Lesson 19 Belief Systems Belief – A persuasion of truth on the grounds of evidence distinct from personal knowledge.

A Belief System is a set of principles that determine our response to any circumstance.

Having the wrong belief system allows a person to make decisions that are contrary to the laws and commands of God.

Man’s actions must be guided by an established set of objective values or chaos and violence will result.

What a person believes determines how they live. What a person believes about God will determine what they believe to be the meaning of life.

Having the proper concept of God determines the Belief System we will have.

Many addicts have no concept of God whatsoever. Any concept they may have is distorted and confusing to them. The absence of Biblical leadership and role models in the life of an addict contributes to having the wrong concept of God.

GodCreationPurposeAccountabilityInstructionObedience The following diagram illustrates the order for understanding the basic concepts that form a proper belief system. God CreationAccountabilityInstructionObedience Purpose

Having the proper concept of God determines the Belief System we will have. What we believe about the existence of God predetermines our beliefs on every other issue of life.

What we believe about God determines what we believe about creation. If we do not believe God created man, we will not believe there is a purpose for having been created.

If there is no purpose for having been created, we will not believe we are accountable to God.

If we believe we are not accountable to God, we will not believe that God has given us instructions about how to live a life that is pleasing to Him.

Accepting or rejecting God’s instructions will determine whether or not we will be obedient to God.

Obedience is the vehicle by which man experiences happiness and fulfillment in his life.

Happiness is not found in fulfilling the desires of one’s self, it is in fulfilling the desires of the Creator.

Man was made to fellowship with the Creator.

The only way man can be happy is to be in fellowship with the Creator.

The only way man can have fellowship with the Creator is to be obedient to the Creator’s commands.

In a chaotic society there is no concept of God or one’s responsibility to Him. The Bible says “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Contrary to what those who deny Christ want us to believe, there is no freedom or liberty apart from knowing God. The very life of an addict proves this.

A person may be clean and sober from drugs and alcohol and still be in bondage to them.

No one who is in bondage can free himself from that bondage.

When a person is a slave to and in bondage to sin they are not capable of freeing themselves from this captivity. It becomes necessary for someone else to purchase freedom for them.

We must see sin as the greatest problem in the life of the addict, and the root cause of all addictions.

Our society blames addictions on a disease or illness. Society says it is the “disease” of addiction that forces a person to satisfy the lusts of the flesh.

Denial of sin has permeated even our churches to such a degree, that we send our members to the AA meeting instead of to the altar.

By accepting Jesus Christ as our Saviour we have the same power over sin and death that Jesus has. This power frees us from the bondage of sin, all sin; this freedom is not temporary, it is forever.

It is God that makes men free. He alone can free men from the bondage of sins of addiction, not a commitment to weekly meetings, a 12-step program, or sheer determination.

If a person must go to meetings in order to stay clean or sober I would submit to you that they are simply trading one life- controlling habit or dependency for another.

There can be no real hope in this “meeting” type of thinking. The person who is afraid to not go to meetings is never truly free from the addiction.

If a person, who has a chemical dependency problem, realizes that he or she has a sin problem instead, there is hope because God forgives sin.

Even though there are consequences of sin in this life, God forgives us each time we confess our sin.

He not only forgives us of our sin, but the Bible says in Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

Hebrews 10:17 says, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” Not only does God forgive us of our sins, but once they are under the blood, He does not remember them any longer.

The Belief System to which a person holds, whether recognized or not, is a result of the influences, or lack of influences, from parents and/or authority figures during early childhood experiences or their formative years.

The relationship a person has with their parents or those who rear them is one of the most powerful factors that shape a person’s views of God and their ability to relate to others.

The Home is the most influential place of instruction in the early years of a person’s life.

…parents and guardians are the first sources of instruction in the life of the child and are given the responsibility from God to train the child correctly.

Guilt and blame can also distort one’s concept of God.

The right concept of God allows us to see Him as the ultimate authority in our life.

God has ordained that there be authorities in our life that we may receive instruction from them.

We can have confidence that the Bible’s teachings and principles are true and trustworthy because they come from God Himself.

Our life is either an example for others to follow or an excuse for others to copy.

The relationship a person has with Christ and their obedience to the Word of God are the tools God uses to change a faulty belief system into one that is pleasing to Him. Daily Relationship with Christ Obedience to God’s Word A life pleasing to God

It is through obedient living that we bring glory to God. This is the ultimate purpose of our existence as human beings.