Grow in Grace, Not in Efforts (or Steps)

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." (2 Peter 3: 18)

The greatest scam in Alcoholics Anonymous rests in teaching people that they can choose their own conception of God.

If we can conceive of God, then He is not God, or whatever our imagination may be of God, the notion is still too small, to slight, to insignificant, and commands no respect.

Yet many Christians, too, believe that they can replace the AA God with the God of the Bible, and thus they can work the Twelve Steps without contravening the Scriptures.

That is simply not the case.

Man does not live by bread alone, and he does not live by Twelve Steps, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of the Lord (Matthew 4: 4)

The fact is that Jesus is the Word, the Word who was with God, who was God, and this Word became flesh, and is the Living Word today! (John 1: 1-3)

Peter exhorts us to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord, as well.

We cannot conceive of God in the first place. Furthermore, we are encouraged to see more of Him, and let His Spirit transform us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

Now, here is the root of the scam.

If I settle on a conception of God which is fixed, which does not grow, in which I believe that I have all the information that I need about God, then all the troubles which I face, all the struggles which I encounter in this life, will inevitably seem bigger than God.

Why does this happen?

Because we have automatically and initially made God so small that He cannot help us with the big, real problems which our outside of our heads.

The program makes members people dependent instead of God dependent, because the program leads people to depend on a conception of God in their heads.

Our minds, our thinking can only respond to information from the outside. If we want to understand God, if we want to receive His life and guiding in our lives, if we want to face every day knowing that God is on our side, we have to rest in the truth that He is bigger than our yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows:

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Hebrews 13: 8)

Jesus Christ, the Anointed Savior, God made flesh, He who has been from the Beginning: We need to grow in grace and knowledge of this wonderful God, Lord and Savior.

If we settle for a conception of God, or even if we believe in Jesus, yet insist on making him submit to the Twelve Steps, then we cannot grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord.

We can't - and every challenge we face in this life, we will be convinced that we must draw on our strength and fight or overcome in ourselves.

Yet the Bible grants us greater glory, victory, and authority:

"37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8: 37-39)

For years, I kept looking to myself, as if I had to have the answers for my emotional and mental bondages. I had to try in my own efforts to love and serve other people, when I never realized that God wanted to love and serve me first, so that I in turn could give the same to others.

We cannot water others until we recognize that He is watering us at all times:

"I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water." (Isaiah 41: 18)

and then

"But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5: 24)

These prophecies speak of the Holy Spirit:

"He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7: 38)

And

"8And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." (John 16: 8-11)

The Holy Spirit convicts every person of sin, the sin of Adam from which all other sins are borne. Then once we believe on Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in us to convict us of righteousness, the river of righteousness which flows in us and springs up to eternal life (John 4: 14)

This grace and knowledge of the Lord is what we need to keep receiving (Romans 5:17), yet as long as we settle on a fixed conception of God, we will find ourselves falling back on our own efforts, the works of the flesh, and we will produce all kinds of sin and failure instead of life and that more abundantly (Galatians 5: 19-21; John 10: 10)