The Truth of the Glorious Gospel vs. The Evil Cult of AA

For years, I grew up thinking that the cult of AA was normal.

I was taught that the "Big Book" was an addendum that made the Bible practical, which made the Gospel applicable in my daily life.

No one told me that all the sin debt had been paid. What I learned, when I was force-fed AA, was that I had to keep taking my inventory every day.

What?

What is this?

This is not good news at all.

There is no hope in a cult which tells you that you are a sick, crazy person who will never get better, thatn all you have is a daily reprieve, that the best you can hope for is that you do not drink for that one day.

That is not life, and that more abundantly.

There is no end to the work. There is always this fearful looking after (Hebrews 10:27) that we are going to get punished, struck down, and ruined for not being perfectly obedient.

What is the truth of the Gospel?

Check out this hymn, which spells out everything:

              

How great the chasm that lay between us

How high the mountain I could not climb

In desperation, I turned to heaven

And spoke Your name into the night

Then through the darkness

Your loving kindness

Tore through the shadows of my soul

The work is finished, the end is written

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?

What heart could fathom such boundless grace?

The God of ages stepped down from glory

To wear my sin and bear my shame

The cross has spoken, I am forgiven

The king of kings calls me His own

Beautiful savior, I'm Yours forever

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise

Your buried body began to breathe

Out of the silence, the roaring lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me

Then came the morning that sealed the promise

Your buried body began to breathe

Out of the silence, the roaring lion

Declared the grave has no claim on me

Jesus, Yours is the victory, whoa!

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free

Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me

You have broken every chain

There's salvation in Your name

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Jesus Christ, my living hope

Oh God, You are my living hope

Jesus is our living HOPE!

He cares for us now. He is invested in every aspect of our lives, caring for us every step of the way, even if we don't see what He is doing, even if we don't understand everything that is happening.

He says that we will cross over to the other side; let's believe Him that He will get us over to the other side.

For years, for decades even, this revelation was occluded for me. I was taught for so long that I had to work my inventory, that I had to say, do, initiate, anything to get God to move in my life.

Yet all this time, it is Christ who IS my life (Colossians 3:4)

Bad things will