Heart for Israel

The Problem with Porn in the Christian Community.

According to Liberty Counsel, a December 17, 2024, article, a recent survey done by the Barna research group stated that, “75 percent of Christian men and 40 percent of Christian women view pornography on some level. That is an 11-point rise for the men and a 25-point rise for the women over the last eight years. For comparison, Barna notes that 61 percent of adults in the general public use porn, a six-point increase in eight years, where the national average is about 64 percent for men and 44 percent for women”.

The issue of porn viewing is on the rise due to the availability of the internet, smartphones, and even among teens and young people, who are now susceptible to the corruption and pollution of pornography. This is not a new issue for fallen man. The ancient world had pictures and figurines that were pornographic. In the book of Numbers 33:52, God spoke to Moses, commanding the Children of Israel that once they enter into the land of Canaan, they should  “…drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places”. No doubt some of these pictures were immoral pictures that people used in their lustful religion.

If you are a Christian and you are viewing pornography, it is a sin against God. You must start today to fight this sin. Many are addicted to this sinful activity. What can you do to gain victory? Several suggestions:

#1 Confession to God- 1John1:9 confess to God by the blood of Christ, and He will forgive you. If you look upon a woman with lust, it is adultery in the heart (Mt.5:28). Anything not pleasing to God is sinful and needs to be confessed. Porn is the fruit of what begins in your heart. Start confessing at the point of origin.

#2 Seek Biblical Counsel from your Pastor and /or someone who can help you. I recommend an ACBC-certified counselor (see the ACBC website for counselors), and also Pure Life Ministries. You can also email me if you need help.

#3 Cut off all access that you have to porn. (Mt.5:29) Radical amputation- go to extremes to avoid sin or setting yourself up to sin. Make no provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14). Get filters (Covenant Eyes) on your phone, computer, tablet…Have what you view sent to an accountability partner. You may initially need daily accountability, and later weekly. (Heb.3:13)

#4 Isolation is deadly. Make sure you have accountability with someone who knows you. Light exposes darkness. Sometimes, just developing this aspect can be a game-changer for many who struggle. I encourage everyone to be part of a local church. Get to know your Pastor and others in the congregation. You can serve others and pray for each other in the church.

#5 Put Off/Put On process. This is based on Ephesians 4:22-24 where the Apostle Paul tells the believers to put off the old man…be renewed in the spirit of your mind…put on the new man. If you did #1-4, that is all the Put Off…now you must start building into your life all the right things…it is building infrastructure in your life. (right music, Scripture reading, memorizing, listening to sermons…).

#6 Build Faith. One of the underlying sins of addiction is the sin of unbelief. The person really does not believe what God says, and so they believe lies. They become experts at making excuses and not believing the truth. Israel could not enter into the Promise Land because of unbelief (Heb.3:19).

#7 Think Right- You must train your mind to think godly thoughts and to put away ungodly thoughts. Phil. 4:8 is a model and a check to see whether you are putting on the right thinking. You think in your heart, so ultimately, this is a heart issue.

#8 Worship Christ. Not only is it a heart issue that you are battling, but it is also a worship disorder operating in your heart. It is idolatry, putting the god of lust and sex before the Lord your God! You must have a right understanding of the gift of sex and marriage. (Col.1:15-18 “that in all things He might have the preeminence”).

          These suggestions are simply starting points that are a must. Other issues that need to be explored are fantasy and masturbation, broken relationships and betrayal if you are married. I will post other articles related to these in the future! You can always shoot me an email if you need some help.