Step 2 Bible Verses: Scripture for Coming to Believe
The main Bible verse for Step 2 is Philippians 2:13, which says God is the one working in you, giving you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases him. The passages below are for anyone who is willing to believe God can restore them but still has doubts. Doubt and faith sit side by side all through the Bible.
Philippians 2:13 — the Step 2 verse
“…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
Step 1 left you without power of your own. This verse says the power was never meant to be yours. Even the small wish to get better is something God is doing. You don’t have to manufacture it.
Mark 9:24 — faith and doubt together
“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!””
A desperate father brings his son to Jesus. Asked whether he believes, he gives an answer that is half yes and half “I’m not sure.” Jesus helps anyway. If your faith is mixed, you are in good company.
Mark 5:15 — a picture of sanity
“And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.”
The man in this story had been out of control for years. People had tried to restrain him and failed. After Jesus meets him, he is calm and clear-headed. The step’s phrase about being restored to sanity has a picture here.
Luke 15:17 — the moment of clarity
““But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!”
The younger son in Jesus’ parable wakes up in a pigsty and finally sees things straight. That moment of clarity is where his trip home begins. Coming to believe often starts the same way: a clear look at where you are, and a memory that home is better.
Ezekiel 36:26 — change from the inside
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
God promises a change from the inside out, something no amount of willpower produces. This is the kind of restoration Step 2 hopes for.
Matthew 19:26 — impossible for people
“But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.””
The disciples ask who can possibly be saved. Jesus admits that with people it is impossible. Then he points past people. That is the logic of Steps 1 and 2 in one exchange.
Romans 15:13 — hope as a gift
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Hope is the principle the app gives Step 2. Paul calls God himself the God of hope and prays that it would overflow. Hope isn’t something you have to work up. It’s something you receive.
Using these verses this week
- Read one passage each morning and ask: what does this say about what God can do that I can’t?
- Read Mark 9:14–29 in full. Notice that the father’s honesty is part of the story, not a problem in it.
- Pair the verses with the book. We Agnostics (pp. 44–57, 4th edition) makes the same case from a different angle.
See the Step 2 page for how to work the step, or the Step 2 questions to write about it.
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