An astounding seventy-five to ninety-three percent of the early members of
Alcoholics Anonymous recovered from their seemingly hopeless disease
of alcoholism. They did it by relying on God and by basing their
relationship with Him on the principles of the Bible.
A.A.'s founders obtained their recovery ideas by focusing particularly on
the Sermon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians 13, and the Book of James. For
many A.A. members, the Bible was a standard of truth upon which they could
depend for the power and guidance they needed in their lives. Believing the scriptures are the ultimate guidebook for human healing,
and honoring the emphasis of a personal faith in God in traditional AA
history, our 12-Step Christian Track has been formed out of the scriptural teachings as focused and
applied in the proven 12-Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous:
We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and
compulsive behavior. That our lives had become unmanageable. I know that nothing good lives in me, that
is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but
I cannot carry it out.
(Romans 7:18)
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves
could restore us to sanity. For it is God who is at work in you to will
and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13)
Made a decision to turn our life and our will over to
the care of God. Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of
God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1)
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of
ourselves. Let us examine our ways and test them, and
let us return to the LORD. (Lamentations 3:40)
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human
being, the exact nature of our wrongs. Therefore, confess your sins to each other,
and pray for each other, so that you may be healed. (James 5:16a)
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these
defects of character. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he
will lift you up. (James 4:10)
Humbly asked Him to remove all our shortcomings. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became
willing to make amends to them all. Do to others as you would have them do to
you. (Luke 6:31)
Made direct amends to such people whenever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at
the altar and there remember that your brother has something against
you, leave your offering there in front of the altar. First go and be
reconciled to your brother; and then come and offer your gift.
(Matthew 5:23-24)
Continued to take personal inventory and when we
were wrong, promptly admitted it. So, if you think you are standing firm, be
careful that you don’t fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12)
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve
our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will
for us and the power to carry that out. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
(Colossians 3:16a)
Having had a spiritual experience as the result of
these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and practice
these principles in all our affairs. Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you
who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or
you also may be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
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“The spiritual part of the program and of recovery, to
me, is the critical piece. Anybody can study the book and anybody
can talk the talk; anybody can go to meetings. So I think for
myself, I had done all of that. What I missed was grabbing hold of
the spiritual component and putting it inside my soul.”
