Freedom Pursued
What if I told you that right now as a follower of Christ, you have everything you need to overcome a sexual addiction and related sins? Would you believe it? Sadly, many do not.
Too many have been sold on the lie that true freedom isn’t possible. However, freedom is possible! And not just managing your sin. Our definition of freedom is not acting out for two years and developing healthy habits and relationships. True freedom is possible.
As we explored in parts one and two of this series, Joshua’s conquest of the promised land required faith and fight. But what does faith and fight look like when it comes to walking in freedom from a porn or sex addiction. The passage we will look at brings a powerful clarity to this discussion.
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).
According to this verse, all believers have been given everything they need. God equipped us fully. One may respond, “Ok, if I’ve been given what I need, why am I still failing to porn?” Good question. But Just because we possess something doesn’t mean we are using it. The key to overcoming temptation and sin is to utilize what we have been given. This is where the breakdown usually takes place. We don’t always know how to use what we have.
His Part and Our Part
“Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Peter 1:4).
We unpacked one of those promises in part two of this series found in Romans 6:10-11:
“The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
The greatest promise is that Christ has defeated death and sin through the cross. Because Jesus broke the power of sin, we participate by counting ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ. Faith in this promise enables us to escape sin and walk in freedom.
After establishing that God has made freedom possible through his promises, Peter now says that faith in God’s promises isn’t all that is needed. Check it out.
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:5-8).
Learning to cultivate these qualities along with our faith is critical to walking in the freedom Jesus promises. Salvation from the penalty of sin is by faith alone, but breaking free from the power of sin and living a godly life takes faith plus our effort to pursue godliness.
Making the Effort
Peter says, “Make every effort to supplement your faith with…,” then he mentions these seven qualities that we should add to our faith. Let’s look at these qualities in the context of overcoming a porn or sex addiction. Consider how we can make an effort in each of these.
The first is virtue. Virtue means moral excellence. Do our standards for media and entertainment reflect what God says in His word or the world’s standards? Psalm 101:3 says, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.” How might this shape what we let into our minds and keep sexual temptation down?
The next quality is knowledge, knowing and applying God’s truth renews our minds and changes our lives. Many believers are living in defeat because they don’t know God’s word and the promises they contain to obey and claim them.
Thirdly, self-control is a must. Practicing spiritual disciplines or being committed to checking in with accountability partners will make your faith more fruitful.
Steadfastness or perseverance is the tenacity never to give up and is essential for sex addiction recovery, trusting God that true freedom is possible.
Godliness is the fifth quality and captures the idea that Christlikeness is the standard and the goal you are pursuing. It’s not about managing our sin but about becoming more like Christ.
The last two qualities are brotherly affection and love, reflecting that we need a band of brothers or sisters to experience the life and freedom God calls us to. As we have stated repeatedly, accountability and community are critical to finding freedom. We aren’t simply to be takers within these communities but givers as well.
Look again at the promise. If these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful. Not only are you to possess these qualities but you are to grow in each of them. But this increase isn’t dependent on our effort alone because God has given us His Holy Spirit to empower our effort in godly living. For these to increase we must grow in our knowledge and practice of them. The best way to do this is to continue deepening our spiritual disciplines of getting time in the word, prayer, and fellowship through church and other gatherings where the Bible is taught. These core practices will go a long way in helping you establish these qualities in your life.
Peter here builds on Paul’s point from Romans 6, that not only is faith needed to experience the power over sin that Jesus secured but that faith must also have these godly qualities if we’re going to be effective and fruitful.
When it comes to recovery from porn or sex addiction you have a spectrum of approaches, on one end of the spectrum you have the purely faith-based approach that says you just need to claim the promises of God, but there isn’t much understanding or follow through to practice the principles of recovery.
On the other end of the spectrum, you have the white knucklers who make it all about their effort. Through this passage in 2 Peter God calls us to a balanced approach. To have a faith that claims the promises of God to walk in freedom while at the same time diligently seeking to live out these virtues in pursuit of freedom.
Victory Through Opposition
God provides freedom that results in transformation, but transformation requires our participation. It requires our fight. That is by design. God requires faith that enables freedom to be a faith that diligently pursues freedom.
So whatever opposition we may face, let us cling to the promises of God while also embracing our responsibility in the process. And that, my friend, is worth fighting for.
This is a series of three blogs. Read Part 1 and Part 2.
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