The Problem of Porn

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.” 

—1 Thessalonians 4:3-5

Let’s face it—porn is everywhere. What used to be regulated to the seedy sides of town where only the darkest dared to go, today can be found with the click of a mouse. It’s at the grocery store, the gas station, reachable from our computers and cell phones. It’s permeated all levels of society and become impossible to ignore. Many a man or woman of God has been ensnared, trapped in its terrible clutches wondering if there is any way to be free. Wondering if the shame will stop, wondering if there is any hope left.

Chances are, if you are reading this, then either you struggle with porn or you know someone who does. Porn is addictive, just like alcohol or drugs, perhaps even more so. It controls those who do it. At first it seemed like fun…flirting with the forbidden. But after giving into it, it began to take over. It started off slowly at first, but gradually grew deeper and more explicit. Time passed, hours were wasted. Neglecting sleep, family, friends, work, and church to satisfy porn’s demands. And then the guilt, oh the crushing weight of guilt!

But, praise God, that’s not the end. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, you can have hope. He paid the price for your sin. He paid the price for the images that you looked at, for the thoughts that ran through your mind, for the short physical pleasure that you experienced. He paid for that. He paid the price for the sin of porn. And now, He gives you the hope of forgiveness and becoming free from your addiction.

God desires that we be pure, learning to train our eyes and hone our desires for the glory of His name. The apostle Paul wrote to the people of God at Thessalonika so that each of them might “learn to control his own body in holiness and honor.” None of us starts off in complete control, we must learn it. We have to learn how to deal with our desires just as we learn how to drive a car. No one starts off knowing how to drive; we must learn how the car works and then how to control it. Without control, we are accidents waiting to happen.

And this can’t be done apart from Christ. We need Christ in us in order to break the chains of sin. Without Christ we are chained to our fallen, fleshly desires. As the book of James describes it, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”—James 1:14-15.

Giving into our fallen desires leads us to sin, but with Christ we are free! The cords of sin were severed at the cross! We have been set free from our sin! We now have His Spirit within us empowering us to say “no” to sin and “yes” to godliness. We have the ability to control ourselves (Galatians 5:23) and do what God desires.

It is only through Christ that we are victorious. Don’t believe the lie that says we can't be free.  We can!  Christ’s death and resurrection proves that we are victorious through Him. Amen.