Are We “Powerless” in Addiction?
The first step of AA reads in part, “We admitted we were powerless.” If our own attempts to control our addictive behaviors have met with failure, does that mean we are truly powerless over them?
The Bible teaches that mankind is entirely powerless in spiritual matters prior to conversion. (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1-5) As we confess in the Small Catechism regarding the Third Article of the Creed, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”
The Bible makes it explicitly clear that, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) Yet even unbelievers can achieve a level of outward righteousness in the eyes of man. Such “civil righteousness” includes avoiding addictive behaviors.
The Catechism’s explanation of the Lord’s Prayer tells us that the the general providence of God to all mankind can include this self-control: “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers, even to all evil people… [including] peace, health, self-control, good reputation…” This explains how AA’s 12-steps can help people curb their addictions even without faith in Christ. But can these steps alone provide a solution to the deeper, spiritual root of our problem or give us true freedom from our addictions?
The AA Big Book directs people to ask for forgiveness from a “higher power” or “God as you understand him,” and receive “a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps.” In contrast, the Bible teaches that forgiveness and spiritual awakening are received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. There is no other God. (Isaiah 44:6-8)
In conversion, “through faith the Holy Spirit is received, hearts are renewed and endowed with new affections, so as to be able to bring forth good works.” (Augsburg Confession, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 12:2) The Holy Spirit frees us from spiritual death. Read Romans 6 in this regard. This is why the motto for CLR is, “No longer be slaves of sin.” (vs. 6)
As baptized Christians we have access to more than what AA’s 12-steps, our fallen human nature, and the fallen world can offer. With the new powers, affections, and gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us, we can truly break the chains of slavery to our addictive behaviors, achieving a level of freedom available only to those in Christ. 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.” (Formula of Concord, SD, Article II, Free Will, 65)
Of course we must be careful not to think these new spiritual powers and gifts come from us. This quote from the Lutheran Confessions continues:
“But this is to be understood in no other way than that the converted man does good to such an extent and so long as God by His Holy Spirit rules, guides, and leads him, and that as soon as God would withdraw His gracious hand from him, he could not for a moment persevere in obedience to God.” (ibid, 66)
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 we are no longer truly “powerless.” It certainly 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 reformulation of AA step 1). In our addictions we resist the direction and power given by 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 explains:
“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) “For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Romans 6:5-6)
Does this mean that we can no longer fall prey to addictions? Obviously not. “The flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41). But we are not left “powerless.” Even a Christianized version of, “turning your will and life over to the care of God” (AA Step 3), misses the mark unless we also take our personal responsibility and new God-given powers as seriously as we should. (See Dr. Knippel’s rewrite of step 3 at the bottom of this page.)
Experience tells us that no matter how fervently we pray, our sinful flesh, with its habits and lusts, does not simply go away from one moment to the next without any effort on our part. St. Paul writes that the spiritual man puts to death, mortifies the deeds of the flesh. That is, faith is answered in the gift of the Spirit who enables us to wage a very active and vigilant war. But the Christian is confident that it is, “God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
The fact that the Christian is at the same time saint and sinner (“simul iustus et peccator“) does not give license to the Christian to continue in sin or to fatalistically submit to the weakness of the flesh. Neither does it render the Christian entirely passive as if he must wait for the spontaneous movements and affections which the Holy Spirit engenders through the preaching of the Gospel. Such a “soft-antinomianism” is incompatible with Scripture which is replete with exhortations to work and battle against sin – to run the race and discipline ourselves like athletes.
We are painstakingly explicit about these distinctions between CLR and AA’s original 12-steps. Identifying Christ as your “higher power” does not sufficiently Christianize the 12-steps. This is why using Dr. Knippel’s reformulation of the steps into “Twelve Biblical Truths“ is so important. He explicitly qualifies our “powerlessness” to be 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 only experience “powerlessness” over our addictions when we rely on the old Adam’s fleshly powers and self-devised strategies and schemes. What we must admit is that in our addictions we have pushed aside the influence of the Holy Spirit, refusing to use the new powers He gives us as baptized Christians to do battle against our besetting sins (i.e., “sin that so easily ensnares us“).
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 desire to amend our sinful lives refuses to allow any claim that we are “powerless” over our addictions – or over any other sins for that matter – leaving us entirely without excuse. The gospel’s sweet absolution then enters in.
Dr. Knippel’s reformulation of AA step 3 weaves all of this together beautifully:
“Because God has made us His forgiven and renewed people, we are able to: …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!
