In Revelation 2-3, Jesus is giving His evaluation of seven different churches in the first century. He encourages them for what they are doing well and rebukes and corrects them for where they are missing the mark. These commendations and rebukes have served the church for two millennia in understanding what a local church should strive for and what we should avoid.
The Problem of Tolerating Porn in Churches: Why Leadership Must Act.
Two of the seven churches are rebuked for sexual immorality.
The word for immorality is the word porneia, where we get our word pornography.
The church of Pergamum was the first church that Jesus rebuked for porneia.
Notice that not all of them are guilty of sexual immorality, but Jesus warns about the false teaching that was leading them astray. Jesus’ call was to repent– look at how serious Jesus is about addressing this sin in the church.
Here, Jesus talks about making war against them. We know that God opposes the proud and He lets us know that He opposes the sexually immoral if they don’t repent.
The second church that Jesus rebukes for porneia is the church at Thyatira. Interestingly, Jesus rebukes the church leadership, not because they were immoral, but because they didn’t address the sin. Check it out…
There was an influence in the church that was leading God’s people into sexual immorality. The leadership was rebuked because they were tolerating this influence in the church.
So, think about it: the rebuke is because there is an influence in the church that is leading God’s people into sexual immorality, and the church leadership is tolerating it.
They aren’t addressing it. Does that sound familiar?
There has never been an influence like internet pornography leading God’s people into immorality, yet most church and ministry leaders tolerate it. They don’t address it.
The Importance of Breaking Free from Porn.
Only 7% of churches say they have a resource to help their people break free from pornography.
I am regularly shocked and saddened at the level of pornography consumption tolerated by churches and ministries, not just their people but their staff. When this sin is tolerated, it has an impact because God promises we will reap what we sow.
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption.” Galatians 6:7-8
Why does God warn us not to be deceived? Because we deceive ourselves and tell ourselves it’s not that big of a deal. But it is a big deal because look where it leads. When we sow to the flesh, it leads to corruption. Leading to corruption is the nature of sin in general, but the escalating nature of pornography makes it especially true for porn.
A God-given sexual appetite can be corrupted, and people start watching things and doing things they never thought they would watch or do. And when the church doesn’t address it, it brings shame to the name of Christ.
We’ve become accustomed to seeing headlines like this one last year: 700 victims of Southern Baptist Sexual Abuse. When churches and ministries tolerate this sin, they mock God because God has been clear that we will reap what we have sown.
Sexual sin in the church has exploded in the last 15 years, and not just sexual sin but sexual abuse by pastors and staff and not just the Baptists but across denominations.
We need to help our churches see this isn’t just a problem to solve but it’s also an opportunity for deep discipleship. We can all pray that God will convict our church and ministry leaders to repent of tolerating this sin so that they will address it because porn is waging war on us.
The modern church’s struggle with porn.
Research done at the University of Oklahoma illustrates how pornography is truly waging war against a person on multiple fronts. This was a six-year study of 3 thousand people that highlighted three areas in particular where the war is raging: spiritual growth, divorce, and service.
The first area it waged war against was spiritual growth.
Dr. Samuel Perry explains, “Any porn use… is associated with declines in religious commitment and behavior (i.e., attending services, prayer, etc.) and an increase in religious doubts.” This is an easy way for Satan to attack. Porn use means Christians are less committed to going to church, praying, and reading their Bible.
The second way we see porn wage war is through divorce. Porn users are 2-3 times more likely to divorce in the next two years than the porn-free couple. This is massive, especially as you think about the trauma that is inflicted on the whole family from a divorce, as porn is constantly destroying Christian marriages and families.
Finally, Porn is waging war against kingdom service. Dr. Perry’s research found a direct correlation between the frequency of porn use and service in one’s religious congregation. Not only did Perry see spiritual practices wane, but a someone consuming porn will serve and volunteer less at their church or with other ministries.
More porn = Less service.
These three ways that porn is waging war against the soul are only the tip of the iceberg. No wonder Jesus is calling churches to repent of this sin and of the sin of tolerating it.
There are individual churches that are not tolerating it and who are addressing pornography as part of their discipleship. This is why I am excited about each of you and how God can use your prayers and your training to help churches and ministries to start addressing this issue on a broader scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
– What does the Bible say about tolerating porn in the church?
– How is porn affecting spiritual growth according to research?
– Why do church leaders need to address the issue of porn?
– How can churches take steps to help members quit porn?
– What are the consequences for churches that ignore the issue of porn?
