12 Steps and there Biblical Counterparts’

Step One: We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and dysfunctions

and that our lives had become unmanageable.

Romans 7:18-20 King James Version

--For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:

for to will is present with me; but [how] to perform that which is

good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil

which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not,

it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

What does it mean that we admitted?

1. We acknowledge the truth; we acknowledge that we were powerless over our addictions, and in our lives had become dysfunctional because of our addictions. Or I like to say because of our sins.

2. We confess that we were powerless over our addictions, we spoke it, we told others about it. We came to realize that we had a problem with drugs and alcohol, and could not, no matter how hard we try to, we could not stop drinking or using drugs.

The Bible has much to say about confession.

Why is Confession and admitting that we are alcoholics is so important in order to for God to intervene in our lives?

Answer:

Because alcohol and drugs cause hardness of the heart, the evidences of our use of drugs and alcohol shows that we have a imperceptible views of sin; one-sided acknowledgment and confession of it; pride and conceit; ingratitude; unconcern about the word and ordinances of God; inattention to divine providence; overwhelming convictions of conscience; shunning reproof; presumption, and common ignorance of divine things." Our shortcoming must be confessed in order for there to be a change in us, because until we are able to see the harm we are doing to ourselves and others, we will continue to be blind to what drugs and alcohol were doing to us and to our families and we will continue to do them, blaming others for our shortcomings. And our hearts view will not change, we will continue to love the things we are doing and associate with others who do them too. The person must see and realize that confession of ones short coming, and sins softens the heart towards God and man.

Genesis 4:7 Key Verse.

Genesis 4

1. And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

2. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.

4. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:

5. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

6. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?

7. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Genesis 4:7 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

7 If you do right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it."

Both Abel and Cain made a sacrifice to God. God honors Abel’s offering but rejects Cain’s offering. Why? Abel gave the ‘best’ of his flocks, while Cain gave ‘something’ from the work of his hands. It was not Cain’s best and God wants our best. Cain’s offering was rejected by God. Cain became bitterly angry and murdered his brother. God deals with Cain and gives him a warning. God tells Cain “sin is crouching at your door, it desires to have you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:7 God knew Cain had murder in his heart. Mastering his sin was something Cain must have been able to do, since he was directed to 'master his sin' by God. But he chose not to (master his sin) and murdered his brother.

Cain rebelled, murdered his brother, then he attempted to conceal his crime, and then lied to God. When God punished him, Cain only complained about his punishment saying it was more than he could bear. There was nothing to indicate remorse; his heart was very hard. God sent Cain to the Land of Nod, which means, “shaking” or “trembling.” God’s mark was on him, he was separated from God and the Genesis account gives us no evidence that there was ever reconciliation. We are like Cain except we are murdering ourselves, and then we attempt to conceal the matter or deny that we have a problem. To look at us you would think that we had no remorse for what we are doing to ourselves or our families, because it appears that our hearts have become hard in order to be able to deal with the guilt of our crimes towards ourselves and others. Deep inside we know we must learn to master our sins.

Were did Cain go wrong at?

Cain possessed his own concept of God. Abel cared about the quality of his sacrifice.

What is sin?

What Is Sin - The Big Question

We live in a society where the concept of sin has become entangled in legalistic arguments over right and wrong. When many of us consider "What is sin?" we think of violations of the Ten Commandments. Even then, we tend to think of murder and adultery as "major" sins compared with lying, cursing, or idolatry.

The truth is that sin, as defined in the original translations of the Bible, means "to miss the mark." The mark, in this case, is the standard of perfection established by God and evidenced by Jesus. Like shoot a arrow toward the center of a bull-eye and miss. Viewed in that light, it is clear that we are all sinners.

The Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:23: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

In light of this, it does no good to compare ourselves to others. We cannot escape our failure to be righteous in our own strength. This is by God's design, because only when we understand our weakness will we consider relying on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and learn to understand the failures of others.

Psalm 6:2-4 KJV

Psalms 6

1. O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.

2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed.

3. My soul is also sore vexed: but thou, O Lord, how long?

4. Return, O Lord, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake.

5. For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

6. I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

7. Mine eye is consumed because grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.

8. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.

9. The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

10. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed: let them return and be ashamed suddenly.

Sin will in any amount will distance us from God.

"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear," says Isaiah 59: 1-2. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."

Sin can kill not only the soul which is the mind, but sin will kill the talents and happiness as surely as a malignant physical disease can kill the body. We see and read about this every day of our lives. It is a know fact that those who have found that surrendering to God, in actuality as well as in theory, means a new lease of life which brings with it a fuller joy of living than what they could have ever realized was possible for them. They have been reborn to the world as well as reborn to God. All their appreciations of the best and worth-while things in life, their work, their capacity for human intercourse, have become really alive; living has now limitless depth and breadth and height and is no longer a stifling prison of Sin. Sin is a prison, sin restricts its victim, and it limits what a person can accomplish in life.

Christ has ceased to be a figure in Religion to them and becomes a Reality with boundless modern wisdom, an understanding and really helpful Presence who is very near to them in all they think, do, and say. They know now the secret of real happiness on earth; is having a relationship with Jesus Christ the Lord. This is what we talk about at our group meeting call the Bread Basket, we came to realize that if we were going to stay sober, there would be some actions in our lives that we would have to confess was wrong then master not to do them, in order to stay sober. What do you think?

Evangelist Tate