THE 12 STEPS AND THEIR

BIBLICAL COMPARISONS

Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and

compulsive behavior; that our lives had become unmanageable.

I know that 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 NIV

Step 2: We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could

restore us to sanity.

For it is God who is at work in you to will and to act according to his

good purpose.

PHILIPPIANS 2:13 NIV

Step 3: We made a decision to turn our life and our will over to the

care of God.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your

bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your

spiritual act of worship.

ROMANS 12:1 NIV

Step 4: We 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 NIV

Step 5: We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human

being, 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 5:16a NIV

Step 6: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects

of character.

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

JAMES 4:10 NIV

Step 7: We humbly asked Him to remove all 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 NIV

Step 8: We 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 NIV

Step 9: We 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 that your brother has something against you, leave your

offering there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your

brother; and then come and offer your gift.”

MATTHEW 5:23–24 NIV

Step 10: We continued to take personal inventory and when we were

wrong, promptly admitted it.

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

1 CORINTHIANS 10:12 NIV

Step 11: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our

conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for

us and the power to carry that out.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

COLOSSIANS 3:16a NIV

Step 12: Having had a spiritual experience as the result of these

steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and practice these

principles in all our affairs.

Brothers, 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 NIV

Questions?  Contact Us:

Jim Webb - Ministry Leader

615-969-3162