Having emerged not long ago from the COVID-19 pandemic, we know all too well the dangers of a seemingly invisible virus. Yet, as devastating and deadly as this contagion was, there is something far more insidious and lethal waging war against our nation, world and soul. A virtual “porndemic.”
The statistics are both alarming and heartbreaking. Research from Barna and Covenant Eyes—a content filtering company—showed that 68% of churchgoing men and over 50% of pastors view porn on a regular basis.
Pornography is a subject rarely mentioned, yet a vice that is exponentially widespread in its devastation; it spares no age, socioeconomic level, race or profession. It causes profound harm to women, especially young women, as well as children and men, and it has a predictable progression into deeper sin. As described in Romans 1, pornography use often devolves into other abnormal forms of sexual expression while abandoning God’s natural design within the confines of Biblical marriage.
Porn lures us from virtual sensual acts to physical sensual acts, often resulting in extramarital affairs, prostitution and increasingly degenerate habits. Women fear that pornography might have its grip on their sons, husbands or boyfriends, but likely don’t want to know. And studies show that pornography use is growing among women, especially under 25 years old.
Hitting Home
Unfortunately, I was exposed to pornography at a very young age. God’s mercy and salvation found me in college, giving me the power to stop, though I continued to wrestle. It persisted into my marriage, despite God bringing me an amazing wife at the young age of 23. Marital counseling, Scripture memory, prayer and fellowship began to deliver me, though for a while I continued to choose this impurity over God. Ultimately, through a book entitled An Affair of the Mind by Laurie Hall, and some temptations which frightened me in their destructive suggestions, the Lord used the spoken Word of God from Luke 22:31-34 (read aloud) and prayer, and a military accountability partner to finally stop this lifestyle through the power of Jesus. You, too, can be set free from pornography’s grip. God offers you abounding hope and freedom from this stronghold.
The Battle Is the Lord’s
It is time to stop ignoring a problem that is destroying minds, hearts, marriages, ministries and the church worldwide. In the Old Testament, we read how the shepherd boy David took a giant step of faith in confronting his enemy directly.
When David learned of Goliath’s defiance of “the armies of the living God,” he then said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him” (1 Samuel 17:26, 32). Satan is defying the Body of Christ—who are the armies of the living God—and is scoffing at those whom he has bound in pornography. Be emboldened by the courage of David: “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion … will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine … and the battle is the Lord’s”
(1 Samuel 17:37, 47).
Yes, the battle is the Lord’s, but we as Jesus’ soldiers must do as David did. Enter the battle, pick up the weapons, run to face the enemy and the battlefront, hurl the stones at the enemy and use the enemy’s weapon to completely defeat him. Victory is secured in community and not in isolation. One invaluable link to victory is to establish an accountability group. The Bible teaches that a powerful three-strand person group is not “easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12), and is effective for strengthening one another in good works.
Acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit, our champion, and wield the mighty Word of God as our sword, and pray on all occasions (Ephesians 6:18). God is for you (Romans 8:31). No matter what you may have done, even five minutes ago, nothing can thwart God’s love and hope for you. If you have professed Christ as your Savior, there is “no condemnation” for you—None! (Romans 8:1).
Flee Evil & Pursue Righteousness
Undoubtedly, when faced with temptations and potentially destructive situations, we must first reject the wrong. But that is not the whole Biblical pattern of success. We flee the dark to pursue the light because it is so much better. Jesus, our true Light, “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). Though the enemy comes to steal and destroy, Jesus promises a more “abundant life” (John 10:10).
As God’s highest and most valuable creation, we tend to thrive and walk most closely with God as we set our hearts on Him. In our new and daily “raised” life with Jesus, we are to set our minds and hearts on things “above” (Colossians 3:1-2). To state it differently, when we try to change behaviors by simply rejecting what is wrong, we usually don’t experience sustained success.
This is imperative in our fight against impurity, as we must believe there is something far better than the “momentary pleasures of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:25). This transformation is duplicated in “putting off,” with the end goal of “putting on,” to renew our minds (Ephesians 4:23-24).
In fact, the only reason that we “flee” is to “pursue”: “flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on God out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). We need our Creator, who is still creating, to do for us as David requested in Psalm 51 in the aftermath of his moral failure: “Create in me a pure heart” (Psalm 51:10). The One who turns hearts back to Himself
(1 Kings 18:37) will answer this plea if we desire Him more than a transient pleasure!
Trust in God’s Promises
Our enemy, “the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The true Lion is the Lion of Judah, Jesus, who is also the Lamb in Revelation who conquered death and sin for us. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8).
The power of the Word of God is sufficient in defeating this “lion” of sorts. In fact, the Bible states that God’s Word is a hammer (Jeremiah 23:29) that breaks a “rock into pieces” and a sword that is part of our “full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:17). Scripture prescribes how to deal with sexual strongholds much like removing cancer from the body—by emphasizing the necessity to “crucify” or “put to death” those things that will ultimately destroy our lives.
Our eyes will neverbe satisfied with looking at pornography, or anything in life that we have set as an idol (See Proverbs 27:20). Did you get that? The inherent design of our eyes is “never” satisfaction. Yet, in Psalm 90, Moses, thousands of years ago, believed and asked God to help him to be forever satisfied with the only thing that can fulfill our longings: His love. As He provides this promised love and we receive it, we “sing for joy” and are “glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14).
Claim these promises from God’s Word to overcome sin’s bondage. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). This is a fact regardless of how low you feel. You are loved unconditionally by God and you have been set free from sin’s clutch if you are saved by Christ.
So, ditch fantasy in exchange for an “abundant life” (John 10:10) and a renewed way of thinking (Romans 12:2). We flee impurity to pursue a supremely better life of love and peace (2 Timothy 2:22) and to gain a pure heart. The blessing of being well is coupled with a sobering truth: “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you” (John 5:14). Lust progresses (Ephesians 4:19) and will plunge you into greater depths if you don’t resist.
Always remember that Jesus is for you (Romans 8:31-32). Yes, the Creator of the universe gives you all these “precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). God promises to give us “all things” along with Himself. That means lasting victory over sexual immorality. The promise that John gave us, “because you have overcome the evil one” (1 John 2:14) is yours today.
Action Steps: Today!
Get an accountability partner.
Start right now in storing God’s Word in your heart to defeat sin (Psalm 119:11). Begin with Psalm 101:3: “I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.”
Stop your impurity today: His promise is “no condemnation,” though His declaration comes with a warning: “that nothing worse may happen to you” (John 5:14 ESV).
Begin an honest, real prayer life with God today: it is delivering and transformational (Mark 9:29). ©2024 John Sloboda
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, 1984.
John Sloboda is an orthopedic surgeon in South Carolina.