Put Off, Put On
“Therefore on God alone will I rely for preservation, and continually will I look up to him on that account.’ This will make the soul be always committing itself to the care of God, resting itself on him.” The Mortification of Sin, John Owen
Most importantly what lies before us before any change can happen is the need to revere God. The crucial need is to put off the old, then to put on Christ. The process of change focuses on the absolute need for the truth in Christ which outweighs the darkness of idols.
Addiction is the path to destruction. So, what do we need to do? Well let’s start with this: Put off, then put on.
We are to listen to our convictions that are echoed from God motivating us to put off. Then, and this is very important, there is not anything more imperative than to put on Christ. He is the answer to all questions leading to cleansing ourselves of addiction. Revering the power of God is our treatment, not secular modes such as merit or moral based treatment.
The imperative is to deny self. Self is the factory of desires responsible for chasing idols .
“Humility is the very essence of holiness. It is the displacement of self by the enthronement of God. Where God is all, self is nothing.” -Andrew Murray
It is not a work of self-esteem or self-control on our part. I have tried this model only to continue walking in my addiction for 20 years. It was not until the Holy Spirit took hold of me that I was fully transformed. “Self can never cast out self, even in the regenerate man.” Humility, Andrew Murray”. And, “If you are a believer, the duty of killing the deeds of the body is given to you. For those who aren’t believers in Christ, trying to carry out this task is an example of the false belief that we can save ourselves and that we can be righteous enough to get to heaven through our own efforts.” The Mortification of Sin, John Owen
So, the task at hand is not to focus on sobriety, but the new identity in Christ. It is the relationship with him, the understanding that God is worthy, therefore, we honor and revere him. With this position, worldly idols shrink to nothing and God becomes our all. It changes our thinking to Christ and not towards our desires.
The Bible reinforces that the absolute truth is in Christ only. When our being is infused with this truth then we are no more confused and can determine between good and evil, addiction (idols) being the evil. Our need then is to surrender ourselves to His divine will walking in the light of truth. Our destination is truth in Christ and at this point, addictions cannot come in as a stealth and surprise us even though we started this nonsense through our own desires and choice. We come to a point of wisdom that is well describe by Jerry Bridges:
“Conviction should actually grow throughout our Christian lives. In fact, one sign of spiritual growth is an increased awareness of our sinfulness.” -The Gospel for Real Life, Jerry Bridges
Our need is to surrender to Christ. You were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with Him through the powerful working of God. You have been made alive in Christ inheriting eternal life, and your sins are forgiven. Come and lay your burdens on the cross to experience true freedom. That is what it means to put off, then to put on Christ. You are free indeed!
John Carlson
Executive Director, Transformation to Recovery