Page 116 - Overcoming Addiction

John 8:31-32
Yahshua was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue
in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the
truth, and the truth will make you free... So if the Son makes you free, you
will be free indeed.”

To continue in Christ’s word is to rest upon it as truth. The second part of
Galatians 2:20 reveals Paul’s confession of this.

Galatians 2:20
The life which I now live in the flesh I live in the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

What Paul is testifying is that his life is completely different now that he has
been born of the Spirit of Christ. He lives his life through a daily reckoning upon
the presence of Christ in Him. He surrenders to the life of Christ in his being, and
as he does so the life of Christ is manifested. The divine life of God is revealed in,
and through, Paul. This can also be your experience, and mine.
Such an understanding goes far beyond hoping that we might be able to
overcome a specific, troubling addiction. It is to embrace the knowledge that God’s
Spirit is present in us to enable us to walk as a mature reflection of Himself
through the course of this world. God has testified that He is at work in us to
conform us to the image of Christ, and Christ said, “If you have seen Me, you have
seen the Father.” It is not heresy then to believe that God desires this same
confession to be the normal result of His powerful working in our lives.
From the beginning God said, “Let us create man in our image, and after our
likeness.” Christ was the first man to attain to this end that God had in mind. He is
not the last, however.

Romans 8:29
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to
the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many
brethren...

Satan would tell the Christian that it is not possible to walk as Christ did in
this world. He would declare to us that we cannot walk in victory over all sin, that
such a state is only possible when we leave this world and ascend to heaven. The
Scriptures reveal that Satan is a liar, and the father of lies. He has lost his
authority over our lives, but he knows he can still keep many from walking in the
power of the Spirit by deceiving them. If you do not believe you are free from your
chains, you will live as if you are still bound, though the chains lie broken beside
you.
You will never rise higher than your faith to believe. Feed your spirit. Abide
in Christ. Live in His word, and be transformed as you renew your mind. Your
victory is assured if only you will believe.