Considering Redemption

Addiction is a horrible master.  It doesn’t matter what your particular addiction- food, sex, alcohol, shopping etc. There are nearly as many “methods” for freeing someone from addiction as there are addictions.  As Christians, we recognize that addiction is a form of idolatry. We are not just seeking freedom from a behavior, but freedom from a false god. Most of the methods for freedom just don’t work. Often they just transfer your devotion from one false god to another. Many AA meetings are filled with chain smokers, and all of them are filled with bad tasting coffee to satisfy a caffeine addiction.

This is a really cool cover

Christians have often adapted other treatment plans and sprinkled in some Bible verses.  On the other hand, some have looked to Exodus for a pattern.  Gerald May, in Addiction and Grace, adds the wilderness motiff to psychotherapy. An old friend of mine should have his book, The New Exodus, published soon.

A few years ago, Mars Hill Church in Seattle noticed they had a buffet of small group options for addictions.  They decided to use one curriculum to address all the various addictions people struggled with.  Mike Wilkerson put one together that walks people through Exodus.  The result is Redemption: Freed by Jesus from the Idols we Worship and the Wounds we Carry.  Not only is Mike trying to apply biblical counseling, he’s using some exegetical, narrative theology.

This is one of the strengths of the book.  He is utilizing the pattern of redemption found in Exodus (which is used elsewhere in Scripture like Ezekiel and Revelation, and Jesus refers to the “new Exodus”).  He is applying it to both our idols and our wounds.  This is significant.  The Israelites not only worshiped false gods, but they were the victims of unspeakable evil.  God does not see us a merely victims or merely victimizers.  He knows the degree to which we are both wicked and wounded.  Because of our sinfulness, our woundedness results in one form of wickedness or another.  Bad counseling focuses on only one.  Good, biblical, counseling focuses on both.

While the text follows the story of the Exodus, Mike also adds personal stories to illustrate and quotes by people like David Powlison, Tim Keller, John Owen and Thomas Chalmers.  This is not a commentary on Exodus strictly speaking.  It seeks to apply Exodus to our circumstances, after correctly understanding Exodus.  This is a great model for how to teach from the Old Testament.  He points to the original meeting, its greater fulfillment in Christ and then moves to how it applies to us. Each chapter ends with a list of Scriptures to read and questions for reflection and discussion.  It is intended to be used with groups.

In his introduction, he points the Story: creation, Fall and redemption.  He didn’t get to restoration there, though he ends the book with it.  The mediated presence of God will become the unmediated presence of God with His people for all eternity.  But God must accomplish redemption in order for this to happen.  He must deal with our sin and our shame.  He deals with both in Christ who suffers the death our sin deserves and clothes us in robes of righteousness to cover our shame.

Exodus brings us into the already/not yet reality of redemption.  The ‘not yet’ awaits the restoration.  Now we know His grace and presence but struggle with wanting to go back to Egypt (our addiction) and seeking substitutes like the Golden Calf.  Freedom is scary when you’ve been a slave all your life.  Leaving your idols is very scary- they have provided us with a measure of relief and refuge.  They are more tangible than spiritual delights of worshiping the triune God by faith in Jesus Christ.

This is an excellent and helpful book.  It is one all Christians should read, not just those who are overly aware of their false worship and/or wounds.  It is honest about the real struggles we face as we walk “from Egypt to the Promised Land”.  The wilderness is the metaphor of our present Christian experience.  We have not arrived at the restoration.  Things have not yet been set to rights.  But if you are on the journey to that destination then this should be a helpful book for you.