JN 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 33 They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" 34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

With each of the following addictions, I will first present the lie behind it, then the truth of Gods creation, and finally the scriptures you will use during your time of temptation.

1. Alcohol

The Lie- Alcohol will shield me from life's pain and the more I drink, the less pain I will feel, and the happier I will be. I can only be happy when I am drinking, and if I am not drinking, I cannot be happy.

The Truth- Alcohol can be used to enhance social interaction and it is not a sin to drink per se, even Jesus drank wine that contained some alcohol, otherwise they wouldn't have accused Him of being a drunkard if he was just drinking grape juice. What is wrong with alcohol, is drinking too much and getting drunk. If you cannot drink without getting drunk, or if you are clearly a genetic alcoholic, then you must abstain from drinking alcohol altogether. Drunkards are in danger of going to Hell and the odds are stacked against us should we continue getting drunk.

LK 12:45 But suppose the servant (a Christian) says to himself, `My master (Jesus) is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant (Jesus) will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers (Hell).

EPH 5:15 Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

2. Drugs

The Lie- I need drugs to face life, and without them I will be left unfulfilled, unhappy, bored, and unprotected from life's harm. The more drugs I use, the better I will feel, and the more protected and capable of managing life my I will be. I need drugs to face life, and without them I cannot.

The Truth- Drugs were originally intended to be used to treat physical and psychological problems, and when used responsibly, they can be greatly beneficial in helping humans to recover and heal from sickness and disease. Drug abuse is toxic to the human body and will degrade its effectiveness and ability to function on a daily basis. Drug abuse will always take more than it gives, and it usually gives the opposite of what we think it is providing us. Drug abuse will destroy everything good in our lives and can send us to Hell in the end.

LK 12:45 But suppose the servant (a Christian) says to himself, `My master (Jesus) is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk (drug abuse). 46 The master of that servant (Jesus) will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers (Hell).

1TH 5:4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief (Jesus return). 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert (sober-minded) and self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

EPH 5:17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine (drugs, intoxication), which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

3. Smoking

The Lie- I need to smoke because I am a nervous person, and I need something to comfort me when I experience stress. Smoking relaxes me and gives me a physical tool that I can use to feel in control of my emotional pain and anxiety.

The Truth- Smoking can damage, degrade and destroy the body you live in. Plus those that see that you are addicted to nicotine know that you are trusting in a drug, in place of God to deal with the emotional stress in your life. So your Christian witness will be ruined if you are addicted to nicotine, it is an idol plain and simple. Smoking doesn't relax us, it only relieves the withdrawal symptoms that it has created in the first place. Smoking is a form of slow suicide, so if you die due to a smoking related illness, you will have to explain it all to God when you face Him in heaven.

1CO 3:16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

4. Pornography, Masturbation and Sexual Perversion

The Lie- I use my body sexually for pleasure, and to relieve stress, it is my body to do with as I please, and I am not hurting anyone else. I need to have a sexual release or I will explode. Besides, everyone masturbates and there is nothing wrong with it. God will understand. I cannot change my sexually perverse desires so that is how God must have made me and I have no choice but to gratify them.

The Truth- God created sexual rightness to be a husband (male) and wife (female) having mutually pleasurable, natural, sexual intercourse for the purpose of marital intimacy, physical pleasure, and for creating children. Anything other than this description, is a form of sexual error and sin, and we will all be held accountable to Gods standard of truth when we face Him, so denial won't work. God has also given males the ability to have nocturnal emissions should their sex drive really need a release. Masturbation always involves lusting after someone, which is normally not your mate, and Jesus said that if you think about someone to lust after them, then you are guilty of adultery for real and subject to judgment. Sexual sin ruins marriages, families, society, and defiles your spirit. Sexual sin can lead you to Hell in the end.

MT 5:27 "You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart (pornography, masturbation).

RO 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another (sexual perversion). 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

1CO 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (that means you go to Hell).

5. Overeating, Eating Disorders

The Lie- I need food for comfort and pleasure to relieve the emotional pain and anxiety that I feel. Food is my friend, and it helps me to cope with life's pain more easily. I can control my body and food intake by bingeing, purging, or withholding food from it, as I see fit. It is my body to control.

The Truth- The human body was created to need food as fuel to live, and God also made food taste good and pleasurable to eat, otherwise we probably wouldn’t want to eat it. God never intended for us to overeat and to make an idol out of food though. When we overeat, binge, purge, or starve ourselves, it causes our bodies to become less capable of functioning properly, and makes us unhealthy. It can also lead to sickness or even our death in the end if we are not careful. Eating food to cope with emotional stress or unhealed emotional pain is an idol since we are trusting in food rather than God for our comfort and emotional protection in life. People can also see that we are overweight or underweight, and that we are being disobedient in our body care, so it discredits our testimony as a Christian.

RO 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

1CO 3:16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

6. Profanity, Swearing, and Cursing

The Lie- When I use profanity, I feel better because I have vented my anger and gotten a sense of verbal revenge over what was attacking or annoying me. Besides, if that person or thing didn't make me so mad in the first place, I wouldn't have to swear. It's really no big deal, God will forgive me anyway, it's not like I murdered someone, or something terrible like that.

The Truth- Profanity is nothing less than verbal violence, and defiles all who hear it. Profanity is always progressive, and when we curse someone or ask God to damn them, there is spiritual power connected to that, that can invite evil spirits into peoples lives to harass them. Profanity is also a form of blasphemy since we are using Gods or Jesus' name in a profane context. God has warned us that we will be held accountable for every idle word we speak out of our mouths here on earth, and for misusing His name to abuse others.

MT 5:21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca, ' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

EX 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

MT 12:36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

LK 6:27 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

7. Self-Injury

The Lie- When I self-injure, it gives me a way to cope with my negative feelings and life-stress that I am undergoing, and it keeps me from doing even worse things. I need to self-injure to deal with all the unresolved pain in my life.

The Truth- Self-injury is a form of self-abuse and shows contempt for our bodies, and the Creator that made them. When we self-injure, it means that we do not trust God to heal or help us to deal with our old unhealed emotional pain. God can and will help us, but we must be first be willing to ask Him to, and to trust Him again. God will never harm, abuse, or reject us, He is our loving Father that just wants to heal and help us. God expects us to take all of our stress and cares to Him in prayer, rather than trying to cope with our stress and unhealed pain, by taking it out on our bodies.

1CO 3:16 Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

PHP 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1PE 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

RO 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

8. All other addictions

The Lie- My addiction helps me to cope with life's pain and gives me an avenue of fulfillment, comfort, and protection in life that I otherwise would not have. Addictions make my life better and more manageable, and they give me a pain buffer zone should something bad happen to me.

The Truth- All addictions make our lives less manageable, and create many problems for us that we otherwise would not have. Plus addictions take money and time from us that could be used more effectively in other ways. Addictions are a form of idolatry since we are trusting in a substance or habit in place of God for our protection and fulfillment in life, so practicing an addiction just shows that we really don't trust God or ourselves, to manage our lives. Addiction always ruins our witness as a Christian, so it hinders us from bearing good fruit for the kingdom. When people worshiped idols of wood and stone long ago, they were trusting in those idols for protection and life fulfillment as well, and even though they were just hunks of wood and stone, there were demons hiding behind those idols. The idols of addiction we now worship, also have demons hiding behind them, and when we allow an idol to become our master, we are worshiping demons indirectly, and that is an abomination to God. God wants to be everything we need in life, so we must decide this day whom we will serve, God or addiction idols.

1CO 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything.

JN 8:34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

2PE 2:19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

Remember, these words and scriptures above are not meant to condemn, but to enlighten and to strengthen you in your time of temptation. These words will judge us in the end whether we acknowledge them now or not, so it is best that we face the truth and live by it now, before we stand before God in our judgment. We can either use our mind as an amusement park for sin, or we can use it as an archive of truth that we compare everything to that tries to enter it. If you think it long enough, you will eventually do it, so we must take control of our thought-life to break free from our addictions. Gods laws are meant to guide us and protect us, so we must embrace His truths as the very means to save our lives and souls. His ways always work.

So the next time you feel tempted to relapse, look this word back up and repeat the lie, the truth, and the scriptures connected to that particular addiction you are struggling with out loud. In time it will become automatic, and you will not be fooled by lies or demons anymore. When Satan comes to lead you back into that old lie, just speak the truth of Gods creation and scriptures back at him. He will be forced to back off and leave you alone just like he had to leave Jesus alone because of the truth Jesus used against him. Jesus Christ has set you free, and you are no longer obligated to live in that old lie anymore, your time of slavery is over. You have the nature of Jesus Christ living in you now, and you just have to get the old lies out of your head and heart to release that new nature. We must allow Gods words to erase those old tapes playing in our heads that got recorded in us as children, and load His new truth into our brains and hearts so that we can walk in the truth and live free.

2CO 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

JAS 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

GAL 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

RO 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.