The devotional My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers for September 17th helps to make an important point regarding sinful addictions. It is based on 1 Corinthians 10:13, No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man…
 
  Oswald comments, “Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.
  A person’s inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside…Because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.”

  Because recovery programs are humanistic and function at the lowest levels of the flesh, there is no real growth or progression spiritually. The programs/steps require life-long diligence in order to maintain sobriety because the participants never rise above the base level of sinful flesh where addictions and temptations to addiction reside. This is why those in recovery programs must believe they will never actually recover from addiction, but instead have just a “daily reprieve” from active addiction. In a way, what they believe is true for them because being “in recovery” traps them on the level of sinful addiction and the temptations to engage in sinful addiction.

  For those who have been blessed with repentance, and have turned to Christ and away from addiction, there is a continual sanctification and spiritual growth. The base level of addiction and temptations to engage in addictive behavior is left far behind as a believer is conformed more and more to the image of Christ. There is no need to “maintain sobriety,” or participate in a recovery program, because they have moved far beyond any need to do so.
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  This is one of the reasons recovery programs in churches are such a glaring red flag that something is very wrong – because it signifies that the Church, at least when it comes to dealing with sinful addictions is functioning at the base humanistic level rather than at the highest level of the spirit through the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therapeutic Humanism seems to sum up the erroneous aim and focus of so much of the contemporary Church.

“Therapeutic”

• Concern for “perceived needs.”
• The seeker-sensitive movement.
• “Meet people where they are.”
• Much of “Christian Counseling” seems to fall into this category.
• Celebrate Recovery's “Hurts, Habits, and Hangups.”
• Mixing psychology with Christianity.
• The prevalence of programs and groups in modern Churches.

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From Grudem's Systematic Theology regarding “Kenosis Theory” page 551: It just seemed too incredible for modern rational and “scientific” people to believe that Jesus Christ could be truly human and fully, absolutely, God at the same time...Smith points out that one of the primary influences leading some to adopt Kenotic theology was the growth of modern psychology in the nineteenth century: ‘The age was learning to think in terms of the categories of psychology. Consciousness was a central category. If at our ‘center’ is our consciousness, and if Jesus was both omniscient God and limited man, then He has two centers and was thus fundamentally not one of us. Christology was becoming inconceivable for some.’...In other words, pressures of modern psychological study were making belief in the combination of full deity and full humanity in the one person of Christ difficult to explain or even intellectually embarrassing: How could someone be so different from us and still be truly a man?... In this as in many other points of doctrine, our understanding of what is ‘possible’ must be determined not by modern empirical study of a finite, fallen world, but by the teachings of scripture itself.

This same type of erroneous thinking and belief is what has led to the prevalence of therapeutic humanism in the modern Church as evidenced by the prevalence of the modern recovery movement/industry in the modern Church.

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:4

What sin do you struggle with? What is it that constantly defeats you? Whatever sin it is has been paid for and defeated on the cross by the blood of Jesus Christ. The victory is won, but you must truly strive for repentance, strive to kill the sinful desires of the flesh by and through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ - there is no other way.

By Chad Prigmore

​Are you a Christian in a Twelve Step program like Alcoholics Anonymous or it's spin off Celebrate Recovery, or a Pastor or Christian leader that believes the Twelve Steps are Christian in origin? Then please consider the following.

​From the Westminster Seminary:

If you are a Christian and have made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, then you must believe that He is the center and reason for absolutely everything that has ever existed or will ever exist. All of God's creation from the beginning in Genesis 1 until the end of time as we know it – and on into eternity, it all has been for the glory of Jesus Christ. He is on every page of the Holy Bible from, “In the beginning,” in Genesis 1, to “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.,” in Revelation 22:21. Jesus is on every page of scripture in some way. All of history revolves and is centered on Jesus Christ and nothing exists that does not do so without His sustaining power. He holds all things together.

• Psalm 8:6, You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
• John 1:3, All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
• Ephesians 1:10, as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
• Colossians 1:16, For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
• Colossians 1:17, And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
• Hebrews 1:2, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
• Hebrews 2:10, For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
• Revelation 4:11, "Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created."

Every part of who you are as a human being is about Jesus Christ – even if you don't believe in Him. He is inescapable. One way or another, every human being who has or will ever exist will know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the human race and of all creation. It's just a matter of when and how each human being finally comes to know and accept the truth of Jesus Christ.

• Philippians 2:10-11, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
• Luke 19:38-40, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."

All of God's Word in scripture, all that the prophets down through the ages spoke of is to reveal to us His magnificent, glorious, and mysterious plan to save mankind through the sacrifice of His only begotten and perfect Son. God did this to save us from eternal damnation and separation from Him because He loves us far beyond our capability as humans to fully understand.

• John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

So, if you are a Christian who believes that the Twelve Steps are Christian in origin how do you answer this question: if God did all of this, then why would he inspire two alcoholics in the 1930's to create a way to obtain sobriety – and never have His Son Jesus Christ be any part of it?

• 2 Corinthians 12:9 states, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

​If God's grace is sufficient, then why would we ever need something outside of and contrary to God's word to overcome anything?​

This is the truth of the Twelve Steps – they are a brilliant plan conceived by demonic forces that keep millions from coming to a true relationship with Jesus Christ, (If this seems far fetched to you then please read the Exposing Recovery page on this site that explains the facts pertaining to the origins of the Twelve Steps). Satan and his demon's have convinced people seeking sobriety to follow a “God of their own understanding.” Then, as they become drawn into the Twelve Step cult Satan begins lifting the temptation to drink, use drugs, whatever the sin is. Yes, Satan can remove the temptation to sin because he is the one that put it there in the first place. God does not tempt us.

• James 1:13, Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.

As the temptation is lifted the Twelve Step follower is drawn deeper into the cult by believing that a “God of their own understanding” is helping them. Satan now has his victim far off the narrow path that leads to salvation through Jesus Christ and onto a wide path of destruction. The poor soul seeking sobriety has been completely duped. The book Alcoholics Anonymous says on page 46, "We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men."

• John 14:6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
  
• Matthew 7:13, Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

There is only one way to God and that is through His Son Jesus Christ – you must believe in Him, accept Him, and follow Him completely with no variance.

Christ can do much more than enable you to maintain sobriety. He is sufficient to meet all of our needs in a way beyond what we could ever imagine. Please, do not be fooled into believing that anything in this world can offer you a solution for any sin that holds you in bondage. The only way to be reconciled to God, the only way to be freed from the bondage and pain of sin is through faith in Jesus Christ. The only joy there is - is in Jesus Christ. You only must believe in Him and follow Him.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. - John 8:36

By Chad Prigmore

​When reading the writings of some of the earliest Christian believers it becomes clear that there is a damage caused by the modern Christian recovery movement that we don’t often recognize. That damage is a lost joy in Jesus Christ and a lost amazement at the wonder of how by God’s grace a sinner is raised from the dead and brought to life as a new creation in Jesus Christ. After so many years of the modern Church becoming man centered rather than Christ centered, of entertaining “seekers” while believers starve for the meat of the word, working on addictions rather than repenting of sin; when we read of an early believers rapturous joy in being born again in Jesus Christ and the ensuing praise pouring forth from this glorious truth - we should mourn for a modern Church that embraces the world rather than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Consider the response of Augustine, who after years of sin and struggle and fighting against the only truth in Jesus Christ is brought to believe by the power of God’s amazing grace.

Augustine writes, “But who am I, what am I? Is there any evil I have not committed in my deeds, or if not in deeds, then in my words, or if not in my words, at least by willing it? But you, Lord, are good and merciful, and your right hand plumbed the depths of my death, draining the cesspit of corruption in my heart, so that I ceased to will all that I had been wont to will, and now willed what you willed. But where had my power of free decision been throughout those long, weary years, and from what depth, what hidden profundity, was it called forth in a moment, enabling me to bow my neck to your benign yoke and my shoulders to your light burden, O Christ Jesus, my helper and redeemer? How sweet did it suddenly seem to me to shrug off those sweet frivolities, and how glad I now was to get rid of them - I who had been loath to let them go! For it was you who cast them out from me, you, our real and all-surpassing sweetness. You cast them out and entered yourself to take their place, you who are lovelier than any pleasure, though not to flesh and blood, more lustrous than any light, yet more inward than is any secret intimacy, loftier than all honor, yet not to those who look for loftiness in themselves. My mind was free at last from the gnawing need to seek advancement and riches, to welter in filth and scratch my itching lust. Childlike, I chattered away to you, my glory, my wealth, my salvation, and my Lord and God.”1
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Such passion, rapture, and absolute joy are Augustine’s in Jesus Christ his redeemer. Where has all of that gone? Why do so many in the modern Church, instead of forsaking the world and pointing only to Christ as our victory over all sin and struggle, look to the world in compromise and apathetic resignation? Is it not time, as everything in this sinful world crumbles and falls apart to look only to Christ and honor and worship and praise Him at a level hardly experienced in such a long time?

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Make a stand. Be the one who exposes the heresy in the Church that snuck in the door in the guise of recovery. Be the one that points to Christ, who stands on the authority and sufficiency of His word and nothing else. Be like Christians used to be - bold, courageous, confident, and powerful in God’s word, rejoicing always, praying ceaselessly, and thanking God from a heart in love with Him.

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, - 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

By Chad Prigmore

In 1 Corinthians 6:9 the apostle Paul mentions idolatry as a sin of the unrighteous. Not only does Alcoholics Anonymous promote and encourage idolatry through its concept of creating "your own conception of God", but the entire concept of recovery put forth by the modern recovery movement, and especially by programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Celebrate Recovery is an idol itself to those who are drawn into it.

One of the most glaring lies that begins closing the trap around the unwary alcoholic or addicted sinner is the idea that their alcoholism or addiction is a disease from which they will never fully recover, but will only be granted a "daily reprieve" from for as long as they "give themselves" to the program of recovery. But we see in 1 Corinthians 6:10 that "drunkards" (Alcoholism) is listed as a sin and therefore, is not a disease according to scripture. If AA were to present the truth that alcoholism is sin that can only be overcome by the blood of Jesus Christ it would nullify the need for its own twelve-step program. So instead, the AA program leads its adherents into the lie of the disease concept which begins the indoctrination into idolatry.

The idol of recovery demands complete submission and the sacrificing of one's life upon it's Twelve Step altar. The book Alcoholics Anonymous on page 58 states, "Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves." The use of fear, accusations of being dishonest, and even threats of death through relapse by not submitting completely to the Alcoholics Anonymous program are common all through the literature of it's program and professed by it's "sponsors" to those they claim to be helping.

The idol of recovery's victims are fooled into trading relief from their sin of addiction for the sin of idolatry in a life long worship of a false God in a false church known as the "Fellowship of the Program". If you have bowed and submitted to the idol of recovery, and committed your life to it's worship through programs like Alcoholics Anonymous - that is your choice. But if you profess to be a Christian who has been led into the recovery movement through a program like Celebrate Recovery which is simply the Twelve Steps of AA with some mostly erroneously applied Bible verses mixed in, are you not living in contradiction to the Christian gospel and commands of scripture? As 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 states, Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Also, we are directly commanded in 1 Corinthians 10:14, Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

Relying on and living for a program in an effort to be in recovery - even if that program claims to be Christian is nothing more than idolatry. Those in Christ are told in scripture, And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30), looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2). We are to look faithfully to Jesus and to Him only for deliverance from every sinful desire and for every need we have.

But "Christian Recovery" programs - especially Celebrate Recovery do not look to Jesus, but instead look to and point others to the false idol of recovery completely ignoring the commands of scripture - even going so far as to disregard the command of God in Deuteronomy 4:2 and actually printing their own Bible with the demonically inspired Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Celebrate Recovery program written into it. 

You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you, - Deuteronomy 4:2

Celebrate Recovery, by mixing the worldly demonic teachings of Alcoholics Anonymous with the word of God in an effort to draw people into the idolatrous recovery movement, displays the dangerous heresy that the apostle Paul warns about in 1 Corinthians 10:21 which says, You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Spend some time researching the demonic origins of Alcoholics Anonymous and the massive amount of heresy put forth in their books, Alcoholics Anonymous, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, as well as many others and it becomes glaringly clear that Celebrate Recovery is indeed a program which promotes the cup and table of demons with a Christian marketing angle.

Romans 12:2 says, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We, as followers of Jesus Christ are not to be conformed to this world but instead to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds by seeking the Lord and by the prayerful study and meditating on of His word by the leading and working of the Holy Spirit. We are to discern what is of God's will and what is of this dark and fallen world by testing everything and holding it up to the light of scripture and seeking only what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

If you are a Christian who has been misled by the modern idol of recovery you must reject it and flee from it, understanding that in Christ is the only absolute truth and freedom from sin and you must abide only in Him. Reject and cast off the things of this world and seek to understand and grasp the awesome and merciful truth of 1 Corinthians 6:11:

By Chad Prigmore

Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. - John 3:3-15

When considered deeply from a Biblical perspective, the reason that the modern recovery movement has been allowed to infiltrate the contemporary Church is largely due to a severe lack of faith in the Lord and in the power of God’s word in proclaiming the gospel. This truth is evidenced by the most common responses provided by those claiming to be in Christian ministry but mainly focused on programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Celebrate Recovery. When these people are shown how the recovery programs they support and promote are proven to be apostate when held up to the light of scripture they either angrily reject the proof presented outright, or claim that there is no way anyone trapped in alcoholism or addiction could come to grasp the Christian message without first working through a program in order to heal them and bring them into a coherent state. They simply do not have the faith necessary to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with power and authority and instead rely on man made concepts and programs which contradict scripture. This is why not just recovery programs but the entire worldly concept of recovery is contrary to the Christian message of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
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In the story of Jesus and Nicodemus we see the response to the gospel from a man who was a teacher at the highest level of Jewish society. Nicodemus probably knew all there was to know of religion except for the main point and purpose of it all - the doctrine of salvation. This man prefigured what so many have suffered from down through the centuries - the danger of knowing about Jesus but not knowing Jesus.

Nicodemus had to be brought above the limitations of his mind and what he thought he knew. Jesus presented to him a truth that was beyond his mind’s capacity to understand and accept. But in spite of this fact did the Lord water down the truth or try to come at it from a different angle? No, Jesus presented the truth simply and without compromise obviously knowing that understanding and belief come by the working of the power of the Holy Spirit.

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." - John 3:8

​Nicodemus became a believer.

Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. - John 19:39-40

​We must witness and share the gospel with faith in and reliance on the supernatural working of the Holy Spirit. We must stop inventing new ways to pitch the gospel and just proclaim it. We must have faith and trust in the Holy Spirit to save those lost in sin and darkness. If we, as individuals are truly faithfully seeking the Lord and striving to be conformed to His image, His light in us will be the only attraction needed for those in the darkness. And we must have absolute faith in the sufficiency of scripture and throw out all of the worldly programs and concepts that have slithered into the contemporary Church.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. - Hebrews 4:12-14

The fall into idolatry that so much of the Church has made can be very incremental and subtle. Beware of worshipping another Christ, another Christianity, or a Church, or a program, or a Pastor. Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone is not a concept - it is the transforming, re-creating, life-giving, loving power of God saving us in Christ eternally. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so that those who looked upon it might live (Numbers 21:4-9), we must lift up Christ and His gospel looking only to Him knowing that whoever believes in Him will be saved and have eternal life.
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Look to, seek, follow, worship only Jesus Christ as revealed to you by the working of the Holy Spirit through God’s word.

An excerpt from an article over at TheBereanCall.org by Dave Hunt entitled, God as You Conceive Him/Her/It to Be:

​Pastor John MacArthur, in his book Our Sufficiency in Christ, on page 67 states the following in regard to human/secular therapies:

Pastor John MacArthur, in his book The Truth War, on page 159 addresses the 12 steps as follows:

T.A. McMahon who is the editor of the Berean Call writes the following regarding Bill Wilson, a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and the man who wrote the 12 steps:

Regarding so called "Christ Centered" 12 step programs and support groups such as Celebrate Recovery, Hunger for Healing, and others, T.A. McMahon writes:

In their book 12 Steps to Destruction, authors Martin and Deidre Bobgan state the following on page 116:

​C.S. Lewis on Bill Wilson's communing with spirits, "This is necromancy. Have nothing to do with it."

By Chad Prigmore

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:13-14

The many and the few - everyone will end up in one group or the other. There is no middle ground in divine truth. One of the great errors in the contemporary Church and especially prevalent in the recovery movement that has infiltrated the Church is the idea of an all inclusive universal salvation regardless of what someone believes and whether or not they have truly been born again and follow Christ according to His word. Sadly, many Churches rely on Alcoholics Anonymous or its spin off program Celebrate Recovery rather than the gospel in an effort to help the alcoholic and addicted, completely unaware of the heresy put forth by AA. Consider that on page 46 of the book Alcoholics Anonymous it is stated that, “We found that God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. To us, the Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men". That is a complete contradiction of Matthew 7:13-14 and yet so many Pastors and Churches participate in and promote Alcoholics Anonymous and Celebrate Recovery.

But in truth we once again see the razor's edge of Christianity, the clear distinction that there are only two ways in life: right or wrong, good or evil, Christ or the world, faith in Christ or dependence on programs, the narrow gate to heaven or the wide highway to hell, death with the the many or eternal life In Jesus with the few.

The wide worldly gate to destruction is one of enticement, amusement, entertainment, ease, worldly prosperity, self worship, and is all inclusive - open to all without anything needing to be given up or repented of in order to pass through. The lusts and desires and passions of this world are welcome through the wide gate without question or running the risk of insult. The wide gate is easy to find because there is a constant mass of ignorant humanity fighting to get through it. 

The fact that we must enter by the narrow gate has been cast aside in “Christian” recovery programs, and traded instead for the faulty idea that the goal is to get someone over their pain - then, when the suffering sinner is better they can be presented with the Christian message. What a destructive heresy man creates when by lack of faith and sinful pride the gospel is manipulated or ignored and the man made concept of recovery is set up as an idol above the commands of Christ. There is a reason the very first command recorded in Christ's ministry was repent.

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." - Matthew 4:17

​Christ does not command sinners to clear their head, fix themselves up, get their life back together, and then repent and follow Him. Instead, Christ commands lost sinners to repent and to follow Him faithfully on the hard path to the narrow gate that can only be passed through by grace through faith. But the wonderful paradox lies in the fact that although the gate is narrow and the way is hard - it is a way of inexpressible joy and true peace. Christ does a miracle in the transformation of every sinner that cannot be grasped or understood by the sinful human mind without the enlightening of the Holy Spirit. And that is where faith must be exercised in the sharing of the gospel. Unfortunately, for too long much of the contemporary Church has lacked the faith to simply and lovingly share the gospel with the lost drunk or addicted sinner and pray for the working of the Holy Spirit, and instead has devised man made programs that lead only away from the one true way to salvation. By relying on anything of man other than God even with the best of intentions conveys a severe lack of faith in the power of the gospel by the working of the Holy Spirit.

to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. - Acts 26:18

​Consider this question: If someone has the greatest gift and you do not, and because you lack this gift you will die, would you want that person to give you the gift even if the giving of the gift may at first be painful and offensive? Is this what you wish others would do to you?

So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. - Matthew 7:12

It seems that if we truly are to do unto others as we would have done unto us that we will strive to love them as Jesus would love them, that we would love for the sake of Jesus Christ and the gospel according to the word. We would not lead someone astray with a false worldly connotation of love. Yet, that is exactly what so many do by leading the suffering sinner away from the saving gospel of Jesus Christ and into programs invented by man.

Jesus tells us that we must enter by the narrow gate, and that if we don’t we will enter the wide way to destruction. He also tells us in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." - Mark 1:14,15

By Chad Prigmore

Is it really possible to have victory in these battles?

Just how far should we go in order to obtain the victory when faced with demonic assaults and oppression?

Because so much of the modern Christian church culture has moved toward seeker sensitive entertainment and watering down or in some cases neglecting the gospel altogether, it may come as a surprise to many to learn that as Christians we are to be directly engaged in battle against the enemy. 

One of the main reasons the heresy of Alcoholics Anonymous and other "recovery" programs like Celebrate Recovery which is based on Alcoholics Anonymous have been able to slither into so many churches is because the teaching and arming of the saints for spiritual warfare has been completely ignored. So instead of faithful prayer and the seeking of God through His Word for victory, so many sinners under the lash of Satan are instead led into false man centered programs.

Let me share a story with you about a very good friend of mine who has spent his life in the service of the Lord as a missions Pastor. This man has reached people all over the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

About ten or twelve years ago this man's son somehow in spite of being raised by good Christian parents in a good Christian church was lured into the sin of drug addiction. He had always been a very good child and young man, but over a period of time he began to withdraw from his family and after a while it became clear to his father that something was very wrong. It finally reached the point that it was obvious to his father that his son was using drugs.

The addiction reached a point that there was no longer any attempts to hide it and the son admitted to his father that he felt he was being sucked into a whirlpool from which he could not escape and that he was dying. The son was at a point of being nearly destroyed and his father was suffering miserably and his faith tested to the breaking point as he felt powerless to help his son. But this man is a man of God and he went to God in order to engage in this battle for his son.

My friend looked into all of the recovery options he could and saw that none of them were Christian - even the ones marketed as such. He knew the options presented would not be able to save his son. So this man did what a father must do when their child is in grave danger from a deadly enemy - he engaged in battle against the enemy knowing that God was on his side.

This father, in order to see his son saved from the evil forces of sinful addiction entered into a strict period a fasting and prayer that lasted for forty days. He told me those forty days were the greatest period of spiritual warfare he has ever had to endure. But he went as far as he needed to go, faithfully looking to the Lord in prayer and fasting, and after that forty days his son was set free from the addiction he had been trapped in, and has been free in the Lord for over ten years now.

So, to answer the two questions at the beginning of this article:

Is it really possible to have victory in these battles? Without question - yes. Christians standing in faith on the power of God's Word can destroy the strongholds of the enemy.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. - 2 Corinthians 10:4

​Just how far should we go in order to obtain the victory when faced with demonic assaults and oppression? We must be willing to go beyond what we could naturally do, because by God's love and grace we are empowered far beyond our natural limitations.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 
and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 
and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 
praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, - Ephesians 6:10-18