12 Steps & Their
Biblical Comparisons
(click here for a printable version)
Step 1
We admitted we
were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, 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
Step 2
We came to believe
that 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 3
We made a decision
to turn our wills and our lives 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
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
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 5:16
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
Step 7
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
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
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 gift there in front of the altar. First go and be
reconciled to your
brother; then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24
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
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 power to
carry that out.
Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly. Colossians 3:16
Step 12
Having had a
spiritual experience as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this
message to others
and to 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
