The Way Out
Is there a way out of addiction? Yes! Sanctification is the way out. The word “sanctification” means to be set apart, or to be made holy. So, what do we need to be set apart from? (1.) Our spirit needs to be set apart from the Devil’s kingdom. (2.) Our soul (our thoughts, imaginations and emotions) needs to be set apart from Satan’s kingdom. (3.) Our behavior needs to be set apart from Satan’s kingdom.
How can we set our spirit apart from Satan’s kingdom? Our spirit is not able to overpower Satan, and he is not willing to release us from his spiritual kingdom. There is nothing that we can do; our spirit is trapped in Satan’s spiritual kingdom.
Thankfully, Yahweh sent His Son Yeshua to rescue us from Satan’s spiritual kingdom and place us in His Spiritual Kingdom! (save us!) When we hear the Gospel, which is the Good News that Yeshua shed His blood to ransom us out of Satan’s kingdom, and we bow to Him as Lord, His Spirit indwells us. As Yeshua’s Spirit indwells us, He removes our spirit from Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and places us in His Spiritual Kingdom, by establishing it in us.
Through the agency of the indwelling Holy Spirit, Yahweh gives us power so that we can stop our soul and body from acting like Satan. The Holy Spirit leads us and guides us in order to sanctify our soul and body. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of His character in our lives to sanctify our soul and body. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding of His Word to sanctify our soul and body. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to people through us in order to build their faith and sanctify their spirit, soul and body. And in the process of giving these gifts to other people, our faith is built up so that we can sanctify our soul and body.
So here’s the bottom line. The process of sanctification begins in the spirit realm. More specifically, the process of sanctification begins when we bow to Yeshua, and His blood ransoms our spirit out of Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and His Spirit establishes Yahweh’s Spiritual Kingdom in us! This is where recovery begins.
Choose Your Path
The Scriptures say that Yahweh sanctifies our spirit via the Cross, and the Blood. Then, Yahweh connects our sanctified spirit to His Spirit and Word, which supply the power and direction that we need in order to sanctify our soul and body.
As we study and meditate on Yahweh’s Word, we change the way we think. We begin to think more like Yahweh, and less like Satan. We use our new reasoning abilities to cast down every argument, imagination, and emotion that does not line up with Yahweh’s Word. We also yield to the Holy Spirit, and let Him lead us.
Paul called this process the re-newing of the mind. Paul said that a believer was transformed by the re-newing of his mind. When Yahweh regenerated our spirit, and delivered it from Satan’s kingdom, that was an ontological transformation. When we cooperate with the Spirit and the Word, and allow them to re-new our mind, that is an experiential transformation. This sets our soul apart from Satan’s kingdom. Then, our soul has a new agenda that sets our body apart from Satan’s kingdom. In other words, our renewed soul changes our bodily behavior.
Yahweh’s recovery plan is spiritual sanctification that works itself out in our lives as we re-new our minds. It should not surprise us to learn that the Counterfeiter has put together a recovery plan that is also based on spiritual sanctification.
Essentially, A.A. says we can practice a set of spiritual (moral/ethical) principles, in all our affairs, and sanctify ourselves. The first three Steps, and their underlying spiritual principles, mimic the work of the Cross and the Blood of Yeshua. The first three Steps position a person to receive power and direction from a Power greater than himself (presumably his Creator), so he can work the remaining steps.
It is not possible, however, for a person to connect with Yahweh without going through His Son’s bloodstained Cross. Thus, Yahweh does not remove the person, who works the first three Steps from Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and put him in His Spiritual Kingdom. Hence, the person is not sanctified spiritually.
Since the first three Steps do not remove a person from Satan’s spiritual kingdom, and place him in Yahweh’s Spiritual Kingdom, he does not have fellowship with Yahweh. This person thinks that he is walking hand-in-hand with his Creator, but since he has rejected Yahweh’s revelation, The Master Deceiver is deceiving him.
Spiritual principles are attitudes and actions that nourish our immaterial part (spirit). Spiritual principles are closely related to moral and ethical principles. “Moral” refers to “right behavior”. “Ethical” refers to “a standard” of right behavior.
Hence, when we live by spiritual/moral/ethical principles, our conscience does not condemn us, and we don’t feel the guilt and shame that come from thinking and living wrong. The Deceiver knows that when our conscience is quiet, it is easy for him to deceive us into believing that we are right with our Creator.
Since moral behaviors and ethical standards are tied to religious doctrines, A.A. uses the term, “spiritual” principles. As the story goes, spiritual principles do not come from religious doctrines, they come from the nature of the universe. And there are attitudes and actions that bring us into unity with “God,” others and our true-self, and there are attitudes and actions that separate us from “God,” others and our true-self. Supposedly, dysfunction (addiction) is the result of violating life’s spiritual principles, and the solution to dysfunction (addiction) is adhering to them.
This is one version of A.A.’s spiritual (moral/ethical) principles.
Step 1: Honesty
Step 2: Faith
Step 3: Surrender
Step 4: Soul Searching
Step 5: Integrity
Step 6: Acceptance
Step 7: Humility
Step 8: Willingness
Step 9: Forgiveness
Step 10: Maintenance
Step 11: Making Contact
Step 12: Service
Practicing A.A.’s 12 spiritual principles, in all your affairs, will change the way you think, which will change the way you act. So, practicing A.A.’s spiritual principles will sanctify your soul and body…but they will not sanctify your soul or body, unto Yahweh. Practicing these spiritual principles may mimic Yahweh’s sanctification by correcting a dysfunction in your life, but they will not make you right with Him. Practicing these spiritual principles may even lead to spiritual experiences that make you aware of the spirit realm, but they will not awaken you to Yahweh.
The objectives of Yahweh’s plan, and the objectives of Satan’s plan are identical. The mechanisms that bring about the objectives in Yahweh’s plan are identical to the mechanisms that bring about the objectives in Satan’s plan. However, the power source that drives the mechanisms in Yahweh’s plan is the polar opposite of the power source that drives the mechanisms in Satan’s plan. This is the problem.
Since the objectives and mechanisms of Satan’s recovery plan are identical to the objectives and mechanisms of Yahweh’s recovery plan, some people think the recovery plans are identical. They are not! The power and information source that drives the mechanisms in the two plans are very different. Why does this matter? It matters because power and information come from relationship, and there is only one way to establish a relationship with Yahweh! You must go to the Cross!
Some people say that we don’t have to travel down the “Roman Road” in order to submit to Yahweh. These people say that they can submit to Yahweh by working the 3rd Step (surrendering their will and life to a God of their own understanding.) These people are denying Yahweh’s revelation, and His Son’s finished work on the Cross. These people are preaching “another Gospel”. And when they preach Jesus in this other Gospel, they are preaching “another Jesus”. Run from these people!
These people say that the only thing that differs between Yahweh’s recovery plan and A.A.’s recovery plan is terminology. These people say that they can use the terminology that they want to use to submit to God, and you can use the terminology that you want to use to submit to God. The only thing that is really important is that we submit to God, and we all do that differently. This is wrong! If you do not submit to God, the way He said to submit to Him (through His Son’s bloodstained Cross), then you will submit to someone other than God.
Some things Never Change
In the beginning, the wise old Serpent promised that we could be like Yahweh by knowing right and wrong. That is, the crafty Serpent said that we did not have to submit to Yahweh’s revelation, and promised that we could create a more pleasing reality by practicing a set of moral/ethical/spiritual principles. The Serpent lied.
The Serpent has not changed his tactics. Through A.A., the Serpent says that we do not have to submit to Yahweh’s revelation, and promises that we can recover by practicing a set of moral/ethical/ spiritual principles. The Serpent is still lying.
The lies of the Serpent are subtle. The Serpent counterfeits the works of Yahweh. This is why the counterfeit recovery program just sounds like a less threatening, or a modernized politically-correct version of Yahweh’s recovery plan. It is not!
The counterfeit recovery program is carefully crafted. It uses some of the terms and concepts that are in Yahweh’s plan. The Serpent knew that if his plan looked very different from Yahweh’s, he would have a hard time getting you to accept it.
For the sake of contrast, let’s say that the Serpent’s plan instructed you to kiss a frog, so that it would turn into a savior, who would deliver you from addiction. In this outlandish hypothetical scenario, you would probably realize, very quickly, that Yahweh’s plan was a viable plan, and the Serpent’s plan was a fairy tale.
This is exactly why the Serpent made his recovery plan look like Yahweh’s. And to sweeten the mixture, the Serpent used earthy concepts that appeal to the natural mind. Then, the Serpent put the icing on the cake, by eliminating the specificity that Yahweh built into His recovery plan, in order to make it all-inclusive.
The Serpent’s frosted cake appeals to fallen people with natural minds. The sad thing is that the Serpent’s sweet-cake does not impart any of the spiritual blessings that Yahweh’s Heavenly Manna does. And the saddest thing of all is that after a person eats the Serpent’s sweet-cake, he views Yahweh’s plan as a fairy tale.
In Yahweh’s recovery plan, He sanctifies our spirit, soul and body. Yahweh recreates us as a new creature, and gives us new desires that please Him.
In Satan’s recovery plan, we attempt to sanctify our spirit, soul and body. We do the religious things that A.A. prescribes in order to subdue our fallen nature, and change our desires.
It is our choice.
We can work Yahweh’s recovery plan; or, we can kiss the frog.
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