The Twelve Step Programs are not for Addicts Only –
We Should all Live by Them
I have spent the last several years working with those who have succumbed to addictions and helping them by working through what is known as the 12 step program. I also combine cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and what is known as the choice theory. In going through the steps over and over again, I have come to realize that when we apply the biblical principles alongside the 12 step program it is just not a guide to for those who are addicted, but a guide for those who desire a closer relationship with Christ. There are two particular programs that I work with which are biblical-based; Celebrate Recovery and Over- comers Outreach. My intent of this blog is to take you through the 12 step program as described in the Celebrate Recovery and the eight principles that go along with the 12 steps. Due to the length of this, and the importance of understanding the need for all Christians to challenge themselves with this program, I will not do it in one blog but break it down into a series of blogs.
This first section is going to be an outline of the 12 steps and their biblical comparisons as listed in the Celebrate Recovery manual and then the eight principles based on the Beatitudes for the Road to Recovery. Read through the steps with an open mind and not with a mind closed because you think these apply only to those who suffer of addictions. If we are to be real with ourselves, as we read these and look at the biblical comparisons we will come to an understanding that we all can benefit from following and maintaining these steps in our lives.
Celebrate Recovery’s Twelve Steps and Their Comparisons
1. We admit we are powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives have become unmanageable.
a. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. (Romans 7:18).
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
a. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13).
3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.
a. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12:1).
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
a. Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. (Lamentations 3:40)
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
a. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:16).
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
a. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10)
7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
a. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
8. We made a list of all persons we have harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
a. Due to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)
9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
a. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and they are remember that your brother or sister has something against you; leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)
10. We continue to take personal inventory and when we are wrong promptly admit.
a. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12)
11. We seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.
a. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly. (Colossians 3:16).
12. Having had a spiritual experience as a result of these steps we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
a. Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
As part of the Celebrate Recovery’s program, they also give the Eight Principles Based on the Beatitudes that lead to the road to recovery.
1. (R) Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is on manageable.
a. Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor. (Matthew 5:3).
2. (E) Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that he has the power to help me recover.
a. Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4).
3. (C) Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
a. Happy are the meek. (Matthew 5:5)
4. (O) Openly examine and confess my false to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.
a. Happy are the pure in heart. (Matthew 5:8)
5. (V) Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask him to remove my character defects.
a. Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires. (Matthew 5:6)
6. (E) Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others.
a. Happy are the merciful. (Matthew 5:7)
b. Happy are the peacemakers. (Matthew 5:9)
7. (R) Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
8. (Y) Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.
a. Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires. (Matthew 5:10).
As you read through these 12 steps along with the eight principles with an open mind you can see how that these steps, if applied to our daily lives, can help us to build a stronger relationship with Christ. The world that we live in today has become unmanageable and we are powerless within it. It is only by the grace of God and his guidance that we are able to enter this world, to live in this world, survive in this world, and still retain our moral principles that are based on Christ and His Word, the Bible.
Over the on coming weeks, I’m going to break these principles down to help us understand how by following them they will draw us closer to God, and show us the many faults we have in the lives that we are living now so that we may turn to him to help bring us out from the norms of this world and into the presence of His world.
We Should all Live by Them
I have spent the last several years working with those who have succumbed to addictions and helping them by working through what is known as the 12 step program. I also combine cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and what is known as the choice theory. In going through the steps over and over again, I have come to realize that when we apply the biblical principles alongside the 12 step program it is just not a guide to for those who are addicted, but a guide for those who desire a closer relationship with Christ. There are two particular programs that I work with which are biblical-based; Celebrate Recovery and Over- comers Outreach. My intent of this blog is to take you through the 12 step program as described in the Celebrate Recovery and the eight principles that go along with the 12 steps. Due to the length of this, and the importance of understanding the need for all Christians to challenge themselves with this program, I will not do it in one blog but break it down into a series of blogs.
This first section is going to be an outline of the 12 steps and their biblical comparisons as listed in the Celebrate Recovery manual and then the eight principles based on the Beatitudes for the Road to Recovery. Read through the steps with an open mind and not with a mind closed because you think these apply only to those who suffer of addictions. If we are to be real with ourselves, as we read these and look at the biblical comparisons we will come to an understanding that we all can benefit from following and maintaining these steps in our lives.
Celebrate Recovery’s Twelve Steps and Their Comparisons
1. We admit we are powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives have become unmanageable.
a. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. (Romans 7:18).
2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
a. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. (Philippians 2:13).
3. We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.
a. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. (Romans 12:1).
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
a. Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. (Lamentations 3:40)
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
a. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (James 5:16).
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
a. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:10)
7. We humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings.
a. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
8. We made a list of all persons we have harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
a. Due to others as you would have them do to you. (Luke 6:31)
9. We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
a. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and they are remember that your brother or sister has something against you; leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)
10. We continue to take personal inventory and when we are wrong promptly admit.
a. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you do not fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12)
11. We seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power to carry that out.
a. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly. (Colossians 3:16).
12. Having had a spiritual experience as a result of these steps we try to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
a. Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves or you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
As part of the Celebrate Recovery’s program, they also give the Eight Principles Based on the Beatitudes that lead to the road to recovery.
1. (R) Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is on manageable.
a. Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor. (Matthew 5:3).
2. (E) Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that he has the power to help me recover.
a. Happy are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4).
3. (C) Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
a. Happy are the meek. (Matthew 5:5)
4. (O) Openly examine and confess my false to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.
a. Happy are the pure in heart. (Matthew 5:8)
5. (V) Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask him to remove my character defects.
a. Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires. (Matthew 5:6)
6. (E) Evaluate all my relationships. Offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me and make amends for harm done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others.
a. Happy are the merciful. (Matthew 5:7)
b. Happy are the peacemakers. (Matthew 5:9)
7. (R) Reserve a daily time with God for self-examination, Bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.
8. (Y) Yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.
a. Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires. (Matthew 5:10).
As you read through these 12 steps along with the eight principles with an open mind you can see how that these steps, if applied to our daily lives, can help us to build a stronger relationship with Christ. The world that we live in today has become unmanageable and we are powerless within it. It is only by the grace of God and his guidance that we are able to enter this world, to live in this world, survive in this world, and still retain our moral principles that are based on Christ and His Word, the Bible.
Over the on coming weeks, I’m going to break these principles down to help us understand how by following them they will draw us closer to God, and show us the many faults we have in the lives that we are living now so that we may turn to him to help bring us out from the norms of this world and into the presence of His world.
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