CWSA - Step #5CWSA - Step #5
Christians with Secret Addictions
Terry Hanna explains Step Five of Christian 12-step recovery, highlighting confession to God, self and another person as key to healing from secret addictions. The episode weaves scripture, personal experience and encouragement for those battling guilt, shame and denial.
16:00•19 Apr 2026
Step Five: Confession, Community and Christian Recovery
Episode Overview
- Step Five focuses on admitting the exact nature of one’s wrongs to God, oneself and another human being.
- Confession is presented as a way to diffuse spiritual landmines such as guilt, shame and deceptive thinking tied to addiction.
- A written moral inventory (Step Four) is described as essential groundwork for meaningful confession.
- Sharing honestly with a trusted person can lead to accountability, support and a sense of inner cleansing.
- Terry stresses that practical help is valuable, but only faith in Jesus Christ brings lasting forgiveness and spiritual freedom.
“This fifth principle is not just reading our fourth step. As with David, we must reach another level of humility, honesty, and willingness to bear our souls.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey? This meeting-style episode of **Christians with Secret Addictions** walks you through Step Five of a Bible-based 12-step recovery journey, aimed particularly at Christians wrestling with hidden addictions. The host, Terry Hanna, speaks as "a Christian with over 2 decades of recovery" rather than as a preacher or therapist, which means you'll hear plain, relatable language alongside scripture. Step Five is summed up in one word: confession.
As Terry explains, "We admitted to God, ourselves, and another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." He links this to verses such as 1 John 1:9 and Proverbs 28:13, stressing that confession diffuses “spiritual landmines" like guilt, shame and denial that keep people trapped in addictive cycles. You’ll hear how the first four steps connect to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 16:25, and why addiction is framed as "spiritual warfare" with the mind as the battlefield.
Terry describes the Fourth Step moral inventory as using pen and paper to unearth past sins and self-deception, then shows how Step Five brings those findings into honest conversations with God, with oneself, and with another trusted person. There’s a strong emphasis on Christian community and accountability.
Terry shares his own experience of opening up to his recovery friend, Sam Catano, as a moment of "accountability, feedback, support, tears, laughter, and cleansing within." Throughout, he reminds listeners that while people and meetings can help, "You can help yourself. You can't save yourself… It's only through Jesus Christ" that lasting forgiveness and freedom are possible.
If you’re carrying secret struggles and wondering whether confession really changes anything, this episode might prompt you to ask: who could you safely tell the exact nature of your wrongs to today?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.