Fake Sex is Real Sin: Overcoming Pornography

9/20/2024

Pornography

…

Fake Sex is Real Sin

“The acts of the flesh are obvious:
sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery.”

Galatians 5:19

Pornography is one of the most frequent subjects that comes up in my counseling.

Some people have come for direct help on how to get over the use of pornography. Other times the issue of pornography has arisen while attempting to counsel some other problem.

That is nothing more than a micro-view of how prevalent the problem is in our society.

You may not be dealing with a pornography problem in your own life, but you will likely encounter someone who does. You may be the person who is the lifeline to help them get out of the mire that is sexual sin. To do that, you need to have a handle on how to break the cycle and find the Lord’s deliverance.

In these next several issues of the Hopewell Weekly, we will walk through the basics of breaking with porn and set forth a general plan for finding God’s path to purity in this realm.

The first step in the right direction may be considered overly simplistic by some. Subscribers to the HW may even find it somewhat comical, but it should not be overlooked. We ought not to be naive to what really is the main issue:

Pornography is wrong.

Our cultural climate is at a point where this basic principle needs to be expressed clearly and repeatedly. We are living in a time where pornography is not only rampantly popular, but it is also being rigorously normalized.

In our world pornography is pitched as a means of relief, as something that can be educational, and something that is a harmless action. Some secular counselors may even recommend porn to couples who struggle with intimacy. In this case, it comes off as something that is medicinal or therapeutic.

The presence of it on social media can have a normalizing effect too. As you scroll, pictures of lewdness, immodesty, and sensuality can be right there with pictures of family vacations, inspirational quotes, and cat videos. What could be more normal than that?

Of course, many write off pornography because it is supposedly “fake.” These are pictures of people who the observer will never meet. They are fantasies that are nothing more than figments of one’s imagination. What could be wrong with it, so they reason, since it isn’t real?

In a culture that is sexually adrift, we must put down the strong anchor of Scripture: Pornography is sexual deviance which does not comport with God’s design for men and women.

It is sin.

Even those who have a sense that pornography is wrong, will do well to understand how wrong it really is. While those who indulge in pornography can “know” that it is against the Lord’s will, they may still rationalize it and water down the evil of it.

As a matter of fact, one step towards breaking with sin is to recognize the heinousness of it. Would we really sin if we could see it from God’s perspective and understand just how odious its nature is?

This is why Scripture speaks against the issue in a variety of ways. While there is no Bible verse that says, “Thou shalt not use porn,” there are concepts and principles that directly apply to it and demonstrate the vileness of it.

For example, when the Lord said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” he declared an indictment upon every type of sexual conduct that was counter to the natural relation he had created for a husband and wife. The command not only forbids the physical act of adultery, it stands as a testament against every kind of act that would be a denigration of marriage.

Thus, the 7th commandment requires purity in thought, word, and deed; it demands the highest levels of respect for one’s spouse (whether you currently have one or not); it connects marriage and intimacy (something we easily divorce in our day); and it sets forth every manner of chastity as the bar for holiness.

The Scripture also uses a host of terms to speak directly to the level of our thoughts and desires. The New Testament condemns pornography by means of the following words: lust, evil thoughts, impurity/uncleanness, sensuality, covetousness, filthiness, passion / inordinate affection, and evil desire.

The vocabulary of Scripture is quite definitive in its condemnation of pornography. the so-called “fake sex” is real sin.

It is for this reason that we ought to resist the urge to click, view, or entertain thoughts that mimic it. What’s more, we ought to take the appropriate steps to break with it.

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