Ten Ways to Break the Stronghold of
Pornography
Before you go through these...
have you looked at yourself under the penetrating light
of God's Law? Have you come to a place of genuine repentance?
Do you know that your heart is desperately wicked; that
it's an enemy of God? Do you see your Adamic nature
as a Judas living within you, raising his hands and
crying "Master, Master," but at the same time
betraying the Son of Man with a kiss? Then put that
traitor to death. Never trust your own heart again.
It cares for nothing but self. The instant gratification
of thirty pieces of silver is better than Heaven's approval.
It is self-serving, self-gratifying, and self-deceiving.
It is "earthly, sensual, devilish" (James
3:15). Look at what Philippians 2:12 says about the
"self" nature:
"...work out (cultivate,
carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own
salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust,
with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness
against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever
might offend God and discredit the name of Christ)"
(The Amplified Bible).
1.
Would you ever take pornography to church and look at
it during worship? You may as well, because God is just
as present in your bedroom as He is in the church building.
2.
Face the fact that you may not be saved. Examine yourself
to ensure that Christ is living in you (2 Corinthians
13:5). See Romans 6:11–22; 8:1–14; Ephesians
5:3–8.)
3.
Realize that when you give yourself to pornography,
you are committing adultery (Matthew 5:27,28).
4.
Grasp the serious nature of your sin. Jesus said that
it would be better for you to be blind and go to heaven,
than for your eye to cause you to sin and end up in
hell (Matthew 5:29).
5.
Those who profess to be Christians yet give themselves
to pornographic material evidently lack the fear of
God (Proverbs 16:6). Cultivate the fear of God by reading
Proverbs 2:1–5.
6.
Read Psalm 51 and make it your own prayer.
7.
Memorize James 1:14,15 and 1 Corinthians 10:13. Follow
Jesus’ example (Matthew 4:3–11) and quote
the Word of God when you are tempted (see Ephesians
6:12–20).
8.
Make no provision for your flesh (Romans 13:14; 1 Peter
2:11). Get rid of every access to pornographic material—the
Internet, printed literature, TV, videos, and movies.
But don't just stop there... you also need to begin
to think about how high God's standard of holiness and
purity really is. What the general public would have
called "pornographic" just 60 to 70 years
ago is plastered through your Sunday morning newspaper,
the billboards you see on your way to work, and the
magazines that line the counters at the grocery checkout.
Even television commercials are filled with images that
if you printed them off and stood in front of an elementary
school showing them to children... you would be arrested.
The fire is being fed from all different directions...
not just those that the world lables as "pornographic."
You must stop feeding the fire.
9.
Guard your heart with all diligence (Proverbs
4:23). Don’t let the demonic realm have access
to your thought-life. The Bible commands you to get
control of your thoughts; read what Romans 13:14 says,
"But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ
(the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging]
the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the
evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify
its] desires (lusts)" (The Amplified Bible - bold
added for emphasis). If you give yourself to it, you
will become its slave (Romans 6:16). Read the Bible
daily, without fail. As you submit to God, the devil
will flee (James 4:7,8).
10.
The next time temptation comes, do fifty push-ups, then
fifty sit-ups. If you are still burning, repeat the
process (see 1 Corinthians 9:27, and 1 Corinthians 7:9).
This is not just a random "get your mind off it"
exercise. This produces a physical reaction that is
the equivalent of what is often called a "cold
shower."
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