Post by George on May 4, 2006 22:06:17 GMT -5
Pornography
Pornography is the most insidious of all addictions. It is also readily available and in a lot of cases free. Pornography is a tool of the devil he uses to tear apart families and even churches. There are even Pastors who have been afflicted with this addiction. It is pervasive.
Let us look at it initially in light of the above verse from Matthew. In the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, if one views pornography they have committed adultery. Adultery of course is sin. We must also view it in light of the fact that adultery is sin committed by married persons. Since looking on a woman to lust after her by a married person is adultery then looking on a woman to lust after her by a single person is fornication. Fornication is also sin. Let us take a look at this problem in a different area.
Notice that in these things Paul has placed adultery in the very first position. We have already seen that viewing pornography is adultery. In the verses above we also have other words that can be connected to the use of pornography. Uncleanness: uncleanness, it is a general name for all unchastity, in thought, word, or action; and may here design more especially all unnatural lusts. Lasciviousness: lasciviousness; or wantonness, all lustful dalliance, everything that leads on to acts of uncleanness, or attends them, as impure words, filthy gestures, and the like.
Fornication is sexual sin committed by single (unmarried) persons of either sex. Let us look at the definition of the Greek word fornication comes from.
porneuō
porn-yoo'-o
From G4204; to act the harlot, that is, (literally) indulge unlawful lust (of either sex), or (figuratively) practise idolatry: - commit (fornication).
Please notice the Greek word has as its root the letters “porn.” It is no coincidence or accident our modern English word pornography starts with the same root.
I must draw your attention, with all seriousness and consideration, to the final clause of Galatians 5:21. Paul says they which do such things SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINDGOM OF GOD!!! Friends this verse distinctly tells us that people who practice such things as a lifestyle are not saved. They cannot be. If one is saved and views pornography the working of the Holy Spirit on our spirit will cause us to come to repentance and return to our chaste relationship with God. A person who uses pornography in any way knows it is wrong.
Why do you suppose that the viewing of pornography is done secretively? Such things are kept in separate back rooms of book and magazine stores. In “regular” stores when such things are sold they are placed in covers so they cannot be seen until opened. While viewing pornography on the Internet does the perpetrator do it openly? Usually it is done when the viewer is alone or in a room where they think no one else knows what they are doing. It is secretive.
Notice that in these two verses Paul places the words darkness and secret in close proximity to each other. That is because in most cases they are synonymous. Secrets and darkness go hand in hand. The very nature of secrets as used in this instance and in relation to the use of pornography denotes darkness. Paul also says it is a shame to even speak of these things much less do them!
Notice Jesus says here that things done in secret shall not remain secret. Things done in secret shall be found out. They cannot remain secret and hidden. Of course nothing is in secret and hidden from God. When using pornography the viewer “gets away” with nothing. It is know by God and will be found out by family and friends.
These two verses emphasize what Paul said in Galatians concerning not inheriting the kingdom of God. Paul says ALL things are become new. He further says, and most importantly to this study, that ALL things are of God. Pornography is not of God. It is of the devil. In the few verses I have shown above we can see that pornography and the viewing of it cannot be of God. Things are either of God or they are of the devil.
Let us look at this terrible addiction from a bit of a different standpoint.
(1 Peter 3:7) Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
We are commanded here to honour the wife. Honour means to greatly esteem. It means that we are to listen and take into consideration the wife in all the aspects of marriage. (Let me say also I believe these things to apply to single men in their relationships with women also.) Take a long, hard look at the reason we must honour our wives. That our prayers be not hindered!!! That is pretty scary to me. I do not need my prayers to be hindered in any way.
These verses most Christians are aware of. However anyone who uses pornography has chosen to completely ignore these commands. In these verses I believe the very same commands to be given to single men as to married. I do not believe, after much study, there ought be any difference in the way a single man treats a woman as compared to a married man. Single men are still to honor the woman in their life. If a single man loves a woman and intends to marry her at some time he is commanded to treat her with exactly the same treatment the Bible commands a married man to treat his wife.
Notice the reason behind loving our wives. First of all we are to love them as Christ loves the Church. Christ gave Himself for the Church. He died for the Church. Why? That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. The use of pornography does not sanctify the marriage or the relationship of a single person with members of the opposite sex. It does not cleanse that relationship. It cannot wash it of water by the Word.
What exactly is regarding iniquity? It is looking into our hearts, seeing sin and not being willing to do anything to correct it. If we regard iniquity in our hearts that means we see something in there that is wrong and we like it so much (regard it) we are not willing to give it up. Notice that in 1 Peter 3:7 we are told that if we do not honour our wife our prayers will be hindered. This appears to be the New Testament version of the things said in Psalm 66:18.
If a person has a problem with pornography they are regarding or enjoying the sin in their lives, are not willing to change it, not honoring their wives (or any other woman for that matter,) and thus their prayers will be hindered (not heard.) Wow! I need God in my life. I cannot function without Him in my life. Yet we have literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, in this country who are using pornography. We can clearly see from the verses already given that anyone who uses pornography as a way of life (on a regular basis) will not go to the Kingdom of God and also that if such a person continues to use pornography, knowing it is against the commands of God, their prayers will not be heard. That is a pretty frightening position to be in. Who else are we going to turn to for comfort and peace? Who else will stick by us through all the trials and tribulations of life? It is only God Who does that and if we get to the point our prayers are either hindered or will not be heard we are in a great deal of trouble!
Quite obviously an unsaved person is not endowed with the absolute blessing of the Holy Spirit. However each of us is given a conscience. The conscience of a pornography user has to weigh on them or the practice would not be done in secret. The burden of guilt does not escape the unsaved. However they have no idea where the guilt comes from or how to deal with it.
A person who is truly saved and a child of God will suffer incalculable confusion and uneasiness when committing sexual sin. They must because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
The flesh lusteth against the Spirit. The flesh, our body and in this case it is referring to our soul, that which is comprised of our mind and emotions, is controlled by our spirit. Our spirit must be exercised to communicate with the Holy Spirit. When our spirit can communicate with the Holy Spirit, He will guide our souls by His Spirit communicating with our minds and emotions rather than our own.
As we know, the devil will cultivate weakness. If we have a weakness in our life the devil will sense out that weakness and exploit it to the fullest he can. The use of pornography is definitely a weakness in our spirit. It plays on the emotions and occupies the mind. This blocks the prompting of the Holy Spirit and does not allow God to work in the life of the pornography user. The situations in the life of such a person will continue to deteriorate without the communication with God. Things will begin to unravel and become unmanageable and uncontrollable.
Before I get into the main point of the reason for bringing in these two verses I must remind you that when Paul speaks of presenting our bodies a living sacrifice our bodies means all of us. It includes not only our physical makeup but also our minds and emotions; our hearts, if you will. This can be attested to by the following verse. In Romans 12:2 Paul addresses the renewing of our mind. Because of the continuation of the theme and the admonition to not be conformed to the world the body as spoken of in Verse 1 can only be deduced to include our non-physical aspects also.
Let us look a little more closely at Romans 12:2. The two most important words in that verse are “mind,” and “conformed.” Our minds will be conformed to what we are faced with. The way to be conformed to the Will of God is to exercise our mind through prayer, meditation and Bible study. This transforms our minds to what is good, acceptable and in the perfect will of God.
If we do the opposite our minds will be transformed to conform to evil things. If we constantly sit in front of the TV we will become conformed to what we see on it. If we read secular books or magazines on a regular basis we will be conformed to them. Have you ever realized that if a person has a habit that really drives us buggy we eventually will do the same thing ourselves? That is because our mind focuses on the annoying habit and thus becomes conformed to that thing.
Pornography and all sexual sin is an abomination to The Lord. I believe that sexual sin is the worst that we can commit. It dishonors our own bodies as well as anyone else that is involved with us on a personal basis. In the case of a man his mind becomes conformed to the ungodliness of sexual sin and he begins to look on all women with lust and in the same manner as those that appear in whatever medium he uses to view the abominable material he uses.
It is my belief that a saved Christian who uses pornography will become so down, distraught, uneasy and totally confused because of the conflict with the Holy Spirit within they will not be able to function properly at all and will seek forgiveness. Even this type of sin is forgivable as are all of them.
Brothers and sisters, there are two parts to this process. First and foremost we must ask forgiveness. We must acknowledge our sins to Christ. The Bible goes on to say that He is faithful and just, meaning He does not fail and He is just in administering His promises to us, not that He hands out justice. Then it goes on to say that He cleanses us of all unrighteousness. We must seek the cleansing. We must ask Him to clean us up. If we confess to Him, He will clean us up. Once He cleans us up we will not commit the same offenses over and over again. When God cleans us up it is immediate and permanent. If we continue in the particular sin we have not given it up nor sought cleansing.
If a person continues to indulge in this type of sin (or any repetitive sin) it is a sure sign they are not saved. A backslidden Christian is the most miserable person on the face of the earth. They will do everything they possibly can do to get right with God. Our old man is crucified with Christ that we may no longer serve the body of sin. Certainly we will make mistakes but we learn from those mistakes, ask God to clean us up and do not repeat them.
The use of pornography in any form is an abomination. It is detestable in the eyes of God. There is punishment for it. Punishment in the form of the guilt of having to conduct part of one’s life in secret. Punishment in the form of tearing apart marriages and families. Punishment in the form of destroying the lives of people. Punishment in the form of doing extreme damage in Churches.
If anyone who reads this has a problem with pornography I urge you to get right with God. Ask Him to clean you up before irreparable harm is done to you and your family. If anyone reading this has a pornography problem and is either not saved or uncertain of salvation I urge you to talk to your Pastor or a Christian friend about it. Remember the following:
(Romans 6:6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. (Romans 6:8) Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (Romans 6:9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (Romans 6:10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (Romans 6:11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (Romans 6:13) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (Romans 6:14) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Lovingly submitted In Christ,
George
(Matthew 5:28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.[/size]
Pornography is the most insidious of all addictions. It is also readily available and in a lot of cases free. Pornography is a tool of the devil he uses to tear apart families and even churches. There are even Pastors who have been afflicted with this addiction. It is pervasive.
Let us look at it initially in light of the above verse from Matthew. In the words of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, if one views pornography they have committed adultery. Adultery of course is sin. We must also view it in light of the fact that adultery is sin committed by married persons. Since looking on a woman to lust after her by a married person is adultery then looking on a woman to lust after her by a single person is fornication. Fornication is also sin. Let us take a look at this problem in a different area.
(Galatians 5:19) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, (Galatians 5:20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (Galatians 5:21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Notice that in these things Paul has placed adultery in the very first position. We have already seen that viewing pornography is adultery. In the verses above we also have other words that can be connected to the use of pornography. Uncleanness: uncleanness, it is a general name for all unchastity, in thought, word, or action; and may here design more especially all unnatural lusts. Lasciviousness: lasciviousness; or wantonness, all lustful dalliance, everything that leads on to acts of uncleanness, or attends them, as impure words, filthy gestures, and the like.
Fornication is sexual sin committed by single (unmarried) persons of either sex. Let us look at the definition of the Greek word fornication comes from.
porneuō
porn-yoo'-o
From G4204; to act the harlot, that is, (literally) indulge unlawful lust (of either sex), or (figuratively) practise idolatry: - commit (fornication).
Please notice the Greek word has as its root the letters “porn.” It is no coincidence or accident our modern English word pornography starts with the same root.
I must draw your attention, with all seriousness and consideration, to the final clause of Galatians 5:21. Paul says they which do such things SHALL NOT INHERIT THE KINDGOM OF GOD!!! Friends this verse distinctly tells us that people who practice such things as a lifestyle are not saved. They cannot be. If one is saved and views pornography the working of the Holy Spirit on our spirit will cause us to come to repentance and return to our chaste relationship with God. A person who uses pornography in any way knows it is wrong.
Why do you suppose that the viewing of pornography is done secretively? Such things are kept in separate back rooms of book and magazine stores. In “regular” stores when such things are sold they are placed in covers so they cannot be seen until opened. While viewing pornography on the Internet does the perpetrator do it openly? Usually it is done when the viewer is alone or in a room where they think no one else knows what they are doing. It is secretive.
(Ephesians 5:11) And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (Ephesians 5:12) For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Notice that in these two verses Paul places the words darkness and secret in close proximity to each other. That is because in most cases they are synonymous. Secrets and darkness go hand in hand. The very nature of secrets as used in this instance and in relation to the use of pornography denotes darkness. Paul also says it is a shame to even speak of these things much less do them!
(Luke 8:17) For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
Notice Jesus says here that things done in secret shall not remain secret. Things done in secret shall be found out. They cannot remain secret and hidden. Of course nothing is in secret and hidden from God. When using pornography the viewer “gets away” with nothing. It is know by God and will be found out by family and friends.
(2 Corinthians 5:17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
These two verses emphasize what Paul said in Galatians concerning not inheriting the kingdom of God. Paul says ALL things are become new. He further says, and most importantly to this study, that ALL things are of God. Pornography is not of God. It is of the devil. In the few verses I have shown above we can see that pornography and the viewing of it cannot be of God. Things are either of God or they are of the devil.
Let us look at this terrible addiction from a bit of a different standpoint.
(1 Peter 3:7) Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
We are commanded here to honour the wife. Honour means to greatly esteem. It means that we are to listen and take into consideration the wife in all the aspects of marriage. (Let me say also I believe these things to apply to single men in their relationships with women also.) Take a long, hard look at the reason we must honour our wives. That our prayers be not hindered!!! That is pretty scary to me. I do not need my prayers to be hindered in any way.
(Ephesians 5:25) Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Ephesians 5:26) That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:27) That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:28) So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
These verses most Christians are aware of. However anyone who uses pornography has chosen to completely ignore these commands. In these verses I believe the very same commands to be given to single men as to married. I do not believe, after much study, there ought be any difference in the way a single man treats a woman as compared to a married man. Single men are still to honor the woman in their life. If a single man loves a woman and intends to marry her at some time he is commanded to treat her with exactly the same treatment the Bible commands a married man to treat his wife.
Notice the reason behind loving our wives. First of all we are to love them as Christ loves the Church. Christ gave Himself for the Church. He died for the Church. Why? That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. The use of pornography does not sanctify the marriage or the relationship of a single person with members of the opposite sex. It does not cleanse that relationship. It cannot wash it of water by the Word.
(Psalms 66:18) If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
What exactly is regarding iniquity? It is looking into our hearts, seeing sin and not being willing to do anything to correct it. If we regard iniquity in our hearts that means we see something in there that is wrong and we like it so much (regard it) we are not willing to give it up. Notice that in 1 Peter 3:7 we are told that if we do not honour our wife our prayers will be hindered. This appears to be the New Testament version of the things said in Psalm 66:18.
If a person has a problem with pornography they are regarding or enjoying the sin in their lives, are not willing to change it, not honoring their wives (or any other woman for that matter,) and thus their prayers will be hindered (not heard.) Wow! I need God in my life. I cannot function without Him in my life. Yet we have literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, in this country who are using pornography. We can clearly see from the verses already given that anyone who uses pornography as a way of life (on a regular basis) will not go to the Kingdom of God and also that if such a person continues to use pornography, knowing it is against the commands of God, their prayers will not be heard. That is a pretty frightening position to be in. Who else are we going to turn to for comfort and peace? Who else will stick by us through all the trials and tribulations of life? It is only God Who does that and if we get to the point our prayers are either hindered or will not be heard we are in a great deal of trouble!
Quite obviously an unsaved person is not endowed with the absolute blessing of the Holy Spirit. However each of us is given a conscience. The conscience of a pornography user has to weigh on them or the practice would not be done in secret. The burden of guilt does not escape the unsaved. However they have no idea where the guilt comes from or how to deal with it.
A person who is truly saved and a child of God will suffer incalculable confusion and uneasiness when committing sexual sin. They must because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
(Galatians 5:17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
The flesh lusteth against the Spirit. The flesh, our body and in this case it is referring to our soul, that which is comprised of our mind and emotions, is controlled by our spirit. Our spirit must be exercised to communicate with the Holy Spirit. When our spirit can communicate with the Holy Spirit, He will guide our souls by His Spirit communicating with our minds and emotions rather than our own.
As we know, the devil will cultivate weakness. If we have a weakness in our life the devil will sense out that weakness and exploit it to the fullest he can. The use of pornography is definitely a weakness in our spirit. It plays on the emotions and occupies the mind. This blocks the prompting of the Holy Spirit and does not allow God to work in the life of the pornography user. The situations in the life of such a person will continue to deteriorate without the communication with God. Things will begin to unravel and become unmanageable and uncontrollable.
(Romans 12:1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Before I get into the main point of the reason for bringing in these two verses I must remind you that when Paul speaks of presenting our bodies a living sacrifice our bodies means all of us. It includes not only our physical makeup but also our minds and emotions; our hearts, if you will. This can be attested to by the following verse. In Romans 12:2 Paul addresses the renewing of our mind. Because of the continuation of the theme and the admonition to not be conformed to the world the body as spoken of in Verse 1 can only be deduced to include our non-physical aspects also.
Let us look a little more closely at Romans 12:2. The two most important words in that verse are “mind,” and “conformed.” Our minds will be conformed to what we are faced with. The way to be conformed to the Will of God is to exercise our mind through prayer, meditation and Bible study. This transforms our minds to what is good, acceptable and in the perfect will of God.
If we do the opposite our minds will be transformed to conform to evil things. If we constantly sit in front of the TV we will become conformed to what we see on it. If we read secular books or magazines on a regular basis we will be conformed to them. Have you ever realized that if a person has a habit that really drives us buggy we eventually will do the same thing ourselves? That is because our mind focuses on the annoying habit and thus becomes conformed to that thing.
Pornography and all sexual sin is an abomination to The Lord. I believe that sexual sin is the worst that we can commit. It dishonors our own bodies as well as anyone else that is involved with us on a personal basis. In the case of a man his mind becomes conformed to the ungodliness of sexual sin and he begins to look on all women with lust and in the same manner as those that appear in whatever medium he uses to view the abominable material he uses.
It is my belief that a saved Christian who uses pornography will become so down, distraught, uneasy and totally confused because of the conflict with the Holy Spirit within they will not be able to function properly at all and will seek forgiveness. Even this type of sin is forgivable as are all of them.
(1 John 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Brothers and sisters, there are two parts to this process. First and foremost we must ask forgiveness. We must acknowledge our sins to Christ. The Bible goes on to say that He is faithful and just, meaning He does not fail and He is just in administering His promises to us, not that He hands out justice. Then it goes on to say that He cleanses us of all unrighteousness. We must seek the cleansing. We must ask Him to clean us up. If we confess to Him, He will clean us up. Once He cleans us up we will not commit the same offenses over and over again. When God cleans us up it is immediate and permanent. If we continue in the particular sin we have not given it up nor sought cleansing.
If a person continues to indulge in this type of sin (or any repetitive sin) it is a sure sign they are not saved. A backslidden Christian is the most miserable person on the face of the earth. They will do everything they possibly can do to get right with God. Our old man is crucified with Christ that we may no longer serve the body of sin. Certainly we will make mistakes but we learn from those mistakes, ask God to clean us up and do not repeat them.
The use of pornography in any form is an abomination. It is detestable in the eyes of God. There is punishment for it. Punishment in the form of the guilt of having to conduct part of one’s life in secret. Punishment in the form of tearing apart marriages and families. Punishment in the form of destroying the lives of people. Punishment in the form of doing extreme damage in Churches.
(Proverbs 6:27) Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? (Proverbs 6:28) Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? (Proverbs 6:29) So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent.
If anyone who reads this has a problem with pornography I urge you to get right with God. Ask Him to clean you up before irreparable harm is done to you and your family. If anyone reading this has a pornography problem and is either not saved or uncertain of salvation I urge you to talk to your Pastor or a Christian friend about it. Remember the following:
(Romans 6:6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (Romans 6:7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. (Romans 6:8) Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (Romans 6:9) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (Romans 6:10) For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (Romans 6:11) Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:12) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (Romans 6:13) Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (Romans 6:14) For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Lovingly submitted In Christ,
George