AA: Worse for Christians

I have witnessed Christians in AA meetings have to stuff or suffer for their faith.

One man was a recent arrival to the program. As soon as he began reading from the Sermon on the Mount, the secretary of the meeting just slammed the Bible shut on the podium, then chided the man loudly and openly for sharing the core tenets of His Higher Power apart from the basic elements of the program.

A few weeks later, another man boldly declared that Jesus Christ is his Higher Power. The secretary once again sidled up quietly to whisper to the speaker that he was not permitted to talk about his personal faith, but the man refused to be quiet. He was courageous, not afraid to speak out his beliefs.

Some of the Old Timers started to grovel and complain --"She's always starting sh--", one of them whined.

Then another man, making fun of the drama, stated, "My name is Jesus, and I'm an alcoholic."

It was hilarious.

Then the secretary came up to comment. "My name is ---, and I'm an alcoholic."

She then explained how she had been taught that the meetings are not the place where individuals can share the specific elements of their faith. They can talk about the "Higher Power", but nothing more.

"If you believe in Jesus, in Buddha, it doesn't matter, but you do not get to share about your religion. You get to share about the program, nothing else."

However, I have witnessed a not-so-subtle loophole in this whole arrangement. Members believe in the sea, the sky, the stars, the sun, the moon, the rest. Others talk about My Little Pony or the dragon collections as their higher power. But mention "Jesus", and people in the meetings go nuts.

Of course, Christians are not just victimized outwardly. Because they are attempting to work for their recovery instead of "work out their salvation", they fall from grace (Galatians 5: 4) and make Christ of no effect in their lives.

I have attended Celebrate Recovery meetings, where the Higher Power is Jesus Christ, yet the members still insist on defining themselves according to their problem in life. One Celebrate Recovery leader claimed that he would be recovering for the rest of his life.

The Bible teaches otherwise, at least regarding our identity in Christ:

"For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore." (Hebrews 7: 28)

Christ is our perfect sacrifice:

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10: 14)

By this perfect sacrifice, we become perfected before God, accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6)

I listened to many stories of Christians who on the one side were depending on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then on the other hand they felt compelled to work twelves steps in order to break free.

One man claimed nine months of sobriety from alcohol, for the third time in three years.

Another man, crumbled and crest-fallen to the core, admitted that he had worked the steps completely, left not one thing unadmitted, yet he went back to committing the same perversions that he was trying to end in his life.

The law, and steps to work out obedience, are doomed to fail for a man or woman who has believed on Jesus Christ for salvation. The law, weak and beggarly elements, cannot compare to the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit, who leads us to walk in the victory which every believer already has:

"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8: 37)

Why work for what God has already given you? It's crazy!