FLEE PORNOGRAPHY!!!

TEXT: 1Cor 6:15-21

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit,

There are three things which the Bible specifically commands us to flee away from. These are sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:18), youthful passions (2Ti 2:2) and idolatry,(1 Cor 10:14) . Of all these, I am of the opinion that porn is the most dangerous of the three.

Pornography can be simply defined as the written and/or graphically portrayed uncovering of nakedness, especially in acts of fornication. It grips the hearts and lives of many Christian men and, according to recent surveys, twenty percent of ministers in America! It tempts potential patrons from its store shelves and by mail, and it champions over three million websites, enticing over twenty percent of online viewers.

Porn appeals to an undisciplined culture (both inside and outside the church) that refuses to mature mentally and sexually. Specifically, many Christian men of all ages find it easier to view porn than to fulfill their God-given responsibilities to glorify their Lord and to love their spouses, their children, their estates, and their congregations.

 As Christians, we would expect unregenerate men, who are in bondage to the sin of their Adamic nature, to embrace no conviction against viewing pornography. These men, as are all men before coming to Christ, are corrupt by nature and in need of spiritual rebirth, needing to call upon Christ Jesus for salvation. These men will only curtail or cease viewing porn when they are threatened civically (being jailed or imprisoned), professionally (getting fired), or domestically (being sued for divorce).

To the Christian, porn appeals to the workings of sin in the flesh (Rom. 7:23) that must yet be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is unbiblical for the world or the church to think that a Christian cannot be tempted to view and to succumb to the viewing of porn during a time or times of weakness. Yet, having yielded to the beguiling temptation of viewing porn, the Christian must realize, as spoken by Christ Jesus, that he has sinned by committing fornication (in the case of the unmarried) or adultery (in the case of the married) in the heart – sins which Jesus says will deprive one of eternal life.

For the Christian minister, porn can be alluring as he manages his pressures to serve others, his solitary work environment, his mental exhaustion, and perhaps, his frustrations resulting from his entering the ministry as a novice not fully disciple himself. If he also has relationship and sexual difficulties at home, then porn becomes for him an easy, seemingly victimless escape. However, when he views porn, he jeopardizes the ministry that his God has entrusted to him. 1 Timothy 3:4-5 is clear that the minister’s household must be in order for him to retain his ministry, and, thus, his admitting his habitual porn use exposes problems in his own household, which he must correct lest he be ministerially it disqualified.

Why should we flee pornography?

1. Porn is addictive. If you watch it today, you may not be able to resist it tomorrow.
2. It breaks down our resistance to fornication. If you keep on watching it, an inner urge to practice what to watched grows stronger in you.
3. It defiles your conscience. If you keep on watching it, a time will come when your conscience will no longer prick you about its negative effects.
4. It makes your heart impure. This is because it implants filthy thoughts in it.
5. It degrades the sanctity of sex. Most of the sexual acts in sex are blown out of proportion in porn movies. Remember, they use technology to make unreal things look real. Again, most of them do the things they do for the sake of acting for money and therefore pretend to be enjoying it.
6. Because it is sinful, it makes you guilty after watching, and therefore feel uncomfortable to pray and read the Bible.
7. It consumes your precious time. Time needed for studies etc is used watching people fooling with their bodies.
8. It teaches other negative habits like smoking and drinking. Porn stars are chain smokers and alcoholics so those who watch them also copy those habits consciously or unconsciously from them.
9. Pornography is deceptive because those stars you see in porn movies appearing to be enjoying life live wretched lives eventually..
10. 10.  Pornography makes your mind sick. If you keep on watching it and becomes addictive, your mind gradually stops thinking productively. Its impact on the mind is so high that you will always find it difficult thinking of other things apart from it.

For these and other reasons, I will agree with Job to make a covenant with my eyes never to look at any lady lustfully, (Job 31:1). I will keep a good distance away from every porn that comes my way, so help me God!

PASTOR W. BOACHIE-ANSAH

0244137880

http://boachieansah.webs.com