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The 12 steps and scripture
Faith Fueled Recovery Twelve Steps & Scripture
The 12 Steps have long been of great help to people in recovery. Much of their power comes from the fact that they capture principles clearly revealed in the Bible. We read the 12 Steps followed by the corresponding scriptures that support them. This will help readers familiar with the 12 steps to discover the true source of their wisdom—the very word of God.
Step 1: We admitted that we were powerless over our problems—that our lives had become unmanageable. “I know that nothing good lives in me…I want to do what is right, but I can’t.” Romans 7:18
Step 2: We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” Philippians 2:13
Step 3: We made a decision to turn our wills and our lives over to the care of God. “Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable” Romans 12:1
Step 4: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. “Let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn back to the Lord “Lamentations 3:40
Step 5: We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed” James 5:16
Step 6: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor” James 4:10
Step 7: We humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings. “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” I John 1:9
Step 8: We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all. “Do to others as you would like them to do to you” Luke 6:31
Step 9: We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. “If you are presenting a sacrifice at the alter and someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God” Mathew 5:23-24
Step 10: We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall” 1 Corinthians 10:12
Step 11: We 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. “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart” Colossians 4:2
Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs. “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself” Galatians 6:1