“Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.”
1 Corinthians 15:34
If you discover that a brother in your congregation has a habit of sneaking out of the house at night and murdering people, should you encourage him to get into a 12-step recovery program so that he can overcome his childhood trauma and gradually wean himself off his bad habit?
What about theft? If you learn that a brother in the Lord has a compulsion to pick pockets on the metro, should you encourage him to attend Celebrate Recovery meetings month after month until he finally gains victory over his addiction?
What about lying? If your Christian colleague repeatedly lies to his boss, lies to you and lies to your bank, should you invite him to join Christian Liars Anonymous and to take their 90-Day Truth Detox as many times as needed until he eventually stops fibbing?
What about adultery? If you discover that a brother in your church commits adultery each Friday lunchtime with your pastor’s wife at a local hotel, should you convince him that he is a sex addict who needs prolonged treatment until he gains sobriety?
What about you? If you watch pornography and masturbate, are you an addict who needs treatment, recovery, a 12-step group, weekly sharing seated in a circle with other men, online discussion groups, lots of handholding and lots of time to slowly, eventually overcome your compulsive behavior some day, gradually? In other words, do you need anything but a biblical rebuke to stop sinning immediately?
If you want victory over porn and masturbation, obey 1 Corinthians 15:34 right now: “Awake to righteousness and do not sin.” Treat porn and masturbation like the wickedness of murder, theft, lying, and adultery. Because that’s what they are—wicked sins. You don’t expect a Christian to gradually stop murdering, or slowly stop stealing, or incrementally stop lying. Your standard is immediate obedience to the clear commands of scripture. Stop murdering. Stop stealing. Stop lying. Immediately.
Same with adultery. No wife wants her adulterous husband to gradually stop seeing his mistress. She doesn’t care what kind of trauma he went through as a kid that makes him cheat on her. She doesn’t want him to attend endless recovery meetings and to work through the 12 steps with a sponsor until he quits. She demands that her husband stop sinning against her. Immediately. And permanently.
Porn and masturbation are the same. Watching pornography isn’t an addiction you recover from. Masturbation isn’t a compulsive habit you need treatment for. Viewing porn and masturbating are sins that God hates. God commands you to stop doing both. Not gradually. Immediately.
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