Sexual perversions are invading our churches. The situation is critical. We don’t speak much about it publicly but there are many people in Christian churches who are just as addicted to pornography as any worldly person. I know men who regularly attend Sunday service, yet trade pornographic material like children trade baseball cards. (Proverbs 10:9) I also know of a certain hotel manager who says upon booking a Christian convention in his hotel during 2005, his in room porn orders increased dramatically.
We are supposed to be God’s people. We are supposed to be seeking to save the lost. How can we save the lost if our direction is just as dumbfounded?
(Luke 7:31)
We are losing people to the world because they see us as God’s representatives and if our lives are no more directed or righteous than theirs they use our poor examples as an excuse to discredit God’s power. (2Cor. 5:10) They use it as an excuse not to try his plan for righteous living. (Proverbs 12:12) We are responsible for their confusion because we know God is perfect. It is man which is fallible. (1John 4:9)
If you are a Christian who is sexually out of control, my first advice would be to confess your trouble to someone in your Christian family so that they might pray for your deliverance (James 5:16). Also, you must remember that long suffering is a fruit of the spirit. You must resist the flesh for righteousness sake. It is God’s law. (Gal. 5:22,23)
Many men claim to use pornography for added motivation. They say they are not able to be stimulated by their wives alone. (Heb.13:4) Some claim to be sexually incompatible with their wives. Sexual compatibility is a Godly concept which we have given to the world. The only reason men make such claims is because they are comparing their wives to past people and experiences. This is a worldly concept because with God’s plan you would be a virgin marrying a virgin. (Proverbs 21:31) Therefore, you would be perfectly compatible as you learn together.
As mature Christians we must realize that even though God has forgiven our sin there are still consequences to sin. Consequences last many times long after forgiveness has been granted. For example, you can be forgiven for killing someone but the person you’ve killed will still be dead. You can be forgiven for pre-marital sex but you may still have to live with HIV. If we considered the consequences of our sin it would hinder our willingness to commit certain acts against God and each other (Ephesians 1:8,9).
For instance, if you are of God and a new creature in Christ you are trying to live holy. You now have a committed covenant relationship with one person. You may be sexually unfulfilled with this person. The reason you may be unfulfilled with this person may be because you have had more pleasurable sex with another in your past. Your knowledge of another has become your burden. Much like Adam and Eve before the tree of knowledge. Everything was blissful in the beginning, but after the tree of knowledge their lives became burdened. Knowledge increases burden. God’s laws protect us from ourselves. (Romans 12:1)
If you are unfulfilled in your relationship, hopefully you will be able to come to a place of satisfaction. If not your burden of knowledge may just be a cross you will have to bare to maintain your righteousness (James 1:12). It may be another consequence of your sin which may endure for awhile. Pornography is the gateway to more elaborate sexual indiscretions (Galatians 5:19). Today it might be pornography, but tomorrow you may find yourself in divorce court as an adulterer. You may even find yourself facing harassment charges or a paternity suit.
God does not expect us to be perfect, but he does expect your best effort. Commit yourself today to spending more time studying the word, because light removes darkness. Spend more time in Galatians examining the fruits of the spirit. Spend more time thinking about the commitments you’ve made to God and what it might take to honor those commitments. Always remember light removes darkness.
Copyright Michael Bond
