Hi.  I am single, and I am addicted to watching porn videos.  I was wondering if you had any tips for me.  I have tried to stop, but then I don’t know how to act, want to eat, or do anything.  What should I do?

Sincerely,
Addicted

Dear Addicted,

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).  Stop spending time around others who are okay with this behavior and remove all illicit materials from your home.  Throwing away the pornography 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.

After reading your interesting replies to my questions, I was wondering how mainstream Christian denominations view each other in terms of the issue of salvation through Jesus.

Does your denomination view Christians who are Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Calvinists, Presbyterians, Eastern Orthodox, etc. as all attaining eternal salvation because of their faith in Jesus?  Do they all view your denomination and each other that way, or might Catholics, for example, view everyone else as losing salvation because they reject Catholicism, the sacraments, etc.?

I am aware that some Protestants refer to Catholicism as ‘Papism’, so would that mean that some Protestants view Catholics as "unsaved"?

Sincerely,
Just Wondering Jew

Dear Just Wondering Jew,

Each denomination views other denominations in an “equal but different” light – however, we here at AYP aren’t part of that denominational world.  Much of mainstream Judeo-Christian religious groups have given up on taking the Bible seriously and literally – a philosophical shift that God warned against (2 Tim 4:3).  The term ‘denomination’ comes from the idea that a church believes it is a subgroup of a larger religious body (i.e. Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Episcopalians are all subgroups of Protestantism). Lutherans worship and teach differently than Episcopalians, Catholics, Presbyterians, etc., but they all believe themselves to be christians – this is wrong.  Jesus said that there is only one path to heaven (Matt 7:14).  Denominationalism teaches that how you act and worship are matters of opinion, but Jesus said that how you act and worship are matters of truth (Jhn 4:24).  The only way to avoid denominationalism is to find a congregation that simply teaches what the Bible says – no creeds, no opinions, no personal agendas.  If we truly love Christ, we will follow His commandments (1 Jn 5:2).

Everything a church does (worship, membership, how they teach to be saved, how they spend their money, even their name) needs to have Bible verses backing them up (1 Tim 3:15).  A church needs to be able to explain the reasons for why they do what they do (1 Pet 3:15).
Our congregation here in Monroe goes by the name ‘Monroe Valley church of Christ’ because ‘church of Christ’ is a Biblical name for a congregation (Rom 16:16).  We worship by singing (Col 3:16), studying the Bible (1 Tim 4:13), praying (2 Thess 3:1), taking communion (only on Sundays – Acts 20:7), and taking up a collection (also only on Sundays – 1 Cor 16:1-2).  We teach that you must hear God’s Word (Rom 10:17), believe God’s Word (Jhn 3:16), repent of your sins (Mk 6:12), confess Jesus as your Savior (Lk 12:8), and be baptized to be saved (Acts 2:38, 1 Pet 3:21).  We do all these things because they are practices found in the Bible.  Denominationalism is prevalent in society today because it caters to tastes and opinions of the moment… but that doesn’t make it right.

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE

5 minutes a day
5 days a week
1 New Testament in a year

There are 261 weekdays in a year, and there are 260 chapters in the New Testament. By reading one chapter, Monday through Friday, you will read the whole New Testament by the end of the year. The Daily Cup series is to help with that goal.

Happy Studying!

"The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup." -- Psalm 16:5

Click here for a pdf of the study schedule - CLICK HERE