How does Alcoholics Anonymous compare with the Bible?

Alcoholism is a devastating disease that impacts millions of people worldwide. Both Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the Bible offer hope and healing for those struggling with addiction. However, there are some key differences between the AA approach and the biblical approach to overcoming alcoholism.

The 12 Steps of AA

AA outlines a 12-step program for achieving and maintaining sobriety. The steps aim to help members admit their powerlessness over alcohol, turn to a higher power for strength, examine their wrongs, make amends, and help others. The 12 steps are as follows:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Working through the 12 steps with a sponsor is central to the AA program. Members support each other through the recovery process by sharing their experiences at group meetings.

The Biblical Approach

The Bible does not outline a specific 12-step program for overcoming alcoholism. However, Scripture offers wisdom, hope, and power for gaining freedom from addiction. Some key principles of the biblical approach include:

• Admitting the addiction: The first step to recovery is admitting “I have a problem and I need help.” The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). Honestly facing the addiction is essential.
• Repenting and submitting to God: More than just admitting the problem, we must repent and turn away from the sin. “Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them” (Isaiah 55:7).
• Relying on God’s power: We cannot overcome addiction on our own strength. “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). “For everyone born of God overcomes the world” (1 John 5:4).
• Prayer and Scripture: Connecting with God through prayer and meditating on His Word provides strength and wisdom for each day. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).
• Accountability and fellowship: We all need people who love us enough to keep us accountable. “Carry each other’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Christian fellowship also provides encouragement to remain strong.
• Making amends: Sin damages relationships with others. Part of repentance is apologizing and making things right. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother or sister; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).
• Helping others: Helping others overcome addiction allows us to pass on the hope we have received. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Key Differences Between AA and the Bible

While AA and biblical principles for overcoming addiction share some similarities, there are also important differences:

• AA teaches alcoholism is a disease, whereas the Bible frames it as a sin issue.
• AA presents alcoholism as a lifelong condition requiring daily maintenance, but the Bible offers hope for complete transformation and freedom.
• AA’s higher power can be anything you choose, but the Bible says Jesus Christ is the only true higher power.
• AA sponsors give advice based on human wisdom, but biblical counsel aims to share God’s wisdom from Scripture.
• AA requires working the 12 steps, but the Bible simply calls us to trust and obey Christ.
• AA meetings offer horizontal peer support, while biblical fellowships also provide vertical worship of God.
• AA identifies self-reliance as the core problem, but the Bible says the root issues are a severed relationship with God and a heart of sin that needs repenting.
• The steps are the means of change in AA, but the Bible focuses on Christ’s power transforming our lives.

An Integrated Approach

For Christians overcoming alcoholism, an integrated approach that incorporates both AA principles and biblical truth can be very effective. Here are some ways to benefit from both resources:

• Attend AA meetings for support and practical wisdom, while also staying rooted in church fellowship.
• Work through the 12 steps with a Christian sponsor who can provide spiritual as well as practical guidance.
• Use the steps as a framework, but lean on biblical truth and the Spirit’s power for change.
• When sponsoring others, share your testimony and point them to Christ as the true higher power.
• Adapt the 12 steps to have a more Christian focus, i.e. admitting sin instead of powerlessness, submitting to Christ instead of a vague higher power, Scripture reading and prayer instead of meditation.
• Focus on Christ’s work on the cross rather than our own good deeds as the basis for making amends and changed living.

AA provides a supportive community and practical experience that can help complement biblical wisdom and power. Integrating the two provides a strong foundation for overcoming the addiction.

The Bible’s Transforming Power

For Christians suffering from alcoholism, God offers hope, healing and an eternal solution to addiction. Through the gospel, He forgives and cleanses from sin. He empowers us to live free through the Spirit. He gives us new life, new desires, and an eternal hope.

The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our new life in Christ includes freedom from addiction. “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin” (Romans 6:6).

The Bible also promises wisdom and strength to resist temptation. “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Through the transforming power of Christ, we can break free from destructive habits of the past and experience the abundant life God has planned for us. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The Bible’s solution deals with both the symptoms and the root causes in a holistic way.

Freedom Through Christ

The Bible offers true freedom from addiction through the power of Christ. Consider putting your faith in Him today. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).

Admit you are powerless over addiction and your life is unmanageable on your own.

Repent and turn away from destructive habits and sins.

Submit your life to the loving care and lordship of Jesus Christ.

Ask God to fill you with His Holy Spirit to empower change.

Immerse yourself in biblical truth and community.

Walk in obedience to Christ’s commands each day.

Continue growing in your faith and new life in Him.

In Christ, there is hope. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). With God, freedom and restoration are possible.