Addiction:

A Biblical Perspective
 “
“We psychiatrists have been given an impossible task. Our
medications are sometimes able to alleviate symptoms, though
they often come with side effects. But we cannot give people what
they really need.
People need meaning and relationship.”
(Steven Hyman)
 “
We can offer drugs but not
relationships…
 “
The church can offer God glorifying
relationships
Ephesians 4:15-16
 “
Ephesians 4:15-16
■ 15 
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him
■ in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

■ 16 
From whom the whole body fitly joined together and
■ compacted by that which every joint supplieth,
■ according to the effectual working in the measure of
■ every part, maketh increase of the body unto the
■ edifying of itself in love.
 “
In my experience, addicts don’t just wake up one morning and decide to stop using. Think of the times you
have heard your adult child who is addicted say, “I promise tomorrow I will stop”. When he is in trouble (with
the authorities, their spouse, or employer) he may stop for a short period of time, but soon he is right back at it.
That’s how addiction works. It’s likened to Paul’s teaching in Romans 7:19 “For I do not do the good I want,
but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” The good the addict desires to do is not get high and not
use their substance. But the evil they don’t want to do, the getting high, is what they do. Why is that? Romans
7:20 tells us why, “Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”
Sin is the reason they keep using.
 How to Think about
Addictions Biblically

The word addiction is really not a

word that we find in the Scriptures but
the concept is everywhere (Lane,
2012; Shaw, 2015)
 How to Think about
Addictions Biblically

Scripture tells us that the inner • Strong theme in Scripture:

person (the heart) and what it
craves, treasures, wants, fears and
lives for is the ultimate driver of
addictive behavior.
• The pursuit of destructive,
self-defeating behaviors
• Springs from the fall of
mankind and our
succession to depravity
 How to Think about
Addictions Biblically
For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor
again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for
each tree is known by its own fruit. For
figs are not gathered from thorn bushes,
nor are grapes picked from a bramble
bush. The good person out of the good
treasure of his heart produces good, and
the evil person out of his evil treasure
produces evil, for out of the abundance
of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke
6:43–45)
 How to Think about
Addictions Biblically

Rooted in the
Addiction heart—in the
inner person
 How to Think about
Addictions Biblically
James 1:13–15
• Sin, even in difficult time is
not due to God playing
Addiction tricks
• Sin is due to heart
captured by something
other than God
 How to Think about
Addictions Biblically

• pursue what we love

• intoxicates us
• when it fades, we pursue
Addiction it;
• Ex: work-aholics;
shop-aholics
 We Are More Alike than Different

Believer vs. Unbeliever An addiction is, fundamentally, a

Loving something in creation more than God
Romans 1:25: We substitute something in
creation for the Creator (often good things like
relationships, work, food, drink, marriage, etc.)
worship disorder. It is an act of
the heart. Bodily components only
make an addiction more complex.
 Addiction & Idolatry
■ Addiction problems are sin and often likened to
idolatry.
■ Matthew 24:49; Luke 7:34; I Cor. 5:11 & 6:10;
Eph. 5:1821; and I John 5:21 are just a few
Scriptures that address drunkenness and warn
against idolatry (Shaw, 2015).
 Addiction & Idolatry
"The disease theory persists because there are no other
readily available explanations...If Scripture doesn't guide
us, something else will... An addiction is a WORSHIP
DISORDER. Instead of worshiping the divine King,
addicts worship idols that temporarily satisfy physical
desire.“
(Ed Welch)
 Addiction & Idolatry
■ Example from a Bible
character:
■ Rachel: the desire to have
children was her god!
 Addiction & Idolatry

■ The Bible clearly addresses alcohol, drug, and other addictive

problems as moral choices rather than some medical disease since the
problem is within one’s own heart.
■ Proverbs 23:35b “When shall I awake? I will seek another drink.”
Clearly, it is a desire of the heart and an act of the will to leave one
drunken stupor in search of the next drunken stupor. (Shaw, 2015).
The church is usually the last place they look for
help (Shaw, 2015).

“I’ve tried everything else so

now I will try God”
“Unreached people group”
 “Unreached people group”

When we say unreached, we’re not just

talking about lostness, we’re talking
about access.
 “Unreached people group”

Unreached means that they don’t even

have access to hear the gospel. There’s
no church, no Christian, no Bible
available …
 “Unreached people group”
God has not just commanded us to make the
gospel known among as many people as
possible. He has commanded us to make the
gospel known among all the peoples. – Dr.
David Platt
 “Unreached people group”
“I truly believe the label
applies to addicts in several
ways when describing
persons in the struggle with
all types of addictions”
(Shaw, 2015).
 “
“The unreached are people groups among whom there is no
indigenous community of believing Christians able to engage the
people group with church planting”
(Platt as cited in Shaw, 2015)
 Observations on the
“unreached people group”

1. No access to the Gospel if they go to the treatment and rehabilitation

programs available
2. Not many addiction resources to make Christ known
3. Addicts share a common culture and language, not only in their
underground drug seeking world
4. The remedy taught by most programs is based upon the assumption
that addiction is a disease not a sin nature problem from the heart -
Mark 7:20-21(Shaw, 2015).
1 Peter 4:10

Each one should use whatever gift he has

received to serve others, faithfully
administering God’s grace in its various
forms
The call is for Christians to reach out to help the
enslaved idolater in the community who is crying
out for help.
The local church is the
answer for connecting
the hope of the Gospel
with the heart of
addiction.
 How to Do it: Involve Others

Biblical Model
A Community
that Transforms Best The pastor:
People Practices The Model
(Eph. 5:19-21)
The book on
Counseling
 Biblical Model:
A Community that Transforms People

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, sing and make
music to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence to
Christ. (Eph 5:19–21)

A church that effectively ministers to all kinds of people is a church that:

1. Speaks to one another,

2. Sings and makes music to the Lord,
3. Gives thanks to God, and
4. Submits to one another
 Biblical Model:
A Community that Transforms People

A church that effectively ministers to all kinds of people is a church that:

1. Speaks to one another

• This is a “support group” like nothing the world has to offer!
• A fundamental characteristic of a typical addictions group meeting is the
honesty of speech that occurs.
• Make them feel they are in a group that understands and accepts them
• Make them feel they are can find hope (not shame)
 Biblical Model:
A Community that Transforms People

A church that effectively ministers to all kinds of people is a church that:

2. Sings and makes music to the Lord

• For most groups helping addicts, the worship is driven by referring to a
“higher power” that can help in the struggle.
 Biblical Model:
A Community that Transforms People

A church that effectively ministers to all kinds of people is a church that:

2. Sings and makes music to the Lord

• A Christian worship connects people to a personal God who is both
transcendent and immanent; only living God, not an invented power; He
comes close, redeems, and loves us in the person of his son, Jesus.
• You will not find a God like this in any other organization on earth! The
ministry of worship, singing and making music in your heart to the Lord,
expresses the true vertical orientation.
• Read Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14–19:
 Biblical Model:
A Community that Transforms People

A church that effectively ministers to all kinds of people is a church that:

3. Gives thanks to God.

• Why are gratitude and thanksgiving so important in the battle against sin
and addictive, life-destroying behavior? Paul says always give thanks for
everything. We are to give thanks to the Lord in any and every
circumstance, whether good or bad. Both good and bad circumstances
can make it difficult to obey and easy to sin. When times are hard, it may
be difficult to obey. When times are good, it may make it easier to sin
because our guard is down.
 Biblical Model:
A Community that Transforms People

A church that effectively ministers to all kinds of people is a church that:

4. Submits to one another.

• A vitally important element in any recovery group is the humility of
submitting to others
• A lifestyle of submitting to one another as well as submitting to those
whom God has placed over us (Heb 13:17) is vital to the Christian’s
growth in faith and obedience. The church has a foundation for submission
that no other organization has. It is rooted in hearing God’s voice.
 How to Do it: Involve Others

Biblical Model
A Community
that Transforms Best The pastor:
People Practices The Model
(Eph. 5:19-21)
The book on
Counseling
 How to Do it: Equip Members (Kellemen,
2011)

1. Preaching on topics such as one-another ministry, the

sufficiency of the scripture, the priesthood of all believers,
disciple making
2. Modeling how to apply truth to life through preaching and
teaching
3. Hosting one-day seminars on one-another topics
4. Encourage members to attend fellowships and conferences
5. Use Sunday School time and small group Bible studies to
train people on caring for one another
 How to Do it: Equip Members
6. Use DVD series on Biblical soul care, spiritual friendship,
and disciple making (some resources can be found online)
7. Build your library and purchase (or solicit) BC resource
books
8. Have individuals give testimonies about how they are
growing spiritually through caring for others and BC
9. Provide literature or reading materials as they are available
10. Counseling – people who receive counseling become our
most passionate proponents for caring for others and BC
 How to Do it: Equip Members
11. Conduct discipleship classes for members on caring for
others
12. Teach church leaders on how to implement BC
everywhere
13. Read resource blogs online. They are free!
14. Have a special Soul-care Sunday
15. Letting counseling principles inform everything we do –
they are part of the typical ebb and flow of our life
together
 How to Do it: Involve Others

Biblical Model
A Community
that Transforms Best The pastor:
People Practices The Model
(Eph. 5:19-21)
The book on
Counseling
 The Pastor: The Model

Lay Counselor/ Small group Care

Pastoral Care
church member Work as a team
 How to Do it: Work as a Team

You are
training that • Don’t lose heart!
other person • People ministry.
Start small (put spiritual • People don’t
gifts change overnight
together) (detours &
valleys)
 In closing…
When we refer addicts out of the church for help, we are
losing opportunities to preach the Gospel and failing to
address the heart issues driving addicted, idolatrous
behavior. It is a problem that trained biblical counselors
can address for the purpose of disciple making within the
local church and evangelism in our communities and the
world
(Shaw, 2015)
 In
… closing…

Churches failing to offer hope and help to those struggling

with addictions are missing opportunities to proclaim the
excellencies of Christ (Col. 1:28)
(Shaw, 2015)
 “
■ Scripture is sufficient to help people with
their problems because Christ is sufficient for
his people (Counsel the Word, 2014)
References
Lane, T. (2012). Godly Intoxication: The Church Can
Minister to Addicts. The Journal of Biblical Counseling.
Platt, D. (2015, March 5). Who Are the Unreached? Radical:
Devoted to Christ, Serving the Church, Reaching the
Nations.
Powlison, T. L. (2010). CCEF History, Theological
Foundations and Counseling Model. Christian
Counseling and Educational Foundation.
Shaw, M. (2015, March 23). Addicts: An Unreached People
Group? Vision of Hope.
 Online Resources
■ Biblical Counseling Coalition:
http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/
■ CCEF (Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation:
www.ccef.org
■ Association of Certified Biblical Counselors
https://biblicalcounseling.com/
■ Grace To You
http://www.gty.org/
Thank You!