Do Addictions Indicate That A Person Is Unsaved?

Q: Are addictions a sign that you’re not saved yet?

A: I wouldn’t automatically say so. It’s important to remember that when a person is born again by God’s Spirit, they receive a great deal. They receive the forgiveness of sins. They receive a right standing with God. They’re justified before Him. They receive an impartation of the Holy Spirit. They receive a new nature, and so on. Much happens in the believer when they’re genuinely born again by God’s Spirit.

But here’s something that doesn’t necessarily change them. Their habits do not change. Addictions are not exactly the same as habits, but they are very tightly connected behaviors. I know some people who were addicted to a drug of some kind, but when they came to Jesus and were born again, their addiction was suddenly gone. Praise the Lord for that. But I know many other Christians who, when they came to the Lord and were born again by God’s Spirit, afterwards still had to struggle very deeply with the habits that had been formed in them. Some habits have been very strongly reinforced and practiced for a long time. For some it can be a great difficult and require a long process to deal with their habits and addictions.

Because of all that, you can’t say a person is saved or not saved based on the basis of having or not having an addiction. But it is certainly not irrelevant to their salvation or their walk with God. My advice to people who are struggling with addictions is to give great attention to the habits of your life. Let’s say you have trusted in Christ, and you are born again. You are a new man or a new woman in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord for all that. You still need to give care and powerful attention to your habits. That’s a very important principle.