How should a Christian view addiction? What does the Bible say about addiction?

The greatest care, tenderness and wisdom are needed in cases such as you refer to. A man may be “overtaken in a fault” as in Galatians 6. In an unguarded moment a person may be led to take more stimulant than he ought, and perhaps he may seem to be the worse for drink. Should such an one be hastily thrust out of the assembly? Assuredly not. He should be lovingly and tenderly admonished by “the spiritual” who alone know how to do it. He should be carefully looked after, not for the purpose of finding accusation against him, but to “restore” and deliver him thoroughly from the effect of his “fault.”

Perhaps here the Spirit of God has the subject of giving chiefly before us; yet the sowing goes very much further than that. If I spend my time and my money on myself, the harvest will be the fruit of selfishness. Those who sow to the flesh by drinking wine and smoking tobacco or cigarettes, or opium, these things also bring a harvest, and a very bitter harvest it may be. These two harvests are set before us: corruption or eternal life. Reader, choose today, What, Where, and How will you sow?

Verse 12 commences a fresh paragraph, and introduces another line of thought. Meats are mentioned in the next verse, and we shall have more concerning that matter in chapter 8. It was a burning question amongst the early Christians. In such matters as that Paul was not under law. Yet even so what is quite lawful may be by no means "expedient," or "profitable" (see margin). Moreover even a lawful thing may have a tendency to enslave, and we are not to allow ourselves to be brought under the power of anything, but rather hold ourselves free to be the bondslaves of our Lord and Saviour. How often one hears it said concerning a debated point — "But it is not forbidden. What is the harm of it?" And the reply has to be in the form of another question — Is it profitable? We want things which have not only the negative virtue of having no harm in them but also the positive virtue of having profit in them.

If all things are lawful to the Christian, certainly all do not profit. As Christ never did what did not profit, so neither should the Christian. He is free, but it is only according to Christ for good, and this in love, the good of others. But there is another guard: if all things are lawful to the Christian, he refuses to be brought under the power of anything: were it not so, it would be bondage, not liberty. Thus to have regard for others' good must be kept up, as well the liberty itself intact. The Christian is called to serve others, never to be the slave of a habit in anything great or small.

Our Lord's words, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (Matt. 12:30) are true in particular matters as well as in a general way. If we are not with Him in any habit or practice, in that respect we are against Him and are in the miserable condition of being divided against ourselves. As a consequence we lose spiritual vigor and lack ability to make progress in God's things or even to stand firm in Satan's presence. Paul says that things that are “lawful” to him — not specifically unscriptural — are not all “expedient” (wise) and he immediately adds, regarding these things, “All things are lawful to me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Cor. 6:12). Lawful things might develop a power or influence to which even Paul feared becoming captive.

Sin enslaves. When I have talked to boys and girls before on this I have said, 'Did you ever, on a hot day in the summer time, see hanging in the kitchen a strip of sticky tape.' What was it for? It was to catch flies. Imagine an old fly talking to a young fly, it would say, 'Whatever you do do not touch that sticky tape. It looks and smells nice, it is most alluring, but do not touch it'. The little fly will not be persuaded and thought it must have a touch and so puts out a leg but it gets stuck. It puts out some more legs to push itself off but they stick also, and if you come back in half an hour you would find the little fly just about dead, it is sticky all over. The fly cannot touch the tape without getting ensnared by it. That is like sin. Sin is the sticky thing. Am I talking my own notions? I will tell you what our Saviour said, 'Verily, verily, [or, 'Truly, truly'] I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin" (John 8:34). Whoever touches the sticky thing called sin is caught and enslaved by it. 'Well,' says Paul, 'you were enslaved by sin, but now you have been made free, not from the presence of sin, but the power of sin. Slavery is broken'. We Christians know it, and it is a wonderful thing.

Others have been encaged by the flesh, they are carnally minded, they have not understood or have forgotten that "we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh, for if ye live after the flesh ye shall die" (Rom. 8:12-13). The lusts of the flesh have ensnared them, the things with which once they tampered have become settled habits, and it is when they would be free that they discover what captives they are. There are others who, like those over whom the apostle wept, mind earthly things; the love of money, it may be, holds them in a narrow cage, and in their lust for things below they have lost the joy of the heavenly hope.

After it is all over we regret it and resolve that we will never do it again. However, it just seems as if we don't have any strength to resist temptation. What is to be done? Here is where the third truth of salvation comes in.

He appeals to that practical knowledge which is common to us all. We all know that if we yield obedience to anyone, though not nominally their servant we are their servant practically. That is the case also in spiritual things, whether it be serving sin or God. Judged by this standard, we were without a question once the slaves of sin. But when the Gospel "form of doctrine" reached us we obeyed it, thanks be to God! As a result we have been emancipated from the thraldom of sin, and have become servants of God and righteousness. Well then, being now servants of righteousness, we are to yield our members in detail so that God may have His way with us.

Secondly Romans 6 speaks of sin dwelling in us, and says, 'ye were bondmen of sin.' Yes, we had to sin before our conversion, but Christian liberty means that we no longer have to sin now. The same chapter states, 'Now, having got your freedom from sin ...' (Rom. 6:17-18). We know from God's word and bitter experience that as believers we are still able to sin, but Christian liberty means we no longer have to sin. This is a great liberty.