The Danger of the Alcoholics Anonymous Disease Concept

By Chad Prigmore

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. - John 3:17-18

Without experiencing and understanding the conviction of sin and the resulting condemnation, how can anyone come to see the need for Jesus Christ as Savior, repent, and be blessed with the divinely generated desire to follow and serve Him as Lord?

The erroneous disease concept of Alcoholics Anonymous works in such a way that the sinner trapped in alcoholism through rampant sinful desire is veiled from the guilt and remorse of sin by being falsely led to believe that they are afflicted with disease and that their destructive behaviors are it's symptoms. The destructive danger of the disease concept of alcoholism lies in the fact that the sinner in dire need of hearing the gospel, experiencing the conviction of sin, repenting of their sin and trusting in Jesus Christ, instead begins seeking "recovery" from a non-existent disease by working a program in an effort to get their life back together. They grieve for what they have lost and the damage they've caused, but their entire concept of recovery is self focused; hence the easy to swallow "god as we understand him" put forth by Alcoholics Anonymous rather than the only true God of the Bible who by the working of the Holy Spirit through the gospel generates by grace a genuine grief leading to repentance of sin and faithful trust in Jesus Christ.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. - 2 Corinthians 7:10

By striving to provide "recovery solutions" the gospel has been pushed aside and the entire purpose of the church has been hijacked. The modern church's myopic obsession with recovery must be thrown out and replaced with a reliance on the sufficiency of scripture and faith in God that when His gospel is proclaimed without compromise the Holy Spirit will transform people who seem beyond any hope of redemption.

​“The gospel has it’s convictions to make way for it’s consolations.” - Charles Spurgeon