Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous, recognized the need for alcoholics to read the Bible, and he made that crystal clear. The most accurate and reliable version of Dr. Bob’s viewpoint can still be found in the A.A. conference approved pamphlet P-53 (The Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous). It contains the entirety of Dr. Bob’s last major talk to A.A. members in Detroit in 1948. His discussions about the importance of the Bible are summed up as this:
… “In the early days our stories didn’t amount to anything to speak of. When we started in on Bill D., we had no Twelve Steps either; we had no Traditions. But we were convinced that the answer to our problems was in the Good Book (The Good Book refers to the Bible). To some of us older ones, the parts that we found absolutely essential were the Sermon on the Mount, the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians, and the Book of James. It wasn’t until 1938 that the teachings and efforts and studies that had been going on were crystallized in the form of the Twelve Steps. I didn’t write the Twelve Steps. I had nothing to do with the writing of them. We already had the basic ideas, though not in terse and tangible form. We got them, as I said, as the result of our study of the Good Book …”
Although we cannot ask Dr. Bob as to why these three portions of Scripture were identified as absolutely essential, we can reason from the text of the book, “Alcoholics Anonymous,” and the practical process of the 12-Steps, how these sections of biblical Scripture relate to the early A.A. program of recovery. Bob, of course, was referring to his own personal experience between 1935 and when he made his final speech in 1948. Religion has always been a viable solution to alcoholism, provided the alcoholic was serious about the need to abstain from drinking. There is ample historical evidence that the founding of A.A. and its highly successful approach was based on the Judeo-Christian Bible. In 1935 to 1939 there were no Steps, no manual, and Christianity and Scripture were integral to the early gatherings. The Bible is a collection of Books, which are held to be sacred in Christianity and Judaism, the two central religions in the United States at the time of the founding of the A.A. fellowship.
The best way to understand the relationship of the absolutely essential portions of Scripture to the A.A. program is to first understand the overall purpose of the Bible. The Bible reveals Truth about both God and us, His creation. It reveals that God is Holy and we are not. It establishes that humans have a nature that is flawed and that makes us all sinners. The Bible explains what happens when this life is over and the eternal life we will live after we die. It explains that we have an eternal existence after we die and that there is a heaven and a hell. It tells us how to gain heaven and escape hell. It tells us that we cannot, in our own flawed nature, ever be good enough to achieve heaven. God has to do it for us, and the Bible reveals God’s solution. The central message or theme of the Bible is God’s plan of salvation – His way of providing deliverance from sin and spiritual death through repentance and faith. In the Old Testament, the concept of salvation is rooted in Israel’s deliverance from Egypt in the book of Exodus and God’s establishment of the sacrificial system. The New Testament reveals the source of salvation: Jesus Christ. The final sacrifice.
The principles and practices of Alcoholics Anonymous can be traced back to the Oxford Group, a nondenominational Christian spiritual movement. For a short period of time, in the initial beginnings of the Alcoholics Anonymous fellowship, the Oxford Group practices were integral to the fellowship, and their methods stressed the importance of the principles of self-examination, confession, restitution, and the giving of oneself in service to others. These principles and practices were founded upon the Bible and the standard for behavior was established by Christ in the Sermon the Mount. The co-founders of A.A., Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, were both associated with the Oxford Group fellowship prior to their meeting in 1935. The Oxford Group’s influence on the development of A.A. was substantial and both Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith attended their meetings. Bill Wilson wrote in the book “Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age” that early A.A. got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledging character defects, making restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Groups. These basic ideas along with the absolute need to surrender to God are fundamentally the basic principles of A.A. and they are biblical.
To put further analysis in perspective, let us first consider why we seek help from Alcoholics Anonymous. We are there because our drinking has caused a lot of problems, not just for ourselves, but for others as well. Although most people identify the stages of alcoholism from a physical health point, we should be more concerned with the behavior we were exhibiting prior to sobriety. And it’s never good. All one needs to do is to hear in our stories how our behavior has been totally out of kilter with known moral standards. Collectively, our general attitude has been selfish, manipulative, secretive, sensitive, self-destructive, impatient, defensive, isolated, irritable, discontented, and usually angry. And we have been committing many sins. As we confess in A.A., to varying degrees, we have been lying, cheating, stealing, and mostly were in total deception about our own behavioral actions. We are in trouble and insane, which translates to not having a sound mind. Although some of this may not apply to you specifically, some does, so pick your flaws.
The Bible clearly defines that to get to heaven, as well as to achieve spiritual growth in our current life, we must embrace Jesus Christ and have the Holy Spirit living within us. If that condition is met, the Bible becomes a book of instruction teaching us how to live morally. If you think about the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament, those are instructions. If you read through the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus Christ, those are standards of conduct that one grows into as part of God’s Kingdom. If you read the books in the New Testament, they are all filled with commandments. God has given us His written Word so that we would not only know who He is but that we would also know how to be saved and how He wants us to live. With this basic understanding we can begin to relate to the three absolutely essential parts of scripture previously identified. Understanding early A.A. and its origins is very important. In the very beginning, as Bill W. and Dr. Bob began to bring other drunks in to their fledgling fellowship, they were made to accept Jesus Christ and the biblical God before they were allowed to join in the meetings. As already stated, early meetings included many of the practices of the Oxford Group, a Christian fellowship of men.
Early A.A., with its biblical approach, provided a method to examine ourselves, and a way to improve our behavior. We know that means the removal of our character defects. The relationship between the 3 absolutely essential parts of the Bible, noted earlier, and Alcoholics Anonymous must have something to do with the change process we encounter in the Steps. First, we examine ourselves. This would be the Step 4 inventory which produces a list of our character defects. Then we ask God to help us remove them. Then comes the making amends section. Then prayer and meditation to improve our spiritual condition, so that we can ultimately apply these spiritual principles and pass this message to other alcoholics. Taking inventory of our character has to be compared to some standard. That standard is established by the teachings of Christ in His Sermon on the Mount, which is in the book of Matthew, chapters 5-7.
It is in the Sermon on the Mount where we also find an explanation of the Kingdom of God. This sermon is one of the most widely quoted sections of the Gospels, including some of the best-known sayings attributed to Jesus, such as the Beatitudes and the commonly recited version of the Lord’s Prayer. You might be familiar with this prayer as it is prayed to end the majority of A.A. meetings. The Sermon on the Mount also contains what many consider to be the central tenets of Christian discipleship. It is from the Beatitudes where the standard for successful recovery in the A.A. program is found. We can see this in the First Beatitude found in Matthew 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. This and the rest of the Beatitudes clearly define that without God, we are hopeless. The essence of this powerlessness is found in the 12-Steps beginning with Step 1, where we admit that we are powerless over alcohol. The Beatitudes continue on to describe the character of the people of the Kingdom of Heaven and present a new set of ideals that focus on love and humility rather than the world’s way of describing success, which for us translates to successful recovery from alcoholism. Many of the principles in the 12-Step program are found in the Sermon on the Mount. They echo the highest ideals of Jesus’ teachings on love, forgiveness, spirituality and compassion. It is no wonder why the Sermon on the Mount was deemed essential.
In a similar way, we can consider the book of James similar to the Sermon on the Mount. The parallels are very important. These parallels are significant and again define a standard for measuring individual character. All through the book of James you get the feeling that there’s the undertone of the Sermon on the Mount. James is seen as articulating the lessons of Christ given there. In many ways, then, the book of James is a practical commentary of application of the Sermon on the Mount. One of Christ’s essential teachings is to convince all of humanity that the practice of religion in any form will not benefit them at all unless they manifest true godliness from the heart. This includes the religion of humanism, which takes the stance that affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives without the need for any salvation by God. The whole epistle of James is nothing but a series of tests for the genuineness of salvation, by showing us the character of true living faith.
The book of James consists only of 5 chapters, but it is power-packed with life-changing truth. Here is an outline that can help us understand that we are presented with a biblical standard for measuring our own character. In these five chapters James gives us truth about trials and temptations (1:2-18), testing of faith (1:2-12), the source of temptation (1:13-18), listening and doing (1:19-27), favoritism forbidden (2:1-13), faith and deeds (2:14-26), taming the tongue (3:1-12), two kinds of wisdom (3:13-18), warning against worldliness (4), quarrelsomeness (4:1-3), spiritual unfaithfulness (4:4), pride (4:5-10), slander (4:11-12), boasting (4:13-17), warning to rich oppressors (5:1-6), miscellaneous exhortations (5:7-20), patience in suffering (5:7-11), concerning oaths (5:12), concerning the prayer of faith (5:13-18), and concerning those who wander from the truth (5:19-20). The book of James is clearly about the Christian faith and examining ourselves to see if we’re demonstrating a character worthy of a genuine Christian. It is important to note that early members of A.A. were Christians, so the book of James was considered absolutely essential to mark their progress.
In the program of A.A., we have a slogan that states “Love and Tolerance is our code.” Unconditional love is one of the principles we tend to embrace in A.A. Most of us can remember our first A.A. meeting. Unconditional love flowed toward us as we first admitted to our alcoholism. It was coming from people who knew our feelings and despair, along with the hurt and anger we felt for others and ourselves. They knew they were looking at someone who was there because of their own character defects. Yet, they accepted us at face value without judging us. Instead of criticism, compassion and healthy encouragement was poured out to us. They did this because they had been in our shoes – they knew how we were hurting. This is but a partial glimpse of the love and mercy that God offers us. First Corinthians 13 in the bible, known as the “love chapter,” gives us a beautiful description of what godly love is like! We post here the portion that describes the characteristics of the proper standard of love as seen by God: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Cor 13:4-7 clearly sets a biblical standard with which to measure our own behavior. Inserting your own name for “love” should provide a very good test to see where we are falling short.
In summary, Alcoholics Anonymous started in 1935 when two struggling alcoholics met and found that by sharing their own experiences and studying God’s Word, they had found a spiritual solution to their common problem. In the beginning there was no manual, so for four years until after 1939 their meetings and practices were dedicated to turning their life over to the biblical God. The standards expressed in the Sermon on the Mount, the book of James, and the definition of love found in First Corinthians 13 were for those that have been saved and who embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and their Lord. The only people who will ever experience the biblical blessings are those who believe in the biblical God and put their faith in Christ. There is no blessedness apart from that. Peter tells us in Second Peter 1:4 that we who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are partakers of the divine nature. As recovering alcoholics, it is clear that the early members of A.A. demonstrated that the blessedness promised by Christianity was true. It yields the same bliss, the same inner state of contentment, the same happiness deep down within us, that is characterized by those who embrace God and the Lord Jesus Christ. What a marvelous thing that is to realize.
The A.A. book was printed in 1939 which outlined the 12-Step program that is followed today. There were agonistic influences that wanted a more secular approach. Unfortunately, it minimized the need for the biblical God. As a secular program, it has deteriorated over time and has lost much of its original spiritual meaning, resulting in lower long term success rates. No longer is God seen as essential to the recovery process as it once was. The words about the necessity of God becoming the central fact of their life are there in the book, but the beliefs and actions are not. Instead, the practice of conceptualizing your own higher power out of your imagination seems to dominate the meetings. If one brings up God in many of today’s A.A. meetings, the expressions of “Don’t talk about God, you will scare away the newcomer” and “This is a spiritual program and not a religious one” tend to discourage real God believers. It seems like the society within A.A. have lost their first love. It has become a meeting dedicated to beginners. It is primarily only a kindergarten, and individuals who manage to stay sober for a few years are not being fed the necessary truths to help them grow past that level. And eventually many are slipping.
The A.A. program (12 Steps) addresses the attitude-changing process needed for recovery. It, of course, is a practice of admitting our own powerlessness, depending upon something greater than ourselves to help us, a practice of examining ourselves for defects or flaws in our character, having a dependence of a power greater than ourselves to remove those flaws, making amends when our flaws affected others, and then practicing these fundamentals for a lifetime. As a result of this practice, it will create a desire in us, on a day at a time basis, not to drink. Many have this desire without having a personal relationship with Christ. But as we know, desire can change in an instant with the right circumstances.
So, the ultimate insurance is having the Holy Spirit living within you. In John 15:26, Christ tells us that the Holy Spirit is our Helper. There are other benefits but the thing that helps our alcoholism is that the Holy Spirit gives us power for victory over conscious sin. Alcoholism is likely the most obvious sin we alcoholics need to totally overcome. Any failure on that will bring out the worst in us. The Sermon on the Mount, the book of James, and First Corinthians 13 provide the character standard we are to measure ourselves against. That standard is the character of Christ given to us through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. This is the best insurance to insure total abstinence for an entire lifetime.
If you have not experienced being rocketed into the fourth dimension or you have slipped after a few years of sobriety, then perhaps you need to join the Fellowship of the Spirit and resign from just being in the secular “don’t-drink, go-to-meetings” fellowship. Be like the early pioneers in Alcoholics Anonymous who experienced being rocketed into the fourth dimension of existence. They are the ones who got on their knees and embraced Christ as their Lord and Savior. They are the ones who embraced Christ as their standard and knew the absolutely essential importance of the Sermon on the Mount, the Book of James, First Corinthians 13, and the full Bible.
Is there a reason for you to accept Christ? The personal words of Christ found in John 15:1-8 (NIV) is both a warning and a promise. Which shall it be for you?
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
The better choice would be to abide in Christ. Then you will have a real prolific dynamic spiritual life. That my friends is the meaning of being rocketed in to the fourth dimension of existence.