One of our recent surveys revealed that over half of Christian men view pornography at least once per month. This statistic is extremely concerning for leaders, for wives, girlfriends, parents, and men. To help explain why this shift is so important, Christian men must first understand how it impacts their relationship with their Creator. After all, if there is this much pornographic addiction, it is safe to say that men just aren’t walking with Jesus. If over half of Christian men are struggling to walk with Jesus, that is rightly called an epidemic.
Here are three ways that pornography affects a man’s relationship with God:
1. Unrepentance Prevents your spiritual growth
Since Christ calls you to be pure and holy (1 Peter 1:16), every secret sin will distract from your spiritual life. This is why a pornography addiction makes it difficult to pray to God, study His word, or experience true fellowship with other believers (or have relationships at all).
We can’t live in the light if we are practicing that kind of darkness.
Although it’s easy to rationalize our behavior, lustful thoughts are real sins. Because they are hidden, lustful thoughts typically do not receive attention and many don’t believe they are wrong. However, Jesus equates these thoughts with nothing less than adultery in Matthew 5:27. If we are using our imaginations to compel women to do things with us then we are practicing something truly awful.
To find life, repentance is in order.
2. Secret sin subverts God’s will
A man who is actively pursuing pornography cannot claim that he has fully surrendered himself to God. As Matthew 6: 24 explains, no man can serve two masters at the same time. Frustration, pain, loneliness, and failure are the results of trying to pursue selfish desires while seeking to love and serve Jesus. As the passage says, if you serve two masters that are the opposite of each other, you’ll just end up loving one master and hating the other.
Bringing porn into your day, your heart, your mind, and your relationships will drastically distort the way you hear from God and walk with Him on a daily basis.
And we wonder why we don’t hear from God…
3. Lordship requires surrendering fully to God
After understanding this, a Christian man should see the journey away from pornography as a way to restore a relationship with God and follow his will. As Romans 12:1-2 states, “Therefore, I urge you, brother, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
This is why Proven Men focuses on Christ as the starting point for sexual integrity. If the gospel restores us to God, and porn forces us away from God, then it will always be impossible to practice pornographic habits and practice knowing Jesus.
Proven Men is always looking for lay-leaders to start groups to help these men restore their relationship with God. Consider the need for Proven Men’s program in your church. Join us on this journey!
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