His glory. It is vital to the mission of Christian
counselors involves in addiction recovery because there is no more effective
tool, when approached from a Christ-Centered model based wholly on the Word of
God, at our disposal. There is no more proven process of recovery.
Topic 11: The Statistical Evidence for the
12-Step Process
There is substantial statistical
evidence to support the previous assertion that the 12-step recovery process is
the “most proven process” for healing substance abuse for those who do not
receive instant miraculous healing. The is no doubt that the latter is the
preferred method of healing for any situation, but in the cases where
immediate relief from addiction is not received, evidence shows that the 12-step
process is the superior method.
There have been several
studies that have shown that the 12-step process is closely associated with
positive recovery outcomes. One of these studies was Project MATCH. Project
MATCH was a large clinical study conducted by mental healthcare professionals
seeking to determine the effectiveness of addiction recovery programs,
particularly in regard to alcoholism. Project MATCH compared the outcomes of
12-step recovery groups with the outcomes of cognitive-behavioral recovery
programs, and with the outcomes of motivationally enhancement treatment
outcomes for people with alcoholic disorders. The results of the study showed
that addicts who attended a 12-step group “more frequently in the first 3
months after treatment were more likely to maintain abstinence from alcohol”
(Moos & Timko, et al.).[47]
In addition to this finding, the study also showed that “the more frequent the
attendance was in the first 3 months after treatment, the more likely they were
to maintain abstinence for an extended period with fewer alcohol-related
consequences” (Moos & Timko, et al.).[48]
The study also determined that these findings held true for other types of addicts
in a twelve-step program, regardless of the type of inpatient treatment they
received.
There have been many
other studies conducted on the effectiveness of the 12-step process which have
reached similar conclusions. Another study, for example, discovered that
inpatients with alcohol use disorders who attended 12-step meetings at least
once a week, reported, “reduced numbers in the frequency of alcohol consumption
and more days of abstinence” (Gossop, et al.),[49]
at a 6-month follow-up than individuals who attended 12-step meetings less than
once a week, or subjects who did not attend 12-step meetings at all.
Another study conducted
in 2003, showed that alcoholics who participated regularly in a 12-step
recovery group or Self Help Group (SHG) during the first and second years after
intensive outpatient therapy, “were more likely to be abstinent in the second
and third years, respectively, and attendance at two or more meetings per week
was associated with less frequent relapses” (Kelly, et al.).[50]
Many people are curious
of just how successful 12-step programs are, but unfortunately, since these
groups are primarily non-organizational, and anonymous, accurate statistics are
difficult to evaluate because many of the surveys which are undertaken are
conducted internally to protect the anonymity of those who participate in them.
And because they are done internally, the published results tend to be
self-serving in nature. Because of these factors, empirical evidence is often
hard to come by, preventing wholly accurate and reliable figures. But for the most
part, evidence that AA is effective in its mission is undeniable.
Although there is even
less statistical evidence, logically these findings can be applied to
participation in Narcotics Anonymous (NA) as well, given the similarities
between AA. NA follows the same 12 steps and has similar literature, speaker, step meetings, and home groups and sponsors. The results of a study which
was conducted in 2002, clearly demonstrated that “individuals who consistently
attended AA or NA at least weekly during a 12-month interval had lower levels
of alcohol and drug use at follow-up than did those who attended similar 12-step
meetings less frequently” (Timko, et al.).[51]
The results of a
clinical study conducted in 1999 showed that people in recovery who maintained
attendance in 12-step SHGs over a longer period were more likely to maintain
their sobriety, than are individuals who stopped attending. The same study also
revealed that “individuals with drug use disorders who participated in 12-step
groups at least weekly at 6-month and 24-month follow-ups were more likely to
maintain abstinence from both drugs and alcohol” (Fiorentine, et al.).[52]
In another clinical
survey in 1977, the researchers discovered that “individuals with continuous
attendance at 12-step meeting attendance, interviews at 6 months, and then again
at 30-month follow-ups revealed a far better recovery outcome. But individuals
who discontinued attendance or attended intermittently had relapse levels that
were like those of individuals who reported no regular attendance” (Kissin, et
al.).[53]
Another survey, conducted in 2006 by Rudolph
and Bernice Moos, of individuals with alcoholism, showed, “more frequent
attendance in 12-step meetings in the first year after seeking help, was
associated with a higher rate recovery after 1 year, 8 years, and 16 years, of
I-year, 8-year, and I6-year abstinence and freedom from drinking problems” (Moos
and Moos, et al.).[54]
The study clearly proved that participants who kept on attending 12-step SHGs
regularly over long periods of time were far more likely to remain sober.
Findings like this were
obtained for patients with alcohol use disorder diagnoses only, patients with
drug use disorder diagnoses only, and patients with dual addiction use disorder
diagnoses. In general, the frequency of 12-step recovery group attendance is
closely related to long-term recovery outcomes.
The evidence is clear,
the benefits of the 12-step recovery process are undeniable. But for change to
be real and lasting, and to restore the addict to fellowship with God the
approach to the process must be Christ-Centered and biblically sound.
Topic 12: A Christ-Centered – Biblical Approach
to 12-Step Recovery
If time is taken to
study the spiritual principles of the steps in the 12-step process, and compare
them to the principles in Scripture, it will become clear that they have their
origin in the Word of God. Each of the twelve steps in the process will be
outlined, from a Christ-centered viewpoint, using scripture to defend and
explain how each of the steps is essential in the healing process and the
sanctification of the recovering addict.
When I was a young boy
I liked to go down the stairs in my grandmother’s home, I would jump my way
to the bottom, skipping several steps at a time. I was in a hurry to get the
steps out of my way as fast as he could. My grandmother would yell to me, “Clayton
Ray, you’re going to break your neck!”
I never broke my neck,
but I did fall and bust my head open, requiring a trip to the Emergency Room
and several stitches in my head. I never jumped over the steps again. I came to
understand, the hard way, that skipping the steps was risky and endangered my
future.
It is the same way with
the addict, skipping portions of the healing process can be deadly to their
sobriety. There will always be a temptation to skip part of the process, a
desire to be healed can lead us to rush the process. But to become whole, the
addict must be diligent to carefully follow the path to true freedom in Christ.
True freedom in Jesus, begins by admitting that you are powerless to pull
yourself out of the pit of addiction.
Topic 12-A: Step One – Admitting You Are
Powerless
“We admitted we were
powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable” (Wilson, 59).[55]
The first step involves our looking in the
mirror, and being honest with ourselves.
James speaks to this, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a
doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he
has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person
he was” (Jas. 1:23-24).[56]
Under normal circumstances, when we look in the
mirror we see ourselves, flaws, and imperfections, but we see ourselves. When
we walk away, we remember what we have seen. But for someone who is dealing
with an addiction, when they behold themselves in the mirror, although they
physically see what everyone else sees, in their mind, they see what they “were”
before the addiction. Even if they see a face that they recognize as being
addicted to something, when they walk away, the addiction rationalizes itself
as not being that bad. It does not
matter what the addiction, drugs, alcohol, or both, in the first step we must
acknowledge our addiction and that we are powerless to overcome it. When we
fail to acknowledge the truth, we continue to deceive ourselves.
Self-deception is a dangerous state of mind. The
book of Judges records the story of Samson, the strongest man ever to live.
Samson, a Nasserite, was one of Israel’s judges. God gave Samson supernatural
strength, but Samson had a serious weakness, he was a womanizer. Samson was
especially blinded, when it came to his relationship with one woman, her name
was Delilah. The Philistines, Samson’s enemies, had conspired with Delilah and
were paying her to find out the secret of his great strength. She begged Samson
three times to tell her what made him so strong, and three times he toyed with
her.
Finally, Samson could see that she was tiring of
his games, so he revealed his secret to her and she quickly told his enemies.
Once they knew Samson’s secret, they could overpower him, and he was taken
captive and he remained in captivity until his death. Samson’s real problem was
not that he told Delilah his secret, but in the lies, he told himself.
By not admitting his powerlessness, he remained
blinded to the danger that pride, and desire for beautiful women, were leading
him toward. This caused him to gradually, little by little, slide downward into premature death. When we deceive ourselves about our addictions, we take no
steps toward dealing with them thus we take no steps toward recovery.
It is very humbling for anyone to admit that
they are powerless, especially if they are used to being in control. A person
may be powerful in some areas of their life, but out of control in terms of
their addictive/compulsive behavior. If they refuse to admit their
powerlessness, they may lose everything, including their lives.
The first step is to admit that you are
powerless over your dependencies, whatever they may be, and that your life has
become unmanageable. The addict must become willing, to be honest with
themselves first and recognize their situation, and then admit to God that they
know that they cannot fix their situation on their own.
Those who are trapped by addiction, are
often overwhelmed by the consequences, and the thought of dying seems like a relief. No matter what they try, they are powerless to free themselves from the
chains of their addictive behavior. The weight of the pain and sadness seems
too heavy to bear, and they don’t understand why their heart doesn’t just break
and allow death to free them. You can almost feel that same agony when you read
what the Apostle Paul wrote in chapter 7 of the book of Romans:
“Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free
me from this life that is dominated by sin and death” (Romans 7:24)?[57]
You can tell from his words that Paul was
familiar with the struggle to be free from the power of besetting sin. But as
you continue to read, you also see that Paul had found the key to begin walking
down the path to recovery: he recognized that he was powerless over sin, but
that there was One who had all power and could deliver him from his chains:
“Thank
God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25).[58]
For the addict life is lonely and they feel
abandoned by everyone, including God. God has not forsaken them. The Word of
God says that he is an ever-present help in times of trouble. He is present, He
is ready, and He is willing to help them through their recovery. For the
healing process to begin, there must first be an admission of weakness that
humbles the addict and positions them to receive help.
The first step consists of our admitting that
we are powerless over our addictions and that our life has become
unmanageable. Step one requires the addict to “come clean” with themselves in
regard to their addiction. If they continue in denial, if they do not believe
that they have addictions, they have absolutely no motivation to change. But
once they have taken the first step in the process of recovery, and admitted to
themselves that they are powerless when it comes to changing, they are
positioned to the second step
Topic
12-B: Step Two – Came to Believe
“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves
could restore us to sanity” (Wilson, 59).[59]
For every person in recovery, to achieve lasting
results, they must come to understand that God is real, if they want to
maintain life-long sobriety, they must go beyond simply belief to genuine faith
in Jesus Christ, and accept Him as the Lord of life. There are people who believe that God exists
yet do not acknowledge Him, and then there are those who have no belief in God
and that are left to their own limited strength and knowledge. For such
people, real sobriety is nearly impossible to find.
Before the second step can be taken there must
be a belief in God, in Jesus, and an acceptance of Him. Why must there be an acceptance of Him? Scripture teaches that those who come to God
for help must come to Him meeting two conditions: they must come to Him
believing that He is, and secondly, they must believe that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Step
two requires more than an acknowledgment that God exists, but that he is more
powerful than you are, and that He can reward you with the sobriety that you
seek if you diligently seek Him. The
Apostle James clearly states this principle:
“You believe that God is one, you do well; the
demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish
fellow, that faith without works is useless” (Jas. 2:19-20)?[60]
The Apostle James said “…the demons also believe
and shudder” (Jas. 2:19). Just having a knowledge of God is not enough; the
addict must also accept that He alone can grant them the gift of sobriety. The
demons know that God exists. Knowing
that God exists and accepting Him are two separate things. To accept God is to
believe in Him and His desire for your good. It extends beyond your belief that
He exists. Man has always believed,
that a power greater than what was inside himself, existed.
“We were fooling ourselves, for deep down in
every man, woman, and child is the fundamental idea of God. It may be
obscured, by calamity, by pomp, by the worship of other things, but in some form or
another, it is there. For faith in a Power greater than ourselves, and
miraculous demonstrations of that power in human lives, are facts as old as man
himself” (Wilson, 55).[61]
Accepting God involves a willingness to act, in
faith, on a belief. For all, that comes
through Jesus Christ. When you accept
God, you understand that He can bring sanity back into your life, but more
importantly, you believe that He is willing.
When accepting God into their lives, many accept that He has the means
to help them, but they do not always accept the fact that He has the desire to
help them. Once you accept that He has the desire, you will begin to understand
and accept that you matter to Him.
The primary reason many do not accept that God
is willing to help them is the same reason they believe that their sins cannot
be forgiven. They have a misguided desire to “earn their way” out of someone’s
debt so that they can say they overcame it. Until they come to the realization
that they cannot earn forgiveness through works, that God gives it by His
grace, they will remain in a cycle of trying and failing.
When forgiveness comes and the recipient knows
it is real, they respond to the person as if the situation never happened. They
lose the guilt and the cloud that was hanging over their head because of what
they did. When the burden of guilt has been lifted, their hearts become open to
receiving the help that is so desperately needed. David said that the man whose
sins God does not consider is a blessed man. Those who have received grace and
mercy are blessed! God wants everyone to know that when they come to Him, He
has the means and the desire to return them to sanity – the addict just needs
to accept Him and the truth that they are loved and that their happiness and
joy are important to Him.
Luke 15 is the parable of a lost son. In the
natural progression of addiction, the life of the addict will continue to
degenerate out of control, spiraling downward faster than they can recover. In
many ways, they wake up feeling as if they are living like wild animals,
operating on instinct rather than rational thought. They may be living like
animals in terms of their physical surroundings or in the burning passions that
they often give in to that dehumanize them. This is the story that Jesus told,
a story of a young man who after spending his inheritance found himself living
worse than the pigs that he was feeding.
“But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How
many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here
with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father I
have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be
called your son; make me as one of your hired men.’ And he got up and came to
his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt
compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Lk. 15:17-20).[62]
Look at what took place. The son recognized that
he could not continue to exist as he was living. He “came to his senses” and
decided to go home, understanding that he was not worthy to be called his
father’s son. He went home expecting to become one of his father’s servants.
But this is a story about forgiveness, a story of how God does not consider our
sin, it’s a story of restoration.
When the lost son got close to home, his father
sees him coming. When he saw his son, he did not wait for his son to get to
him, he got up and ran to his son. In his action, he told his son that he had
been forgiven and that he was still his son. Although the son asked to become a
servant because he was not worthy to be called a son, his father did not allow
it. To his father, he was still a son.
This father did not think about the fact that his
son had wasted his inheritance. This father did not think about the fact that his
son had been living large until he lost everything. This father’s only thought
was that his son who was once lost had come to his senses and returned home.
In step two the addict must come to believe that
the power of God is greater than their will, and can restore them to sanity.
They accept that God exists and believe that He has the means and the desire to
help them. Now the addict is ready for a very important step, turning their
life over to the care of God.
Topic
12-C: Step Three – Surrender Your Life to God
“Made a decision to turn
our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him” (Wilson,
59).[63]
To progress through the recovery process, in
step three the addict must make the decision to give up their right to live by
their own standards. They must make a conscious decision to allow God to assume
full control over them. At this point in the process of healing, they are
choosing to stop fighting against God’s control, because they have come to
understand that it is His power, and His power alone, that can restore them to
sanity and provide them with peace, sobriety, that has remained elusive to
them without Him. When the addict consciously chooses to surrender their lives
to the care and control of God, they can finally cease trying to achieve
sobriety through their own limited power.
As human beings, this can be a very hard step to
take. It is against the fallen nature of man to admit they need help, let alone
give complete control of their lives to someone else, even if that someone is
God. Have you ever considered what it would be like to yield control of your
life, your finances, your career, your relationship, and all your decision-making
rights, over to someone else? In step
three the addict must relinquish their right to do whatever they want and
choose to allow God to act as their Guardian in ALL things pertaining to life.
For the addict to take the plunge of step three,
they must fully trust in God. Verbally affirming that they trust in God, and
trusting Him, are two different things. Or perhaps a better way to express this
truth would be: real trust in God is not trusting Him with most things in your
life, it is trusting Him with every part of your life. For them to make the
decision to release their will and allow God to completely care for them, they
must have complete, unwavering, trust that He will do them no harm. For a lot
of addicts, this is very difficult because people have unfairly treated them they
were supposed to be able to trust.
It is common for alcoholics and addicts to link
their perceptions of God to childhood experiences with people who had a
significant position of authority in their lives. It is much easier to see God as a good and
loving father, if they had a kind and loving father as a child, unfortunately,
the opposite scenario holds true as well. If a person had a bad father as a
child, it is much easier for them to see God as cruel and unloving, and
consequently have a difficult time trusting Him. If someone has been
victimized, such as sexual abuse, in the past by someone in authority, they may
have issues surrendering control of their life to God. If they have been
involved in intimate relationships with people who were distant, uncaring, or
abusive, they will naturally anticipate these same qualities in God.
Although the addict may have learned in the past
that putting confidence in people brings only pain and disappointment, it is
essential to their recovery that they do not let their experience with others keep them from trusting God and allowing Him full control over their lives.
David said:
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to
trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes”
(Ps. 118:8-9).[64]
In verse eight David said, “It is better to take
refuge (trust) in the Lord than to trust in a man” (Ps. 118:8). David was
expressing a valuable truth, if you place your trust in man, even one with
means, such as “princes” (v.9), they will most likely disappoint you. But if you place your trust in God, you will
never be disappointed.
“God is not a man that He should tell or act a
lie, neither the son of man, that He should feel repentance or compunction [for
what He has promised]. Has He said and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken and
shall He not make it good? “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of
man that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken,
and will He not make it good” (Num. 23:19)?[65]
It is impossible for God to lie, it is
entirely contrary to His nature, once the addict understands this truth, they
will be able to genuinely trust Him. It is better to trust God than a man because
God will not lie, and He will not promise you anything, that He cannot deliver. If
you believe that it is impossible for God to lie, then you can believe what the
writer of Hebrews proclaims:
“Let your character be free from the love of
money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never
desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).[66]
The addict must come to
a place where they can trust, absolutely, in the character of God. God was
aware of how addicts, and others who have been hurt, would relate to other men
regarding trust, so He made sure to show them through His Word, that He is not
a man. When the addicted begin to trust His promise of abundant life, they will
see a positive change begin to take place, especially in their character. When
they trust God with their lives, they begin to feel the need to drink over
difficult circumstances disappear. They must pray for His will to be shown to
them daily, then by faith, accept the events in their lives as part of His plan
– even the difficult things. The serenity prayer is one of the best tools to
remind the recovering addict to trust God because it reminds them that God is
in control and so everything is going to work in accordance with His plan.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things
I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the
difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting
hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it
is, not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right if I
surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and
supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen” (Niebuhr, et al.).[67]
Once the individual in
recovery has made the decision to surrender their life to God, they are ready
to allow God to help them with some very difficult self-examination.
Topic 12-D: Step Four – Taking A Fearless Moral
Inventory
“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory
of ourselves” (Wilson, 54).[68]
Now that the individual in recovery has taken
the first three steps, they are ready to move on to step four. Step four is one
of the most difficult steps in the healing process for the addict because it
requires them to make a searching and fearless moral inventory. They must come
face to face, possibly admitting for the first time, who they have become.
The addict is ready to allow the Holy Spirit to
take his scalpel and expose the sin that has corrupted their soul. In step
four, the addict must allow God to expose where the enemy has built strongholds
in their lives. To accomplish this, they must do it without the fear of what
will be uncovered – whatever character flaws the Holy Spirit exposes, they
must be prepared to deal with.
As they begin their fearless search, the addict
cannot overlook the influence of their family. All their families have had an
influence on who they are. Some addicts would like to pretend that their family is
perfect, while others tend to shift the responsibility for their actions by
diverting the blame on their family.
In the book of Nehemiah, there is a wonderful
story of the children of Israel doing a deep soul searching of their lives (Ne.
9:34-37). When the Jewish nation returned from exile, they confessed their
sins. As you read the story you can see that they confessed not only their
sins but the sins of their ancestors who were already dead. They blamed their
ancestors for their captivity. In this chapter, they recall all the things God
did for their ancestors when He brought them up out of Egypt, fulfilling every
promise that He had made to them. Then they admitted that at every opportunity,
those same ancestors. chose to turn their backs on God, and commit sin.
“‘Because
of our sins, its abundant harvest goes to the kings you have placed over us.
They rule over our bodies and our cattle as they please. We are in great
distress’” (Ne. 9:37).[69]
The children of Israel did some soul searching
and concluded that their current situation was not God’s fault, and not their
fault, but that of their ancestors. Their current bondage was the result of the
sins of their fathers. They came to God and admitted the truth, He had been
faithful, but they had not. This is not the part where I tell you to blame your
addictions on your mom and dad.
This is the reality that the addict must to come
to grips with: as it was then, it remains true today, their addictions carry a
long-term impact on their families. They need to realize that their substance
abuse has an impact on their children, and subsequently their grandchildren. The addiction that has not been dealt with can become a living part of families,
often referred to as a generational curse, and will remain that way until
someone stands up and says “enough!” That is what the children of Israel were
doing when they returned from exile. They did a soul-searching of their lives
and said “enough!”
An important part of the recovery process is
admitting the truth about what led to their addiction(s). This involves coming
face to face with the wrongs that were done to them by their parents or other
family members. It is not wrong for them to hold others accountable for the part
that they have played in their addiction(s), in fact, they have a right to, and
to grieve over the negative effects the actions of others have had on their
life. That is all part of the real picture. However, this is critical – the
addict cannot afford to use their past suffering as an excuse for wrong choices
that will ultimately destroy their future.
The addict’s family experiences may be partly to
blame for what has led them to this point, but now they are responsible to make
choices that will lead them to a better place. The children of Israel came to
this realization – they could easily have chosen to remain in exile and
rebellion against God because of their ancestors, but they did not. What they
did was acknowledge the faithfulness and goodness of God; their own sins and
those of their ancestors; and made provisions to come back into harmony with
God by surrendering to His commandments.
The addict must come face to face with who they
really are. This reality check can cause pain and downright sorrow, especially
when it is being called out by someone else. It is painful when someone else
points out your shortcomings, especially when you have been ignoring or
justifying them, the S.O.P. for the addict. Until they recognize their
shortcomings for what they are, sin, and repent, or they will continue to drive
the addict deeper into addiction. When they begin, a sincere soul searching of
themselves as required in step four, it can be painful, but ultimately it will
produce a righteousness in them that leads to eternal life.
“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do
not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only
for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but
because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God
intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings
repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow
brings death” (2 Cor. 7:8-10).[70]
The heart of what the addict is all dealing with
comes down to repentance without regret. When they face the sins that have
led to their addictions from God’s perspective, and have honest remorse and
repent, there is no regret. But if they only repent because it is considered the
“right thing to do”, but wish that they were still engaged in the abuse of
drugs and/or alcohol, then that repentance comes with regret.
As the addict enters the fourth step, they begin
a self-examination that leads to labeling their addictive behavior exactly what
it is, sin and realizing that they have a choice. Now that they have uncovered
every hidden thing, they can confess their sin and finally be in honest
fellowship with God. Repentance must come with genuine remorse for their
behavior, repentance without remorse, if they regret leaving their sinful ways
behind them, they leave room for a return to that which they walked away from.
Topic 12-E: Step Five – Confess Your Wrongs
“Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another
human being the exact nature of our wrongs” (Wilson, 59).[71]
At step five it is time
for the addict to begin making their confession to God. Step five also urges
the addict to confess the nature of their wrongdoings to God, themselves, and
another human being, preferably, someone they know and trust.
Confession, especially
as it relates to addiction, is difficult. So much so, that when the addict
seeks out help to overcome their struggles, such as prayer, they seldom share
the exact nature of their wrongs. They are usually so ashamed of their
struggles, that they would rather suffer than tell anyone what they have been
doing. They reckon if they can deal with their pain privately, they do not have
to worry about what someone else may think about them.
A person’s reputation
is critical to who they are, so they reason to themselves that they cannot risk
destroying it. This is the root cause of why they are not willing to confide in
another, the exact nature of what they have been doing. They fear that the
fallout could be a lot worse than the confession itself. This is not the case
with everyone you confide in, so you must choose the person carefully.
This is not true at all
with God. God will not condemn you when you come to Him confessing your
addictions, He does the opposite. He scoops you up in His arms, reassures you
that you are going to be fine and then proceeds to help you work through your
recovery. Consider the following story of His love:
“How can I give you up,
O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned over within Me, all My
compassions are kindled. I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy
Ephraim again. For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst and I will
not come in wrath” (Hos. 11:8-9).[72]
In these verses, God is
reaching out to a rebellious Israel. Although they deserved His wrath, God made
the decision that He would show them mercy instead. God wanted them to
understand that He was the God of unending love. To prove that point, He calls
on His prophet Hosea. Hosea was a prophet during the time Israel was rebelling
against God. God used Hosea’s life to demonstrate His unconditional love for us
and His people.
If you go back to the
beginning of this book, you will find that God told Hosea to marry a
prostitute. Hosea did what God had commanded him to do. Hosea married her,
loved her, and devoted himself to her. Now understand this, because God was
proving a point to Israel through Hosea’s life, both God and Hosea knew up
front that his wife would not be faithful to him. After giving birth to three
children, she went back to her promiscuous ways.
In time, her sins
resulted in chains, and she was no longer a free woman. In response to God’s
command, Hosea then redeemed his wife from slavery and restored her to the
family. God intended this demonstration of unconditional love to be a symbol of
His own love for the people of Israel. As in the verses we read, God is
reaching back out to Israel, ready to restore her to His family.
An addict may be aware
of the deep shame, trouble, and pain that they have inflicted on their family while being controlled by addiction. Hosea understood this also. He was a
prophet in Israel when he married the prostitute and he was still a prophet
when she went back to prostitution. Can you imagine how he looked to those
around him? He could have refused to take her back, to forgive her, to restore
her, but he followed God’s plan.
The addict may be
afraid to admit the exact nature of their wrongs because they don’t understand
how God could love someone who is so bad, but God does. God’s nature is
unconditional love. He is not looking for a reason and waiting to come down and
destroy the addict, He is asking them the same question He asked Israel – “How
can I give you up?”
Imagine being in a love
relationship where the one you love asks you “How can I give you up?” After you
have done something horrible to them. Can you feel the love that would flow
from God’s heart toward them? This is what God is constantly asking the
addict, even though Satan is telling them that God has no reason whatsoever to
forgive them. There is absolutely nothing they could do or confess to, that
would cause Him to stop loving them.
In step four the addict
must do some soul searching – evaluating their morals. In taking this
inventory, the problem that often arises is that depending on what standard the
addict uses to measure morality, they may or may not confess all their hidden
sin. The standard that they use to measure their life will often determine the
kinds of problems they uncover. If the addicted person uses faulty guidelines
to measure morality, if they use the world’s standards of right and wrong, they
will fail to make an accurate assessment of their spiritual condition. When
their assessments are off, they will not progress through their recovery.
“Thus, He showed me,
and behold the Lord was standing by a vertical wall, with a plumb line in His
hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘What do you see, Amos?’ And I said, ‘A plumb
line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘behold I am about to put a plumb line in the midst
of My people Israel. I will spare them no longer” (Amos 7:8-9).[73]
God was getting ready
to test His people, per His, “plumb line.” If the addict is not using God’s
plumb line, The Word of God, to determine what they should be removing from
their lives, some very serious issues that contribute to their addiction(s)
will remain hidden. And these moral issues will eventually resurface later,
usually resulting in a relapse.
An addicted person
cannot argue with or change the law of gravity, and they cannot change the
spiritual laws revealed to them in God’s word. They must measure their life by
the “plumb line” of God’s Word under the direction and counsel of the Holy
Spirit. When the addict approaches step five in this manner, they can be sure
that their soul searching and subsequent confessions will cover, what needs to
be covered. It is crucial that they admit to God, themselves, and someone else
the exact nature of their wrongs. This can only be done when their sins are
identified by God’s Word and not the standards of a sinful world.
As stated previously,
most addicts try to with their addictions in private. They do this to save
their reputations and to avoid the consequences that come from confession. The
problem, they are unable to deal with their addictions alone, they simply lack
the power. They should have realized this in the first step. The addicted
person cannot accomplish true confession, a confession that reveals the true
nature of our sin, without the Holy Spirit. Shame is often the driving force
causing them to resist confession.
It is shame, in most
cases, that causes the addict to stay in bondage to their addictions. They do
not want their addictions to be publicized and bring them shame. Confession may
be difficult, but the time has come for the addict to lay the shame aside and
come clean before God. This is why confessing their sin to another human being
is also critical to their recovery.
When the addict comes
clean about their sins to themselves, they are finally facing who they have
become because of their addictive behavior. When they confess their sin to God,
they are seeking restoration and forgiveness. But when they confess it to
another human being, they are denying the devil the power of accusation.
Confessing to another human being means that their sin is no longer secret, the
devil can never throw it up in their face again. They are truly free of the
guilt caused by secret pain, and now they have someone who can lift them up to
the Lord in prayer over their weaknesses.
“The teachers of the
law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her
stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in
the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now
what do you say?’
But Jesus bent down and
started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning
him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without
sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Again, he stooped down and wrote on
the ground.
At this, those who
heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus
was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and
asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’
‘No one, sir,’ she
said.
‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your
life of sin’” (Jn. 8:3-11).[74]
Most believers have
heard this story. Imagine how she felt, if you can, first being caught in the
very act, and then being paraded through town by a group of men seeking to
destroy her. Her sins were now being displayed in public. Shame has kept many addicts
in hiding. The thought of admitting their sins and revealing themselves to
other human beings stirs up feelings of shame and the fear of being publicly
exposed, just as this woman.
We do not know what
Jesus wrote on the ground, but whatever He wrote, we discover that Jesus is
someone we can safely bring our sins to. When the accusers had left, the woman
was left alone in Jesus’ presence. Jesus told her that He would not condemn her
but that she should go and sin no more.
Most addicts feel that
there is no one on the face of this earth that they would want to confess their
sins, let alone their addictions and that is understandable. But to continue
walking the path of recovery, they must do this. They should start off by
confessing their true nature to themselves, admitting who they really are, then
make a confession to Christ. Get it all out with Him, and be completely
transparent. Then they should pray and ask the Holy Spirit to show them the
person that they can confide in, and that will support them, in prayer, through
overcoming their addiction without condemnation.
Now that they have
confessed the nature of their sin to God, themselves, and another human being,
the recovering addict is ready to ask God to remove their character defects.
This is where the, “transformation of the mind” (Rom. 12:2),[75]
begins.
Topic 12-F: Step Six – Ready to Remove Our
Defects
“Were entirely ready to have God remove all
these defects of character” (Wilson, 59).[76]
Step six is where after
having taken a fearless moral inventory, admitted their sins to God, to
themselves, and to another human being, the addict is ready to have God remove
the character defects that led them into addiction. This is a voluntary decision
to submit to every change God wants to make in their lives as they humbly ask
Him to remove their character defects.
To comprehend what the
addict’s goal is in the sixth step they must understand the nature of a
character defect. Your character is how people define you and your actions. It
is the behavior that is typical of a person or group of people. This is where
the phrase, “they are acting out of character,” comes from. It means that the
person is acting differently than what is commonly known or expected of them.
All people are known by their character, and the addict’s behavior is either
being fed by their character or their character is changing gradually during
their addiction so that it can co-exist peacefully, so to speak, with the
choices that they are making.
When you consider the
term Wilson uses in Alcoholics Anonymous, “character defect” (59), it
implies that the addict’s character is not what it should be. A defect is an
imperfection or a lack of something necessary for completeness. The addict’s
character defects are harming them by destroying the person that God created
them to be, and although it is a slow process most of the time, they are being
damaged. their character defects impede their ability to walk fully upright before
God. A few examples of character defects include self-pity;
self-justification, insensitivity, dishonesty, hate, envy, and jealousy.
Regardless of how many character defects the addict may have, if they are ready
for God to remove them from their life, He is to repair them and restore their
character.
Everyone who comes to
Jesus with a repentant heart receives a pardon. God has promised to pardon
everyone who comes to Him and confesses their sin (1 Jn. 1:8).[77]
A pardon is a release from a judgment of your sin. The Apostle Paul said
that we have all been found guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23),[78]
and we all deserve the penalty for our sin (Rom. 6:23a),[79]
but God has promised the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sin in Jesus’
name (Rom. 6:23b).[80]
Everyone who has come to faith in Christ, has received a pardon from this
sentence of death, and this pardon places the addict in a position and a
mindset that allows God to remove their defects.
When the addict knows
in advance from scripture, that every defect of character that they bring to
God has already been forgiven, then they have nothing to lose and everything to
gain from laying everything at His feet. When they repent, they are supposed to
stop thinking and acting the way that they have been, but for those who have
been trapped in addiction, doing so is not easy.
Most addicts would
gladly walk away from their character defects, if they could, and if they had
the power to they would. People who have never faced addiction, are unable to
grasp the struggle that addicts go through and tend to judge them unfairly.
They do not seem to understand, that there are some things addicts cannot just
walk away from, without divine intervention. “Jesus in, addiction out,” is easy
to say, but the reality is that it is one of the most difficult spiritual
battles the addicted will ever face.
God understood this and
has made a way for the addict to be healed:
“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not
satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in
the richest of fare. Listen, that you may live; and I will make an everlasting
covenant with you, according to the faithful mercies shown to David…Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return to
the Lord, and He will have compassion on him and to our God, for He will
abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:2-3, 7).[81]
God understands what
those struggling to overcome addictions are dealing with, and in the verses
above He puts it into the larger context of dealing with the hunger within
their soul. In verse two God asks the question “Why do you spend money for what
is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy” (Isa. 55:2)?[82]
Consider this question in the context of having a
hunger craving. If you are craving steak and all that is available is bologna,
you will eat the bologna because you are hungry, but it does not satisfy your
craving. Or, for example, if you are hungry and instead of buying food, you buy
cigarettes and ease the craving with nicotine. The body received something, and
you may have satisfied the “mental/emotional craving” with the cigarettes, but
you did not solve the physical need for food.
God is asking addicts
to come to Him, for only He can make a difference in their lives. As they think
about what we are facing with their addictions, the addict comes to understand
that they are fighting their cravings on two fronts. First, they are dealing
with the hunger deep inside them. Whatever the hunger is that is driving their
addiction, it is rooted deep within them. For some, it is so deep that it may
take them a while to truly pinpoint it. That hunger, whether it is for
appreciation, love, attention, or one or more of the many other emotional needs
that create the thirst that God speaks of in Isaiah, only God can satisfy it.
The second front is
the struggle to change their thinking, or thoughts of doing wrong. It is proven
that when addicts are upset they often depend on their addictions to make them
feel better. As they begin to get rid of these addictions, they come face to
face with the deeper character defects that God wants to heal. Their addictions
have functioned as a sort of shelter for them, they can go there and hide, and
receive comfort when they are stressed, pained, or upset. But, when that
shelter is removed, deep anger may surface, exposing even deeper character
flaws that need healing.
Think about the story
of Jonah. Jonah, as you may recall, was told to go to Nineveh to preach to the
people. But Jonah had a character flaw – he couldn’t forgive and have
compassion on the people of Nineveh whom he hated. When God decided not to
destroy the people of Nineveh, Jonah threw a temper tantrum and complained to
God. Then he left the city and went and sat on a hill to see if God listened to
his complaint and would change His mind about destroying the people:
“Then Jonah went out from the city and sat east of it. There he made a
shelter for himself and sat under it in the shade until he could see what would
happen to the city. So, the Lord God appointed a plant and it grew up over
Jonah to be a shade over his head to deliver him from his discomfort. And Jonah
was extremely happy about the plant. But God appointed a worm when dawn came
the next day and it attacked the plant and it withered. And it came about when
the sun came up that God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down
on Jonah’s head so that he became faint and begged with all his soul to die
saying, ‘Death is better to me that life” (Jon. 4:5-8).[83]
God did this to show
Jonah that the real problem wasn’t the loss of his shelter, but his own hatred
for the people of Nineveh – he cared more for the shelter than the people. The
removal of the mind-altering substances may expose deeper problems within the
addict which may spark defensive anger, but God will still be there to touch
and heal their deepest hurts.
It is okay to hope,
addicts need hope. If they have lost hope it is impossible to believe that God
will do anything for them. So, it is with their addictions. They have held on
to their addictions for such a long time, that they may feel hopeless about
being set free. How can the addict honestly say that they are entirely ready
for God to remove their defects if they have lost hope or they are thinking
all or nothing? When it is all or nothing, most addicts fail to recognize the
progress that they are making, and subsequently, they fail to see how God is
moving toward them, even when they cannot take another step. and have lost
their hope for change. Look at this story from the book of John:
“Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with
five covered porches. Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the
porches. One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When
Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would
you like to get well?’
‘I can’t, sir,’ the sick man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the
pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me’”
(Jn. 5:2-7).[84]
During Jesus' day, there
was a pool that had five porches where people went and stayed, hoping to be
healed when the waters were troubled. Only the first person who stepped into
the pool would be healed after the water was troubled. This man had been at
this pool for thirty-eight years, waiting and hoping. For thirty-eight years,
whenever the waters were troubled, someone else would step down in front of him
and be healed, leaving him with his condition. The man was so crippled, that he
could not get to the water and needed someone to help him, but he had no one.
Now notice what
happened when Jesus came up to the man. Jesus asked him, “Do you wish to get
well” (Jn. 5:4). This seems like a dumb question to ask, after all, he had been
coming to this pool for thirty-eight years. But the question, they it may have
seemed so, was not stupid at all. Jesus was asking the man if he still had
hope. He was asking the man if he was still willing.
When addicts have been
dealing with something for so very long and it looks like it will not change,
they begin to lose hope. When they lose hope, they lose the expectation that
comes with hope. When they have lost the expectation that comes with hope, they
begin to close God’s hands of deliverance because they no longer believe that
it can happen.
Jesus understood that
after thirty-eight years of trying this man could have lost all hope. This man
wanted to be healed and told Jesus he was willing but did not have any help.
If you read the rest of the story, you’ll discover that Jesus healed the man.
It
does not matter how many years you have been struggling with your addiction,
God is here, when you are willing to be healed, and He is ready and willing to
help you. He is not going to question you about how many times you have failed
in the past, all He is going to ask you do you are ready to be delivered. The
man in this story had gone as far as he could go, and then God came to him in
the form of Christ. Although you may have gone as far as you can go on your
own, understand that God is coming toward you, all you need to do is accept
His offer of healing.
In step six, the addict
is “entirely” ready to have God remove their character defects. The key word
here is, “remove”. God does not want their defects improved, He wants them
totally gone, removed. Most addicts have made numerous attempts at
self-improvement with little success. They have tried to improve their
attitudes, appearance, and even their habits. But there is a difference
between improving something and removing it. When something is improved, the
negative impact is not as bad, but the addiction is still present. When
something is removed, there is no negative impact because the addiction is no
longer there.
When an addict thinks
about the defects in their character, many of them have been frustrated at
their own attempts to “improve” themselves. In step six, after dealing with years of
trying to do it themselves, they are entirely ready to have God remove them.
There is no band-aid cure for their sins and defects of character. They have
been fatally wounded and must die on the cross. Although this process is not
easy, it can and will be accomplished in them by the power of the Holy Spirit,
if they remain honest.
Topic 12-G: Step Seven – Asked God to Remove
Their “Shortcomings”
“Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings”
(Wilson, 59).[85]
“If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).[86]
The
emphasis in this verse, which makes it a conditional statement, is on the word
“If”. The word “If” establishes a condition for the promise of forgiveness for
the individual’s sin and their purification from the unrighteous acts in which
they have participated in. It defines, very clearly, what needs to take place
first, for the next thing to happen. First, they must confess, then they will
be forgiven and cleansed. God goes into action when the sinner, or addict, comes
before Him in confession. In step 6 we were ready to have God remove our
character defects and in step seven we come to Him and humbly asked Him to do it.
Step
seven begins when the addict humbly asks God to remove their shortcomings. This
step represents a transition in the process of recovery. The first six steps
are focused on the inner work that needs to be accomplished in the addict’s
life, step seven acts as a bridge between the first six steps and the final
steps which are focused on the outer work that must be accomplished. To cross
this bridge successfully, the addict releases control and allows God to do what
He needs to do.
Although
they may ask God to remove their shortcomings, it is natural to want to tell
God “how to do it” and instruct Him what means will work best for them. If they
knew that, they would have already dealt with their addictions. The fact that
they needed God to fix them, should tell the addict, that their methods are
inadequate to get it done.
Have
you ever asked someone to do something for you and then proceeded to tell them
how to do it? I have done that several times. I remember asking my wife to make
me a cherry pie. While she was doing what, I had asked her to do, I thought it
needed more filling, so I told her what I was thinking. I learned quickly,
if you ask someone to do something for you, something you cannot do for
yourself, you cannot expect to control how they do it.
People
often do this when they are riding with someone and they are taking the
passenger somewhere they have driven before. You expect them to go in the same
direction that you would go. If they go a different route, you begin to
question them about why they were doing it as if the way you would go is the
only way. Although someone else is driving, you still want to hold on to
control how you arrive at your destination.
Addicts
tend to do the same thing with God. They are so used to “being in charge,” that
they’ll ask for God’s help and accept it, but only if He does it on their
terms. In other words, He must run His plan by them and get their approval
before they are willing to follow Him. In their flawed thinking, they want to
see what God has planned and offer any changes that they may want, especially
as it pertains to the timetable. That is not how God operates, and that is why
humility plays a critical role in step seven. Consider the lesson that God
taught Jeremiah:
“The
word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, ‘Arise and go down to the
potter’s house, and there I shall announce My words to you.’ Then I went down
to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the
vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so, he
remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word
of the Lord came to me saying, ‘Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as
this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Behold, like the clay in the potter’s
hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel” (Jer. 18:1-6).[87]
God
explains to Jeremiah, in vivid terms, His relationship with us. He is the potter
and we are the clay. He has the authority to make decisions concerning us just
as the potter does over his clay vessels. And, when the addict comes to Him and
surrenders their life, they do not have the authority to question Him
concerning His will. Yes, they can still refuse to allow God to mold their
lives and rebel, but the consequences are destructive.
Some
believe that is never okay to question God, that we are never allowed to ask
Him, “why?”, because He is God. That is flawed theology. It is okay to come to
God and inquire whether what you are going through is necessary, Jesus did. The
addict needs to ask God questions, especially when they are frustrated, and God
understands. However, you cannot come to Him in any manner that you choose,
because He is holy, and there is a level of respect that you must maintain. But
in their intimate relationship with Him, He understands the addict's need for
answers. This goes back to this fact, in step seven, the addict must approach
God, with humility.
God
is the potter and the addict is the clay. Jeremiah was shown something very
profound when he went to the potter: “But the vessel that he was making of clay
was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so, he remade it into another vessel as
it pleased the potter to make” (Jer. 18:2).[88]
The
vessel the potter was working on had some imperfections, so the potter decided
to start all over. God created every man, and when He created them He had an
image of what He planned for their life to look like, but the choices they make
in life sometimes distort that image. Their addictions have “spoiled” them and
God is ready to reshape them into the image that He originally intended. He is
ready to make a new vessel out of them, but they must come to Him in humility.
The addict must recognize that He can do with us as it pleases Him. When they
ask God to change them, to remove their shortcomings, they cannot dictate to
Him how He does it. Isaiah warns those who want to argue with God about what
His plans are for changing them, for removing their shortcomings.
“Woe
to the one who quarrels with his Maker, an earthenware vessel among the vessels
of earth. Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing
you are making say, ‘He has no hands” (Isa. 45:9).[89]
When
the addict makes the decision to put their life in God’s hands, He will reshape
them as He sees fit. It is humility that allows them to accept the fact that He
is the Creator. Their new life may be like the one they left behind or entirely
different. God is the master craftsman. Whatever He does, they can trust that
He will recreate their life beautifully, once they get out of the way. The
addict must not waste their time trying to figure out what He will make of
them; they just need to accept and know that when He is finished, they will be
a new vessel, a vessel that is wonderfully and beautifully crafted.
Sometimes
depending on what the addict brings to God, it is so distorted by the choices
that they have made, that they can’t help but have a humble heart, even to the
point of feeling unworthy. But there are also times when some addicts believe
their “shortcomings” are not that bad so they come before God still walking in
pride, and pride is an obstacle to healing, only humility can move the heart of
God.
After
the addict has examined themselves closely, they may feel unworthy to even
enter His presence. Maybe their sinful behaviors are the worst imaginable, and
even though they are genuinely remorseful, they are hesitant to approach God.
This was the situation of the man in this story that Jesus told in the book of
Luke:
“Two
men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a
tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank
Thee that I am not like other people; swindlers, unjust, adulterers or even
like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’
But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift
his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to
me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather
than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles
himself shall be exalted” (Lk. 18:10-14).[90]
The
Pharisee stood before God giving thanks that he was not like all the other
sinners. He was proud that he could stay away from some of the sins others gave in to. Of course, he did not consider his pride a sin. As he was
thanking God, he had the audacity to look at the tax collector and thank God
that he was not like him.
As
Jesus told the story, He stated that it was not the Pharisee who walked away
justified, it was the tax collector. It was not the man who stood there
recounting the things he does right, but the man who was so ashamed that he
could not raise his head towards heaven. The one who walked away justified was
the one who stood before God, recognized his sin, and asked for mercy. He did
not think he deserved it, but he wanted it. God honors humility.
When
the addict comes humbly to ask Him to remove their shortcomings, God does not
look at them with contempt, but through the eyes of love. He is waiting to give
them what they ask for, when they ask Him to remove their shortcomings, He
will, because He desires for all to be whole.
The
addict has now come to the point where they have examined those things that are
within them. they have pulled back to layers to reveal the inner core of their
beings, exposing those things that they have buried deep within them. They
have recognized that only God can restore them. In step seven the addict humbly
comes before God and makes their request known, and discovered that God is
listening. Not only is He listening, but He is ready to answer.
Topic
12-H: Step Eight – Made a List of Those We Harmed
“Made a list of persons
we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all” (Wilson, 59).[91]
In
step eight it is time for the addict to transition from focusing on the process
of creating their own inner peace to the process of making peace with others.
This is done by taking an honest look at the impact their addictions have had
on other people. Step eight involves making a list of those persons that they
have harmed by their addictive behavior and become willing to make amends to
them when possible. In some cases, they will not be able to make amends to
someone they have harmed, and there may be other cases that when they try
making amends, the person(s) will be unwilling to receive it.
Dysfunctional
family situations affect each person differently. For some, they own the
actions that they are responsible for and constantly condemn themselves. Others
admit that have acted in an inappropriate manner, but they blame others for
their behavior. There is a third category, those who have not recognized that
their behavior has harmed others and are constantly facing recurring problems
because they fail to respect them or their property. In this step, the addict
begins to list all of those who have been harmed by their addictions and
consider what they need to do, to make amends.
In
the Old Testament, when someone harmed someone, the Law required that restitution
be made. Consider the following:
“Now
supposed someone leaves a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal with a
neighbor for safekeeping, but it dies or is injured or gets away, and no one
sees what happened. The neighbor must then take an oath in the presence of the
Lord. If the Lord confirms that the neighbor did not steal the property, the
owner must accept the verdict, and no payment will be required. But if the
animal was indeed stolen, the guilty person must pay compensation to the owner.
If it was torn to pieces by a wild animal, the remains of the carcass must be
shown as evidence, and no compensation will be required. If someone borrows an
animal from a neighbor and it is injured or dies when the owner is absent, the
person who borrowed it must pay full compensation. But if the owner was
present, no compensation is required. And no compensation is required if the
animal was rented, for the loss is covered by the rental fee” (Ex. 22:10-15).[92]
There
are several things that are important to note from this passage of Scripture,
and all of them point to personal accountability. On the road to recovery, the
addict must become accountable for their actions, especially those that have
injured others. God gave examples for the Children of Israel to follow. The
guidelines went like this: if you borrowed a tool from a neighbor and while it
was in your possession it got broken, you are required to pay them the
reasonable value for the tool or just purchase them a new one. In their daily
lives, normal people do this almost naturally, especially when they are dealing
with something that they borrowed from someone, but the addict has no thought for
others or their property while engaging in their addictions. Addiction, by
default, is very selfish.
Although
under normal circumstances most people would gladly replace an item they
borrowed from a neighbor, if they broke or damages it. However, the addict,
usually has a very difficult time finding the strength to do this when they are
facing their addictions. The emotional and mental damage that they may have
caused is not easily replaced. They cannot simply go out and buy a new mental
or emotional state although many try. The pain that they have inflicted while
they were addicted can run deep and in some cases, cause almost irreparable
damage. But it is important for them to recognize that they did, in fact,
injure them and they need to ask for their forgiveness.
Another
important principle for the addict to understand when making amends, to guard
them against resentment, is that just because they recognize that they have hurt
someone and they are willing to make amends to them, does not guarantee that
the injured party will receive it. Even if they do not receive the addict’s
attempt to right their wrongs, the addict must make the effort. God’s word
teaches that His children are to be responsible and accountable. One day they
will stand before God, and if they have not been accountable for their actions
here on earth, He will hold them accountable at the judgment.
As
the addict is considering their list, and how they can begin to make amends,
they need to consider what God has done for them. When Jesus died on the cross,
He took man’s sins upon Himself and received in His body man’s punishment, so
that they would not have to bear the consequences of the sins they committed.
Jesus became our Scapegoat.
The
term scapegoat comes from the practice of using a goat as a sacrifice to save a
more expensive animal. These goats had a condition that caused them to faint.
If they got scared, they would just pass out and literally fall over. It was
like they became paralyzed with fear. Because of their condition, they were
perfect “scapegoats” for ranchers. Ranchers would purchase these goats and
place them within their flock, especially on the outer rim. Whenever the flock
came under attack, these goats would pass out and thus be eaten while the more
expensive animals escaped harm. Their whole purpose was to be sacrificed so
that the rest of the herd could live. This practice, although somewhat
different, has its root in the Old Testament:
“When
Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the
altar, he must present the live goat. He will lay both of his hands on the
goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the
people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head
of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into
the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the
people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land” (Lev. 16:20-22).[93]
This
passage refers to what took place on the Day of Atonement. The day of Atonement
was the day that the Israelites were provided assurance that their past sins
had been completely dealt with. Part of the ceremony included the scapegoat.
Aaron would take a goat, he would lay his hands on the goat, and begin to
recite the sins that Israel had committed during the previous year. Once he was
finished reciting their sins, the goat was taken into the wilderness
symbolizing the removal of sin from the people. This same thing happened to
us when we accepted Christ. Christ became our scapegoat, taking our sin upon
Himself and freeing us from the consequences.
As
the addict is coming to terms with their addiction and beginning to make plans
to provide restitution to those they have hurt, it is natural for their
self-image to improve. But they also tend to fear that some may never upgrade
their opinions of them, no matter what they may do or say. This is especially
true when those the addict has injured have made us their scapegoat. Some
people that the addict has hurt will use them as a scapegoat, the injured
person’s reason to act the way they do. Since the addict has hurt them, they
feel justified in sending them away and not offering forgiveness. They
unconsciously place the blame for their pain and loss on the addict so that the
addict can carry it away for them. This is something that addicts cannot allow.
You
see, as their scapegoat, the addict would play the role of removing something
they were unable to deal with in any other way. Because of this, they may never
be able to welcome the addict back into their lives. Those in recovery should
be prepared for this type of response and understand that at this point it is
more about them than it is about the addict.
Along
this same line of thought is how addicts use others as their scapegoat, their
justified reason to remain within their addictions. Remember, the people who
hurt them earlier in their lives, and may have led them down the road to their
addictions have for the most part moved on with their lives. Individuals in
recovery can blame others all they want, but that blame whether rightfully
placed or not is not going to help them come to a place of recovery.
As
the addict considers any restitution that they need to make, they must keep in
mind that even if they have the desire to make things right, the receiving
party may not accept them or their apology. They may wish to remain angry with
the addict to justify their own behavior. If this happens, the addict must
recognize that it is the offended person’s problem at this point, not theirs.
Forgiveness
is a crucial step in the whole process, especially when the addict comes to
step eight. As they make the list of those that have been hurt by their addiction,
there is a tendency to become defensive. They can accept the fact that their
addiction has hurt others, but they also recognize in some cases, the person
that has been hurt by their addiction, is not completely innocent. They may
proclaim, “What about what they did to me?”
It
does not matter. To make restitution, even if that restitution is just an
apology, forgiveness must be at the core of it. For the addict to complete
their recovery, they must forgive everything, all that the other person may
have done to them, which they formerly used to justify their addictive
behavior. Consider what Jesus said about forgiveness when He told a parable
after being asked about forgiveness by Peter:
“So
also, my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive
your brother from your heart” (English
Standard Version, Matt. 18:35).[94]
Peter
asked Jesus how often he had to forgive someone and he threw in the number
seven. Jesus responded by saying not just seven times, but seventy times seven.
That is a lot of forgiveness for one person. But Jesus did not stop there, He
told the parable about the unforgiving debtor. The first debtor owed his king
millions of dollars and he could not pay. He pleaded for mercy and his king
forgave him. Then this same man went out and found a man who owed him a few
thousand dollars and when he could not pay, he did not have mercy on him but
had him thrown into prison.
When
the king found out, he was angry and asked him why he did not forgive his
fellow servant as he had been forgiven. Jesus ends the parable by speaking a
foundational truth. He said God is just like this king in that if we do not
forgive others after we have received mercy and grace, then God will withdraw
it and we will retain the debt.
As
the recovering addict makes their list, they start building their recovery on a
foundation of forgiveness – they are seeking forgiveness, but first, they must
be willing to forgive. It does not matter how many names they may have on their
list, if they have been holding a grudge towards someone because of how they
were treated, they must let it go. If you hurt them in response to them hurting
you, let it go. Even if they do not forgive you, you can forgive them and move
on.
Many
people have horror stories regarding their family history, and they are
suffering because of it. They started drinking because alcohol became their
coping mechanism. They began abusing recreational drugs because it allowed them
to 'numb out' and forget the pain. Some addicts have a family member(s) that turn
their stomachs every time they see them or think about them because of the abuse
the addict suffered at this person’s hands.
Many
people struggle to be free from addiction because they are still walking in
un-forgiveness. It is impossible to walk in two directions at once. There is no lane
for unforgiveness on the road to recovery. If you are struggling with
addiction, and the root cause is unforgiveness, you need to release it so that
you can live a life that is free of addiction.
In
step eight, the addict makes a list of those that they have hurt through
their addictions and became willing to make restitution when possible. You may
not be able to develop your entire list in one sitting, but as you continue to
move forward, God will bring back to your remembrance those that you will need
to address. In some cases, all you can do is say you’re sorry while in other
cases you may be able to take do something more detailed to make restitution.
The essential point is accountability. Having recognized their addiction and
its impact on others, the addict becomes accountable for their actions and
where possible made plans to correct the damage done. Now with a plan in place,
it’s time to begin making amends.
Topic
12-I: Step Nine: Made Amends
“Made direct amends to
such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others”
(Wilson, 59).[95]
Recently
a tornado went right through our town, right past our house, sparing us, but
leaving a path of destruction all around us. All around us we are beginning to
see the rebuilding process. The school across the street from us is still
closed, but from the outside it looks good, compared to how it looked a month
ago, All the debris along the streets has been collected, new roofs are
everywhere, the restoration is moving right along, and the city is recovering
nicely from the devastation.
Step
nine is like the recovery after a natural disaster like a tornado. By making
amends, the addict begins to repair the damage caused by their addiction(s). In
the last step, the recovering addict surveyed the damage that they had caused,
and became willing to make amends – they planned the process of recovery by
making a list of those they had harmed and decided to make it right. Now in
step nine, they begin the process of mending the brokenness
“The
readiness to take the full consequences of our past acts, and to take
responsibility for the well-being of others at the same time, is the very
spirit of Step Nine” (Wilson, As Bill
Sees It, 145).[96]
The
importance of reconciliation in recovery cannot be over-emphasized. Having gone
through situations where friendships were lost, the burden of carrying the load
of a crumbled relationship can be detrimental to the person in recovery,
emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Although they try to move on, there
are moments when they will go back to that relationship and relive the pain of
the loss. Step nine is all about reconciliation.
When the addict’s
addictions have hurt others, and they have not addressed that hurt or taken
accountability for it, the separation between them and that person is
impossible to overcome. However, when they take the steps to “come clean” about
what they have done, the addict can begin building a bridge that will make reconciliation
a reality.
Jesus said: “So if you
are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has
something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt.
5:23-24).[97]
Reconciliation is so
important that Jesus said that individuals should take this action before
they come before God or bring their gifts to Him. They must take care of the
damage that their addictions have caused, it must be repaired before they have
anything productive to offer the kingdom of God.
Sometimes the addict
becomes so focused on their personal failures during recovery, that they forget
the pain they have suffered at the hands of others. Some individuals in recovery,
on the other hand, focus too much on the ways they have been mistreated and use
them as an excuse for their behavior.
Either approach to past
abuse leaves the individual in recovery with emotional baggage that will hinder
their progress in recovery. Forgiving
others is an important part of turning their will over to God. Being forgiven
for the wrongs they have done to others does not excuse them from their actions
or make their actions right. When the addict forgives others for the wrongs
committed against them, the addict is not excusing them for what they have done,
the addict, seeking to recover, simply forgives them. The addict recognizes
that they have been hurt unjustly and turn the matter over to God.
Likewise, we must also
recognize that we have a responsibility to go to the one that we have hurt to
make amends. This requires a spirit that is humble, not prideful. Most of the time
that addicts will spend in their recovery revolves around the restoration,
repairing the damage that the storm of their addiction has caused. This
requires that they come to terms with their sin, restore their relationship
with God, and with others, they hurt and alienated, and learn to be at peace with
themselves. Unresolved issues are a hindrance to the process and will keep them
from being at peace with God, themselves, and everyone else. After they have
made amends, they must continue to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit as
He reminds them of others they may have forgotten.
When the addict is
willing to make amends, their minds begin to think towards that end and they
begin to remember situations that they have not thought about for years. Some
of these situations may have already been reconciled while some may still need
to be addressed. They must be open to where the Holy Spirit will take them
through this part of their recovery.
When addicts are
focused on their own needs, when they are feeding the monster of their
addiction, it is easy to forget everyone else around them so that they can
concentrate on their own desire. The only thing that matters to the addict is
their own desires. Addicts lie, cheat, steal, and even kill in extreme cases,
nothing can be allowed to interfere with the desire to feed their addiction,
nothing. To their Community, Friends, and families, they become known as
“takers.” They step on the feelings of others, they disregard other people’s
needs, and they don’t care who gets hurt. At this point in their addiction, the
rest of the world around them ceases to exist, or simply becomes an obstacle to
them obtaining what they want.
This describes the kind
of man that Zacchaeus was when Jesus encountered him. Zacchaeus was the chief
tax collector and had become very rich. His greed had driven him to betray the
community of Israel by collecting oppressive taxes for the Roman
government. Zacchaeus was hated and he was a traitor. But when the presence of
God entered his life, when Jesus treated him with love and compassion, a
dramatic change occurred in Zacchaeus.
“Meanwhile, Zacchaeus
stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will give half my wealth to the poor, lord,
and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times
as much.’ Jesus responded, ‘Salvation has come to this home today, for this man
has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek
and save those who are lost” (Lk. 19:8-9).[98]
After his interaction
with Jesus, Zacchaeus was a changed man. He went from being a taker to being a
giver. He paid back all he had taken, but more than that, he paid back four
times as much as he had stolen. For the first time, he viewed the needs of
others as more important than his own, he was transformed from a taker to a
giver.
As you work through
step nine, think about what it will mean to you when you reconcile with those
you hurt or return what you have taken while dealing with your addiction. Think
about the freedom that comes through making amends, and the joy that you will
experience when you begin to walk in true forgiveness. You are now firmly on
the road to healing and peace, so you must begin to take the steps that
preserve the work that you have accomplished in the previous steps.
Topic 12-J: Step Ten – Maintaining the Gift of
Sobriety
“Continued to take personal inventory and when
we were wrong promptly admitted it” (Wilson, 59).[99]
When I was young,
growing up in northern Mississippi, we had a garden where we grew our own
vegetables – it was a huge garden. Every morning in the spring and summer, I
would have to work in that garden before I could play or go fishing, or
hunt. To tell you the truth, I hated that garden. At that time, I did not
understand the importance of maintaining the garden by pulling weeds every day,
it seemed to be a waste of time. But now I understand that the weeds were harmful
to the food we were growing, food that we needed to sustain us throughout the
year. The ground that the garden is planted in once belonged to the weeds, it
was their territory. If the weeds were left alone to take root, if the weeds
grew unchecked, they would eventually lay siege to the garden, and kill the
food that we needed to sustain life.
Maintaining our
sobriety is like maintaining a garden. During their addiction, addict’s lives
belonged to their self-defeating behavior, the “weeds”, but through the
recovery process God has begun making something beautiful of their lives. At
this point in recovery, their lives should have begun flourishing and growing in
the right direction, but if they let bitterness, anger, resentment, or
selfishness take root in their lives again, unchecked, and unrepentant, those
self-defeating behaviors will once again dominate their thinking and addiction
will return and destroy them. They must take an effort to guard and maintain
their sobriety.
“The perverse wish to
hide a bad motive underneath a good one permeates human affairs from top to
bottom. This subtle and elusive kind of self-righteousness can underlie the
smallest act or thought. Learning daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws
is the essence of character-building and good living” (Wilson, 17).[100]
Every single day,
nearly every human being will glance in a mirror at some point, and truth be
told, most do a lot more than just glance. In the morning, people use the
mirror to get cleaned up, wash their face, brush their teeth, and comb their
hair. Without the mirror, they’d have to guess at what they look like when
they’re finished grooming. But with the mirror, they ensure that everyone else
sees, is what they want them to see. Consider what James wrote:
“Therefore, put
away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the
implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves.23 For if anyone is a hearer
of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural
face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and
goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But
the one who considers the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres,
being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his
doing” (Jas. 1:21-25).[101]
James states that if
you only hear God’s word and do not obey, it is like glancing at your face in a
mirror and after you have walked away, forgetting what you looked like. James was
saying that God’s word has the power to change lives, but not if you ignore its
commands. If all you ever do is listen to the Word with your ears, and do not
act upon what you hear by allowing it to change your heart, its power is
useless to you. For the power of the Word to transform you, you must release
its power through obedience.
Look back to what James
said about the mirror and this point will become clear. If you look in the
mirror and you see that you have dirt on your face, would you not make sure
that you washed your face? If you looked in the mirror and noticed that you
missed half your beard, wouldn’t you grab your razor and finish the job? You do
these things because you want to look your best. This is what James was talking
about when he referenced the mirror.
James likens the Word
to a mirror. When the addict reads it, it reveals who they are, and what
changes they need to make. If they only hear the Word and do nothing to act
upon what they hear, it is like looking at their face in the mirror and seeing
that it needs attention, and then forgetting what they see. When they read the
Word, it exposes “dirt” in their lives, if they chose to remain dirty,
something must be wrong with them. When they are dealing with their addictions,
and their character flaws, even if they have carried these things around for
years, God’s Word can change and cleanse them.
There is one more point
that needs to be made about the mirror. People do not just look in the mirror
once a day, once a week, once a month, or once a year, they look in the mirror
several times a day to make sure what they saw earlier is still what they still
see. And the same applies to God’s word. You cannot read it once or twice and
think that will be enough to get you through the remainder of your life. You
must continue reading it, daily, to ensure that the image it brings out within
you is maintained.
In step ten, the addict
must continue to take personal inventories and when they are wrong, they need
to promptly admit it. James’s illustration supports making a routine personal
inventory. As they examine their life, they need to respond with immediate
action if something has changed since they took the last personal inventory. If
the addict puts off taking care of a problem, it may soon slip their mind.
Just as anyone would think it foolish to go all day knowing there is dirt on
their face, it is not logical for addicts in recovery to notice a problem that
could lead to a relapse and not correct it promptly.
Recovery, for many
people, is a life-long process. They will have times when they are doing well,
and may experience times when they fail. During those times that they stumble
and are feeling like a failure, they must persevere with their progress. They
cannot stop their recovery, they must keep moving forward.
The devil would love
for the addict’s recurring sins to cause them to feel awkward in God’s
presence. It is human to feel shame over the number of times they have had to
come to God and confess the same issues. God is not collecting a long list of
their offenses to be used against them, that is not the God that they serve.
Consider what the apostle John wrote:
“If we claim we have no
sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we
confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling
God a liar, and showing that His word has no place in our hearts” (1 Jn.
1:8-10).[102]
To confess means that
you agree with God. You admit that what your doing is wrong, because God says
that it’s wrong. The addict in recovery needs to recognize their trespasses of
God’s standards when they occur. John says that when you confess, God is just,
and will forgive you of any wrong that you are willing to admit, and purify
you, or cleanse you of all wrong. Your sins are not recorded on some list so
that you can be reminded later, or so that they can be brought up again the
next time you sin – they’re gone forever, erased from the very mind of God.
Even when you commit the same offenses over, and over again, God will keep on
forgiving you, if you are truly repentant. There are some areas of addicts’
lives that require more cleaning than others, but God does not get angry, or
grow weary of them when they come back to Him for another bath.
If they want to
maintain the progress they have made in recovery, the addict needs to examine
themselves daily, each day asking the Holy Spirit to reveal their sin, and then
confess their sin to the Lord with a repentant heart. This is how they keep
their character flaws from returning and choking the life out of their
recovery. Now that they have recovered they are ready to carry the message to
others,
Topic 12-K: Steps Eleven & Twelve - Aware,
Awakened, Grateful, and Ready to Give
“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve
our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge
of His will for us and the power to carry that out” (Wilson, 60).[103]
“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result
of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice
these principles in all our affairs” (Wilson, 60).[104]
Steps eleven and twelve
are the final steps in the healing process. This section will cover both steps. In
step eleven the addict seeks through prayer and meditation to improve their
conscious contact with God; praying for the knowledge of His will for them and
the power to carry it out. In step twelve, having experienced a spiritual
awakening as the result of the other steps, they now attempt to carry the
message of recovery, freedom through repentance, and abundant life in Jesus’
name, to others, and to practice the principles of holiness, which they have
discovered in God’s Word, in all their affairs.
“Service gladly
rendered, obligations squarely met, troubles well accepted or solved with God’s
help, the knowledge that at home or in the world outside we are partakers in a
common effort, the fact that in God’s sight all human beings are important, the
proof that love freely given brings a full return, the certainty that we are no
longer isolated and alone in self-constructed prisons, the surety that we fit
and belong in God’s scheme of things – these are the satisfactions of right
living for which no pomp and circumstance, no heap of material possessions,
could possibly be substitutes” (Wilson, 104).[105]
When the addict has
come this far in the recovery process and they have been thorough as they
worked through each step, they will naturally be experiencing a closer
relationship with God. This growth in their closeness with God will continue if they continue to seek Him.
If the addict genuinely
wants to complete and maintain the healing that they are experiencing, they
must seek God daily for His will to move forward in this newness of Life. When
you give up an addiction, there will be a void, and only God can fill that void
and give you a new sense of purpose. Consider what David said:
“The Lord is my light
and my salvation, so why should I be afraid? The one thing I ask of the Lord,
the thing I seek most, is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my
life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in His temple. For He
will conceal me there when trouble come; He will hide me in his sanctuary. He
will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above
my enemies who surround me. At His sanctuary, I will offer sacrifices with
shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music” (Ps. 27:1, 4-6).[106]
God created man for fellowship
with Himself, and without God’s presence in their lives, there is a spiritual
hunger that can only be satisfied by His presence. Because of this, it is a
part of the addict’s human nature to call out to God when they are in trouble.
But when they begin to practice the presence of God in their lives daily, their
relationship with Him matures and becomes more intimate, and they begin to
naturally turn to God out of a desire to be near Him – because without His
presence daily they feel empty.
As the recovering
addict, has worked through the steps, the process has shown them how kind,
merciful, and gracious God is, and how deeply He loves them. Because of this
great revelation, they desire to be near Him, and will now make a conscious
effort to be near Him, because “in His presence is fullness of joy.” Joy, a
fruit of the Holy Spirit, has taken residence in their hearts.
This is what David was
referring to in these verses. David found great joy when he was in the presence
of God. God is always near to man, but they do not always feel His presence.
Most people’s relationship with God is limited to crying out for Him, usually
in desperation, to meet their needs. But when the addict begins to practice His
presence through prayer and meditating on His word, just so that they can be
more aware of who He is, when they are simply seeking to know Him more, they
will discover that He gives them what they never even knew they needed –
unspeakable joy. When they enter the presence of God, the addict has at this point
in their recovery discovered, there is joy. David also said, “What joy for
those You choose to bring near, those who live in Your holy courts. What
festivities await us inside Your holy temple” (Ps. 65:4).[107]
It is a desire for
something that is more than this world offers that drives the addict to seek after
it with their hearts. Until they discover how much God loves them and how deeply He
is concerned about every part of their lives, they lack the desire to pray to
Him. Once they sincerely believe that He has completely forgiven them, they
will no longer be ashamed to face Him. The life of King David should give us
hope. After he had come face to face with his own sinfulness, he found that the
answer to restored joy was in the presence of God.
As the recovering
addict, has worked through the healing process, they have spent a lot of time
looking back. They considered and confessed the wrong things they have done. As
they proceed in the recovery process, they will need strength to walk the path
God has called them to follow. Their strength will come from recognizing that
God’s presence is with them. David proclaimed:
“Yes, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art
with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Ps. 23:4).[108]
When they ask for His
will, and the strength to carry it out, they must understand that it will not
always be easy, but His presence is always with them. Even in the most
difficult and darkest situation, “The valley of the shadow of death,” He goes
before them. God’s presence in their lives can be constant, but it must be
invited. God is a gentleman and never forces his way into the lives of man.
They must seek Him daily, they must cultivate His presence in their lives, and
joy will be the natural result.
“O give thanks unto the
Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him,
sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works” (Ps. 105:1-2).[109]
When you have been
healed of your addictions, out of gratefulness, you should naturally want to
share what God has done for you with those who still suffer. A life set free of
addictions by the Lord is a beautiful sight. When you practice these
principles and share what God has done for you, it will produce hope in others
as your life become a testimony of God’s glory.
Those who have suffered
in the dilemma of addiction, know from their experience, the depths of
suffering, affliction, and brokenness that addiction brings. they know the pain
of slavery to their passions, and needless suffering because denial blinded
them. They can relate to those who are still struggling to be free, but they
also know that there is more to life than bondage. They have discovered that in
Jesus’ Name, there is healing, freedom, and joy.
When Jesus came to the
earth, He had a mission. When He was asked one day to read in the temple, He
read from the book of Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the
Sovereign Lord is upon Me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to
the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that
captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent Me to tell
those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come and with it, the day
of God’s anger against their enemies” (Isa. 61:1-2).[110]
Jesus had a mission and
likewise so should we. Jesus’ mission has been passed on to us. Some people
talk about “preaching the gospel,” but alienate those who need the Good News
the most. Recovered alcoholics and addicts are in a unique position to share
their experiences, their strengths, and their hope in a way that broken people
can understand and receive.
Every person who has
recovered from the dilemma of addiction(s) has a story to tell. They may be shy
and feel awkward about speaking, but their testimonies need to be heard. They
may feel that their stories are too trivial to share, but there is someone who
needs to hear it, because your story could be theirs.
The recovered
individual may also be struggling to get beyond the shame of their past
experiences not realizing that their recovery story can help others who are
trapped back where they once were. Are you willing to allow God to use you to
help free others? In Mark 16:15 Jesus told us to, “Go into all the world and
preach the Good News to everyone.” This is the mission that Jesus has
commanded, and sharing His deliverance, is a great way to fulfill this mission.
Having worked through
these steps, and having had a spiritual awakening, the addict has now recovered from
the dilemma of addiction, and they are in a unique position to carry the
message to others. Recovered alcoholics and addicts can recognize the warning
signs of addictive behavior in those around them, as well as in themselves.
When touching on such deep and sensitive issues, it is important to speak in
the language of love, not condemnation. And no one can more clearly recognize
what those who still suffer need to hear, and how that message needs to be
delivered, than someone who has walked in the shoes of the addict.
The recovered addict is
not the answer for those who still suffer, Jesus is, but no one is in a more
unique position to love addicts and to accept them without condemnation, the
way that Jesus would, as those who have recovered from the same struggle. Love
goes beyond mere words. Sometimes it is spoken in silence, not condemning
someone who comes seeking help. Love doesn’t just identify their problems, it
helps carry the weight of their burdens. Recovered alcoholics and addicts can
be a part of a support network to help carry the burdens of others until they
are able to take steps toward recovery on their own initiative.
“Do not neglect the
spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the
elders of the Church laid their hands on you. Give your complete attention to
these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your
progress. Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to
what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who
hear you” (1 Tim. 4:14-16).[111]
Paul taught Timothy
that to get the message across to his congregation he was not only to teach
others, but he also had to be an example by putting his beliefs into practice.
When recovered alcoholics and addicts continue to practice the spiritual
principles of the twelve steps in a Christ-centered manner, others will be
watching and notice the changes. This will open the doors for them to share
their story. Every addict is a precious lost soul whom God loves and wants to
rescue from the bondage of addiction so that can walk in the abundant life He
came for them to have. Once they have been freed from the bondage of addiction,
they can begin to receive the promises of God.
Topic 13: From Bondage to Promise
“I tell you for certain
that anyone who sins is a slave of sin! And slaves don’t stay in the family
forever, though the Son will always remain in the family. If the Son gives
you freedom, you are free” (Jn. 8:34-36).[112]
There is no question,
alcoholism, and addiction are a form of slavery. It is a self-imposed bondage,
but once the addict is locked away in its chains, breaking free is impossible
for them without the help of Jesus. But through prayer, the washing of the
Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit – through a process of sanctification by
the blood of Jesus, they can be freed from the chains of addiction and begin to
live lives that allow them to receive the promises that will come to those who
walk through the valley of the “Shadow of Death” (Ps. 23:4), ahead of them
awaits a table prepared for them and anointing, healing, that allows them to
dwell with God forever. It doesn’t come easy, but it will come to all who
continue to walk on the path of freedom that the God-ordained for them to have.
A new life that can be received through this glorious process of recovery.
“We need to shout down
the strongholds, we need to pray through the prisons, we need to fast and pray
until the incarceration of sin, becomes the power of the Holy Ghost” (Jones,
From Benoni to Benjamin, 2017).[113]
The promise to all who will submit to God’s control:
“12-Step Promises
- If we are painstaking about this phase of
our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through.
- We are going to know a new freedom and a
new happiness.
- We will not regret the past nor wish to
shut the door on it.
- We will comprehend the word serenity and we
will know peace.
- No matter how far down the scale we have
gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others.
- That feeling of uselessness and self-pity
will disappear.
- We will lose interest in selfish things and
gain interest in our fellows.
- Self-seeking will slip away.
- Our whole attitude and outlook upon life
will change.
- Fear of people and of economic insecurity
will leave us.
- We will intuitively know how to handle
situations that used to baffle us.
- We will suddenly realize that God is doing
for us what we could not do for ourselves
Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled
among us -
sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we
work for them” (Wilson, 88-89).[114]
There is a perfect
story in scripture to illustrate how God release those in bondage that cry out
for His help, how being in bondage for a long period can leave the
individual(s) with issues that must be dealt with, and how God does not always
remove their character flaws caused by the bondage, or their tendency or desire
to return to that bondage immediately.
The children of Israel
were in bondage to the Egyptian government for over 400 years. God heard their
cries and He delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. Once they were
free it becomes obvious to those who read the account of their struggle found
in the Old Testament book of Exodus, that they had issues held over from their
bondage.
Every time they ran
into a problem, they always reverted to the same old story, life was better
back in Egypt. What they were saying is essentially that when they were
slaves, they were much happier. When they were slaves, all their needs were
met, they were satisfied, and life was much simpler. They didn’t expect when
they cried out for deliverance, that they might have to work to receive their
promise. God had promised to set them free and to give them a land that was
flowing with milk and honey. He had promised that if they followed Him their
lives would be far better, better than the life they lived in Egypt. But every
time they faced adversity they wanted to go back to Egypt. They wanted to
return to their bondage because, in their minds, life was good in Egypt. They
had a slave mentality. They wanted instant gratification, but God never
promised them victory without a fight.
“For mine Angel, shall
go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the
Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut
them off. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after
their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their
images. And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and
thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee” (Ex.
23:23-25).[115]
God made it very clear
that there would be an enemy in the land that He promised them, an enemy that
would be in the way of receiving their promise, and they were going to have to
fight the enemy. But He had promised them earlier, that if they placed
themselves in His hands, He would do the fighting for them.
“The Lord shall fight
for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Ex. 14:14).[116]
God did not instantly
“miracle” the promise into their hands, they had to work for it, but it was
guaranteed to them if they trusted God. God could have instantly transported
them from Egypt into the promised land, He could have taken all their enemies
out before they ever got there, and He could have placed the promise in their
hands. He could have kept them from sickness, just because he chose to, but He
didn’t. Why? Because God knew that they were ungrateful, and he knew that they
needed to go through the wilderness. Got knew that the only way they would
defeat their enemies was to learn to trust Him, and the only way they would
become grateful was to get their promise through a process. If He just gave
them everything instantly, they would not “hold their peace” (Ex. 14:14).
Eventually, the
Israelites did inherit the promise, but because of their stubbornness and their
refusal to trust God, obey Him, and walk in His plan, it took them over
40 years. For 40 years they walked the same path around a mountain going in
circles and making no progress. But once the generation who refused to trust
God was gone, a new generation who had learned to trust God, led by men of
faith, entered the promised land.
For many who are
addicted, years of bondage to drugs and alcohol have left them with issues.
They struggle to get free and they hunger for healing. They have tried
everything they know to break their chains, but they didn’t have the power to fight. They go around and around in circles following the same
patterns of addictive behavior. Every time they face adversity they return to
that slave mentality, and to their addictions.
Until they go through
the process of healing that the 12 steps provide, most will never overcome
their enemy. Some will even die in the “wilderness” of their addictions. But
with God’s help, and in His strength, they can find abundant life, receive
their miracle of healing, and the promises that come with a restoration of hope
and the blessing of joy in His presence.
It doesn’t happen
overnight, but if they pursue freedom through surrender to God, freedom is
attainable, true freedom that comes from Jesus. And as they walk in that
freedom, not a freedom to indulge in their sinful behavior, but freedom of
knowing that God is in control, so everything is going to be okay. Then they
can finally enter the promises that seemed impossible for them to have, but
what was impossible for them, became possible through Jesus. The miracle
happens through a process, and when it occurs the addict will, “suddenly realize
that God is doing for them, what they could not do for themselves” (Wilson,
89).[117]
Conclusion
“It is far from easy to
relate to the depths of other persons. To do so is to come alive to their
personhood – to their pain and potential, their emptiness or fullness, their
unique blend of hope and despair. It is painful to relate to the depths of
others because it inevitably exposes us to the dark rooms of our own inner
world. Their emptiness reminds us of our own. Their anger and resentment cause
ours to resonate. Yet only as we relate to others in depth can we become
growth-enablers in their lives” (Clinebell, 4).[118]
In conclusion, it must
be stated unequivocally, there is only one answer to the dilemma of addiction,
peace with God through repentance and acceptance of Jesus as your Lord and
Savior, and complete submission to His will. Jesus is the only hope for the alcoholic
and addict, for without Him, all are lost and powerless to overcome sin. As
the old song says, “Jesus is the answer for the world today, above Him, there’s
no other, Jesus is the way” (Crouch, 1973).[119]
Jesus is the answer!
There is no other name under heaven or on this earth by which men can be saved.
There is no sacrifice made, sufficient to set us free from our sins, besides the
blood He shed for us on the cross. And there is no power available, that can
break the chains of addiction, except the power that is received through
baptism in the Holy Ghost, the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit which He
promised to all that would repent and surrender to His Lordship. Recovery from
alcoholism and drug addiction is a miracle that only Jesus can provide.
There are numerous
people who have been delivered from addiction instantly, God has completely
taken the desire from their lives, and they have never taken a drink or used
drugs again. But there are just as many who have come to the Lord, in all
sincerity, and received Him as Lord. They may be abstinent from substances, but
they struggle with the desire. The Apostle James writing to the Church, said,
“but each person is tempted when they are dragged away and enticed by their own
evil desires” (Jas. 1:14).[120]
These suffering saints
sit in the pews of churches, all over our country, every Sunday, many times too
ashamed to admit they are struggling, afraid of being judged, and so they
suffer in silence. Some of them make it, but many do not. The Body of Christ must
find a way to help them find healing from the lingering struggle and shame,
caused by their addictive behaviors, the Church must help them to receive their
miracle, and for the majority who do eventually receive their miracle, it comes
one step at a time.
The first Step in the
process of healing for those trapped in addiction is admitting that they are
powerless to change their situation, no matter how much effort they put
forward, it will never be enough to release them from their self-imposed
prison. The second step is to acknowledge that only a power greater than
themselves, only the power of God is sufficient to release them from the grip
of addiction, only the name of Jesus can break their chains, and only the Holy
Spirit can keep them free. This freedom is sustained as they take the third
step and surrender their lives to God through repentance, follow Jesus in His
death, burial, and resurrection through baptism in Jesus’ name, and by
receiving the power to live for God that comes only through the baptism of the
Holy Ghost.
“Then Peter said unto
them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts
2:38).[121]
Once the addict and
alcoholic have taken the first three steps, once they have declared that Jesus
is their Lord and have surrendered their lives to the power of the Holy Ghost,
they have what they need to continue through the rest of the process so that
they can be made whole. The body of Christ should be encouraging them to go
through this process, but unfortunately, there are many who are ignorant to the
struggle of the addict, they dismiss the struggle of the addicted to be whole,
as a simple lack of faith.
These are usually very
well-intended, good people. But they have no idea the struggle that individuals
in recovery from substance abuse go through. They don’t see the issues that
brought them to the bondage that they are in, and have no idea, in most cases,
what it is going to take to help them receive lasting freedom. Many of them
have been delivered from addiction instantly, so they find it hard to relate to
those who are not.
Fortunately, not all
believers are unaware of the struggle the addicted face. The Apostle Paul
understood, firsthand, what it was like to struggle to be free from a
tormenting issue:
“And lest I should be
exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given
to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should
be exalted above measure. For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice, that it
might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for
my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather
glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2 Cor,
12:7-9).[122]
The Apostle Paul
understood that there are some things that believers must face, “messengers
from Satan” (2 Cor. 12:7), that they can only overcome through admitting they
are weak and allowing the power of Christ to rest upon them. Most believers
would never tell someone who has had back surgery, even though they had prayed
to be healed, that allowing a surgeon to repair their back was a lack of faith.
They would never suggest to the back patient that once they have had their back
repaired by the surgeon’s skills, they don’t need the recommended physical
therapy. Never! Why? Because they understand that for them to recover, they
must go through a process prescribed by the doctor.
There is a process,
prescribed in scripture that all those who come to Jesus must go through to
ensure that they will never fall away. Here is what the great physician has
prescribed for all that come to Him in faith, regardless of what sin has held
you captive, if you follow the doctor’s orders, you will never become enslaved by
sin again:
“So, don’t lose a
minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith
with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate
patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension
fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities, active and
growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, and no day will pass
without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus.
Without these qualities, you can’t see what’s right before you, oblivious that
your old sinful life has been wiped off the books.
“So, friends, confirm
God’s invitation to you, his choice of you. Don’t put it off; do it now. Do
this, and you’ll have your life on a firm footing, the streets paved and the
way wide open into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ”
(2 Pet. 1:5-11).
The Process begins with
faith, but the struggle to follow Jesus in a world that is perverse and corrupt
is real. I know first-hand how real it is. My name is Clayton, and I am a
recovered alcoholic and addict. I have been sober for years now, but not nearly
as many years as I was drunk. The struggle to be free from alcohol was the
hardest thing I have ever faced until I stopped trying to face it without
Jesus’ help. I came to Jesus, weary, worn, and sad – He took my sins away.
Today I am a born-again
child of the living God, baptized in Jesus’ Name, and filled with the Holy
Ghost. I have found the answer to the emptiness that haunted my heart for so
many years, a love greater than life itself, I discovered the power of God
through Jesus Christ, and I discovered it through a process, one step at a
time. And I personally know hundreds of people who now call Jesus Lord, who,
most likely, would have never come to Him without the 12-step process.
Today I gladly admit my
powerlessness, I am weak, the power of Christ rests upon my life, and I am
free! And I believe that God has called me to carry this message to others that
still suffer. It is my desire to see all who come to Jesus, made whole.
Works
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Adams, Jay. "How to Help People Change."
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Wallbuilders Press, 2008.
Clinebell, Howard. "Basic Types of Pastoral Care
and Counseling." Clinebell, Howard. Nashville, TN: Abington Press, 1966
and 1984.
Crabb, Larry. "Effeective Biblical
Counseling." Grand rapids, MI: Zondervam, 1977, 2013.
Fiorentine. Va Mental Health Statistics. 1999.
1 February 2017.
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CHristians." RPI publishing Group, 1988 and 1994.
From Benoni to Benjamin. Perf. William Jones. First Pentecostal Church,
Richton. 19 March 2017.
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God, Almighty. "The Holy Bible, New Living
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Gossop, Michael. Prior Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
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Ingram, Chip. "Culture Shock." Grand
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Mcdonald, James. "Christ-Centered Biblical
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2010. 1 March 2017.
Petterson, Eugene H. "The Message." Carol
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Rudolph H. Moos, PhD. and Christine Timko, Phd. Long-term
outcomes of alcohol use disorders. July 2000. 10 February 2017.
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www.treatmentsolutions.com. n.d.
[1] New
International Version: John 10:10a
[2] New
Living Translation: Colossians 2:20-23
[3] King
James Bible: Colossians 2:23
[4] Bill
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” (New York, NY Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services, 1939) p.44
[5] Ibid:
p.45
[6] King
James Bible: Psalm 23:6
[7] Ibid:
Matthew 12:29-31
[8] Ibid:
I Peter 3:7
[9]
Dr. Jay Adams: “How to Help People Change” (Grand Rapids, MI Zondervan
Publishing House, 1985) p.15
[10] New
International Version: Romans 12:2
[11] Larry
Crabb: “Effective Biblical Counseling” (Grand Rapids, MI Zondervan
Publishing House, 1977) p.139
[12] New
International Version: James 1:14
[13] King
James Bible: Proverbs 14:12
[14] Ibid:
Matthew 5:20
[15] Ibid:
Matthew 6:5
[16]
Ibid: Luke 18:10-11
[17]
Adams: “How to Help People Change” p.17
[18] King
James Bible: Proverbs 12:2-4
[19]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.45
[20] New
Living Translation: Acts 1:8
[21]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.45
[22] Amplified
Bible: John 14:26
[23]
Greek word meaning counselor; Strong’s Reference number 3875
[24] John
Thayer: “Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon” (Grand Rapids, MI Baker Books,
1981) p.483
[25]
Eugene Peterson: “The Message” (Carol Stream, IL NavPress, 1993) John
14:27
[26]
Dr. Jay Adams: “Competent to Counsel” (Grand, Rapids, MI Zondervan
Publishing House, 1970) p.20
[27] New
Living Translation: Romans 7:18-25
[28] Ibid:
Romans 7:24-25a
[29] King
James Bible: Matthew 4:23
[30] Amplified
Bible: James 1:17
[31] New
Living Translation: 2 Kings 5:1-9
[32] Ibid:
Luke 17:11-19
[33] King
James Bible: Leviticus 14:14-15, describes the ritual cleansing by the
Jewish priest that had to be performed on all those who were healed of leprosy
before they could be declared, “Clean.”
[34] New
Living Translation: Luke 17:19
[35] www.treatmentsolutions.com
[36] New
Living Translation: 2 Timothy 3:5
[37]
Dr. Bob Smith: “I Saw God Remake a Drunkard” (Your Faith Magazine, 1939)
p.84
[38]
Smith: “I Saw God Remake a Drunkard” p.85
[39]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” pp.58-59
[40]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[41]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.60
[42]
David Barton: “Original Intent” (Abilene, TX Wallbuilder’s Press, 2008)
p.81
[43] New
Living translation: John 10:10
[44] Bill
Wilson: “As Bill Sees It” (New York, NY Alcoholics World Services, 1967)
p.13
[45]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.55
[46]
New Living Translation: 1 Samuel 30:6-8
[47]
Rudolph Moos & Christine Timko: “Long-term outcomes of alcohol use
disorders” (Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs{JSAD}, Vol 61 July
2000) www.jsad.com
[49]
Michael Gossop: “Prior Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) affiliation and the
acceptability of the Twelve Steps to patients entering UK statutory addiction
treatment” (JSAD, Volume 64 March 2003) www.jsad.com
[50]
John F. Kelly: “Do adolescents affiliate with 12-step groups? A multivariate
process model of effects” (JSAD, volume 63, March 2003) www.jsad.com
[51]
Christine Timko: “Intensity of acute services, self-help attendance and
one-year outcomes among dual diagnosis patients” (JSAD, Volume 65, March
2004) www.jsad.com
[52]
Fiorentine: “Outcome Research on 12-Step and Other Self-Help Programs”
(Department of Veterans Affairs, 1999) www.mentalhealth.va.gov
[53]
B. Kissin: “Comments on "Alcoholism: A Controlled Trial of 'Treatment'
and 'Advice'" (JSAD, Volume 38, Sept. 1977) www.jsad.com
[54]
Bernice Moos & Rudolph Moos: “Family characteristics and the outcome of
treatment for alcoholism” (JSAD, Volume 40, January 1979) www.jsad.com
[55]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[56] King
James Bible: James 1:23-24
[57] New
Living Translation: Romans 7:4
[58] Ibid:
Romans 7:25a
[59]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[60] King
James Bible: James 2:19-20
[61]
Wilson: “Alcoholic Anonymous” p.55
[62] King
James Bible: Luke 15:17-20
[63]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[64] King
James Bible: Psalm 118:8-9
[65] Amplified
Bible: Numbers 23:19
[66] King
James Bible: Hebrews 13:5
[67]
Reinhold Niebuhr: “The Serenity Prayer” (www.beleifnet.com/prayers/protestant/addiction/serenity-prayer.aspx)
[68]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[69] New
International Version: Nehemiah 9:34-37
[70]
Ibid: 2 Corinthians 7:8-10
[71]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[72] King
James Bible: Hosea 11:8-9
[73] Ibid:
Amos 7:8-9
[74] New
International Version: John 8:3-11
[75] Ibid:
Romans 12:2
[76]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[77] King
James Bible: 1 John 1:9
[78] Ibid:
Romans 3:23
[79] Ibid:
Romans 6:23a
[80] Ibid:
Romans 6:23b
[81] New
International Version: Isaiah 55:2-3, 7
[82] Ibid:
Isaiah 55:2
[83] Ibid:
Jonah 4:5-8
[84] Ibid:
John 5:2-7
[85]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[86] King
James Bible: 1 John 1:9
[87] Ibid:
Jeremiah 18:1-6
[88] Ibid:
Jeremiah 18:2
[89] Ibid:
Isaiah 45:9
[90] Ibid:
Luke 18:10-14
[91]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[92] King
James Bible: Exodus 22:10-15
[93] Ibid:
Leviticus 6:20-22
[94] English
Standard Version: Matthew 18:24-35
[95]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[96]
Wilson: “As Bill Sees It” p.145
[97] King
James Bible: Matthew 5:23-24
[98] Ibid:
Luke 19:8-9
[99]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.59
[100]
Wilson: “As Bill Sees It” p.17
[101]
English Standard Version: James 1:21-25
[102]
Ibid: 1 John 1:8-10
[103]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.60
[104]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.60
[105]
Wilson: “Came to Believe” (New York, NY Alcoholics Anonymous World
Services, 1973) p.104
[106]
King James Bible: Psalm 27:1, 4-6
[107]
Ibid: Psalm 64:5
[108]
Ibid: Psalm 23:4
[109]
Ibid: Psalm 105:1-2
[110]
Ibid: Isaiah 61:1-2
[111]
Ibid: 1 Timothy 4:14-16
[112]
New Living Translation: John 8:34-36
[113]
A quote from a sermon preached by evangelist William Jones at First Pentecostal
Church, Richton, MS March 19, 2017
[114]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” pp.88-89
[115]
King James Bible: Exodus 23:23-25
[116]
Ibid: Exodus 14:14
[117]
Wilson: “Alcoholics Anonymous” p.89
[118]
Howard Clinebell: “Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling”
(Nashville, TN Abington Press, 1984) p.4
[119]
“Jesus is the Answer” a Recording from 1973 by Christian Singer Andre’
Crouch
[120]
New International Version: James 1:14
[121]
King James Bible: Acts 2:38
[122]
Ibid: 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
