James 1:13-15 Archives - Make No Provision

10 Lies You Tell Yourself (and Believe) When You View Porn

by Alan Sharpe November 5, 2022 Leave a Comment

I sinned sexually, repeatedly, because I lied to myself. I lied so often that I eventually believed my lies.

by Alan Sharpe November 5, 2022 Leave a Comment

illustration of a wooden marionette with long nose; liar concept

I viewed porn for the first time when I was 11 years old and for the last time when I was 61. That’s 50 years of sinning against God, 30 of them as a Christian. I sinned repeatedly because I lied to myself. I lied so often that I eventually believed my lies. But that all changed on November 4, 2021, when I purposed before God to never look at anything wicked ever again, and to never masturbate ever again. Here I am, 366 days later, living what I purposed back then. I have a year of victory under my belt (excuse the metaphor) partly because I no longer believe those lies I told myself. Here they are. See if you tell any of them to yourself.

Lie #1: God Doesn’t See
When I view pornographic images and videos, I tell myself that God doesn’t see. I sin in secret. But God does see.

Lie #2: It’s Not Adultery
Jesus says that I commit adultery when I look at a woman to lust after her. But I lie to myself. “I don’t commit adultery unless I do the physical act,” I assure myself. But I am

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Prevention

101 Biblical Ways to Resist Sexual Temptation

by Alan Sharpe October 13, 2022 Leave a Comment

If you want to resist unwanted sexual urges and overcome sexual temptation, here are 101 ways from the Bible (including the Bible) to overcome sexual temptation.

by Alan Sharpe October 13, 2022 Leave a Comment

If you are a Christian and if you are even remotely healthy, you face sexual temptation on occasion. If you want to resist these urges so that you do not fall into sin, here are some biblical ways to overcome sexual temptation (including the Bible).

1. Count the Cost
Sexual sin comes at a price, in this life and in the next. For one thing, adulterers and the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom (Galatians 5:19-21). That’s the eternal cost—your soul, punished forever, in the lake of fire. But there’s also a price to pay in this life if you give in to sexual temptation. Think sexually transmitted diseases. Unwanted pregnancy. Divorce. Loss of custody of your kids. Getting fired. Scandal. Loss of your testimony. Jail time. Your name on the Sexual Offender Registry.

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Temptation

The Blessing of Sexual Temptation | James 1:12

by Alan Sharpe August 10, 2022 Leave a Comment

God has a crown prepared for you. It’s in your size. To receive it you must do something by not doing something.

by Alan Sharpe August 10, 2022 Leave a Comment

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
James 1:12

I don’t suppose you think often about the positive side of sexual temptation. For example, when you are in the midst of a struggle with lust, or when you are battling against the temptation to look at porn or to masturbate, I don’t imagine that you think about any rewards that could possibly come with those struggles. I know that I never did.

But the Apostle James tells us that there is a blessing attached to temptation. There is good that comes out of sexual temptation. That blessing comes directly from the hand of God. The man who is tempted sexually will receive a blessing from God. He will receive the crown of life. There’s just one condition.

Endurance.

The man w

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Temptation

You Are Tempted by Porn Because You Desire It | James 1:14

by Alan Sharpe August 9, 2022 Leave a Comment

If I am still tempted by porn, then I must still desire it, at some level, to some degree. If I didn’t desire it, it couldn’t tempt me.

by Alan Sharpe August 9, 2022 Leave a Comment

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James 1:14

One of the hardest lessons I’ve had to learn about pornography is that I am tempted by it because I desire it. Yes, I call porn wicked. I say I hate it. I say I want to be free of it. But the fact remains that I am tempted by pornography still. And I am tempted by it because I desire it.

I am telling you this because this knowledge is part of your path to freedom. Your enemy isn’t only outward. Your enemy isn’t just pornographic websites or immodest women or Instagram or TikTok. Your principal enemy is lust. Your lust. Your enemy is internal.

James tells you and me that “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” For you and me to be drawn away by something, we must first

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Temptation

Your Porn Problem is Internal | James 1:14

by Alan Sharpe December 2, 2021 Leave a Comment

You respond to pornography because you desire it. You can’t be tempted by something you don’t desire. If you want to gain victory over your temptations, replace your desires.

by Alan Sharpe December 2, 2021 Leave a Comment

Your compulsive use of pornography is a heart issue. Sure, you live in a hyper-sexualized culture. And sure, pornography is attractive because it’s available, affordable and anonymous, and because it gives you a dopamine hit on queue. But your porn problem isn’t outside of you. You can’t blame anyone when you fall to temptation.

Likewise with the multiple remedies on the market for helping “porn addicts.” Therapy, sexual addiction clinics, 12-step recovery groups, internet porn filters, rubber bands on your wrist, accountability partners and more all have their place. These are external aids that may help you gain victory over your compulsive sexual sin. But you can’t blame anyone, or any group, or any technology, when you give in to temptation and watch pornography.

You know this, and I know this, because God’s Word is clear on the matter. You are drawn to watch pornography by an inward compulsion. That compulsion is lust. Read all about it in the New Testament book of James:

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