One of the most oft-repeated phrases in AA is:
"Let Go. Let God."
As often as I heard this phrase repeated, and as often as I tried to practice letting go, there was never any peace in my life.
If I let go of this or that, then how do I know that everything will be taken care of?
In order to "Let God", you have to trust that this God is there, and that He is there for you:
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11: 6)
AA teaches people to choose their own conception of God.
Yet if we want to know God, especially God as Father, we must look to Jesus, who is the Author and Finished of faith (Hebrews 12: 1-2):
"8Philip saith unto
him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9Jesus saith unto
him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?
he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew
us the Father?" (John 14: 8-9)
When we see Jesus our Savior, we see God as our Father, the most loving Parent who gave His Son, that we would receive everlasting life (John 3: 16), that in Christ His Son we would receive the adoption of children (Romans 8: 15), that we would be made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
When we understand how much God loves us, then we see how well He holds us:
"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is
able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." (John 10: 29)
He has you and me and all things in His hands.
When you let God be who He is, in that He has everything, then you and I can let go.
AA, like any other religious system, teaches us to look at ourselves then look to God. Jesus invites us to come to Him, and then He empowers us to let go:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. 29Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find
rest unto your souls. 30For my yoke
is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11: 28-30)
Let God, and then let go: that's the Truth that sets us free!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
AA Makes You Powerless -- Christ Alone is the Power
While AA claims to provide power, Christ is the Power that we need, because He has all the Power:
"13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4: 13)
and then
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 19)
In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul explains the fullness and the supremacy of Christ, and all the Power that He Has, and Is:
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." (Colossians 1: 15-20)
Whatever higher power you and I can think of, Jesus Christ has already beat us to it. He made everything, and He holds everything together, and everything was made for His glory, not for yours and mine.
Yet Jesus is no stingy, selfish monarch, but the most loving Servant:
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10: 45)
and then:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16)
and also:
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)
And do not forget:
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)
God gives us beyond what we can ask or think in Christ (Ephesians 3: 20). Forget about a "conception" of God, and forget about seeking a "Higher Power", for there is no other name named under heaven by which a man may be saved but in Jesus!
"13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4: 13)
and then
"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4: 19)
In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul explains the fullness and the supremacy of Christ, and all the Power that He Has, and Is:
"Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; 20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." (Colossians 1: 15-20)
Whatever higher power you and I can think of, Jesus Christ has already beat us to it. He made everything, and He holds everything together, and everything was made for His glory, not for yours and mine.
Yet Jesus is no stingy, selfish monarch, but the most loving Servant:
"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (Mark 10: 45)
and then:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16)
and also:
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10: 10)
And do not forget:
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? 32He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? 33Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8: 31-34)
God gives us beyond what we can ask or think in Christ (Ephesians 3: 20). Forget about a "conception" of God, and forget about seeking a "Higher Power", for there is no other name named under heaven by which a man may be saved but in Jesus!
AA Makes You Powerless
But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could wish to be moral, we could wish to be philosophically comforted, in fact, we could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn't there. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient; they failed utterly.
AA is another philosophy, a vain collection of thoughts and practices brought together from other religious programs, none of which had strong records of success for those who attended.
The program claims that people need something more than "human resources", yet the Twelve Step program is of human origins to begin with.
AA claims that the program helps people get power, yet the program teaches people to identify with the very problem that they are trying to overcome.
Whatever "power" that this program claims to offer, the claims rank far below the actual program of action:
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will.(AA, pg 85)
This power is not very powerful, if a man has to keep working a program to remain sober.
In fact, how can "alcoholism" be a problem if the person is defined, identifies with it?
If you are an "alcoholic", then you should enjoy drinking, getting drunk, and look forward to drinking yourself to death.
AA makes people "powerless" by having them admit in the first step:
For the record, the AA program does not work, with a staggering 95% who do not get sober in the meetings, followed by the remaining five percent who rely on medication to remain stable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
If we are powerless, then we are not insane, since we are fully aware that we have a drinking problem. Insanity is a complete break with reality, in which a man cannot know right from wrong. With alcohol addiction, and other perversions, men and women know fully well that they have a problem. That is not insanity.
AA is another philosophy, a vain collection of thoughts and practices brought together from other religious programs, none of which had strong records of success for those who attended.
The program claims that people need something more than "human resources", yet the Twelve Step program is of human origins to begin with.
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. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?
Well, that's exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve your problem. That means we have written a book which we believe to be spiritual as well as moral. And it means, of course, that we are going to talk about God. Here difficulty arises with agnostics. Many times we talk to a new man and watch his hope rise as we discuss his alcoholic problems and explain our fellowship. But his face falls when we speak of spiritual matters, especially when we mention God, for we have re-opened a subject which our man thought he had neatly evaded or entirely ignored.
AA claims that the program helps people get power, yet the program teaches people to identify with the very problem that they are trying to overcome.
Whatever "power" that this program claims to offer, the claims rank far below the actual program of action:
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will.(AA, pg 85)
This power is not very powerful, if a man has to keep working a program to remain sober.
In fact, how can "alcoholism" be a problem if the person is defined, identifies with it?
If you are an "alcoholic", then you should enjoy drinking, getting drunk, and look forward to drinking yourself to death.
AA makes people "powerless" by having them admit in the first step:
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.
For the record, the AA program does not work, with a staggering 95% who do not get sober in the meetings, followed by the remaining five percent who rely on medication to remain stable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
If we are powerless, then we are not insane, since we are fully aware that we have a drinking problem. Insanity is a complete break with reality, in which a man cannot know right from wrong. With alcohol addiction, and other perversions, men and women know fully well that they have a problem. That is not insanity.
Choose Your Own Deception of God
We cannot conceive of God. Who He is, all that He has, and all that He has done and is committed to do for us: the greatness of God cannot be conceived.
David in the Psalms could not express it any better, in that he admits that he can barely express it:
"
However, to the degree that we rely on our own conception of things, to the extent that we work any "man-made" program, to that extent we inevitably draw on our own experience, to that extent we end up worshipping ourselves, falling in line with a conception of God which reflects our prior experiences and understandings of authority and truth.
There is one truth which sets free, and that Truth is Jesus Christ:
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14: 6)
This Truth, the Spirit of the Lord, brings us true liberty:
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3: 17)
Man does not need a "conception of God", but rather he needs life.
Man lost this life in God when Adam disobeyed:
"17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2: 17)
and then
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." (Genesis 3: 6-7)
The moment that man stopped looking at God as his life and truth and way, he starts to look at himself and make himself better.
In the same way, when a man choose his own conception of God, he will inevitably be deceived into looking at himself, and try to fix himself.
And that is precisely what AA does, just like any other religious system in the world. Satan's great deception, that man can be god, or that he can choose his god, turns him into a self-obsessed slave, a broken, dead man trying to make himself perfect, when God had already made us perfect, in His image.
There is only one God, and if we do not glorify Him as God, we will inevitably degenerate into perverse idolatry:
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." (Romans 1: 21-23)
AA teaches people to choose their own deception, and whatever "God" of their choosing still must submit to the man made Twelve Steps, which actually diminish whatever "Higher Power" that we have conceived of.
David in the Psalms could not express it any better, in that he admits that he can barely express it:
"
1{To the chief
Musician, A Psalm of David.} O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known
me.
2Thou knowest my
downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou compassest
my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4For there
is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it
altogether.
5Thou hast beset
me behind and before, and laid thine hand upon me.
6Such
knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain
unto it." (Psalms 139: 1-6)
This is our God, people! Far greater than any "higher power" which a man or woman can dream up in an AA meeting!
Still, members in AA are instructed to choose their own "conception of God" (AA. pg. 12), as if any idea of a "Higher Power" will solve all the problems, granting men and women a power that will enable them to overcome their addiction to alcohol (or any other perverse behavior).
However, to the degree that we rely on our own conception of things, to the extent that we work any "man-made" program, to that extent we inevitably draw on our own experience, to that extent we end up worshipping ourselves, falling in line with a conception of God which reflects our prior experiences and understandings of authority and truth.
There is one truth which sets free, and that Truth is Jesus Christ:
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14: 6)
This Truth, the Spirit of the Lord, brings us true liberty:
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3: 17)
Man does not need a "conception of God", but rather he needs life.
Man lost this life in God when Adam disobeyed:
"17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." (Genesis 2: 17)
and then
"And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." (Genesis 3: 6-7)
The moment that man stopped looking at God as his life and truth and way, he starts to look at himself and make himself better.
In the same way, when a man choose his own conception of God, he will inevitably be deceived into looking at himself, and try to fix himself.
And that is precisely what AA does, just like any other religious system in the world. Satan's great deception, that man can be god, or that he can choose his god, turns him into a self-obsessed slave, a broken, dead man trying to make himself perfect, when God had already made us perfect, in His image.
There is only one God, and if we do not glorify Him as God, we will inevitably degenerate into perverse idolatry:
"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." (Romans 1: 21-23)
AA teaches people to choose their own deception, and whatever "God" of their choosing still must submit to the man made Twelve Steps, which actually diminish whatever "Higher Power" that we have conceived of.
We Cannot Conceive of God
Despite the living example of my friend there remained in me the vestiges of my old prejudice. The word God still aroused a certain antipathy. When the thought was expressed that there might be a God personal to me this feeling was intensified. I didn't like the idea. I could go for such conceptions as Creative Intelligence, Universal Mind or Spirit of Nature but I resisted the thought of a Czar of the Heavens, however loving His sway might be. I have since talked with scores of men who felt the same way.
My friend suggested what then seemed a novel idea. He said, "Why don't you choose your own conception of God?"
"Novel idea" indeed.
In fact, the habit of mankind to choose their own concept of God is quite old:
"9They that make a
graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall
not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know;
that they may be ashamed. 10Who hath formed
a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? 11Behold, all his
fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all
be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and
they shall be ashamed together." (Isaiah 44: 9-11)
Whatever ideas we choose to draw on in order to "conceive of God", we will inevitably draw on ourselves: our experiences, hopes, dreams, fears.
The God revealed in the Word of God had to tell Moses His Name:
"And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel,
and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they
shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14And God said unto
Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of
Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." (Exodus 3: 13-14)
"I AM THAT I AM" -- YHWH -- This Name above all Names encompasses the Eternal God, He who was and is and is to come, the same yesteday, today, and forever.
This God, The God, cannot be understood, let alone conceived, in our minds.
We either believe on Him, or we do not believe on Him.
Beyond our reasoning, we recognize by faith that God created the heavens and the earth, for their plain existence, with the complexity and beauty and intricacy interwoven with order and harmony, cannot be understood merely in terms of our conception of things.
"8For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
LORD.
9For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55: 8-9)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Twelve Steps: Voluntary Humility, Involuntary Servitude
"Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." (Colossians 2: 20-23)
AA is just one more example of "rudiments" or elements of the world.
Men and women who visit the "rewmz" of AA will find that most of the people who stay there, never leave, never check out, and their whole life ultimately revolves around provoking others because they have "worked the program" longer than other people.
Jesus did not come that we could receive a better program of action. He came that we would have life, and that more abundantly (John 10: 10). He is the Life that we need (John 14: 6; Colossians 3: 1-4).
Anything less just pushes people into "touch not, taste not, handle not", which cannnot grant a man a new heart, the core problem for every person who abuses alcohol, or any other substance.
The New Covenant is an easy offer to all who are willing to believe:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
AA is just one more example of "rudiments" or elements of the world.
Men and women who visit the "rewmz" of AA will find that most of the people who stay there, never leave, never check out, and their whole life ultimately revolves around provoking others because they have "worked the program" longer than other people.
Jesus did not come that we could receive a better program of action. He came that we would have life, and that more abundantly (John 10: 10). He is the Life that we need (John 14: 6; Colossians 3: 1-4).
Anything less just pushes people into "touch not, taste not, handle not", which cannnot grant a man a new heart, the core problem for every person who abuses alcohol, or any other substance.
The New Covenant is an easy offer to all who are willing to believe:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
The key element of this Covenant, however, stresses that you and I bring nothing to the table. This New Covenant is cut between God the Father and God the Son, in who we live and move and have our being, for He is our high priest forever, ministering on our behalf before God the Father, and we can trust, entering boldy before the throne of grace (Hebrews 4: 16), that every prayer we pray is heard and answered before God, because of our High Priest Jesus:
"Herein is love perfected among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He, Christ, is, so are we in this world!: (1 John 4: 17)
Reject the involuntary servitude of AA, with its voluntary humility, and receive the honor which comes with resting in Christ's Finished Work at the Cross.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
AA Wants to Fix Flesh -- Fix Your Eyes on God's Grace in Christ
This truth has taken me the longest to learn, yet as I grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, I accept more and more that who I am has all to do with Christ in me, and nothing do with my flesh, in which no good things dwells. AA is all about trying to make us better people. Jesus is all about making dead men live, and have life more abundantly.
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 11)
and
"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not." (Romans 7: 18)
Paul the Apostle distinguished himself from his sin nature. We all need to do the same, and identify with Christ (Colossians 3: 1-4)
Do you still get angry with yourself because you lose your temper? Do you look at yourself every time that you fail? In this respect, then, you and I still need to get skillful in righteousness (Hebrews 5:12-14)
Part of gaining skill in righteousness includes looking at Jesus for our greater good, receiving more of His grace and righteousness (Romans 5:17). No matter how old or young you are in the Body of Christ, you and I need all of Christ all the time.
Do we get discouraged when we fail? No way, because God's grace is greater than our sin:
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 5: 20-21)
Paul the apostle was not wallowing in voluntary humility when he declared that he was the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)
In fact, just like him we must stop expecting from God anything if we believe that we can bring to Him anything of yourself, that you can earn anything from Him.
Paul explained it perfectly:
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. "(Galatians 2: 20-21)
He lives in us. Our job is to walk by faith and let His life flow, not try to fix our flesh. Why are we still trying to fix our flesh? Because we think that, in some way, we must depend on our own efforts, or that we can stand on our standing.
Even when we sin, God's grace is greater (Romans 5: 20). Even when we face hardships and trails, His grace is sufficient for us to endure whatever we go through (2 Corinthians 12: 9-10)
We stand fast in liberty (Galatians 6: 1), a liberty that Christ Jesus has given to us through the truth of His Word (John 8: 32-36)
Forget about fixing your flesh, your propensity to sin. God's grace is greater, and His grace is working in us to do all that He wants us to do (1 Corinthians 15: 10)
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Rest on His Laruels (His Finished Work!)
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How can I best serve Thee - Thy will (not mine) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will. (AA, pg 85)
In the Body of Christ, we are more than "cured of alcoholism", we receive the gift of "no condemnation":
"She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8: 11)
When we receive that in Christ, there is "no condemnation" (Romans 8: 1), then we can understand our new life and standing in Him:
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8: 2-4)
In Christ, we no longer identify with our fallen nature, with our dead bodies, with our old Adam identification. In the first Adam, death reigned over mankind. In the Second Adam, Christ, we all can reign in life as we receive the gifts of righteousness and grace (Romans 5: 17)
Instead of identifying with our flesh, and instead of trying to work out obedience through our own efforts, we are invited to live in newness of life, walking in the Spirit.
"5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8: 5-8)
In fact, the works of the flesh, whether we attempt to do good in our own efforts or seek our own satisfaction through our own actions, the results are death (Romans 6: 23). More specifically, Paul writes to the Galatians:
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5: 19-21)
"Drunkenness" is one of the works of the flesh, not a disease, as AA claims.
How can we rest for our efforts, then, so that we do not produce these works of the flesh. Paul explains:
"1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5: 1)
and then
"16This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law." (Galatians 5: 16-18)
How do we walk in the Spirit, though?
Paul writes to the Romans want kind of Spirit we have received:
"For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Romans 8: 15-17)
To the Galatians, Paul writes:
"6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4: 6-7)
We are called to identify with God our Father, not some imperious " loving God as we understood Him" or distant "principal" and we are his "agents."
This same Spirit grants to us Christ Jesus living in us, who is our hope of glory (Colossians 1: 27).
Paul writes to his young charge Timothy:
"7For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1: 7)
This love is God's love for us, which He demonstrated through giving His Son to die for us, to be raised for us (Romans 4: 22-23), to minister on our behalf before the Father as our High Priest (Romans 8: 31-35)
He has done all the work for us, that we may rest in Him and trust Him to care for us. As God promised in His New Covenant:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
When we recognize that He lives and works and moves in us, we receive His power, knowledge of His love for us (for the Holy Spirit convicts every believer of His righteousness in Christ (John 16: 8-11)), and the sound mind of wisdom is communicated to us because the Holy Spirit gives us all knowledge (1 John 2: 20, 27)
Instead of striving to be accetped before God, instead of seeking his approval, instead of working for God, God the Father invites us to rest in His Son (Matthew 11: 28-30; Hebrews 4: 8-11) and allow His Life to live through us.
Rest on His Laurels, the Finished Work of Jesus!
How Colossians Opened My Eyes
In his Epistle to the Colossians, Paul outlines fully that Jesus is our fullness:
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:" (Colossians 2: 9-10)
The verse before this two wonderful promises never got my attention before, until today:
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2: 8)
Nothing better typifies philosophy and vain deceit, nothing better represents the traditions of men and the rudiments of the world than AA.
That terrible program was concocted by religious individuals (harldy spiritual) who sought to make man better through diligent efforts.
We are not called to perfect ourselves, as Christ Jesus has perfected us already through His death and resurrection (Hebrews 10: 14-17)
Why would we seek to perfect, or complete ourselves, anyway, since Christ makes us complete, makes us whole?
The Second Chaper of Colossians continues:
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)
When Jesus died on the Cross for us, he gave us His life. He died for all our sins -- all of them! -- and he annulled the condemnation of the Law ("the handwriting of ordinances that was against us) by fulfilling the law through His life on earth, his death on the Cross, and His neverending ministry on our behalf at the Right Hand of the Father.
Since He is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1: 30), and we have been made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5: 21), there is no further need for us to do or be or have anything through our own effort to "get right" or "get righteous" with God.
For this reason, Paul later writes:
"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." (Colossians 2: 18-19)
"Beguile" also means "disqualify" or "penalize", as a judge who takes away the crown of victory from a runner who has won a race. In the same manner, AA teaches people to label themselves sinners and fallen men "who have lost their legs", people forever identified by a perversion from which we have been released through the blood of Jesus Christ.
"Voluntary humility" best describes this chronic habit of "I am a flea, dog, worm" a "hopeless drunk" who could never make it without AA.
In fact, AA makes it so that people cannot make it, a set of commands which reintroduces a need to "do something", when Jesus declared "It is Finished!" (John 19: 30)
Instead of identifying ourselves with a failing in our flesh, Paul invites us to set our eyes on the Best:
" If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)
For clarification, when Paul writes "ye are dead", he speaks specifically about "the rudiments (rules, ABCs) of the world":
"Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." (Colossians 2: 20-23)
Because a man who believes on Jesus Christ has been taken from dead in his trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly place with Christ (Ephesians 2: 1-6), the rules of men, the traditions and steps of earthly traditions, are nothing to him.
This indictment includes the Twelve Steps, whether Alcoholics Anonymous or Celebrate Recovery, or any other regimen which outlines steps which we "have to" take.
Colossians opened my eyes, first showing the primacy, supremacy, and eternity of Christ Jesus (Colossians 1), then explaining the fullness of all that He has done, and thus how we must never look to any other system for guidance and fulfillment, nor allow anyone to convince us and thus rob us of all that we are, have, and do in Christ Jesus!
"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:" (Colossians 2: 9-10)
The verse before this two wonderful promises never got my attention before, until today:
"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Colossians 2: 8)
Nothing better typifies philosophy and vain deceit, nothing better represents the traditions of men and the rudiments of the world than AA.
That terrible program was concocted by religious individuals (harldy spiritual) who sought to make man better through diligent efforts.
We are not called to perfect ourselves, as Christ Jesus has perfected us already through His death and resurrection (Hebrews 10: 14-17)
Why would we seek to perfect, or complete ourselves, anyway, since Christ makes us complete, makes us whole?
The Second Chaper of Colossians continues:
"And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2: 13-15)
When Jesus died on the Cross for us, he gave us His life. He died for all our sins -- all of them! -- and he annulled the condemnation of the Law ("the handwriting of ordinances that was against us) by fulfilling the law through His life on earth, his death on the Cross, and His neverending ministry on our behalf at the Right Hand of the Father.
Since He is our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1: 30), and we have been made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5: 21), there is no further need for us to do or be or have anything through our own effort to "get right" or "get righteous" with God.
For this reason, Paul later writes:
"Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." (Colossians 2: 18-19)
"Beguile" also means "disqualify" or "penalize", as a judge who takes away the crown of victory from a runner who has won a race. In the same manner, AA teaches people to label themselves sinners and fallen men "who have lost their legs", people forever identified by a perversion from which we have been released through the blood of Jesus Christ.
"Voluntary humility" best describes this chronic habit of "I am a flea, dog, worm" a "hopeless drunk" who could never make it without AA.
In fact, AA makes it so that people cannot make it, a set of commands which reintroduces a need to "do something", when Jesus declared "It is Finished!" (John 19: 30)
Instead of identifying ourselves with a failing in our flesh, Paul invites us to set our eyes on the Best:
" If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3: 1-4)
For clarification, when Paul writes "ye are dead", he speaks specifically about "the rudiments (rules, ABCs) of the world":
"Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, 21(Touch not; taste not; handle not; 22Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? 23Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh." (Colossians 2: 20-23)
Because a man who believes on Jesus Christ has been taken from dead in his trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly place with Christ (Ephesians 2: 1-6), the rules of men, the traditions and steps of earthly traditions, are nothing to him.
This indictment includes the Twelve Steps, whether Alcoholics Anonymous or Celebrate Recovery, or any other regimen which outlines steps which we "have to" take.
Colossians opened my eyes, first showing the primacy, supremacy, and eternity of Christ Jesus (Colossians 1), then explaining the fullness of all that He has done, and thus how we must never look to any other system for guidance and fulfillment, nor allow anyone to convince us and thus rob us of all that we are, have, and do in Christ Jesus!
Saturday, July 6, 2013
AA Prescribes Illness of False Identity
Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death. (AA, pg 30)
One integral element of the AA scam teaches people to identify with something that they are not, or rather by identifying with something, and then claiming that they are "reborn", they end up merely elevating and inflating their "dead in Adam" flesh.
In Christ, we care called to see ourselves no longer in dead Adam, but alive in Christ:
"7For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)" (Romans 5: 17)
Because we are alive in Christ, we no longer reckon ourselves in our bodies, in our flesh, in sin:
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6: 11)
When we acknowledge that through Jesus' death and resurrection, we are taken from dead in our trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places in righteousness (Ephesians 2: 1-6), then we can boldy say:
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6: 14)
Throughout the Book of Romans, "sin" refers to a position of death and rebellion in Adam, in that we are "dead." Paul is never writing about sin as an action, but rather a status of dead, outside of God, estranged from Him.
When we receive Christ's righteousness (2 Corinthians 5: 21), we have become a new creature (2 Corinthians 5: 17), and thus we have nothing to do with the flesh, the works of which include:
"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness . . ., drunkenness, revellings, and such like (Galatians 5: 19, 21)
As a child of God in Christ, we are no longer in the flesh, but rather in the Spirit:
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans 8: 12-15)
One integral element of the AA scam teaches people to identify with something that they are not, or rather by identifying with something, and then claiming that they are "reborn", they end up merely elevating and inflating their "dead in Adam" flesh.
AA is an evil cult, one which teaches people to identify, even cherish their old, human nature, even though the pages of the "Big Book" will claim that the "program works. It really does."
The program does not work, and it cannot work, because the cult teaches people to identify with the very thing that they need to be free from, and for the believer in the Body of Christ, he cannot be a child of God and an alcholic, for that would be trying to walk in the Spirit and in the flesh:
"For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." (Galatians 5: 17)
Identify with who you are in Christ, and you will walk in the Freedom of Christ:
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Galatians 5: 1)
And as always:
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)
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