AA Demands: Christ Gives Us All Things

AA suggests that members can believe in a "loving God" who helps them in their time of need.

In reality, no one can trust a God who sometimes loves them, then gets separated from us when we get angry, or resentful:

It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these, do we squander the hours that might have been worth while. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We found that it is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. (AA, pg 66)

Nothing can separate us from the Love of God (Romans 8: 38-39)

No one can trust in another person's love if how we feel or what we think can prevent God from working in our lives.

He lives in us not because of anything that we have done, or do, but because Jesus Christ has completed all things:

"Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also." (John 14: 19)

And Christ is our life, much more than a program:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life." (Joihn 14: 6)

and

"For 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: 3-4)

We receive all things in Christ, as well:

"Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." (1 Corinthians 3: 21-23)

AA demans from us, but in Christ we receive all things, and in Him we do all things (1 John 4: 9)

A Life of AA is No Life at All

I was born in AA, it seems.

I was raised in it, too.

The Twelve Steps seemed like a normal way of life, just a little help so that people who had living problems, not just drinking problems, would be able to manage those issues.

After so many years of frustration and pain, I now realize that much of the frustration in my life was because of this "normal program".

The Twelve Steps takes you nowhere.

The Steps end up stepping all over you.

What kind of life can anyone expect to live if one must run everything by twelve ideas, a sponsor, and attend meetings where the very people who are supposed to be working the program demonstrate how the steps do not work at all.

I have since learned this life has nothing to do with me, or any set of steps which I have to work.

This life is a gift, one given to me by God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

I am not afraid to write His Name, for in His name anyone can receive all things!

Still, many Christians believe that they have to add Twelve Steps in order to be good Christians.

They forget that no one can live "the Chrsitian life".

This life is Christ in us, and we are nothing:

Christian = Christ + I Am Nothing

Does this mean that I disappear?

No way! On the contrary, He gives us life and that more abundantly (John 10: 10)

I have never felt so alive knowing that He is the Life that aI craved, that I wanted, but was never able to get.

This life is not something that we strive to acquire, or something that we work up.

Paul offers us something better:

"12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2: 12-13)

This "God" is not of my understanding, by the way, but is revealed to us in the goodness of Nature and the godliness of Scripture.

No one can understand a God so good that He gives everything.

Such is the nature of sin -- "something is deeply wrong with me, yet at the same time I can and must do something about this lack in my life and the world around me. . ."

The answer is faith, hope, and love -- all met in Christ.

A Life of AA is no life at all.

Self-Help from the Government is Not Help At All

The eight most dreaded words in the English:

"I'm from the government, and I'm here to help."

Ronald Reagan was right, and not just about government programs coming out of Washington.

The same observation applies to counseling and self-help programs forced upon people from the state.

Forcing people to seek help undermines the very act.

Alcoholics Anonymous claims over and over that people "Gotta Wanna".

But if you "gotta" go to AA because a judge told you to, then where's the sobriety? Where's the spirit of willingness?


Force cannot save anyone. Every human being lives under force and duress because of Adam and Eve.

Today, the rest and refreshing which men and women seek cannot be found in what we do, or what we think, or the number of meetings we attend.

Everything that we need is found in Christ Jesus, the image of the Invisible God, from whom all blessings flow, who created the Universe, the center of all Creation, the One who holds all things together (Colossians 1: 15-20)

Self-Help forced upon us by the government is not help at all.

Nothing could be more ridiculous.

(Besides, AA is a blatant violation of the First Amendment)

Not Working, But Resting

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)

Contrary to the program's pretended claims, every day members of AA do not bring a message of experience, strength and hope to anyone. There is no life, there is no strength, there is nothing but trying to keep one's head above water, staying just one step ahead of the next drink.

This never-ending sense of "never done" defines Alcoholics Anonymous.

I am not making this up.

Read the story where the man says "Acceptance is the Answer to all of my problems."

He claims in that story that his most important decision every day is not drinking.

What kind of life is that, one in which the only issue of substance is not taking a drink?
AA is not a life of living out the life within you, but trying to hold on every day, hoping that the enemies surrounding you will not be able to wear you down then storm all over you.

The life of constant vigilance wore me out. I could not continue living this life of holding on.

No one can.

Then Jesus Christ offers the following:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11: 28)

The verse better reads: "And I will rest you."

Jesus Christ is the rest, and in Him we find all things.

During one tumultuous period of my life, I was chronically plagued with doubt, trying to figure out what was my part in this life.

I know that Jesus had died for my sins. Yet I had been raised that in order to live out this life, I needed to do certain things. Because I had no clear guidelines provided for me, I used the Twelve Steps, since that was what I was taught for so long.

The Twelve Steps, like any system of rules, creates more problems. Any system of rules will bring s back to ourselves, showing us that we cannot measure up in anything that we do.

No matter how hard we try, no matter what steps we take to do well, we will never arrive by our efforts to the place where we want to be.

Instead of our efforts, God the Father offers us His Son, and in Him we have the perfect standing that we seek.

"4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Ephesians 2: 4-8)


This entire life that we have in Christ: it is a gift from God.

There is no mixing this message. Either we receive everything from Him, or we must work for it.

Otjherswise, we are caught in a meaningless contradiction or a chronic frustration which causes us to move and stop at the same time.

There is no working and resting at the same time. Either God is everything, or God is nothing, as members of AA love to repeat.

Yet if God is everything, then I need to see Him as Savior, and only the Gospel of grace through Jesus Christ reveals this Truth (and the Way and the Life)

Stop Watching Out, Start Looking Up

This thought brings us to Step Ten, which suggests we continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new mistakes as we go along. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past. We have entered the world of the Spirit. Our next function is to grow in understanding and effectiveness. This is not an overnight matter. It should continue for our lifetime. Continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (AA, pg 84)

This little passage follows after the Promises.

The promises which we have to work for.

In the previous post, I outlined that no one can claim a promise if he has to work for it.

The promise of life everlasting, and every good and perfect gift, comes from above, from God the Father (James 1: 17)

We receive every good thing through Jesus (Romans 8: 32)

Yet the Twelve Step program tells us to watch out for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear.

Let's take each one of these defects one at a time, and allow the full truth of Scripture give us the real solution, all found in a growing revelation of Jesus.

Selfishness:

What is selfishness other than an ongoing bankruptcy that the things we need must be met through our efforts?

Paul cuts through this fear right away in his Epistle to the Ephesians:

"3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1: 3-6)

We have been blessed with every blessing, all of which are spiritual in origin, and we have been made accepted in the Beloved, Jesus!

In fact, because of what He did for us on the Cross, the full proof of God's love for us, we can then declare:

"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)

The proper translation reads "Herein is love perfected among us." This love is God's love for us, from beginning to end, not ours for God.

Dishonesty:

First of all, the truth sets us free (John 8: 32). Why would anyone want to live in bondage?

Why would anyone lie? Because we fear losing something, or we have fear in general.

The antidote is the love of God (not love for God):

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love."  (1 John 4: 18)

This perfect love speaks of everything done for us in Christ Jesus, for He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings, He has seated us in heavenly places in Himself (Ephesians 2: 6)

Because we identify with the Perfect Man Jesus, then we have a new reason for the truth:

"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another." (Ephesians 4: 24-25)

 

We speak the truth because we are all part of one Body in Christ.

 

Resentment:

 

This new truth has conveyed so much to me. Since as Christ is, so are we in this world, we must reckon ourselves dead to sin (Romans 6: 11-12), and that includes outbursts of anger, or sudden surges of frustration and resentment.

 

These outrages, these upsets, these emotional turmoils are not us. We are new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 17), and because we have a new standing, and thus no longer identify with Adam, we allow His Holy Spirit to transform us from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3: 18)

 

Paul writes to this wonderful transformation more specifically in Ephesians:

 

"31Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: 32And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4: 31-32)

 

The more that we see how gracious God is, the more that bitterness, wrath anger (in other words, resentment) will be taken away from us.

 

How gracious is He? Check out Romans 5: 17:

 

"For 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)

 

Young's Literal Translation brings out the fullness of this grace more explicitly:

 

"for if by the offence of the one the death did reign through the one, much more those, who the abundance of the grace and of the free gift of the righteousness are receiving, in life shall reign through the one -- Jesus Christ."

 

We are called to keep receiving this grace!

 

Another verse brings out the constant flow of God's grace in our lives:

 

"And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:" (2 Corinthians 9: 8)

 

Youngs writes:

 

"and God is able all grace to cause to abound to you, that in every thing always all sufficiency having, ye may abound to every good work,"

 

The best translation offers:

 

"God is causing right now all grace to abound to you."

 

Let us also keep in mind that God is constantly at work in us, both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2: 12-13)

 

We do not identify with upsets, resentments, and all the other negative emotions in our lives, because they are residue of the old man Adam, from whom we have been delivered.

 

Fear:

 

Once again, God's perfect love for us casts out every fear, banishes it, turns it out of doors. His love cannot coexist with fear, because fear speaks of a Spirit which does not belong to us, anyway:

 

"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)

 

and

 

"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)

 

So, whatever the issue in our lives, we should stop watching out for these terrible feelings and thoughts, but rather look up to our new identity, and reckon ourselves alive in Christ:

 

"1If 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)

 

AA Makes Void What God's Grace Gives

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.(AA, pg 84)

I have written this many times: how can anything be a promise if we have to work for it.

A promise is based on the pledge of someone else to do something for us, not the other way around.

Otherwise, it would not be a promise at all, but wages earned.

Paul writes about this disjunction of truth and error in Romans:

4Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." (Romans 4: 4-5)


We are not saved by our works, but rather we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-8)

Paul then explains how all things are granted to us through the grace of God:

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression." (Romans 4: 13-15)

Every promise that we receive from God, we receive by His grace, by undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor.

We are not saved by anything that we have done, but everything that Jesus did for us at the Cross:

"4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:" (Ephesians 2: 4-8)

Paul could not make it clearer: we are saved by grace through the death of resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Because of Jesus, we can rest assured of all other things in our lives:

"31What 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?" (Romans 8: 31-32)

Now, what causes grace to void in our lives is not our sin, but the law, and our attempts to keep the law.

For this reason, Paul writes:

"14For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: 15Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression." (Romans 4: 14-15)

When we feel that we are under law, we sense a "fearful looking after of judgment" (Hebrews 10: 26)

Christ Jesus has fulfilled the law for us, and by His death on the Cross He has removed the curse of the law, the one weapon which the devil uses to bring men into bondage (Colossians 2: 13-15)

The only thing that brings us away from God's grace is not our sin, but rather our attempts to be justified through obedience to the law, rather than walking by faith in all that Christ has done for us:

"2Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Galatians 5: 2-6)

Faith works through God's love for us, not our love for God, by the way.

AA is just one more set of rules which evil men have forced upon hurting people, trying to glory in their own flesh while bringing people into bondage.

Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law, every requirement, and through Him we receive all things. Do not allow the Twelve Steps, or any other system of man, bring you into the lying bondage of trying to earn what God so freely gives, and only He can give.

Identity is Not Feelings

You are not your feelings, ladies and gentlemen.

Any fears, thoughts, frustrations in our lives do not pertain to us.

God has invited everyone of us to step into His Son, to receive His standing, because He took our place as sinners at the Cross.

AA teaches people not only to identify with their feelings, but that they have to do something about them so that they can live "in the sunlight of the Spirit."

This invitation to the light brings so many people into darkness.

And I was one of those people.

I lived my life for too long convinced that the only way to stay above the fray of troubles - I had to watch my feelings, make sure that my thoughts did not stray.

What a nightmare it was.

Every time that I felt scared or frustrated, I was convinced that I had to do something about that terrible feeling, or else I would not be able to do anything.

I have since then learned that He is working within me to will and to do for His good pleasure, and that He is at work at all times.

He works in me because He lives in me.

This new life is not something that Jesus gives us.

Jesus is this new life, and with Him we receive all things.

We identify with Christ Jesus, who is seated at the right hand of the Father, not with ourselves.

Yet AA, like many "self-help" groups, and even some Christian organized recovery programs, keeping pointing people back to themselves, telling them to follow certain rules, to fulfill certain steps, then men and women will arrive at the right kind of person which they want to be.

We are meant for eternity, we need eternal life, and only the Eternal God and His only Begotten Son through the Holy Spirit grants us this life, this standing, this Person.

It's all about identity, it's all about life, not about feelings, not about steps, not about our doing anything that He has not already done.

And He has done everything for us!