What Does the Bible Say About Addiction?

Defining Addiction

First of all, what is the meaning of the word “addiction” and who is an “addict”? Addiction is defined as habit, compulsion, dependence, obsession, and craving. And dependence is reliance upon, trust, confidence. And craving is longing, desire, passion, hunger, yearning, etc. And habit is custom, routine, practice, pattern, and addiction. And obsession is fascination, fixation, and preoccupation. And compulsion is urge and impulse.

And addicts are those whose lives are defined by and ruled by their habits, compulsions, dependencies, obsessions, cravings, yearnings, practices, passions, patterns, impulses (instincts), fascinations and fixations. And what is a slave? He is one who is subject to control by another. So, an addict is a slave to what controls him. He is a slave to his instincts, patterns, habits, and practices. But he is a willful slave. This is something he chooses.

For, what does the Bible teach about addiction and choice? We read in John 3:19-20 that “people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does” (practices) “wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does” (practices) “what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

So, we all have a choice. We can choose evil or we can choose good. We can choose to make evil our practice, or we can choose to make righteousness, godliness, holiness, and obedience to our Lord our practice, our habit. We can choose to be enslaved to sin, or we can choose, by the grace of God, to be enslaved to God and to his righteousness, and to make godliness, moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness our practice, and not sin.

For the Scriptures are very clear on this subject of addiction, although they may not use that exact word. But they often use the words practice or habit or pattern, or they use active words such as doing, saying, and teaching. They definitely talk about cravings and desires and passions and longings. And they use the words dependence, reliance, trust and confidence. And they teach us both the good side and the bad side of these words.

To The Scriptures

For we read in Romans 6:1-23 that a true believer in Christ has been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and he has been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to be enslaved to sin, but now to be enslaved to God and to his righteousness. So, we are not to let sin reign any longer in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but if obedience is what we obey, it leads to eternal life with God.

And in Galatians 5:16-21 we read that the works of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. And Paul warned them, as he warned them before, that those doing such things (practicing such things) will not inherit the kingdom of God. And it says basically the same thing in Galatians 6:7-8; Romans 2:6-8; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 2 Corinthians 5:10; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 3:5-11; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Hebrews 10:26-31.

Basically, what the Scriptures teach regarding our faith, salvation, and eternal life with God is that if, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to sin, not just once but daily (in practice), and we now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord in living holy and righteousness lives, then we have eternal life with God. But if sin is what we practice, i.e. our habit, our pattern, and our obsession, and if holiness, righteousness and obedience to the Lord are not what we practice, then we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

Now, does this mean that we will never sin? Probably not (see 1 John 2:1-2). But God “draws a line in the sand,” basically, and the dividing line has to do with what is our practice, our habit, our pattern. If our pattern is to keep returning to the same habitual sins over again, by choice, by deliberately and habitually and even premeditatedly sinning against God and against other humans, then the Scriptures teach that we don’t know God, we are not of God, and we do not have eternal life with God. Please take this seriously!

And we are without excuse if we continue living in sin deliberately and habitually choosing over again to sin not only against God but to do harm to other humans. But those who are addicted to sin are full of excuses for why they won’t obey the Lord and turn away from their sins and now treat God and others with love. And one of them is that “it takes time.” And so many people are buying into that, no matter how long they have been using that as an excuse. But God doesn’t accept that excuse and neither should we.

But does it take some time to undo sinful habits? It can, but not a long time, and not without incremental change in habit in the right direction and away from the wrong direction. There should be continual progress in the right direction and not this dragging it out forever and forever only to continue in the same sinful behaviors making the same excuses over again. For it is what we practice that defines who we really are, not what we profess with our lips. So please forsake your sins and now follow Jesus in obedience.

Broken Cord

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior

And your testimony is separate from Him.

Your words not matching your actions today.

Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.

Live what you testify in truth always.

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,

For you profess one thing, but other you do.

Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to what you confess.

Lying about it puts you in a mess.

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.

Your heart is not given to your Lord God.

Because of how you live, you are a fraud.

Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

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