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purity

Twelve Reasons to Give Up Porn

August 30, 2011 by Andy Naselli

Tim Chester, Closing the Window: Steps to Living Porn Free  (Downers Grove: IVP, 2010), 17–35:

  1. Porn wrecks your view of sex.
  2. Porn wrecks your view of women.
  3. Porn wrecks women’s view of themselves.
  4. The porn industry abuses women.
  5. Porn is a sin against your wife. . . . If you’re not yet married, porn is a sin against your future wife.
  6. Porn wrecks families.
  7. Porn is enslaving.
  8. Porn erodes your character.
  9. Porn wastes your time, energy, and money.
  10. Porn weakens your relationship with God.
  11. Porn weakens your service.
  12. God’s wrath is against people who use porn.

Chester expounds on the above twelve reasons when explaining the first of what he calls five key “ingredients in the battle against porn”: [Read more…] about Twelve Reasons to Give Up Porn

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: purity

The Stain That Stays

December 2, 2010 by Andy Naselli

Carl Trueman wrote this in March 2010 after the Tiger Woods saga:

Some years ago I found the argument of John Armstrong’s excellent book The Stain That Stays utterly convincing: post-conversion adultery, unlike other sins, is the one which permanently excludes one from leadership or office-bearing in the church; of course, there is forgiveness and restoration to fellowship for those who repent and ask for such; but as far as leadership goes, it’s over. I still point to that book, especially the superb last chapter on avoiding sexual sin, as required reading for men going in for ministry.

I promptly added that book to my reading list, and I finally read it this week.

John H. Armstrong. The Stain That Stays: The Church’s Response to the Sexual Misconduct of Its Leaders. Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus Publications; Reformation and Revival Ministries, 2000.

Since writing this book, John Armstrong has shifted towards a big-tent evangelicalism and away from the conservative evangelical circles he used to be a part of (hence the foreword by Kent Hughes and endorsements by Al Mohler, John MacArthur, and Tom Nettles).

The book’s style is a bit cumbersome, but it’s an edifying read about a deadly serious issue. Here are Armstrong’s eight suggested ways that pastors should plan to prevent sexual sin (pp. 174–81):

  1. “Understand the nature of sexual temptation.” “In two areas, traveling and counseling, a pastor must take precautions.”
  2. “Understand the power of the seductive woman.” “The pastor must be especially careful to guard himself when he detects the first mannerisms that indicate a woman may have feelings that are beyond those of a healthy and pure relationship.”
  3. “Guard your mind.” “The pastor must guard his mind by staying away from explicitly erotic material, as well as television programs and images that fuel the fires of lust. . . . Pornography surrounds us, acting as a poison that corrupts healthy sexuality.” [Cf. Joe Tyrpak, “Help for Fighting Lust: A Meditation Plan“; Mike Salvati, “The God of Truth and the Lies of Porn.”]
  4. “Cultivate and protect your own marriage.” “This seems to be the plainest meaning of the wisdom given in Proverbs 5:15–23: You must enjoy your wife physically and her alone.”
  5. “Take precautions as you minister.” “The wise pastor cannot be overly careful.” [Cf. Mark Minnick, “Maintaining Moral Purity in the Ministry.”]
  6. “Maintain relationships where accountability is real.” “Every pastor needs several relationships where he is mutually accountable for his actions and relationships with others.” [Cf. Phil Gons, Matthew Hoskinson, and Andy Naselli, “Accountability.”]
  7. “Cultivate your spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being.” “You must know yourself and take care of your body and soul to remain strong.”
  8. “Consider regularly the consequences of sexual sin.” “What will this sin mean to your wife? Your children? Your congregation? Your closest friends? Your future ministry? We need to do this because the outcome of this particular sin is so deceiving.” [Cf. Randy Alcorn’s “purity principle“: purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid.]

I don’t agree with Armstrong’s thesis, but his book rightly treats sexual sin soberly. I find D. A. Carson’s argument more compelling: “Do You Think That a Fallen Christian Leader Can Ever Be Restored? If Not, Why Not? But If So, under What Conditions?” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 4.4 (2000): 87–89.

Update: Cf. Andrew David Naselli, “Is Every Sin Outside the Body except Immoral Sex? Weighing Whether 1 Corinthians 6:18b Is Paul’s Statement or a Corinthian Slogan,” JBL 136 (2017): 969–87. In 1 Cor 6:18b–c, Paul writes, “Every sin, whatever a person commits, is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” My essay weighs whether 1 Cor 6:18b is Paul’s statement or whether Paul is quoting a Corinthian slogan, and it concludes that the second view is more plausible (contrary to how John Armstrong argues in the above book).

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: Carl Trueman, purity

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

April 2, 2010 by Andy Naselli

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? [Read more…] about Internet Pornography: The God of Truth and the Lies of Porn

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: purity

iPhone Resources

January 18, 2010 by Andy Naselli

I got an iPhone this month, and it surpassed my high expectations. It’s amazing.

My 3GS model is 16 GB and weighs 4.8 ounces. That means that the little phone I keep in my pocket holds eight times as much space as the laptop I used from college through my first PhD (1998–2006).

If you have an iPhone (or iPod Touch), these resources may help you use the tool more efficiently.

1. iPhone Apps

The iPhone comes with several apps already installed, and over 100,000 apps are available through the iTunes Store.

Here’s a screen-shot of my apps as they appear iTunes (click on the image to enlarge):

  • Cf. Phil Gons’s list of the main iPhone apps that he uses on his iPod Touch.
  • My favorite apps include Logos Bible Software (more info), Google Mobile App, Dragon Dictation, Red Laser ($1.99), Dropbox, and Mint.com Personal Finance.
  • There are many other useful apps that I’ve chosen not to use for various reasons (e.g., PIM, news, sports).

Here are some practices I’ve found to be helpful:

[Read more…] about iPhone Resources

Filed Under: Other Tagged With: purity, technology

Pornography : Men :: Chick Flicks : Women

June 11, 2009 by Andy Naselli

That’s what Beth Spraul argues (with appropriate nuance) in “You’ve Got Lies: Chick Flicks and the World’s Approach to Men and Marriage,” a six-page PDF hosted by Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C.

She proceeds to discsuss “three powerful lies communicated to and believed by women through this genre of ‘chick-flicks’ as well as ‘chick-lit’ (literature)”:

  • Lie #1: Men think of romance and relational intimacy exactly like women do!
  • Lie #2: If I marry the right man, all will be right in my life.
  • Lie #3: I will know that a man is right for me by feelings I get when I’m with him.

She closes by sharing her own courting experience.

Das ist gut, ja?

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: complementarianism, purity

Help for Fighting Lust: A Meditation Plan

May 4, 2009 by Andy Naselli

Joe Tyrpak, a gifted, godly young pastor and one of my close friends (e.g., he’s one of my accountability parters), recently posted a five-part series on fighting lust.

  1. Call to mind the deceptions of sinful sensuality.
  2. Call to mind the destructions of sinful sensuality.
  3. Call to mind the delights of God-ordained sensuality.
  4. Call to mind the eyes of God.
  5. Call to mind my union with Christ.

Joe also recently preached a sermon on 1 Cor 6:12–20 entitled “Gospel-Controlled Sexuality.”

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: accountability, Joe Tyrpak, purity

Purity is always smart; impurity is always stupid

February 22, 2009 by Andy Naselli

That’s the thesis of Randy Alcorn‘s The Purity Principle: God’s Safeguards for Life’s Dangerous Trails (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 2003).

I read through this little 94-page volume in one sitting this evening. It’s outstanding. Alcorn’s approach to the issue of purity is biblically informed, sobering, wise, refreshing, and motivating.

Related: Alcorn lists the following resources on his website:

  1. The Purity Principle Study Guide
  2. articles on sexual purity: page 1 | page 2
  3. Alcorn’s MP3s, PDFs, and PowerPoint presentation on sexual purity
  4. Guidelines for sexual purity (Alcorn originally prepared this for his daughters.)
  5. Links to resources for sexual purity
  6. Selected Scriptures related to sexual purity

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: purity, Randy Alcorn

Accountability

February 12, 2008 by Andy Naselli

By Philip R. Gons, Matthew C. Hoskinson, and Andrew David Naselli

(cross-posted at our respective blogs: Gons, Hoskinson, Naselli)

Christians will give an account to God for their lives, and wise Christians live in light of that sobering reality (Rom 14:12; 2 Cor 5:10). Consequently, we have covenanted to keep each other accountable in preparation for our future accounting. Since some of our friends have asked us about our method of accountability, we decided to co-author this article in order to glorify God by provoking other Christians to seek out a greater degree of accountability.

Accountability

[Read more…] about Accountability

Filed Under: Practical Theology Tagged With: accountability, Matt Hoskinson, Phil Gons, purity

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