Bible Verses about Addiction

Candy Arrington

12-10-2022

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Addiction holds millions in bondage to substances, activities, or attractions that ruin lives. Some of the people around you, people you'd least expect, struggle daily, hourly, with addictions that shape their lives, damage their relationships, bankrupt them financially and spiritually, and hold them in a cycle of highs, lows, guilt, fear, and self-loathing. How can an addict break free? The first step is to admit that you're doing what you're doing, and then, understand why you do what you do and seek help to overcome the captivity of addiction.

Understanding the Sinful Nature 

  • "And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway" ( NLT).
  • "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" ( NIV).

 

Encouragement to Change 

  • "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you" ( MSG).
  • "Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.  Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires" ( NLT).
  • "Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the Lord" ( NASB).

 

God's Help in Fighting Addiction

  • "His grace teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful desires. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in today’s world" ( NIRV).
  • "No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. So, my very dear friends, when you see people reducing God to something they can use or control, get out of their company as fast as you can" ( MSG).
  • "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him" ( NLT).
  • "So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet" ( MSG).

 

Confronting an Addict 

  • "My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God’s truth, don’t write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God" ( MSG).
  • "If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive" ( NLT).
  • "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it" ( NIV).

Copyright © Candy Arrington, used with permission.

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About The Author

Candy
Arrington

Candy Arrington is a writer, blogger, speaker, and freelance editor. She frequently writes on the topics of faith, health, personal growth, and methods for moving through, and beyond, challenging life circumstances. Candy’s publishing credits include hundreds of articles and devotionals in numerous print and online outlets including: Focus on the Family, AriseDaily.com, Inspiration.org, CBN.com, Healthgrades.com, Care.com, NextAvenue.org, CountryLiving.com, and Writer’s Digest. Her newest book, Life on Pause: Learning to Wait Well (Bold Vision Books), addresses the challenges inherent in
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