There are a number of factors to addictive behaviour – but the root of them all is the same: sin and pain.
Sin: is breaking God’s law – Lying, stealing, hating, lust, envy, idolatry etc. Anything we rely on outside of God is sin. Alcohol, drugs, sex, relationships, other people, food – the list of idols is long!
Pain: pain increases a persons drive to look for comfort or release. Being in pain though (physical, emotional or mental) does not make sin ok – there are no free passes. But it does make it more difficult to break a repetitive cycle of sin.
The Bible states that the only remedy for sin is the cross of Jesus Christ.
No amount of trying harder, being religious, saying sorry or doing ‘good deeds’ will help at all, in any way. Not before, not during not after.
We are helpless and doomed to be judged by God for every thought, word and action. We are under His wrath, spiritually blind and dead – headed for hell without His intervention. Sounds gloomy? Not at all!
If you are reading this I believe that He desires to save you – read on…
Think about how many sins you have committed against God:
Have you ever told a lie? That makes you a liar.
Have you ever stolen anything (copied movies, sick days, a cookie, a pen)? That makes you a thief.
Have you ever lusted after (or had sex outside of marriage with) someone? That makes you an adulterer.
Have you ever hated anyone? That makes you a murderer at heart.
There’s more and most of us have broken them all!
All have sinned, all deserve hell
God will judge us all according to that standard. How do you think you will do?
Will He send you to heaven or hell?
The Bible promises over and over that hell is real and God will send every sinner there…
The soul that sins – it shall die
But God doesn’t want you to end up there. He sent His perfect Son Jesus to die and be punished for your sin! He was God’s perfect lamb that was sacrificed for the sins of the world (you and me).
It is only by turning from sin and trusting fully in this free gift that anyone can be saved.
But what if we start to desire the old sin or addictive behaviours that we turn from?
We often will if we do not deal with the pain that is often behind the drive. ^1
God doesn’t want ‘white knuckling religious folks’ (white-washed tombs)- He wants His people to be FREE!
So if I set you free, you are truly free.
– Jesus (John 8:36-37 NLT)
God promises to bring a new identity, new heart and new desires. He transforms from within. This is His responsibility – something we can not do ourselves. But we can choose to turn away from things that fight against this process and we can choose to participate with God and put ourselves in situations where He is free to do this.
It is not a passive thing but a relationship – and as with any relationship, we can grow it or neglect it.
As always, the Bible has the answers as to how to help this relationships flourish:
Bible Reading, Prayer, Worship, Discipleship, Fellowship with other believers are all common answers.
But also following the Holy Spirit on a daily or continual basis is part of the Bibles instruction.
When Jesus speaks of Eternal life – He says this:
…this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the
one you sent to earth
John 17:3 (NLT)
The word for ‘know’ here is not how you know your prime minister, pastor, friend or even family members. It is the word use for the intimacy that only a husband and wife share – deep, explicit, honest.
That is the kind of relationship He wants, has paid for and explains as the one that will last forever.
That does not mean you will always be happy with God and have no trouble. In fact, if you are like me and your earthly father was not like God – I can say you will have issues with this relationship. This father-child relationship was designed to model God the Father to us! Did yours?
My earthly father left before I was born – I came to believe God was not present, didn’t care, I was alone and had to fend for myself. No amount of logic change these deep seated beliefs that remained hidden most of my life – they drove so many of my behaviours.
What if your dad got angry at you? What if he abused you? What if he ignored what you needed? As with me, there will be many lies that contribute to you ignoring, rejecting, not trusting and being angry at God. You can try all you like, but in my experience and that of many I have talked to, this does little.
Yet I have seen God reverse these lies over and over when given the chance. The changes are nothing short of miraculous. Sin (both yours and others) is dealt with, lies are removed, wounds are healed, Jesus transcends time and is glorified. He transforms so that you no longer run away from Him – just like He promises to in scripture.
We have have had such benefit and consistent results from Transformation Prayer Ministry that we now offer it to others and have seen Him do amazing things. While there are many approaches out there, we believe that this method is the safest, where human intervention or perversion is kept at bay. This is a way for Jesus to deal with things with you – no one else can take credit. It is raw, real and a Biblical way to obey what scripture teaches.
My sheep know My voice – The Holy Spirit will remind you of what I say
– Jesus (John 10:27, 16:5-15)
All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God
Romans 8:14
A simple two part solution to addiction:
Turn to God
Turn from Sin.
What this looks like for each person will be different.
Turn to God:
As stated above, turning to God could be anything from spending time alone, doing art with / for Him, reading the Bible, Ministry or one of many other disciplines. But in these times, He transforms by His Spirit. If you find you can not sit with God or don’t want to we highly recommend you address this as priority as it will affect everything else.
Turn from Sin:
This could be cancelling a movie or magazine subscription, stopping certain friendships, installing an internet filter, changing your phone number, using cruise control, making a resolve, being accountable to others – the list is diverse. But you need to do what Jesus said – He said sin was serious. (If you eye causes you to sin, gouge your eye out!).
Both of these things might even require you submit to a group, church or rehab for support – but whatever you need to do, do it!
Make a resolve to do what you need to do in both areas – and if something isn’t working do something else! Address the key area of the heart and the Spirit, not just the legal aspects of the law. The law indicates where you are!
Get to God – seriously, once you experience the love of the Heavenly Father, everything changes.
But you can’t do this until you put your trust in Jesus – see if you need God here: www.needgod.com
Notes:
^1 – We often will repeat sin if we do not deal with the pain that is often behind the drive.
Many will argue that we simply need to ‘try harder’ and ‘confess’ each time we fail. While effort and abstinence is a good thing – we would argue that this is simply ‘performance-based spirituality’, based on our own efforts. Religious effort and outward appearance meant little to Jesus – in fact He rebuked it more harshly than anything else.
He wants a change of heart – a transformation – the word used in scripture is where we get the word ‘metamorphosis’ from. A change from one being (dead, full of sin, selfish) to another (loving, forgiving, serving) – something we can not do by effort or trying.
Now we are commanded to put to death the desires of the flesh (Romans 8:12-14), to avoid sinful situations (2 Tim 2:22), to put on the fruit of our salvation and the clothing (character) He gives us – but notice it is Him who gives it to us. We can make it ourselves.
Read, dwell on, soak in, absorb Colossians 2:6 – 4:6. Yes there is instruction for the Christian mind – responsibility to do or not do certain things. But it all has a prerequisite – the new nature created by Jesus Christ.
It’s like He needs to instruct our minds to bring them up to the Spiritual reality of what He has already done and what He continues to do.
Get verse 10 firmly in your mind before you read the rest:
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Colossians 2:6 – 4:6 (NLT)
And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.
Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.
Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.
Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should.
Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.