Walking With Christ

(Part 1 of 5)

⚓ Floatie:  The Subtle Exchange of Masters

Romans 6:16  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?(ESV)

Addiction does not begin with excess.  It begins with permission.

Long before chains are felt, authority is quietly transferred.  Something other than God is allowed to regulate what we feel, how we cope, what brings relief, and where we run when life becomes unbearable.  By the time addiction is visible, lordship has already changed hands.

Scripture does not ask what you consume.  It asks whom you obey.

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✒️ Forge:  Addiction Is Not About Objects, but Authority

Matthew 6:24  “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.(ESV)

The modern world treats addiction as a category reserved for extremes:  drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex.  Scripture does not.  Scripture treats addiction as a condition of bondage—a state in which something other than God exercises functional authority over a person’s inner life.

Addiction forms when a created thing is given the role of regulator.

Regulation is not the same as enjoyment.
Regulation is not the same as use.
Regulation is not the same as appreciation.

Regulation means this:  When my inner state is disturbed, I go here.

Scripture consistently frames this issue in terms of mastery, not morality.

2 Peter 2:19  They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption.  For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.(ESV)

Addiction is not defined by how sinful something looks.  It is defined by what governs your inner life when pressure is applied.

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⚒️ Anvil:  The Mechanics of Addiction Formation

James 1:14–15  (14)But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  (15)Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.(ESV)

Scripture describes addiction not as a sudden fall, but as a progression.

First:  Novelty and Intensity
Novelty forces attention.  Desire narrows focus.  Relief feels immediate.

Ecclesiastes 7:29  See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.(ESV)

Addiction rarely begins with rebellion.  It begins with a scheme that works.

Second:  Regulation
What once happened becomes something chosen.  The object is no longer incidental—it becomes functional.

Proverbs 14:12  There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.(ESV)

Third:  Pattern Recognition
The system adapts.  What once produced relief now produces neutrality.  More input is required for the same effect.

Scripture does not explain neurochemistry—but it does explain diminishing return.

Haggai 1:6  You have sown much, and harvested little.  You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill.  You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm, and he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.(ESV)

Fourth:  Escalation or Transfer
When satisfaction fades, the heart searches for the next regulator.

Jeremiah 2:13  for my people have committed two evils:  they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.(ESV)

Fifth:  Withdrawal
When the regulator is removed, fear and disorientation surge.  Scripture names this experience honestly.

Isaiah 57:20  But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.(ESV)

Withdrawal feels chaotic because false peace has been removed.

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🔥 Ember:  Addiction Is the Search for Intensity as Escape

Hebrews 11:25  choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.(ESV)

Addiction promises relief through intensity.  Intensity narrows focus.  Narrowed focus reduces awareness.  Reduced awareness feels like peace.

But Scripture is very clear:  pleasure is not the problem—fleeting pleasure is.

Intensity does not heal pain.  It delays it.

Over time, intensity demands escalation, and escalation demands obedience.

John 8:34  Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”(ESV)

Practice precedes slavery.  Slavery precedes collapse.

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🌿 Covenant Triumph:  Naming the Root Before Naming the Chains

Galatians 5:1  For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.(ESV)

Deliverance cannot begin until addiction is named correctly.

Addiction is not primarily:

• a lack of discipline,
• a moral defect,
• a personality flaw,
• or a failure of effort.

Addiction is misplaced lordship.

Whatever you consistently turn to for regulation will eventually shape obedience.  Whatever shapes obedience will shape identity.  Whatever shapes identity will claim authority.

Colossians 2:6  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,(ESV)

Christ does not offer a competing regulator.  He claims exclusive lordship.

This series will not begin by telling you what to quit.  It will begin by revealing who—or what—has been ruling you.

Only then can deliverance occur—not as spectacle, not as emotion, but as covenantal transfer.

Freedom does not start with behavior.  Freedom starts with allegiance.

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[⚓ Floatie] [✒️ Forge] [⚒️ Anvil] [🔥 Ember] [🌿 Covenant Triumph]
This post follows the Forge Baseline Rule—layered truth for the discerning remnant.