Accountability Archives - Make No Provision

Why I Use Accountability Software as a Christian Man

by Alan Sharpe August 15, 2022

The whole reason for having an accountability partner is to be accountable to someone. That can only happen if you make sure you can’t hide your sin.

by Alan Sharpe August 15, 2022

To Resist Sexual Sin, Look Up. | Genesis 39:9

Want to discover the easiest and fastest way to quit porn? Get caught. Arrange your life so that anytime you look at pornography, someone catches you in the act, and then confronts you about your sin. This is what I do. Works for me.

I am talking, of course, about electronic accountability. When it comes to getting free of pornography, there are two types of accountability—someone, and software. An accountability partner is someone who helps you stay committed to moral purity. Accountability software monitors and reports on your Internet usage.

You can have a human accountability partner but not use accountability software, and vice versa, but victory comes sooner if you use both. After all, if you have an accountability partner but no accountability software, and if you sin by looking at porn, you can always “forget” to mention that episode, or lie about it. Your accountability partner will never know. And if you have accountability software but no accountability partner, you will get a notification from

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To Resist Sexual Sin, Look Up. | Genesis 39:9

Don’t Look for a Label for Your Sexual Sin | Matthew 15:19-20

by Alan Sharpe August 11, 2022

The remedy for habitual porn use is not external, but internal. The cure is not secular, but spiritual.

by Alan Sharpe August 11, 2022

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.
Matthew 15:19-20

Are you a porn addict because Celebrate Recovery says so? Are you a process addict because the World Health Organization says so? Do you suffer from a hypersexual disorder? Are you a sex addict?

No, no, no, and no.

If you are a Christian man who struggles with looking at pornography, don’t try to find a label for your sin. Don’t look to the world, or Christian psychology, or Christian counselling, or Christian support groups, for a diagnosis for your sin. Don’t look for a diagnostic label that requires medication, therapy, counselling, weekly attendance at recovery meetings, working your way through 12 steps, or a

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To Quit Porn, Get Caught | Job 24:15

by Alan Sharpe June 17, 2022

With Covenant Eyes, no matter where I am, no matter what time of day or night it is, if I look at porn, I get caught. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

by Alan Sharpe June 17, 2022

To Quit Porn, Get Caught | Job 24:15

The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me’;
And he disguises his face.
Job 24:15

If you want to quit pornography, get caught. If you want to put sexual immorality behind you, use every creative tool and method and tactic at your disposal to make your sin known. The cure for habitual porn use is exposure.

The adulterer, after all, as Job observes, waits for twilight before leaving the house to have sex with another man’s wife. He disguises his face, and assures himself that no one will see him. That’s the nature of sexual sin—it thrives in darkness. It demands secrecy and deceit.

If you struggle with pornography, part of your challenge is that watching it in secret is so easy. You can get filthy images and videos on any mobile electronic device, whether laptop, tablet or phone, and you can carry these to any secluded place you want. Engaging in adul

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To Quit Porn, Get Caught | Job 24:15

Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Anonymous

by Alan Sharpe May 12, 2022

Part of the reason you are drawn back to your habitual sin is not your fault. If pornography was only available in public, you would be sexually pure.

by Alan Sharpe May 12, 2022

Porn Is a Snare Because It's Anonymous

This post is part three of a three-part series. Pornography is a snare because it is:
Available | Affordable | Anonymous

If you have been struggling with pornography for anywhere close to as long as I did as a Christian man (30 years), the primary cause of your habitual sin is readily explained—you haven’t been caught. Pornography is powerful precisely because it’s private. It’s the sin you do in secret that no one knows about. Not your spouse. Not your kids. Not your work colleagues. Not your brothers in the Lord. Not your church leaders. You are ensnared in porn because it’s anonymous.</

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Porn Is a Snare Because It's Anonymous

Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Affordable

by Alan Sharpe May 11, 2022

Porn’s affordability is partly why you are in the trouble you are in. If it was crazy difficult to get hold of and impossibly expensive to acquire, you would be free.

by Alan Sharpe May 11, 2022

Porn Is a Snare Because It's Affordable

This post is part two of a three-part series. Pornography is a snare because it is:
Available | Affordable | Anonymous

There was a time when pornography was avoidable because it was unaffordable. Christian men like you and me had an easier time staying sexually pure because every form of pornography on the market, whether the open market or the black market, cost something. This made the battle for purity a lot easier because men never got snared by something they couldn’t afford.

The economics of porn in those days was simple: the harder the porn, the higher the price. So

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Porn Is a Snare Because It's Affordable

Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Available

by Alan Sharpe May 10, 2022

You may be hooked on porn, but the easy availability of this sin isn’t your fault.

by Alan Sharpe May 10, 2022

Porn is a Snare Because It’s Available

This post is part one of a three-part series. Pornography is a snare because it is:
Available | Affordable | Anonymous

You are living during the worst time in human history as far as sexual temptation is concerned. You face more temptations, of greater strength, in more places, at more times of the day, than any other man has faced in the past. Which means, if you struggle with pornography, part of your struggle is not your fault. Yes, your sexual sin is your responsibility. But the pervasiveness of porn isn’t.

Your challenge as a Christian man is that pornography is Avail

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Porn is a Snare Because It’s Available

To Quit Porn, Change Your Mind | 2 Corinthians 12:20-21

by Alan Sharpe May 9, 2022

Paul is not concerned about finding sexual sin in the church as much as he is afraid of finding believers who haven’t repented of their sexual sin.

by Alan Sharpe May 9, 2022

To Quit Porn, Change Your Life | 2 Corinthians 12:20-21

“For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults; lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced.”
2 Corinthians 12:20-21

Is your challenge pornography? Or is it repentance? Are you struggling against sexual immorality? Or are you struggling against repentance? Is you problem that you can’t quit? Or is it that you won’t quit?

When you read the New Testament letter of 1 Corinthians, you discover that the church at Corinth had all manner of problems. The church members were suing each other in court. Some members were claiming spiritual superiority over others in th

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To Quit Porn, Change Your Life | 2 Corinthians 12:20-21

Make Sure Your Sin Finds You Out | Numbers 32:23

by Alan Sharpe May 2, 2022

In my daily battle against porn, when I ensure that my sin will find me out, it does. And that makes all the difference. Vulnerability leads to victory.

by Alan Sharpe May 2, 2022

Covenant Eyes accountability report screenshot

“But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.”
Numbers 32:23

Four of the most beautiful words ever written in the English language are: “We Believe in You.” I see these four words each morning when I boot up my computer. They are found in a daily email report that I receive from Covenant Eyes, the company I use to block porn and hold me accountable online.

The Covenant Eyes app, installed on my desktop, laptop and tablet (and smartphone, if I still had one), keeps me accountable by taking screenshots of where I go and what I do on my devices. Covenant Eyes uses artificial intelligence to detect explicit content. When it catches me looking at pornography or nudity, it takes a screenshot and sends it to my accountability partner. The AI catches explicit content on websites, in apps, in downloaded images and videos, and in DVDs. Basically, if porn appears on my screen, Covenant Eyes knows about it, and tells on me. As you can imag

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Covenant Eyes accountability report screenshot

Don’t Call Your Sexual Sin a Shortcoming | Isaiah 5:20

by Alan Sharpe March 31, 2022

The longer you remain in the world of euphemism and abstraction, the longer you remain in your sin. Biblical victory over sin requires a biblical vocabulary.

by Alan Sharpe March 31, 2022

Don't Call Your Sexual Sin a Shortcoming

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!“
Isaiah 5:20

I began getting victory over the sexual sin in my life when I started calling it what it is. When I stopped using the vocabulary of sexual addiction, when I abandoned the euphemisms of 12-step recovery programs, I gained clarity. I saw my sin the way God sees it. I understood the penalty that awaits me if I don’t repent. And I finally understood the biblical steps I had to take to attain, and maintain, sexual purity—and why.

The closer you draw to God’s Word, the closer you get to understanding His revealed will. Once you start describing your sin the way God describes it, you start thinking in biblical terms about your sanctification. Coming to terms with your sexual immorality requires you to come to terms with what God says on the subject. The longer you remain in the world of euphemi

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Don't Call Your Sexual Sin a Shortcoming

Why Does Every New Testament Author Warn Against Sexual Sin?

by Alan Sharpe March 21, 2022

God cares about your sexual sin because He cares about you. That’s clearly something worth repeating.

by Alan Sharpe March 21, 2022

Why Does Every New Testament Author Warn Against Sexual Sin?

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17

If you want to discover what God thinks about adultery and sexual immorality, get out your calculator. Open your New Testament at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter one, verse one, and start reading. Add the number of times the author warns you against adultery, sexual lust, sexual temptation or sexual immorality. When you are finished with Matthew, open the Gospel of Mark and continue your exercise. Do this through every book of the New Testament until you arrive at last at the Book of the Revelation, chapter 22, verse 21, the end of the Bible.

What do you find? You discover that every author in the New Testament warns against sexual sin. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Pe

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Why Does Every New Testament Author Warn Against Sexual Sin?

Call It Porn Addiction Only if You Forsake It | Proverbs 28:13

by Alan Sharpe March 18, 2022

If you call your habitual use of pornography an addiction, you must have your reasons. But are they good reasons? Take this quiz and find out.

by Alan Sharpe March 18, 2022

Call It Porn Addiction Only if You Forsake It | Proverbs 28:13

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
Proverbs 28:13

Last time I checked, “porn addiction” still wasn’t recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the book doctors use to diagnose mental disorders. Which means, if you are a Christian man who calls your habitual use of pornography an addiction, you must have your reasons. But are they good reasons? Are you justified in calling your activity an addiction, and yourself an addict? Take this little quiz and find out.

Christian Man A: I call it porn addiction for the wrong reasons

(Circle all that apply)

I want to avoid responsibility for my actions. When I call my sin an addiction, this takes the blame off me and puts it somewhere else.
I want to cast myself i
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Call It Porn Addiction Only if You Forsake It | Proverbs 28:13

Masturbating Defrauds Your Wife | 1 Corinthians 7:4

by Alan Sharpe February 9, 2022

When you masturbate, you take something that your wife alone has authority over (your body) and use it for your own selfish pleasure. You steal.

by Alan Sharpe February 9, 2022

Masturbating Defrauds Your Wife | 1 Corinthians 7:4

“The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” 1 Corinthians 7:4 NKJV

I know a Christian man who thought that getting married would end his compulsive masturbating. It didn’t. He looked at pornography and masturbated to pornography for the first 20 years of his marriage. Finally, he got so sick of his sin, and of hiding it from his wife, that he confessed all.

He was surprised at his wife’s reaction. “I thought you had lost interest in me, that you no longer found me attractive, and so that was the reason we didn’t make love as often as we used to,” she said. The husband was ashamed, learning that he had not been meeting his wife’s sexual needs. He had thought that his masturbating was a private sin that didn’t hurt his wife. He was wrong.

What this b

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Masturbating Defrauds Your Wife | 1 Corinthians 7:4

I Quit Porn After Taking God’s Word Personally | Proverbs 6:23-24

by Alan Sharpe January 17, 2022

When Samuel penned this proverb to his boy, he didn’t write about The Bible or sexual sin in the abstract. That’s made all the difference to me.

by Alan Sharpe January 17, 2022

I Quit Porn After I Took God's Word Personally | Proverbs 6:23-24

“For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress.” Proverbs 6:23-24 NKJV

I tried multiple remedies as a Christian man for my sinful habit of watching pornography. I talked with my pastor (1996). I participated in a men’s study group at my church based on the book, Every Man’s Battle (2006). I installed Covenant Eyes on all my devices (2007). I got an accountability partner (2010). I attended weekly Celebrate Recovery meetings (2018-19). I confessed my sin to God and asked for forgiveness (1991-2021).

These actions worked with varying levels of success over the space of 30 years—none of them permanent. What finally worked was sitting down each day and reading God’s Word to discover what it had to say about pornography, adultery, lust, sexual temptation and sexual immoralit

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I Quit Porn After I Took God's Word Personally | Proverbs 6:23-24

Christian Porn Addict is an Oxymoron

by Alan Sharpe January 11, 2022

The longer you view yourself as a porn addict who needs treatment and recovery, the longer you will take to gain lasting victory over your sexual immorality.

by Alan Sharpe January 11, 2022

Christian Porn Addict is an Oxymoron

If you are a Christian man who uses pornography habitually or compulsively, you are a sinner, a voluntary slave to sin—but not a porn addict. The longer you view yourself as a victim, and the longer you think of yourself as an addict who needs treatment, recovery and hand-holding, the longer you will take to repent of your sin and conquer pornography.

“Christian porn addict” is an oxymoron. The phrase ranks right up there with exact estimate, working vacation, same difference, civil war, genuine imitation, unbiased opinion and government savings plan. If you watch, read or listen to pornography habitually, God calls you an adulterer, a fornicator, void of understanding, deceived, and wicked—but never an addict.

Here are the top reasons you should stop calling yourself a Christian porn addict.

1. Porn addiction doesn’t exist

According to The American Psychological Association (APA), “Addiction

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Christian Porn Addict is an Oxymoron

You Can’t Conquer it if You Don’t Call It | Genesis 39:9

by Alan Sharpe December 22, 2021

Some men refuse to name their sexual sin. They use euphemisms to hide their immorality. But the road to victory begins with naming sin for what it is.

by Alan Sharpe December 22, 2021

You Can't Conquer it if You Don't Call It | Genesis 39:9

You can tell a lot about a man by what he calls his sin. One man admits to visiting strip joints, while another man says he frequents gentlemen’s clubs. One man says he visits porn sites, while another tells you he views adult entertainment online. One man confesses to watching peep shows, while another man says he follows webcam models.

Some men refuse to name their sexual immorality. They couch their sin in euphemism and abstraction so that it doesn’t sound as bad as it is. But other men refuse to do this. One of them is Joseph. He’s the fellow who was sold into slavery in Egypt by his jealous brothers. You read about him in the book of Genesis. Joseph didn’t struggle with sexual sin, but he did have a problem with a married woman who kept inviting him, day by day, to have sex with her. This woman was also the wife of his boss. When she tempted Joseph, this is what he said in reply:

“There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, bec
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You Can't Conquer it if You Don't Call It | Genesis 39:9

What’s Your Instrument of Unrighteousness? | Romans 6:13

by Alan Sharpe November 27, 2021

If you want to quit porn, take control of your body parts. Stop offering them as instruments of wickedness.

by Alan Sharpe November 27, 2021

Who Else is in Your Cell? | 1 Timothy 1:8-11

Yes, the sin of watching pornography involves your eyes. But it involves other body parts, too, doesn’t it? I don’t have to name them. If you struggle with sexual immorality, you know that the temptation often starts with your eyes, but you consummate the sin with other parts of your body.

The Bible calls the parts of your body your “members.” And God has specific instructions on what you are to do, and not to do, with your members. Open your Bible to the New Testament, find the book of Romans, and turn to chapter 6, verse 13:

“And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”
Romans 6:13

This word “members” in the original language of the New Testament mean

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Who Else is in Your Cell? | 1 Timothy 1:8-11

Your Problem Isn’t Porn. Just Look at the Reflection on Your Screen. | Job 31:1

by Alan Sharpe November 5, 2021

If you want to conquer habitual sexual sin, learn this vital lesson from the life of Job. Admit that you are the man in the monitor, the man responsible for looking at porn. Then act. You are the man who must confess your sin, repent, and ask God’s forgiveness.

by Alan Sharpe November 5, 2021

Pornography is so pervasive and so powerful that you may blame others for your sin. You blame the neighbor or relative who introduced you to porn as a boy. You blame the pornographers for making their product so readily available. Or the women at your work who dress so immodestly. Or the brands that use female nudity to pitch their products on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

But if you want to blame anyone for your habitual sexual sin, just look for the reflection of the man on your smartphone screen or computer display. He’s the one responsible for your predicament. No one else.

Job knew this. This father, husband and businessman lived in the land of Uz (modern–day southwestern Jordan and southern Israel) around 1520 B.C. Despite his immense wealth and reputation for being a blameless and upright man who feared God and shunned evil, Job was tempted to look lustfully at young women. You

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