Page 43 - Overcoming Addiction

receiving the life of Christ, no man can live a life pleasing to God. Paul further tells
us:

Romans 7:5-6
For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by
the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.
But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which
we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness
of the letter.

The giving of the Law at Mount Sinai serves as a parable looking forward to
that day when Yahweh would remove the stony heart of man and give them a
heart of flesh. He would produce men and women whose desire was to do His will,
and who had the power within them to carry it out. If you have been born again of
the Spirit of Christ, then you have this Spirit dwelling in you, producing divine life
in your members. If you have not received the Spirit of Christ, then you need to
ask God to give you His Spirit.
When Yahshua walked upon this earth during the years of His ministry, He
revealed to mankind an image of what man could be like when they received the
indwelling Spirit. The Scriptures declare that Yahshua was tempted in all ways as
we are, yet without sin. This was due to the life of God in Him. Yahshua did not
overcome sin by the power of the flesh, nor by willpower, nor by gaining some
hidden knowledge. He overcame by the life of God present in Him.

John 6:63
"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing...”

Yahshua demonstrated before the eyes of His disciples that a man who is
walking in the Spirit can overcome every desire and passion of the flesh. He then
told them that He was going to depart from them in order that He might send His
Spirit to indwell them, even as the Spirit was in Him.

John 16:7
"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to
you.”

Perhaps you are beginning to understand now why the word Helper seems
inadequate to describe all that the Spirit of Christ does for Believers.
Understanding these truths is vital to a walk of victory over addiction. There are
many people who go to twelve step programs in order to seek to overcome their
addictive desires. But any twelve step program that does not include the truths we
have been looking at here cannot set men and women free from the things that
hold them captive. If a twelve step program does not point men to Christ alone as
the One who has made atonement for sin, and if this same program does not
direct men and women to their need to receive the indwelling Spirit of Christ, then
it presents a false message of victory over addiction.