ABOUT THE BOOK
This book began as a simple theological guide for our Christ-centered addiction recovery group, called ARISE, at our church. During this time of prayer and meditation, God revealed “The Golden Ladder” to me by showing how Jesus’s Beatitudes give us everything needed for a person to be set free from addiction and sin in their life. Jesus’s eight blessings form an eight-step program that will lead everyone out of the bondage they are in. When I examined other programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, I realized many of their steps line up with God’s Word perfectly.
Our purpose here is to explain the nature of addiction. While it has been called many things, like a disease or an allergy, we attempt to get to the root of the problem. We recognize from a Christian viewpoint all addiction is spiritual. Satan attempts to bring us into bondage through addiction or anything else he can use. The apostle Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 6:12 (New International Version) to not be “mastered by anything.” Addiction is being mastered by the forces of darkness. That dark “master” needs to be replaced by the one true “Master”—Jesus Christ.
Addiction is a pit. The pit is a common image used in scripture as a trap to catch innocent victims. Throughout this book, we will refer to addiction as the Pit of Despair, a trap created by Satan, who has caught many unwary souls. Full deliverance from the pit can only come through Jesus Christ. Likewise, the ladder is also a familiar image in scripture. For instance, Jacob dreamed of a ladder that reached from earth to heaven, connecting us to God. In our case, the eight Beatitudes form a type of ladder. Each step, or rung, is contingent upon the one preceding it. They cannot be bypassed or neglected. These eight Beatitudes will be referred to throughout this book as the Golden Ladder of Recovery. There are just eight steps, but they lead from the pit to the throne of God!