“The Courage To Confess”

Monday, November 05, 2018

I am a born-again christian man, and I know all the risks involved in sin and have no excuse.  I know what not to do, and yet, I continuously crawl toward my fleshly lusts, namely pornography.  Why can't I stop?  I know and want the promises of God, and yet, I fall short time and time again.  I fear my sin will put me in my grave.  Please help me to put this evil behind me and move toward what's right and true.  Peace and blessings to you for all you do.

Sincerely,
Terrified

Dear Terrified,

We are told that a powerful tool in defeating sin is confessing our sins to one another (Jas 5:16).  Sin likes to be kept secret (Jhn 3:20), and bringing it to light by making it public goes a long way in defeating habitual sin.  A very popular way of getting this sort of accountability is by using accountability software that forwards your browsing history to a friend or trusted individual.  Companies like x3watch and CovenantEyes make accountability software, and many struggling pornography addicts have found it to make a huge difference.  If you want to defeat sin, you must expose it.  Confess your sin to others, and you will begin to see change.  It is time to get serious about removing this sin.  You know you are serious about defeating sin when you are willing to expose it at all costs.  That is the single most effective advice we could give you.  Some other details to consider:

1. Bad company corrupts good morals (1 Cor 15:33).  Don’t spend time around others who are okay with this behavior and remove all illicit materials from your home.  Throwing away the pornography or moving the computer to a more public space of the house is a good first step to saving yourself from it (Matt 5:29).
2. Don’t give up.  A righteous man falls, but he keeps getting back up (Pr 24:16).  A failure doesn’t become permanent until you let it.  Keep trying.
3. Get help from others.  Trying to do things alone, especially when we’ve failed before, is just too hard.  We are stronger when we enlist the help of friends and family (Eccl 4:9-12).
4. Replace the bad habit with a good habit.  It isn’t enough to simply stop something; that void must be filled with something else that is positive (Lk 11:24-26).
5. Pray.  God blesses us when we turn to Him (Jas 5:16) and ask for forgiveness and help (Jas 1:5).

Now is your chance to start a new life free from this addictive slavery to pornography.  We would be happy to help you find a congregation in your area that can help you through this struggle and prepare you for a better and complete life in Christ.  E-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org if we can be of service.

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