The problem of porn is much more widespread and pervasive than many people realize, or would like to admit, for it runs the entire gamut of our society’s political, secular, and religious systems, reaching as far as the higher echelons of society to the everyday John Doe on the street. It affects cabinet ministers, televangelists, politicians, clergy, bishops, priests, lay people, soldiers, students, deacons, pathfinders, lawyers, athletes, teens and elderly folk alike.
There are very many well-dressed deacons, elders, and regular church members who are, for all intents and purposes, in good and regular standing, as far as external behaviors go, but who are addicted to porn. Some could be found online in the wee hours of the morning, partaking of the forbidden fruit, and others can be found at the back of the parking lot of some notorious adult club.
Porn is deeply rooted in our culture, and is fostered in many ways, from advertisements on television, to billboard ads, to naked, graven images in churches, seducing the congregations to indulge the senses. It has now become a plague across the entire globe, it engulfs many individuals in soul-destroying habits, while others are being led into adultery, and other perversions which become difficult to overcome.
Thus, in order for us to get a proper understanding of the severity of the problem, we must first know what the Bible describes as being porn. According to the scriptures, porn is the sensual indulgence of seeing, or participating in the nakedness of anyone other than one’s spouse. This definition also covers virtual porn, live porn, printed exhibitions of porn, sexting, adult, and pedophile films, X-rated movies phone sex, and soap operas where sexually explicit
scenes are depicted.
This definition also includes advertisements where nakedness, or sexual imagery is used to sell items. Furthermore, whatever we may do, think, or say to promote the indulgence of nakedness, and sexually explicit material or activity with anyone or in any, other than our spouse, is porn. Before the internet and social media, and long before there were any televisions and movies, there was porn.
It has been around since after the fall of man, it was manifest in ages past among professed Christians or god-fearing men, and it continues in our day, being made much more readily available because of the information highways we have at our disposal. But one thing is certain, pornography is a deeply rooted problem in our society, and in our churches, and the many skeletons that are now falling out of some church closets, are just the tip of the iceberg. Let’s read:
Leviticus 18:7 The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
8 The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.
10 The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
11 The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. 13 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman.
14 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thine aunt.
15 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
16 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.
17 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
18 Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life time.
20 Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbor's wife, to defile thyself with her.
22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
23 Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
24 Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you.
25 And the land is defiled, therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land itself vomits out her inhabitants.
26 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you.
28 That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.
30 Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God.
It becomes obvious from the passages above, that we have a major social and spiritual problem on our hands, and unless we address it from a scriptural perspective, it would continue to metastasize, and wreak havoc in high places and low. Therefore, God who is rich in mercy unto all those who call upon Him for help, will not only show us the extent of the problem, but will also provide the solution, so that, like David, Abraham, Judah, Solomon, Samson, and, Jacob, we too may gain the victory over porn.
Let us just say here that we are not coming to you as those who have graduated from higher schools of learning; instead we are coming to you live from the university of South Beach, a school from which few have escaped, let alone graduated.
Pornography always leads persons into some form of adultery, or sexual sin, for if we were to ask men who are thus afflicted, very many will confess that their adulterous rendezvous had its beginning in porn. The sensual thought led to the sensual act and before we knew it, we were trapped in the deadly cycle of seeing and doing, because every temptation is designed to lead to sin, as the end-product, every-one.
Thus, it was that Balaam seduced Israel into sin, for when his magic didn’t work, he turned to porn. As Israel stood upon the very borders of Canaan, they were invited to the sensual worship of the Moabites whose worship services were littered with naked images. And the worshippers themselves came to church in the most provocative clothing, so much so that indulgence took the place of repentance.
The Hebrews too, who were already disposed to porn, were all to willing to indulge their senses, and before long, the sensual worship with its attendant evils had overspread the camp. As we read the story we will observe that it was the leading men of the nation and the elders who were foremost in the sin, with the teenagers and young adults following on where they led the way. Let’s read:
Numbers 25:1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.
2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat and bowed down to their gods.
4 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people.
6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 455] At Balaam's suggestion, a grand festival in honor of their gods was appointed by the king of Moab, and it was secretly arranged that Balaam should induce the Israelites to attend. Great numbers of the people joined him in witnessing the festivities. They ventured upon the forbidden ground and were entangled in the snare of Satan.
Beguiled with music and dancing, and allured by the beauty of heathen vestals, they cast off their fealty to Jehovah.
The word “Vestal” means goddess; thus, if the Jews were beguiled with heathen vestals, it implies that those graven images were nude, and therefore, it was inevitable that pornographic thoughts, actions and indulgences were sure to follow. The Bible tells us that by beholding we become changed, and this principle applies to both good and evil.
Many people across the globe, both in the secular, and religious realms have become outraged at the priesthood, on account of the widespread, sexual crimes that have been going on for years. And while it is true that bishops, priests, and preachers ought to be accountable for those under their care, yet we should understand that it must be quite difficult for them to maintain pure thoughts, if they are always surrounded by naked images all day long, and have no wife to go home to. Let’s read:
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 455] As they united in mirth and feasting, indulgence in wine beclouded their senses and broke down the barriers of self-control. Passion had full sway; and having defiled their consciences by lewdness, they were persuaded to bow down to idols. It was not long before the poison had spread, like a deadly infection, through the camp of Israel.
The people seemed to be infatuated. The rulers and the leading men were among the first to transgress, and so many of the people were guilty that the apostasy became national.
The very same thing is being repeated in our day, for there is nothing new under the sun. The leading men of the Jews were foremost in the indulgence of porn, and because nations do not usually rise higher than their leaders, the problem went viral. Even in our day, several persons in positions of leadership and responsibility, have betrayed their sacred trusts through the indulgence of pornography, and related activities.
Wine, music, dancing and nudity is a toxic mix, and satan studiously brings together these elements to cause the most moral carnage to the unwary. As the song says “Red, red wine, goes to my head” because it affects our thought processes, and causes us to be insensitive to right and wrong. Then, temptations being readily available, it becomes easy to succumb
to what our fallen nature naturally craves for.
This toxic mix of music, dancing, wine and nudity is what caused the downfall of so many in Israel, it is what caused John to be beheaded, and this is what caused the idolatry at mount Sinai. Therefore, when some or all of these elements are brought together, sexual sins and porn are sure to follow. Let’s read:
Exodus 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.
18 And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing.
25 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame;
26 Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side?
Mark 6:17 For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.
18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.
19 Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:
21 And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;
22 And when the daughter of Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.
23 And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
24 And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.
25 And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.
26 And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.
27 And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison.
And many sincere Christians are now fast becoming quite disenchanted with the clergy, for what is now known to be a pervasive problem. Porn is therefore a radical problem, and it will require radical actions to overcome it. The following therefore are simple step by step instructions on how to overcome porn:
[1] Prayers of confession and pardon.
If we suffer with this problem, confessing that we do is the first step in gaining the victory, for it is an acknowledgement to God that we have sinned, and are in need of help. This then paves the way for God to minister grace and power to stop the indulgence of porn in us, and to keep us from retrogressing into the same, or a worst condition. We are not able, on our own to keep ourselves from falling, for only God can do this, so confession is needed.
In addition, our prayers on this matter can be quite simple and direct, such as “Lord, I have a problem with porn, and try as I might I just can’t shake it. I need your help, for I am weak, but you are strong” When we pray in sincerity and simplicity God will hear and answer, because Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Let’s read:
1st John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
2nd Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
[2] Burning.
Any pornographic material, or videos we may have in our possession must be burned. Get some gasoline, preferably 93 octane, and burn them in a safe place. This act will not remove pornographic thoughts or tendencies from us, but it represents a statement of protest on our part against the evil. A mandatory step in the process of reconciliation to God is a personal protest against sin. Let’s read:
Acts 19:18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their “Books” together and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Symbolic burning also includes deleting any phone numbers that were previously used to contact any person involved with porn. It includes the removing of such websites from our favorite bar and blocking all adult film sites wherever and whenever possible. In other words, a proactive stand for righteousness must be made on a continuing basis so that Christ, and the devil may know that we mean business.
[3] Avoid the trigger points.
If we desire victory over porn we must do our very best to avoid the trigger points. Asking for victory and acting like a conqueror are two different things, but the one must compliment the other. Anything, anyone, anyplace, any activity that will suggest porn to our minds should be avoided wherever possible. In other words, asking God for victory, whilst we are deliberately choosing to hangout on South beach at night will render us vulnerable to the assaults of the enemy.
It is satan’s plan to surround us with porn, or other suggestive material, or even persons who dress in a pornographic manner, so that our minds are always engulfed with such themes, and especially with the advent of the internet, where porn is literally at our fingertips. Therefore, as we stand upon the brink of eternity, we will need to be particularly vigilant, lest we succumb to the trickle-down effect of what is now happening in high places.
Friends who talk of porn, and work associates who dwell on sensual topics will have to be informed of our abhorrence of such conversations. But when we countenance sexually explicit comments, and rude jokes by laughing when we should be frowning, the devil rightly interprets this as an assent to such talk, and as a general rule he will increase his assaults on our minds, and before you know it, we would be in darkness. Let’s read:
1st Peter 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 460] Those who would not fall a prey to Satan's devices must guard well the avenues of the soul; they must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest impure thoughts. The mind should not be left to wander at random upon every subject that the adversary of souls may suggest.
[4] Avoid seclusion or reclusiveness.
Seclusion, and isolation tends to open the door to porn, with those who are struggling with this sin. On the other hand, frequent association with friends who speak, or dwell on uplifting themes, will be like therapy to the soul, for their words, and presence will tend to steer our minds in a different direction.
Evil spirits hunt like hyenas, they believe in isolating their prey before coming in for the kill. Therefore, our association with God-fearing persons will go a long way in helping to alleviate the temptations to indulge in porn. Let’s read:
Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
[5] Avoid repetition:
Last but not least, it is important for us all to avoid repetition, for whenever sin is repeated it becomes more deeply lodged in our consciences. Habits are formed through repetition and characters are the result of habits formed. Therefore, whenever Jesus has granted us the victory over porn, it is critically important for us not to retrogress, by abiding in Him always. Let’s read:
Matthew 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
2nd Peter 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
In closing, we encourage any and everyone who has been bitten by the porn serpent, to arise and shine, for God will grant us grace, strength and sustaining power, to think and live like a conqueror. That being said, we leave with a promise of victory, for it is the will of God that we should fight to win, not lose. Let’s read:
1st Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
God Bless!