The Power to Change, pt. 1

"Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?"(Bill Wilson, AA, pg.45)

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the Power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Words of Paul, Romans 1:16)

I believe the text of Alcoholics Anonymous states our common dilemma, whether we suffer from addiction or 'merely' the destruction of sin. Where can we find this power? Paul gives us the simple, yet profound answer: The gospel of Jesus Christ provides us the power for salvation. If this is true, just what is the gospel of Christ?

In the earliest documents that we have describing Christianity, the gospel was understood to be "Christ dying for us" and "His resurrection from the dead" (see 1 Thes. 1:9-10 and 5:9-10). Jesus became the deliverer and the source of salvation. Paul later states in Colossians that "...God purposed that through Him, all things should be completly reconciled back to Himself...as through Him, (the Father) made peace by means of the blood of His cross." (Col. 1:20, AMP).

So, how do we 'access' the power to change? By abandoning our lives to God through 'faith' in the gospel of Jesus Christ -- not simply belief, but '...the leaning of your entire personality on Him in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness' (AMP expansion of Col. 1:4). Even though I was a Christian for some 20 years, it took the ravages of addiction for me to finally grasp all that He has done on the Cross - and the necessity of dependence of Him daily. I NEED a power greater than myself -- I NEED the power of the gospel.

Lane