Bound will or free will?

Here is an excerpt from Grace in Addiction by John Zahl, an Episcopal Priest:

“I am not the first to attempt to wed the worlds of Christianity and Twelve Step recovery. A well-known example called ‘Celebrate Recovery’ started at Rick Warren’s (author of The Purpose Driven Life) Saddleback Church. It now runs in
churches all over America and greatly resembles other Twelve Step groups. Unfortunately, like many Christian approaches to addiction, this program often contains an excessively optimistic view of the believer’s ability to move towards God. In doing so, it has unwittingly undone the entire foundation of the 1st Step – admission of total powerlessness – upon which the world of recovery is built.

“Yet there are Christian theological traditions that begin with a realistic view of human nature. These traditions begin, at least in theory, with an emphasis on the comprehensive nature of human limitation and sin, and as such they are often better equipped to speak about addiction in general, and AA in particular.* But for
whatever reason, as far as I’m aware, none have done so.

“…It may surprise many AAs to discover that there are churches that actually agree with them about the nature of life in God’s world.”

*Author’s Footnote: “This is true especially of the denominations rooted in the Protestant Reformation, such as the Presbyterian Church, the Lutheran Church, and formative strands of the Anglican Communion. Such denominations openly acknowledge the primary problem of the “bound will” in the individual and they view humans, apart from being moved by God, as incapable of choosing the things necessary for their salvation. For them, faith comes as a gift and not an individual choice.” [emphasis mine]
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Comments:

While Zahl rightly points out the “bondage of the will” (Luther’s term and book) regarding spiritual matters, he is in error in applying this in an unqualified manner to the AA first step (“We admitted we were powerless…”). Rev. Dr. Charles Knippel, a Lutheran, wisely rewrote this step as follows:

1. “Recognize and admit that we continue to be sinners even though we are restored to God’s presence and power through the forgiveness of sins that we obtain through faith in Jesus Christ. We acknowledge that we daily sin much and are powerless over aspects of our thinking, feeling, and doing that are not yet under the influence of the Holy Spirit and thus produce sinful behaviors by which we disobey and dishonor God and hurt ourselves and others.”

We are only powerless in conversion. As Christians we are not “powerless,” except in and of ourselves where the “old Adam” is in control, in opposition to the Holy Spirit. In conversion, the Holy Spirit has given us “new powers” to overcome besetting sins. The gospel, delivered through God’s Word and Sacrament, gives us this power – power that members of AA who are not Christian do not have.

Dr. Knippel rewrote the second and third steps as follows:

2. “Believe that the God of our salvation daily forgives our sins for the sake of Jesus and, in our struggle with sin, renews us through the working of the Holy Spirit first received in Holy Baptism.”

3. “Live each day under the Holy Spirit’s power so that, in the promise and new life of Holy Baptism, we decisively turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God and His re-creating power and make fuller use of His gift of the Holy Spirit to obtain freedom from our controlling sinful behaviors of mind and body.”

In the Book of Concord regarding free will we Lutherans confess that in conversion free will is actually restored and that we then cooperate in regeneration and renewal:

“From this, then, it follows that as soon as the Holy Ghost, as has been said, through the Word and holy Sacraments, has begun in us this His work of regeneration and renewal, it is certain that through the power of the Holy Ghost we can and should cooperate, although still in great weakness. But this [that we cooperate] does not occur from our carnal natural powers, but from the new powers and gifts which the Holy Ghost has begun in us in conversion, as St. Paul expressly and earnestly exhorts that as workers together with Him we receive not the grace of God in vain, 2 Cor. 6:1.” (Source: https://bookofconcord.org/solid-declaration/#sd-ii-0065 )

Because of their bound will, unbelievers have only their “carnal natural powers.” Therefore, Zahl is correct when he says that it may surprise unbelieving members of AA to discover that Lutheranism actually agrees with them about the first step of being powerless. It should, however, be our goal as rewritten by Dr. Knippel in the twelfth step, to:

12. “Pass on the saving and liberating Good News of Jesus Christ to all in need of God’s love and power to overcome sinful and hurtful behaviors.”