Powerless?

Are We “Powerless” in Addiction?

The First Step of AA reads, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.” We often hear from confessional Lutheran pastors that this idea of “powerlessness” is problematic. We are certainly powerless in spiritual matters prior to conversion, but not after conversion. Our free will has been restored. Read Romans 6 in this regard. This is why the slogan for Confessional Lutheran Recovery is, “No longer slaves of sin.” (vs. 6)

There are, of course, “natural powers” by which even unbelievers can achieve an outward abstinence from addictive behaviors. The secular 12-steps only require a “higher power” or “god as you understand him.” The 4th Petition providence of God toward all mankind explains how the steps have helped many people who don’t believe in Christ. This help is much the same as secular counseling provides rather than a true “spiritual awakening” the 12-steps promise.

But as Christians we do have access to more than what our fallen human nature and the fallen world can deliver. By the grace of God, we can break the chains of slavery to our addictive behaviors by virtue of the “new powers and gifts” that the Holy Spirit gives us. Yes, we have new powers! As we confess in the Lutheran Confessions in the Formula’s article on Free Will:

“From this, then, it follows that as soon as the Holy Spirit, 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 Spirit 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 Spirit 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 )

  God’s Word and Sacraments are the means of grace that deliver and continue to nourish these new powers and gifts. Therefore, as baptized Christians who are nourished with the Word and the Lord’s Supper, we are not “powerless.” It seems as though we are when, “aspects of our thinking, feeling, and doing are not yet under the influence of the Holy Spirit” (Dr. Knippel’s rewording of the 1st step). At these times we conveniently ignore the direction of the Holy Spirit, believe the lies of the devil and the world, and allow our old Adam to gain the upper hand. As Paul aptly relates the experience:

“I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:21-25) 

Our Lord has, indeed, delivered us from this body of death. “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” (Romans 6:12) “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)

So, does this mean that we no longer can fall prey to addictions? Obviously not. But we are not left powerless over them. Even a Christianized version of “turning your will and life over to God” (AA Step 3) misses the point unless it clearly takes our personal responsibility and new God-given powers as seriously as we should.

Experience tells us that no matter how fervently or frequently we pray to God to take away our addictions, the prayers usually remain unanswered unless we ourselves take action, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippeans 2:13) We have the gift of a renewed free will with which we can and should cooperate, practicing intentional, goal-directed sanctification.

We must be very careful in our application of the truth that the Christian is at the same time saint and sinner (“simul iustus et peccator“) so as not to allow ourselves and others to be misled by the “soft-antinomianism” prevalent in many Lutheran circles today. The Christian sometimes thinks, “my problem is not lack of trying, but weakness of faith.” But Scripture is replete with exhortations to work and battle against sin – to run the race and discipline ourselves like athletes. The weakness of our faith does not affect the availability of the new powers the Holy Spirit gives us.

We need to be painstakingly explicit about the distinctions between a Lutheran program and the original 12-steps. This is why using Dr. Knippel’s rewording of them into 12 biblical “truths” is so important. He explicitly qualifies our “powerlessness” as only being over those things “not yet under the influence of the Holy Spirit.” This begs the question, why are such things as addiction not yet under the influence of the Holy Spirit?

When we confess our sins we are admitting that our old Adam’s fallen natural powers have not only failed to prevent our sins, but rather have actually been instrumental in them. In fact, the old Adam’s fallen nature is sin itself (original sin). We are only “powerless” over our addictions when we rely exclusively on the old Adam’s fleshly powers. What we must admit is that we have intentionally pushed aside the new powers we possess as baptized Christians, refusing to use them against our pet sins.

The “Order of the Confessional Service” in The Lutheran Hymnal (1941) was commonly used on Saturdays as preparation for communion Sundays. After the confession of sins and prior to the absolution the pastor says:

“I now ask you before God, Is this your sincere confession, that you heartily repent of your sins, believe on Jesus Christ, and sincerely and earnestly purpose, by the assistance of God the Holy Ghost, henceforth to amend your sinful life? Then declare so by saying: Yes.”

This sincere and earnest purpose refuses to allow us to claim that we are powerless over our addictions or any other sins for that matter. And, we certainly must not think we receive forgiveness when we have no intention of amending our lives. We are without excuse, including the excuse of powerlessness.

With all this in mind, here is Dr. Knippel’s rewrite of step three:

“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.”

Amen!