Exploring the Intersection of Pornography and Spirituality

Sex and Lust in the Bible

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The Bible uses the greek word ‘porneia’ to mean immorality, which is where we get our word pornography. God made sex fully enjoyable and uniquely powerful. It is an act intended to bring oneness physically, emotionally and spiritually. A healthy sex life is not only exhilarating and brings oneness, it nourishes the marriage relationship. For those who want to follow the biblical sexual ethic, sex is a gift of God given to be fully enjoyed within marriage. The Bible teaches that any sexual activity outside of marriage is considered sin.

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Jesus was clear when He included visual lust in the definition of immorality. He underscores that visual lust is a big deal when He says “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30). He uses exaggeration to emphasize His point that we must get radical in dealing with the sin of lust — the sin of watching porn.

What the Bible Says About Porn

We understand that anytime the Bible talks about immorality it includes watching pornography. So, any passage of scripture referring to lust or immorality includes porn. Here are some passages of scripture that address the lusts and spiritual impacts of porn directly:

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).

Porn unleashes a spiritual attack on the soul. The attacks come in many forms, shrinking the appetite for spiritual connection and spurring the shame or self-hatred that becomes a person’s identity.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral (Hebrews 13:4).

When people choose the immorality of porn there will be consequences because the spouse is dishonored and God judges watching porn as a sin.

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

Visual lust is adultery and something that Jesus clearly puts in the category as immorality and sin.

Christians and Porn – A Crisis for the Church

The Church is facing arguably its greatest threat ever – the porn problem. Two out of three Christian men watch porn monthly. The younger generation watches even more. A national survey was conducted with Christian college students who were involved in a campus ministry and considered their faith to be a vital element in their lives. The staggering results showed that nine out of ten watch porn at least occasionally, and more than six out of ten watch porn at least weekly. Never have so many Christian youths has the access and privacy to consume so much pornography.

Pornography continues to plague the church for two main reasons:

Porn’s Impact on Spiritual Health

Porn is not only harmful to your brain, body and relationships, it is also devastating to your spiritual self.

Porn wages war against your soul. God says in His word, “abstain from fleshly lusts which wages war against the soul” (1 Peter 2:11). When you indulge in the fleshly lust of pornography (usually coupled with masturbation), you are opening up your soul to spiritual attack. The negative spiritual impact is measurable.

Dr. Samuel Perry, a sociology professor at the University of Oklahoma, has done extensive research on the effects of pornography use on a person’s religious commitments. He summarized his conclusions with:

“Any porn use…is associated with declines in religious commitment and behavior (ie. attending services, prayer, etc) and an increase in religious doubts.”1

Pornography can cause the user to settle into an identity of shame. It causes good Christians to pull back from connecting with God and serving God. Porn users often become less committed to reading their Bible, attending church, and even praying.

Dr. Perry studied over 3000 people for six years to determine how their porn use impacted their service and leadership in their congregation. What he discovered was that if a church-going man never or rarely used porn, there was a one in three chance he would take some type of leadership role in his congregation. If he started using porn on a monthly basis, his odds of service fell to one in ten. If he watched porn on a weekly basis there was a one in twenty probability that he would serve. The conclusion was obvious – The more porn someone watches, the less likely they are to serve in their church.

A former leader shared why he pulled back from ministry:

“A few years ago I stopped taking opportunities to lead groups at church or disciple younger men because of where I am personally with porn. I’d really feel like a worthless hypocrite for teaching some young men about how to study the Bible and share their faith when I’m regularly looking at pornography and masturbating.”

These thoughts, feelings, and temptations away from God are the work of Satan, our spiritual enemy. Satan uses porn as a weapon against those who want to follow God. Satan works to keep Christians from trusting Christ for salvation, and to undercut the power of the gospel in their lives. The use of pornography is one of many ways the devil disrupts the gospel’s truth in someone’s life., which is nothing short of a full-frontal attack on a person’s identity in Christ. This enemy keeps believers minimizing and rationalizing their sin instead of repenting.

Almost 90% of growing Christian college students who watch pornography say they experience self-hatred as a result. Porn sets a person’s mind on the flesh which is the mindset of an enemy of God.

…For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:5-8).

Finding Strength and Resilience in Faith

The Freedom Fight addresses both the Biblical and clinical aspects of recovery. We follow up each lesson with a short study of scripture that underscores the biblical principle in the lesson. As you take your first step towards quitting porn, understand that our program explores the many physical, emotional and spiritual reasons for doing so. We address the six roots that drive a porn addiction and teach how the way to escape each of them is to grow and develop in a specific area. You quit porn by outgrowing porn.

Finding your identity in Christ.

When a person receives Christ, Christ takes their sin and credits them with His righteousness. They are made a part of God’s family. They have a new identity as a child of God. Their sin is forgiven and its power is broken.

Each of us has immense worth and value because we were created in the image of God. God demonstrated this by giving His Son to pay for our sins. And so, no matter how mired in porn a person might be, understand this truth: God loves you and paid the price for your freedom. Don’t let the enemy take this truth from you.

Learn your triggers.

Be aware of your triggers. One of the key areas of growth needed to overcome porn is self-awareness. Our program helps you find patterns and realize your unique path to freedom.

Find a trusted accountability partner.

Accountability is essential to find freedom, and a trusted supporter or small group is the best place to find that. There are fifty-nine “one anothers” in the New Testament, speaking to the fact that we are to love, encourage, pray for, and confess to one another. We have realized that to overcome a porn addiction occasional accountability isn’t enough. That is why we developed a daily check-in tool in the Freedom Fight App, so you can track and discover patterns and share this with trusted partners in confidence.

• Who are others you can lock arms with?
• What kind of support helps you move past temptation?

Outgrow the Roots of Addiction

You’ll learn about the six roots of a porn or sex addiction and the area of growth required to overcome them.

• Sexualized Society
• The Addicted Brain
• Isolation
• Negative Emotions
• Shame
• Trauma

God will use the process of freeing you from porn to grow, develop and disciple you as a whole person. The Freedom Fight systematically works through each of these roots, giving a biblical, gospel-centered and clinical approach to recovery.

Equip Yourself with Tools to Overcome Pornography Temptation

The BRACE Method is one of the many tools our program provides to those who are looking to overcome a porn addiction biblically. This acronym helps you pause to remember your strength and God’s truth whenever you are faced with temptation or lust.

The Freedom Fight offers many tools that help you overcome porn and regain your spiritual health.

You Can Find Freedom From Porn