Surrender
Step One:
We admitted we were powerless over our separation from God and that our
lives had become unmanageable. “I know nothing good lives in me, that
is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I
cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:18)
Step Two:
Came
to believe that God, a power greater than ourselves, could restore us to
sanity. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to
His good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)
Step
Three:
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care
of God. “Therefore, I urge you, in view of God's mercy, to offer your
bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God . . . which is your
spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)
Confession
and Repentance
Step Four:
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. "Let us
examine our ways and test them and let us return to the Lord.”
(Lamentations 3:40)
Step Five:
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another person, the exact nature of
our wrongs. "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for
each other so that you may be healed." (James 5:16)
Step Six:
Were
entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character. "Humble
yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up." (James 4:10)
Step
Seven:
Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings. "If we
confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Reconciliation
and Restoration
Step
Eight:
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to
make amends to them all. "Do to others as you would have them do to
you." (Luke 6:31)
Step Nine:
Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so
would injure them or others. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift
at the altar and there remember your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there in front of the altar. Go first and be reconciled to
your brother, then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:23, 24)
Continual
Growth
Step Ten:
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it. "If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you
don't fall." (1 Corinthians 10:12)
Step
Eleven:
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious
contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and power
to carry it out. "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."
(Colossians 3:16)
Sharing
and Serving
Step
Twelve:
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps,
we try to carry this message to others and practice these principles in
all our affairs. "People, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual should restore him gently, but watch yourself, or you also may
be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)
Adapted to a Christian format from Alcoholics Anonymous.
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