Andy Naselli

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Internet Pornography: The God of Truth and the Lies of Porn

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Mike Salvati, the youth pastor at my church, addressed the men at our church last Saturday morning on “The God of Truth and the Lies of Porn.” This 68-minute MP3 begins with a man’s testimony followed by Mike’s talk.

Mike presented “seven biblical truths to keep you from being lied to, from clicking and sinning against your great, holy God!” Here’s the outline:

1. Intimacy (sexual intimacy in particular) is God’s good gift (Gen 2:24-25; Prov 5:15-23; Heb 13:4).

  • How has pornography distorted your understanding of God’s good gift of sexual intimacy?
  • What is one way you can cultivate relational intimacy with your wife?
  • When was the last time you thanked God for your wife?

2. Porneia is in you (Mark 7:20-23; James 1:14-15).

  • How does knowing that porn is not just outside of you but inside of you change the way you think about battling it?
  • If the problem is in your heart, what is the solution?

3. God’s grace is more powerful than the porneia that is in you; you must be convinced of who you are in Christ (Rom 6:1-14; 8:1; Gal 5:16-24; Eph 2:1-10; Col 1:13-14; 1 John 5:4)!

  • Let’s say you were being tempted to look at porn. How would you respond at that moment if you were thoroughly convinced of the biblical truth that you were dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus?
  • How would you respond if you were not convinced of that truth?

4. You are not your own (1 Cor 6:19b-20).

  • Who does your body belong to?

5. Pornography does real damage (Prov 5:20-23; Gal 6:7-8).

  • What damage has consuming pornography had on you?
  • Do you believe that God has grace to heal the wounds?

6. “Confession” is not a word to be afraid of but a means of grace (1 John 1:9; Prov 28:13; Ps 32:1-5).

  • What scares you most about confessing this sin?
  • Do you believe that by humbling yourself and confessing, you are positioning yourself to grow?

7. Pornography is our problem (1 Cor 12:12-26; Rom 12:4-10).

  • Do you know a brother who is struggling with porn? How are you helping him? If not, why not?

Helpful Resources

Books

  • Randy Alcorn, The Purity Principle: God’s Safeguards for Life’s Dangerous Trails (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2003). Amazon | WTS Books
  • John Piper, The Dangerous Duty of Delight: The Glorified God and the Satisfied Soul (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2001). Amazon | WTS Books (audiobook)
  • William Struthers, Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010). Amazon | WTS Books

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Comments

  1. Thanks for this. I cannot tell you how many that I know who have/are struggling with this self-destructive, God-hating behavior. It’s sad beyond measure. May the Lord break in and put to death once and for all this hideous habit in the hearts of men who claim to know Jesus! The potential implications for putting one’s nerve endings ahead of God’s clear instructions are huge (Mt 5:30).

  2. Being convinced of who you are in Christ is so central to the battle against pornography and other lustful temptations. Thanks for passing this encouraging stuff along. Really liked the Chalmers reference. I used the same message in a recent blog post.