9What does all this mean? Does it mean that we Jews are better off than the Gentiles? No, it doesn't! Jews, as well as Gentiles, are ruled by sin, just as I have said. 10The Scriptures tell us, "No one is acceptable to God!
11Not one of them understands or even searches for God. 12They have all turned away and are worthless. There isn't one person who does right. 13Their words are like an open pit, and their tongues are good only for telling lies. Each word is as deadly as the fangs of a snake, 14and they say nothing but bitter curses. 15These people quickly become violent. 16Wherever they go, they leave ruin and destruction. 17They don't know how to live in peace. 18They don't even fear God."
19We know that everything in the Law was written for those who are under its power. The Law says these things to stop anyone from making excuses and to let God show that the whole world is guilty. 20God doesn't accept people simply because they obey the Law. No, indeed! All the Law does is to point out our sin.
Here is the twelve step program...
Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 - Made amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
The operative application of this program is that we don't get to move to step two until we have satisfied step one...and so on. This is because the addictive personality is filled with rationalization and self-justification.
Rene Descartes says "Cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore...I am).
The Apostle Paul says Είμαι, επομένως καταδικάζομαι (I am, therefore...I am condemned)
Probably why the average man prefers Descartes over Paul.
But, Paul lays it out for us...clearly.
We are not acceptable to God!
We do not understand or even search for God.
We do not do right.
Our tongues are good only for telling lies.
We leave ruin and destruction wherever we go.
We don't even fear God."
Why is Paul so bold? To stop anyone from making excuses. If we can get over the need to justify ourselves we can give Jesus the chance to do that for us. Sound at all like Paul is talking to addicts? Paul implies that the root of sin is "not honoring God as God". If this is true, than we are all addicted to sin.
Then again, we addicts can take a chance on the possibility that Paul has it wrong...and skip this step. Keep in mind, the stakes are pretty high considering all we're doing is talking about swallowing our pride. As for me? Please pass the salt.
Live boldly out there today...
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