personal responsibility Archives

How to Quit Porn as a Christian

by Alan Sharpe March 18, 2023 Leave a Comment

Pornography addiction is a real struggle that many Christians face. It is a problem that can easily spiral out of control, leaving individuals feeling ashamed, guilty, and distant from God. As a Christian, it is important to take steps to quit pornography addiction and reclaim your spiritual life. In this post, we’ll provide practical tips and advice on how to quit pornography as a Christian.

Understand the Impact of Pornography on Your Life

The first step to quitting pornography addiction is to understand the impact it has on your life. Pornography can affect your mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. It can also have a negative impact on your relationships with others, including your spouse, family, and friends. Recognizing these negative effects is essential to taking the necessary steps to quit.

Acknowledge the Problem and Seek Help

Pornography addiction can be difficult to overcome alone. Acknowledge t

Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:

Consecration

Conquering Porn Is Not Either/Or | Romans 8:13

by Alan Sharpe October 7, 2022 Leave a Comment

This is great news if all of your self effort has delivered few lasting results up to today. And it’s also good news if you have been waiting passively for God to intervene to deliver you from your sexual immorality.

by Alan Sharpe October 7, 2022 Leave a Comment

man escapes from prison abstract concept

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Romans 8:13

There are two mistakes you can make as a Christian man wanting to break free of pornography. There might be more than two mistakes, actually. But there are two big ones that you must avoid.

The first mistake is thinking that your sexual purity is entirely up to you. You believe you are responsible for your sin, and therefore you are responsible for forsaking it. So far, so good. But you also think your victory is up to you. You must read your Bible more. You must pray more often and more fervently. You must mortify your flesh more thoroughly. In other words, you think conquering sexual lust is all up to you. This is a mistake.

The second blunder is to think that your victory over porn is entirely up to God. You believe that you are “powerless over your addic

Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:

Prevention

Aim for the Prevention, Not the Cure | Ephesians 5:18

by Alan Sharpe September 30, 2022 Leave a Comment

If porn is a habit with you, be encouraged to know that you can replace it with a healthier habit.

by Alan Sharpe September 30, 2022 Leave a Comment

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18

How do you quit porn? Do you quit porn by quitting porn? Do you avoid starchy food by avoiding starchy food? Do you exercise more often by exercising more?

One of the keys to abstaining from pornography is developing healthy habits to replace this wicked one. You avoid porn by doing something else. This is what Paul has in mind when he tells you and me to avoid getting drunk by being filled with the Spirit. You avoid the one by doing the other. You quit porn by doing something else.

But this is where plenty of brothers fail. They find a healthy substitute for their sexual immorality, and purpose to do the one instead of the other. But they fix their eyes on the finish line and not on the starting blocks. They fix theirs eyes on the cure and not on the prevention. Let me show you what I mean.

Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:

Lust

The Secret to Quitting Porn? | 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

by Alan Sharpe September 3, 2022 Leave a Comment

You can be free of sexual immorality without spending a dime. Look to God alone. Seek Him as your strength, your motivation, your reason for staying sexually pure.

by Alan Sharpe September 3, 2022 Leave a Comment

Christian man seeking help for porn addiction from Bible

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5

Want to know the secret to quitting porn? You don’t have to join a 12-step program. You don’t have to understand the limbic survival brain. There’s no need to complete a Sexual Dependency Inventory with a sex addiction counsellor ($695). And there’s no need to go through 12 month’s of clinical counselling ($9,000).

The remedy for your compulsive use of pornography and masturbation isn’t found in a book, or in a course, or across the couch f

Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:

Prevention

To Quit Porn, Obey One Do and One Don’t | Romans 13:14

by Alan Sharpe August 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

The cure for habitual sexual sin, such as looking at pornography, is essentially one thing you are to do and one thing you are to avoid.

by Alan Sharpe August 22, 2022 Leave a Comment

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Romans 13:14

Anyone who says the Bible is a book of do’s and don’ts is correct as far as quitting pornography is concerned. The cure for habitual sexual sin is essentially one thing you are to do and one thing you are not to do. Paul gives us each one at the end of the 13th chapter of his letter to the Romans. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” says Paul, “and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ” is the do. You are commanded to clothe yourself with Christ. You are to put Him on in the same way that you are to “put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). You are to adopt the spirit of Christ to such an extent that you reproduce it in your outward walk and conduct.

Making provision for the flesh is the don’t</st

Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:

Read more

Prevention
Sexual Purity Is Inconvenient, Costly, and Awesome | Matthew 18:8

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe July 19, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity Is Inconvenient, Costly, and Awesome | Matthew 18:8

What inconvenience or daily annoyance are you facing to avoid pornography, to avoid sexual temptation, to walk a holy walk?

by Alan Sharpe July 19, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity Is Inconvenient, Costly, and Awesome | Matthew 18:8

If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire.
Matthew 18:8

If you want to be free of pornography, you must pay the price. Sexual purity doesn’t come cheap. Freedom from sexual sin can’t be purchased with church attendance or a 12-step recovery program. If you want to be free of the grip of porn and masturbation, you have to pay, and pay dearly.

Sanctification is costly. That’s what Jesus teaches. If your hand or foot causes you to sin, you cut it off and cast it from you. That’s the high price you must pay to avoid sinning. You must be willing to go through life with just one hand or just one foot in order to avoid sin and to please your Lord.

Jesus is speaking in hyperbole (extravagant exaggeration), of course, to drive home His po
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Judgment
You, Canaan, and God’s Wrath | Leviticus 18:24-25

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe July 12, 2022 Leave a Comment on You, Canaan, and God’s Wrath | Leviticus 18:24-25

God hates pornography. God hates sexual immorality. Just look at what God did to the Canaanites so see how much he hates sexual sin.

by Alan Sharpe July 12, 2022 Leave a Comment on You, Canaan, and God’s Wrath | Leviticus 18:24-25

Do not defile yourselves with any of these things; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants.
Leviticus 18:24-25

If you want to understand God’s opinion of pornography, just open your Bible and see what God commanded the children of Israel to do with the nations that were in the Promised Land. These wicked nations practiced incest, homosexuality, child sacrifice, bestiality and more (Leviticus 18:6-23). God commanded Joshua and his armies to destroy these nations, man, woman and child. Joshua and his men obeyed. “They utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword” (Joshua 6:21).

Why did God destroy the Canaanites? Because God chose the nation of Israel to be a witness to the world of the true and living God. God commanded the
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Sanctification
Sexual Purity is a Marathon, Not a Sprint | Hebrews 12:1

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe July 11, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity is a Marathon, Not a Sprint | Hebrews 12:1

When you start a marathon, you can’t see the finish line. But it’s there. You’ll reach it if you run with endurance.

by Alan Sharpe July 11, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity is a Marathon, Not a Sprint | Hebrews 12:1

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.
Hebrews 12:1

If conquering pornography was as easy as sprinting 100 metres, you would have victory by now. Most able-bodied men can sprint for 100 metres (or 100 yards). Some are faster, some are slower, but just about every man can run that distance quickly. A marathon, on the other hand, is a race that most men cannot run. We’re talking 42 kilometers (26 miles), a distance that the majority of men can’t run without training and self-discipline.

Conquering pornography, lust, and sexual immorality is no different. Quitting for a day is easy. Quitting for 42 days in a row is harder. Quitting for a lifetime is harder still. This is partly what Paul has in mind when he tells you and me to lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares u
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Sanctification
Quit Porn Through Substitution, Not Just Elimination | Romans 6:19

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe July 5, 2022 Leave a Comment on Quit Porn Through Substitution, Not Just Elimination | Romans 6:19

Porn isn’t something you renounce as much as something you replace. The path to sexual purity is substitution, not just elimination.

by Alan Sharpe July 5, 2022 Leave a Comment on Quit Porn Through Substitution, Not Just Elimination | Romans 6:19

I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
Romans 6:19

You don’t quit porn. You replace it. You don’t conquer it and walk away in victory. You subdue it by replacing it with something else. You don’t stop watching porn. You start watching something better.

I am overstating my case of course, but only to make a point. Of course you are to quit pornography, subdue it and stop looking at it. But the way you abstain from porn is through substitution, not just through elimination. This is Paul’s point here in his letter to the men and women at Rome. “You used to offer parts of your body as slaves to uncleanness,” he tells them. “Now, offer parts of your body as slaves of righteousness for holiness instead.”
<!
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
Eight Lessons Learned After Eight Months Porn Free

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe July 4, 2022 Leave a Comment on Eight Lessons Learned After Eight Months Porn Free

Eight months have passed since I looked at porn. I have learned a few lessons along the way.

by Alan Sharpe July 4, 2022 Leave a Comment on Eight Lessons Learned After Eight Months Porn Free

I looked at porn for the last time on November 4, 2021. I remember the day because that’s the day I started this daily devotional. That’s the day I got serious about forsaking my sin and never going back. Eight months have passed since then, and I have learned a few lessons along the way.

Writing these daily devotionals is a great motivator: I wish I was motivated by a more spiritual ambition, but simply writing this devotional each day gives me a tremendous incentive to not look at porn. I figure I will lose all moral authority if I commit the very act I write against seven days a week, and that fear keeps me motivated to not look.
Porn will find a substitute: Once I stopped looking at immoral images and videos, I noticed that I still had a hankering for titillation and excitement, so I turned to action movies and crime dramas. I eventually realized what I was doing, and also realized that these movies weren’t edifying or helping me become Christlike. I noticed that, just because I have swept the house clean
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Temptation
To Defeat Porn, Discover Your Who, What, Why, Where, When and How

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe May 17, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Defeat Porn, Discover Your Who, What, Why, Where, When and How

To defeat sexual sin, you must understand yourself. Start with the Five Ws and the One H of your sexual temptation.

by Alan Sharpe May 17, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Defeat Porn, Discover Your Who, What, Why, Where, When and How

When journalists want to get to the bottom of a news story, they ask the Five Ws and the One H. They ask about the Who, What, Why, Where, When and How. If you want to conquer sexual temptation, particularly the temptation to look at pornography or to masturbate, you must uncover the Five Ws and the One H of your sexual temptation. To defeat sexual sin, you must understand yourself. And that means discovering your six types of triggers.

Who Triggers You to Sin Sexually?

Let’s start with the Who of sexual temptation. Who tempts you to commit sexual sin? Who do you lust after? Who lusts after you?

As you read your Bible, you discover that men have been tempted to sin sexually for centuries. Most of them were tempted to sin with a particular woman. Job was tempted to lust after
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Temptation
Yielding Doesn’t Remedy the Agony of Sexual Temptation | Hebrews 2:18

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe May 16, 2022 Leave a Comment on Yielding Doesn’t Remedy the Agony of Sexual Temptation | Hebrews 2:18

Overcoming a temptation to sin sexually makes the suffering end at once. But not for long.

by Alan Sharpe May 16, 2022 Leave a Comment on Yielding Doesn’t Remedy the Agony of Sexual Temptation | Hebrews 2:18

“For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”
Hebrews 2:18

For decades I followed the advice of Oscar Wilde, who famously said, “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.” That advice is foolish, of course. But if you have ever been in the grip of a powerful desire to sin sexually, and if that desire has attacked you for some length of time, you know the level of suffering involved. And you know that one way to make that agony end is to simply give in and commit the sin. The temptation vanishes. The suffering ends.

Oscar Wilde was correct in one aspect—giving in to sexual temptation works. But only for a season. If you are feeling unbelievably horny, for example, and are feeling tempted to masturbate, you likely know that giving in and committing the sin makes the temptation go away immediately. You gain instant relief. You are tempted no longer. But not forever. The problem with m
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Accountability
Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Anonymous

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe May 12, 2022 Leave a Comment on Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Anonymous

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 Leave a Comment on 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.</
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Accountability
Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Affordable

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe May 11, 2022 Leave a Comment on Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Affordable

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 Leave a Comment on 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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Accountability
Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Available

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe May 10, 2022 Leave a Comment on Porn Is a Snare Because It’s Available

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

by Alan Sharpe May 10, 2022 Leave a Comment on 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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Quiz
Quiz: 1 Corinthians 10:13

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe May 3, 2022 Leave a Comment on Quiz: 1 Corinthians 10:13

What is the meaning of 1 Corinthians 10:13? What does “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man” mean? Take this quiz and find out.

by Alan Sharpe May 3, 2022 Leave a Comment on Quiz: 1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Questions

How many sexual temptations do I face that are unique to me?
What characteristic of God can I depend upon when I am tempted sexually?
Will God ever allow me to be tempted sexually in ways that I cannot withstand?
When does God help the sexually tempted?
What does God do to help me overcome sexual temptation?
What is the primary thing I am to do when sexually tempted? Pray? Resist?
How often does God provide this way of escape to me?
What is the end result of God making a way of escape from sexual temptation?
God provides the way of escape. What must I do?
Why do I keep falling to sexual temptations?
<!-- /wp:list
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

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

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe May 2, 2022 Leave a Comment on Make Sure Your Sin Finds You Out | Numbers 32:23

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 Leave a Comment on Make Sure Your Sin Finds You Out | Numbers 32:23

“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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
10 Steps I Take to Abstain from Pornography Daily, Biblically

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe April 28, 2022 Leave a Comment on 10 Steps I Take to Abstain from Pornography Daily, Biblically

I eventually got 24 hours of freedom from porn and masturbation. That turned into a week. Then a month. Then multiple months. You can, too.

by Alan Sharpe April 28, 2022 Leave a Comment on 10 Steps I Take to Abstain from Pornography Daily, Biblically

I looked at pornography for the first time at age 11 and for the last time at age 61. November 2021 is when I got serious about kicking my filthy habit and forsaking my wicked sin. Gaining victory in this area of my life required 10 painful steps. Your results may vary, but if you take these 10 steps you may gain victory as well. Here they are.

I confessed my sin to my wife and begged for her forgiveness. I admitted to her that my repeated viewing of porn was repeated adultery against her.

I got rid of all outright pornography and everything even borderline inappropriate from my office and home, including anything found on my PC, laptop and other electronic devices.

I installed porn-blocking and accountability software (Covenant Eyes) on all my electronic devices: work desktop, work laptop, tablet, phone. It takes screenshots of my activity and emails them to my accountability partner daily.

Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
To Conquer Sexual Sin, Get Specific | Acts 15:28-29

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe April 15, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer Sexual Sin, Get Specific | Acts 15:28-29

Once you translate your generic sin of sexual immorality into your specific sexual sin, you are on your way to achieving sexual purity.

by Alan Sharpe April 15, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer Sexual Sin, Get Specific | Acts 15:28-29

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.”
Acts 15:28-29

One key to conquering sexual sin is specificity. Once you start describing your sins specifically, rather than seeing them in the abstract, you gain the insight you need to confess them, ask forgiveness for them, and forsake them. A valuable exercise is to take every generic mention of sexual sin and to make it apply to you specifically.

Consider the early church, for example. Jewish converts were troubling Gentile converts by telling them they had to be circumcised and keep the law. So, the church gathered and settled the matter. They proclaimed that Gentile believers in Christ had to obey only four things:
<!-- wp:list {"ordered":tr
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Judgment
Watch Porn Habitually, Die Spiritually | Romans 8:13

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe April 14, 2022 Leave a Comment on Watch Porn Habitually, Die Spiritually | Romans 8:13

A man who looks at pornography habitually is, by definition, living according to the flesh. Unless he forsakes his sin, He will die and be separated from God for all eternity.

by Alan Sharpe April 14, 2022 Leave a Comment on Watch Porn Habitually, Die Spiritually | Romans 8:13

“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
Romans 8:13

Do you treat forgiveness as a pre-paid credit card? Do you sin sexually, repeatedly and habitually because you believe your sins—past, present, future—are all forgiven, no matter what, guaranteed? Do you look at pornography and masturbate, week in, week out, knowing that on every occasion you can always rely on God for His forgiveness because God is obligated to forgive you?

If you look at pornography and masturbate but want to stop, your inability to conquer your sin might just be tied to your misunderstanding of eternal security. If you believe you are “once saved, always saved” and that you can never fall away, you need to read your New Testament. Every writer in the New Testament warns believers about falling away. When commissioning the 12 disciples, Christ warns them five times about falling away.
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
Sexual Purity Is a List of Do’s, Not Don’ts

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe April 12, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity Is a List of Do’s, Not Don’ts

Perform the positive actions that God commands, and you’ll have a positive day today, free of sexual sin.

by Alan Sharpe April 12, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity Is a List of Do’s, Not Don’ts

If you are a Christian man who has been struggling to overcome pornography or masturbation for some time, you may feel that the only path to victory is a life of self-denial. You may feel that the weight of scripture on this topic is a long list of “Thou shalt nots.” But the opposite is the case, particularly in the New Testament. The path to sexual purity is a list of things you are to do. Victory over sexual sin comes through what you do, not simply what you don’t do. Here are the top-10 actions you are commanded to take to live a life of sexual purity.

Make a covenant with your eyes not to look upon attractive women (Job 31:1)
Gouge out your right eye if it causes you to commit adultery, and throw it away (Matthew 5:29)
Flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Put lust to death (<a href="ht
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
To Conquer the Flesh, Quit YouTube | Romans 13:14

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe April 7, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer the Flesh, Quit YouTube | Romans 13:14

If you are serious about quitting pornography, you must avoid the video-sharing sites that arouse you sexually.

by Alan Sharpe April 7, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer the Flesh, Quit YouTube | Romans 13:14

“Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Romans 13:14

Recovering drug addicts don’t carry heroin in their pockets. Recovering alcoholics don’t visit bars. And Christian men who want to quit pornography don’t mindlessly surf video-sharing sites. If you want to conquer your sinful flesh, you must make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil its lusts. This means getting off YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, TikTok and other video-sharing sites that host inappropriate videos.

I’m not talking about pornographic video sites. I’m talking about the popular sites that host videos that feature nudity, sexual inuendo, young women in bikinis, racy music videos, undressing, sex scenes from movies and TV shows, pool scenes, shower scenes, and more. Videos don’t have to be pornographic to be off limits. If they fulfil your lusts, they have to go.

If you are serious about quitting pornograp
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
Will the Truth Set You Free? Not Quite. | John 8:31-32

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe April 5, 2022 Leave a Comment on Will the Truth Set You Free? Not Quite. | John 8:31-32

If you want to be set free from the slavery of pornography and masturbation, by all means seek the truth. But make that the end of your search, not the beginning.

by Alan Sharpe April 5, 2022 Leave a Comment on Will the Truth Set You Free? Not Quite. | John 8:31-32

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”
John 8:31-32

Some Christian men think victory over sexual immorality comes through knowledge. “If I just read the right books, if I just attend the best recovery group, if I just work the 12 steps or complete the right NoFap Challenge, I will learn what I have to learn about myself and my childhood trauma, and then I will be free,” they think. Some of these misguided brothers even quote Jesus, who said, “The truth shall make you free.”

But this is not all that Jesus said, is it? You can’t expect to attain sexual purity by believing in or acting upon only a portion of what Jesus teaches. A text taken out of context is simply a pretext—a pretext for believing whatever you want. So, notice the context. Jesus is speaking to Jews who believe in Him. These a
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Temptation
Sexual Sin Starts Between Your Ears | John 13:2

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe April 4, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Sin Starts Between Your Ears | John 13:2

Sexual purity comes when you change what you believe. Or, rather, when you change who you believe.

by Alan Sharpe April 4, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Sin Starts Between Your Ears | John 13:2

“And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him.”
John 13:2

Your battle for sexual purity takes place in your mind. You may think that pornographic websites are the enemy, or that immodestly dressed women are the problem. You may even think you are an addict. But if you watch pornography habitually, if you masturbate compulsively, but long to quit, you must first realize that you don’t have a sexual problem—you have a thinking problem.

Your enemy is the devil. And the battleground is your mind. The devil puts thoughts and desires and beliefs into your mind, just as he did with Judas. Judas probably thought that betraying Jesus was his idea. But where did that idea come from in the first place? From the devil. The devil put the thought of betrayal into the heart of Judas.

In the Bible, the heart refers to
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
To Quit Porn, First Discover Your Big Why | 1 Kings 18:21

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe March 22, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Quit Porn, First Discover Your Big Why | 1 Kings 18:21

I waited 30 years to discover a strong enough motivation to quit porn. Please don’t follow my example.

by Alan Sharpe March 22, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Quit Porn, First Discover Your Big Why | 1 Kings 18:21

“And Elijah came to all the people, and said, ‘How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’”
1 Kings 18:21

If you want to quit pornography and masturbation, discover your Big Why. Find your reason, your motivation, your incentive for quitting sexual immorality once and for all. Just make sure it’s a big enough reason. Without a solid motivation for quitting, you are likely to return again and again to your sexual sin. I speak from experience.

I looked at pornography for the first time in 1971 and for the last time in the winter of 2021. I know the month and I know the year because 2021 marked my 30th anniversary as a Christian. I was converted in the summer of 1991 after a miraculous series of events that proved the reality of God’s working in my life. That July I repented of my sins, trusted Christ as my Savior, and asked God to forgive me based on the sacrifice, burial and resurrecti
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

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

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe March 18, 2022 Leave a Comment on Call It Porn Addiction Only if You Forsake It | Proverbs 28:13

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 Leave a Comment on 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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
To Conquer Temptation, Avoid the Temptress | Proverbs 5:8

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe March 16, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer Temptation, Avoid the Temptress | Proverbs 5:8

You have the power to resist the online temptress because you have the knowledge to avoid her.

by Alan Sharpe March 16, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer Temptation, Avoid the Temptress | Proverbs 5:8

“Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house.”
Proverbs 5:8

The key to victory over pornography isn’t fight, but flight. Your sexual purity depends not on your moral backbone nor on your strength of character nor on your level of willpower. It depends on your ability to avoid temptation in the first place. To conquer the sin of looking at pornography, you must learn to bypass—not battle—sexual temptation.

This biblical tactic comes from none other than Solomon himself. In Proverbs 5, he warns you about the strange woman, which is to say, the sexually immoral, adulterous, forbidden woman. Her lips drip honey and her mouth is smoother than oil. In other words, the sexually immoral woman is seductive and enticing. She offers you sexual pleasures that appeal to your flesh, are enjoyable in the moment, but are sinful and forbidden. She leads you to your death and destruction.
<!-- wp:paragraph -
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
To Quit Porn, Beware of False Teachers | 2 Peter 2:18

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe March 9, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Quit Porn, Beware of False Teachers | 2 Peter 2:18

Your job is to spot false teachers before they snatch away your sexual purity and wreck your testimony—and life.

by Alan Sharpe March 9, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Quit Porn, Beware of False Teachers | 2 Peter 2:18

“For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error.”
2 Peter 2:18 NKJV

There’s only one thing worse than feeling shame for your sexual sin. Feeling no shame. If you are trying to conquer pornography or masturbation, be careful where you go for advice. If you post a question on Reddit or Quora, for example, watch out for the un-biblical answers you quickly receive from some professing Christians on these and other online forums and discussion boards. Because one of the goals of false teachers is to lure you back to the very sexual sins you are trying to escape.

This is the warning that the apostle Peter has for you when he tells you that false teachers allure through lewdness. Lewdness is a word you don’t he
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Lust
Are You a Slave Without a Master? | Titus 3:3

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe March 3, 2022 Leave a Comment on Are You a Slave Without a Master? | Titus 3:3

No one bought you in a slave market. No one owns you. No one commands you to sin sexually.

by Alan Sharpe March 3, 2022 Leave a Comment on Are You a Slave Without a Master? | Titus 3:3

“For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.”
Titus 3:3

Do you consider yourself powerless over pornography? Do you look at your masturbation habit and consider it a compulsive behavior that you are unable to manage? Do you, in short, believe that you are a slave to sexual immorality? If you believe these things about yourself, then you believe the first lie of the Celebrate Recovery 12 Steps: “We admitted we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives had become unmanageable.”

Celebrate Recovery bills itself as a “Christ-centered, 12 step recovery program for anyone struggling with hurt, pain or addiction of any kind.” The movement is filled with sincere Christian leaders who mean
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
To Conquer Sexual Sin, You Need Christ and Crucifixion (Yours) | Romans 13:14

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe February 17, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer Sexual Sin, You Need Christ and Crucifixion (Yours) | Romans 13:14

Don’t expect to live a life of sexual purity with worship alone, or willpower alone. You need both.

by Alan Sharpe February 17, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Conquer Sexual Sin, You Need Christ and Crucifixion (Yours) | Romans 13:14

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
Romans 13:14

The cure for habitual sexual sin is Christ and crucifixion. Christ as the primary object of your affection. And your own crucifixion of your flesh. You need both to gain victory over pornography and masturbation: adoration and action, worship and willpower, the Savior and self-denial.

This is what the Apostle Paul means when he says you must “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” You used to walk in lewdness and lust (Romans 13:13). Now you are to walk properly, decently. And that requires both adopting something new and abandoning something old. It means embracing Christ, and forsaking the flesh.

To “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ means to clothe yourself with Him. It’s the same phrase that appears in the Letter to the
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Accountability
Masturbating Defrauds Your Wife | 1 Corinthians 7:4

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe February 9, 2022 Leave a Comment on Masturbating Defrauds Your Wife | 1 Corinthians 7:4

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 Leave a Comment on 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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Sanctification
Is Masturbation a Sin in the Bible? Yes. | 1 Corinthians 7:8-9

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe February 2, 2022 Leave a Comment on Is Masturbation a Sin in the Bible? Yes. | 1 Corinthians 7:8-9

There are only two biblical outlets for sexual lust. One is self-control. The other is marriage. Pick one.

by Alan Sharpe February 2, 2022 Leave a Comment on Is Masturbation a Sin in the Bible? Yes. | 1 Corinthians 7:8-9

“But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 NKJV

The remedy for raging teenage hormones, sexual urges, lustful thoughts and pent up sexual energy is never masturbation. This is the clear teaching of Scripture. Is masturbation a sin in the Bible? Yes.

Paul is writing here to the church at Corinth about sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 7:1-2). He says to the believers there: “Because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.” In other words, to avoid having premarital sex, a man should marry one woman, and a woman should marry one man.

But this naturally raises a question. What are single people to do with their sexual urges? What are widows to do with their
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
Do Your Porn Brakes Work? | Judges 16:1

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe February 1, 2022 Leave a Comment on Do Your Porn Brakes Work? | Judges 16:1

You and I both have a good set of brakes where sexual sin is concerned. Have you tested yours recently?

by Alan Sharpe February 1, 2022 Leave a Comment on Do Your Porn Brakes Work? | Judges 16:1

“Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.” Judges 16:1

When it comes to pornography and sexual temptation, how good are your brakes? Are they in good repair? Are the brake pads worn? Do they stop you quickly enough, and often enough? Do you even use them?

That last question is not rhetorical. After all, Samson was a man consecrated to the Lord. God chose him from birth to lead Israel out of bondage to the Philistines. Samson was a Nazarite, an Israelite consecrated to the service of God. Renowned for his great strength, Samson nevertheless came to a humiliating end. Why? Because he didn’t control his lust.

You see how Samson operated from this historical account of his life. Samson went to Gaza. Saw a prostitute. Went in to have sex with her. No brake. From the moment he saw her to the moment he decided to go in to her, Samson had opportunity to apply the brakes. He could
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
In Your War with Lust, Never Carry a White Flag | 1 Peter 2:11

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe January 31, 2022 Leave a Comment on In Your War with Lust, Never Carry a White Flag | 1 Peter 2:11

If your fleshly lusts war against your soul, then that means you are in a battle. And your only job in this battle is to never, ever, surrender.

by Alan Sharpe January 31, 2022 Leave a Comment on In Your War with Lust, Never Carry a White Flag | 1 Peter 2:11

“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” 1 Peter 2:11

If your fleshly lusts war against your soul, as Peter says they do, then that means you are in a battle. And if you are in a battle, then that means you have an enemy. But your enemy isn’t without. It’s within.

In your war against pornography and masturbation, you are at war with yourself, with your fleshly lusts. That is, you are engaged in a daily conflict with inordinate bodily, animal, unregenerate desires. These lusts come in the form of sexual fantasies, sexual temptations, sexual urges. They attack you when you are watching pornography, when you are lying in bed, even when you are sitting in church.

Your job as a soldier in this war is to never surrender to these fleshly lusts. You are commanded to abstain from them. You are to keep away from them as an alcoholic sta
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Lust
You Can’t Hide. But You Can Run. | 2 Timothy 2:22

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe January 28, 2022 Leave a Comment on You Can’t Hide. But You Can Run. | 2 Timothy 2:22

You win the battle against pornography with your mind. When tempted by sexual thoughts, don’t fight. Flee.

by Alan Sharpe January 28, 2022 Leave a Comment on You Can’t Hide. But You Can Run. | 2 Timothy 2:22

“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2:22

How do you run away from something in your mind? If you are on a cruise and the captain commands you to flee to the lifeboats, you know what to do and where to run. If you are on a hike and your guide commands you to run away from a rattlesnake on the path in front of you, your feet intuitively know what to do. But how do you flee from a thought, or a desire, something like lust? Two ways.

The first way to flee sexual lust and sexual temptation is with prevention. Draw up a list from experience of the people, places and things that excite your sexual lust. I’m talking about the immodest waitresses at that restaurant downtown. The porn websites whose names I won’t mention. Those dodgy apps on your smartphone. Flee youthful lusts by fleeing these people, places and things before you even come into contact with them
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Consequences
Are You a Porn Victim? Or a Volunteer? | Ephesians 4:17-19

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe January 25, 2022 Leave a Comment on Are You a Porn Victim? Or a Volunteer? | Ephesians 4:17-19

Sin is always voluntary, never compulsory. No one, and no thing, forces you to look at pornography. You are never a victim. Only a volunteer.

by Alan Sharpe January 25, 2022 Leave a Comment on Are You a Porn Victim? Or a Volunteer? | Ephesians 4:17-19

“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”
Ephesians 4:17-19 NKJV

In the battle against pornography and sexual immorality, there is no such thing as defeat—only surrender. There is never a time when temptation defeats you, or when sin defeats you, or when the devil defeats you. When you fall to porn or sexual sin, it’s not because you are overpowered. It’s because you surrender.

Sin is always voluntary, never compulsory. No one, and no thing, forces you to look at pornography. No one, and no thing, compels you to masturbate. Yes, the desire may seem irresistible, the urge may appear i
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
To Avoid Injury or Death, Use Your Body Only as Directed | 1 Corinthians 6:13b

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe January 21, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Avoid Injury or Death, Use Your Body Only as Directed | 1 Corinthians 6:13b

There is a proper tool for every job. Use your body as God intends and you will avoid serious injury or death.

by Alan Sharpe January 21, 2022 Leave a Comment on To Avoid Injury or Death, Use Your Body Only as Directed | 1 Corinthians 6:13b

“Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. “ 1 Corinthians 6:13b

What task is a flathead screwdriver designed for? This is not a trick question. Are you supposed to use a flathead screwdriver as a chisel? No. Or as a prybar? No. Or as a punch? No. So, what are you supposed to use it for? To install and remove flathead screws. That’s the sole purpose that the tool is designed for.

Now, what about your body? What purpose is it designed for? This is not a trick question. Are you supposed to use your body to have sex with prostitutes? No. Or to masturbate to pornography? No. What about using your body to have sex with your girlfriend? No again. The Bible tells you and me that our bodies are not designed for sexual immorality. They are designed for sex with our wives and no one else. Sex is designed to take place between one man and one woman who are married to each other for one lifetime. That’s
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Sanctification
Sexual Purity Is a Journey, Not a Destination | Romans 13:13

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe January 20, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity Is a Journey, Not a Destination | Romans 13:13

You don’t have a destination. You only have your daily walk with the Lord. And that walk involves no sexual immorality today.

by Alan Sharpe January 20, 2022 Leave a Comment on Sexual Purity Is a Journey, Not a Destination | Romans 13:13

“Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.” Romans 13:13 ESV

If you want to get victory over habitual sexual sin, such as pornography and masturbation, first realize that you won’t find sexual purity on any map. Sexual purity isn’t a destination you hope to reach tomorrow. It’s a walk you take today.

In Paul’s words, you must “walk properly as in the daytime.” That is, you are to walk honestly (KJV), behave decently (NIV), conduct yourself properly and honorably (Amplified). Your walk is to involve no orgies or drunkenness, no sexual immorality or sensuality, and no quarreling or jealousy. Your walk is to be different from those who live in darkness.

Just don’t expect to arrive at a place in your life where you experience zero sexual lust, zero sexual temptation or zero sexual fantasies. T
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

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

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe January 17, 2022 Leave a Comment on I Quit Porn After Taking God’s Word Personally | Proverbs 6:23-24

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 Leave a Comment on I Quit Porn After Taking 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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
I Ditched My Smartphone to Conquer Porn | Matthew 5:27-30

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe January 13, 2022 Leave a Comment on I Ditched My Smartphone to Conquer Porn | Matthew 5:27-30

Given the choice between gouging out my right eye or ditching my smartphone to quit porn, I went with the phone. Obedience comes at a cost. But I’m happy to pay.

by Alan Sharpe January 13, 2022 Leave a Comment on I Ditched My Smartphone to Conquer Porn | Matthew 5:27-30

In November 2021, I finally gave up trying to control my compulsive habit of using my smartphone to view pornography. I replaced my Samsung S10 smartphone with a Jethro SC490 feature phone, a so-called “dumbphone” designed for seniors. The transition has been difficult, painful and inconvenient, but I have never been happier. Here’s why and how I made the move, and why I’m never going back.

Why I gave up my smartphone

I have been a Christian since the summer of 1991. I was converted at the age of 31. One of the defining moments of my conversion was the deliverance I received from my alcoholism. God took away my desire to drink, a Class A Miracle that I rank right up there with Moses parting the Red Sea. I have not touched a drop of alcohol since that day in June of 1991 when God saved me from the bottle without me even asking.

Today, I know that having alcohol in my home is a foolish idea. I
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Lust
Your Pornography Problem? You. | Mark 7:20-23

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe December 14, 2021 Leave a Comment on Your Pornography Problem? You. | Mark 7:20-23

Your challenge isn’t primarily adult websites, immodestly dressed women, Netflix or your smartphone. It’s you. You are your porn problem.

by Alan Sharpe December 14, 2021 Leave a Comment on Your Pornography Problem? You. | Mark 7:20-23

If you have a problem with the sins of pornography or masturbation, don’t look only to outward solutions to your sin. Your challenge is not primarily adult websites, immodestly dressed women, magazine racks, or your smartphone. Your challenge isn’t them. It’s you. You are your porn problem.

You discover this truth about yourself from Jesus. The religious leaders of His day thought defilement came from without. Jesus set them straight. He told them:

“What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
Mark 7:20-23

Notice the sexual sins: adulteries, fornications (sexual immorality), lewdness. Almost 25% of the sins that Jesus lists are sexual sins. And they h
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Judgment
You, Porn, and Sodom and Gomorra | Jude 1:5-7

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe December 13, 2021 Leave a Comment on You, Porn, and Sodom and Gomorra | Jude 1:5-7

If you struggle today with viewing pornography, masturbation or another sexual sin, take a warning from the fate of Sodom and Gomorra.

by Alan Sharpe December 13, 2021 Leave a Comment on You, Porn, and Sodom and Gomorra | Jude 1:5-7

If you ever wonder what the future looks like for you and your habitual sexual immorality, just look back in human history to the cities of Sodom and Gomorra. God punishes sexual sin, and the fate of these two cities holds a lesson for you. You read about it in the New Testament book of Jude.

“But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Jude 1:5-7

God rained brimstone and fire upon Sodom and Gomorra (<a href="https://biblehub.com/nkjv/genesis/19.htm" targe
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Lust
What Have You Left Behind? | Genesis 39:12

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe December 10, 2021 Leave a Comment on What Have You Left Behind? | Genesis 39:12

Victory over sexual sin means forsaking your sin by leaving something behind. You know what that something is.

by Alan Sharpe December 10, 2021 Leave a Comment on What Have You Left Behind? | Genesis 39:12

If you want to conquer pornography, masturbation or any other sexual sin, expect to leave something behind. A life of sexual purity looks different from one of habitual sexual sin. Just consider the life of Joseph.

After Joseph arrives in Egypt as a slave, he becomes master of the household of Potiphar, the captain of the guard of the pharaoh of Egypt. Potiphar has a wife who notices that Joseph is “handsome in form and appearance” (Gen 39:6). She lusts after Joseph and invites him to have sex with her. Joseph refuses. She persists, day after day, but Joseph consistently refuses her invitations to sin against God. But, one day, she takes things further:

“But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house were inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, ‘Lie with me.’ But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.”
Genesis 39:11-12
<!-- wp:par
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
Want to Quit Porn? Avoid Her Corner. | Proverbs 7:6-9

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe December 4, 2021 Leave a Comment on Want to Quit Porn? Avoid Her Corner. | Proverbs 7:6-9

If you want to avoid porn, stop walking though the places in town where you know you’ll find it. You know where they are, offline and online. Visiting them proves you are devoid of understanding.

by Alan Sharpe December 4, 2021 Leave a Comment on Want to Quit Porn? Avoid Her Corner. | Proverbs 7:6-9

If you want to conquer your compulsive porn habit, if you want to break free from the grip of habitual sexual sin, learn a lesson from a young man who lived in Israel around 700 years before Christ. You read about him in the Old Testament book of Proverbs, chapter seven, starting at verse six:

“For at the window of my house, I looked through my lattice, and saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near her corner. And he took the path to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.”
Proverbs 7:6-9

Notice how Solomon describes the place where the prostitute looks for customers. It is a corner, an intersection of two or more streets so that the whore has the greatest chance of soliciting the largest number of men. It is her corner. People in this town see her at this corner during so many hours of the day and night, and on so many days thro
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
Put Lust to Death | Colossians 3:5

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 29, 2021 Leave a Comment on Put Lust to Death | Colossians 3:5

Defeat wicked sexual thoughts and desires by changing the subject. You win the battle against sexual immorality in your mind.

by Alan Sharpe November 29, 2021 Leave a Comment on Put Lust to Death | Colossians 3:5

Have you ever been sitting in church when a wicked, sexual thought suddenly entered your mind? You likely felt defeated, wondering if there is nowhere you can go to escape from sexual immorality. You may think your problem is external, since you live in a sexualized world where provocative images are in plain view everywhere you look. But moving to a cave won’t help. You must win the war against pornography and sexual immorality in your mind.

You discover this truth in the New Testament book of Colossians, the letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to a group of believers in the city of Colosse. The Christian men in that church almost 2,000 years ago faced the same battle you face today. Paul wrote to them:

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”
Colossians 3:5

When Paul talks about “your members which are on th
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

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

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 27, 2021 Leave a Comment on What’s Your Instrument of Unrighteousness? | Romans 6:13

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 Leave a Comment on What’s Your Instrument of Unrighteousness? | Romans 6:13

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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Temptation
Victory Over Pornography is Always Within Reach | 1 Corinthians 10:13

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 23, 2021 Leave a Comment on Victory Over Pornography is Always Within Reach | 1 Corinthians 10:13

Every time you are tempted to sin sexually, God always makes the way of escape. Every time. Always. But you must grab it.

by Alan Sharpe November 23, 2021 Leave a Comment on Victory Over Pornography is Always Within Reach | 1 Corinthians 10:13

Imagine for a moment that you are drowning. I am walking along the promenade and see you in the water, thrashing about and screaming for me to save you. Hanging on the sea wall is a life preserver. I remove it, unfurl the rope, and hurl the life preserver into the water beside you. You see the life preserver. But you ignore it and continue thrashing about, screaming for me to save you. I scream back at you, “Grab the life preserver!” But you decline. You refuse my help. You drown.

If you are struggling with pornography, you may feel as though you are drowning in your sin. Pornography is so all-consuming, so seemingly addictive and powerful that you have no way to resist it. Your situation appears hopeless. But do you not know that God always throws you a life preserver in the midst of your temptations? Read 1 Corinthians chapter 10:

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will no

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will no
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Temptation
Your Guaranteed Escape from Pornography | 1 Corinthians 10:13

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 22, 2021 Leave a Comment on Your Guaranteed Escape from Pornography | 1 Corinthians 10:13

Every time you are tempted to look at pornography, God provides the way of escape you need in that moment. But you must take it.

by Alan Sharpe November 22, 2021 Leave a Comment on Your Guaranteed Escape from Pornography | 1 Corinthians 10:13

You are not addicted to pornography. You may view it compulsively. It may have a destructive grip on your life. But you don’t have to view it. You are not powerless in its presence. You know this already.

First, you know that, given the right disincentive or the right incentive, you will not look at pornography. As John Piper says, “if the stakes are high enough and sure enough, you will have all the self-control you need to conquer any sexual temptation.” If a terrorist walks in while you are about to look at porn and threatens to slit your throat if you do, you will have all the self-control you need to not look. You are not addicted. Or, in the same situation, if someone walks in with a briefcase containing $1 million in exchange for you not looking at porn, you will not look. You will have self-control. You are not addicted.

Second, you know you are not addict
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
You Are Not a Porn Addict. You’re a Volunteer. | Romans 6:13

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 18, 2021 Leave a Comment on You Are Not a Porn Addict. You’re a Volunteer. | Romans 6:13

You are not addicted to porn or masturbation. You offer yourself willingly to these things. Victory comes through obedience to Scripture and faith in Christ, not through therapy or a 12-step recovery program.

by Alan Sharpe November 18, 2021 Leave a Comment on You Are Not a Porn Addict. You’re a Volunteer. | Romans 6:13

If you are guilty of habitual sexual sin, you may call yourself an addict. You consider yourself powerless over your sex addiction, as a drug addict is powerless over heroin and an alcoholic is powerless over Jack Daniels. Pornography is your “drug of choice.” You require therapy and a 12-step recovery program. Quitting pornography means “going clean,” or “getting sober.” Looking at pornography and masturbating isn’t sin. It’s just a relapse.

But when you read the New Testament, you never find sexual sin described as a narcotic, or lusting after women called an addiction. Instead, the writers of the New Testament describe sexual immorality as voluntary, something you do with your free will. Something you can conquer through obedience and faith. Consider the letter to the Romans, chapter six, in which Paul writes:

“Do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive

“Do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
Don’t Expect Grace to Cover Your Habitual Sexual Sin | Romans 6:1-2

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 16, 2021 Leave a Comment on Don’t Expect Grace to Cover Your Habitual Sexual Sin | Romans 6:1-2

Do you habitually watch porn because you believe your account has been paid in advance, and that you can now have whatever you want in the store without paying? Paul has some bad news for you.

by Alan Sharpe November 16, 2021 Leave a Comment on Don’t Expect Grace to Cover Your Habitual Sexual Sin | Romans 6:1-2

Do you continue to watch pornography because you believe in cheap grace? Do you think, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it, that the essence of God’s grace is that your account has been paid in advance, and that you can now have whatever you want in the store without paying? Do you believe that, because the cost of God’s grace is infinite, the possibilities for you to use it and spend it are equally infinite?

In other words, do you believe that your sins of sexual immorality
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Prevention
Serious About Quitting Porn? Where is Your Vow? | Psalm 101:3

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 14, 2021 Leave a Comment on Serious About Quitting Porn? Where is Your Vow? | Psalm 101:3

David vowed to God to never put anything wicked before his eyes. You can do the same thing if you are serious about forsaking pornography.

by Alan Sharpe November 14, 2021 Leave a Comment on Serious About Quitting Porn? Where is Your Vow? | Psalm 101:3

If you are a Christian man who is also married, you have likely made only one vow in your life. And that is the vow you made on your wedding day to your wife. You faced her at the altar, before God and a few other witnesses, and said something like this:

“I, [NAME], take thee, [NAME], to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God’s holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my troth.”

If you find yourself breaking your wedding vow these days by lusting after women you see in movies and magazines, and on websites and apps, you may be ready to make another vow. A vow that helps you break free from the bondage of habitual sexual sin. This is what King David did.

You find David’s vow recorded in Psalm 101, a psalm tha
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Obedience
Forsake Your Porn Habit or be Cast Into Hell. Period. | Matthew 5:27-29

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 11, 2021 Leave a Comment on Forsake Your Porn Habit or be Cast Into Hell. Period. | Matthew 5:27-29

If you refuse to forsake pornography while you have the chance, you will spend eternity in hell. This is not open to debate or misunderstanding. Jesus is clear on the subject.

by Alan Sharpe November 11, 2021 Leave a Comment on Forsake Your Porn Habit or be Cast Into Hell. Period. | Matthew 5:27-29

Illustration of man vanishing in a dark black smoke, surreal emotional anger concept

Do you feel shame and regret after watching pornography? Good. Those feelings prove you still have a working conscience. God uses your conscience to warn you that watching pornography is sin. And to warn you that this sin has consequences in the life to come if you won’t repent.

If you refuse to forsake porn while you have the chance, you will spend eternity in hell. This isn’t in doubt. This isn’t open to debate. Just read the Gospel of Matthew, chapter five, to find your proof. Here you find Jesus’ teaching on this subject:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
Matthew 5:27-29
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Illustration of man vanishing in a dark black smoke, surreal emotional anger concept

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

Previous article Next article

by Alan Sharpe November 5, 2021 Leave a Comment on Your Problem Isn’t Porn. Just Look at the Reflection on Your Screen. | Job 31:1

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

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
Need a daily kick in the pants to quit porn biblically? Buy the book, or subscribe to my daily kick.

Was this post helpful? Share it now:
Read more

Understand the Impact of Pornography on Your Life

Acknowledge the Problem and Seek Help

Who Triggers You to Sin Sexually?

Questions

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

Why I gave up my smartphone