Satan is the father of lies, and when he lies, the best lies he relies have a small element of truth.
Alcoholics Anonymous is suffused with these frauds.
There are passages in the AA Book which talk about being reborn, that God is our Father, and we are His children.
Yes, God is our Father, and we are His children, because we have received a spirit of adoption through Jesus!
"33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear." (Acts 2: 33)
This Holy Spirit grants us the conviction of righteousness (John 16: 10), and makes us sons in Christ before Daddy God:
"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." (Romans 8: 15)
Yet we are not called on to keep looking at ourselves, our feelings, our thoughts, any sentiments of fear and anxiety.
We do not outgrow our fear, because "Perfect love casts out fear!" (1 John 4: 18)
We do not identify with dead Adam, and all the perversions pertaining to that first man, including alcoholism, drug addiction, and any other abuse or perversion.
We have been made the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
When God sees us, He sees His own Son:
"Herein is love perfected among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4: 17)
It is a cruel lie for people to go around calling themselves "alcoholics" or to be taught that they are "bodily and mentally different" from other people, when in reality they suffer from the same shame and setbacks which other people struggle: sin in our flesh, in a dying world.
The other perversion is that we need to keep one step ahead of our sins, or that alcoholism (or whatever other problem) will end up gripping us one more time.
That is all wrong. We have been set free from all sins, from all condemnation. We no longer identify with dead Adam, we are now dead to sin, and alive to God in righteousness.
We were sinners, but now we are saved. We were dead, but now we are alive. We were alienated from God. Today, He is our Father, and we have a perfect standing of Sonship with him.
When we are angry or upset, the first thing we need to do is. . .go to God.
What does AA teach? We need to run to someone else, confess our sins (our bad feelings), then run and help someone else.
BS!
The mixture of law and grace in AA is the worst form of it, precisely because there are many Christians out there who think that you can trust Jesus and live by the Twelve Steps, too.
Jesus did not die on the Cross for me to work Twelve Steps.
We live from faith to faith, not from faith to works.
"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1: 17)
and then
"Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3: 3)
God invites us to grow in grace and knowledge of Him, not busy ourselves with an empty life of petty charities in order to stay one step ahead of alcoholism.
AA is a dangerous cult, in part because the program offers itself as a program from living, and many people see the Bible, church, and Jesus Christ as amenities to help us live good lives.
The truth is - we need life, not just help. We need a Savior, not an advisor, and we need salvation every day, not just as a new identity in Christ when we first get saved.
No comments:
Post a Comment