The Addiction Connection (TAC) desires to be inclusive rather than exclusive because the fight against addiction can be overwhelming. We want to gain as many allies in this battle as possible. At the same time, TAC stands upon the wise counsel of God as provided in His Word and will not compromise the truths of Scripture because we seek to glorify God by being faithful to His Word. Psalm 33:10-12 reminds us:

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! (ESV)

With this in mind, the fundamental principles of agreement that define our coalition are:

• How we define addiction (the “problem”)
• How we define the Gospel (the “solution”)

We pray that these two principles 1) promote unity in a biblical approach to addiction that will not compromise the Word of God and 2) invite diversity of views in other important, but non-essential for our purposes, theological areas. TAC’s purpose is to provide hope, practical resources of help, fellowship, and forward progress in the work of eradicating addiction problems.

How we define addiction (the “problem”)

We view addiction as a worship disorder that originates in the heart of mankind and nowhere else. We believe that grace-filled, truth-saturated care and counsel are necessary to correct the problem of addiction in the heart of man. We believe that it is loving and compassionate to treat the addicted and their families with respect and concern for their souls. Addiction problems may appear to be issues primarily in this life but we believe there is a simultaneous, eternal issue at stake. Because of the urgency of eternity, we strive for a unified approach that embraces the sufficiency of Scripture and the message of hope found in the Gospel. We will treat the addicted as both sufferers and sinners appropriately. There is hope and great gain in a biblical approach to addiction whereby Christ is exalted in accordance with Colossians 1:28:

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

How we define the Gospel (the “solution”)

We want to be concise and specific in how we define the Gospel message from the Holy Scriptures. While the Gospel is simple to state, it is profound to understand requiring the work of the Holy Spirit within the heart of mankind. The Gospel is the key message of hope for the heart of the addicted and their loved ones. Simply stated, the Gospel informs us that all persons are born with a selfish bent to please ourselves and that we do so, sinfully at times, in our lives. Because of our sin, God requires a satisfactory solution that can only be found in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died, was buried, and was raised from death to life. He lives today and is the solution for addiction when one makes a personal confession of sin, repents of wrongdoing, cries out to Jesus for forgiveness, and places faith in Christ alone – and in nothing else – for eternal life. Nothing else can be added to the central message of the Gospel because it is a message authored by God, our Creator.

Summary

Because we love the Lord, the addicted, and their loved ones, we share this true message of hope through repentance and faith in Christ. Christ forgives and then empowers the addicted and their loved ones to graciously transform into the likeness of Christ. By transformation, we mean both the immediate work of salvation as well as the gradual continual work of sanctification thereafter. Christ also comforts the suffering which includes the addicted and their loved ones. Our mission is to manifest His love to all persons.

There is only One True God and He is the Highest Power. Nothing else is to be worshipped and there is no other pathway to God apart from Jesus. In John 14:6, the writer quotes our Lord: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus alone is the one and the only mediator between God and man according to 1 Timothy 2:5: For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. We believe accordingly and can only point the addicted to Christ. When referring to Jesus, Acts 4:12 states clearly that Christ Jesus is the cornerstone of the Christian faith: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. We believe this is true and make no apologies in our stated purpose to see addicts and their loved ones transformed by the amazing grace and power of the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word in a person’s heart.