WHAT DO CHRISTIANS STRUGGLING WITH PORN NEED?
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WHAT DO CHRISTIANS STRUGGLING WITH PORN NEED?
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Christians struggling with porn are going to need more than Jesus to get over their addiction, and that’s no heresy, says apologist and author Josh McDowell.
“Porn is by far the greatest cancer ever to the church,” McDowell said in an interview with The Christian Post, noting that the problem is particularly relevant given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“It is right at this moment destroying more churches, more pastors, more marriages, more people’s lives, more relationships than any one thing has ever done simultaneously in history,” he stressed.
Fueled by the 24/7 accessibility of the internet, the porn scourge is worsening at the moment, he said, in light of how everyone is staying indoors and increasingly isolated because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The author elaborated that when the pandemic passes, there will be an explosion of porn addiction because of the increased exposure, but far too many pastors will not address the issue because of shame, fear of exposure and fear of ignorance.
“If pastors do not rise up and address this issue, then we are pretty well spinning our wheels in so many areas,” McDowell said. But they are going to need more than Jesus to get through addiction.
“I put it this way: When it comes to porn and most things in your life, you need more than Jesus. And oh, that just irritates some Christians because they don’t know the Bible.
“I need more than Jesus, you need more than Jesus. We all do. Why? When it comes to my salvation, all I need is Jesus, not Jesus plus works or this or that or church. He paid the entire price.”
He continued, “But we need the church, the Body of Christ. In the New American Standard version, 161 times the phrase ‘one another’ is used. And 30-some times it says ‘each other.’ I believe that 98 percent of people who start watching and become addicted to porn will not make it out [of the addiction] without others around them.”
McDowell added that he also expects a greater need for professional counseling after this pandemic passes.
“Don’t hesitate to get professional help. That doesn’t mean going to the church and meeting with someone who will counsel you. You need a professional person to walk you through this, and you realize that it’s not going to happen overnight.”
He believes that for the average person who gets ensnared in porn, it takes around three to four years to break its grip in light of how it rewires the brain.
In recent years, the Christian apologist has dedicated a considerable amount of time and use of his platform to address the pornography scourge. At a May 2017 gathering a the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in Washington, D.C., he urged parents to begin talking to children about the dangers of pornography when they are 5 years old.
(Used with permission from The Christian Post. Article by Brandon Showalter.)
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In Jesus dwells the fullness. God was pleased to let all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself. In Him dwells the fullness of the GodHead bodily. In Him are all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge
Colossians 1:19,2:3,9
Thank You to IFA for bringing this article to the forefront which includes detailed information on the struggle of addictions. I too have battled the addiction of pornography. I believe that when you open the door for one addiction, you end up with many addictions. OR we could call it demonic oppression. God gives us the way to defeat addictions and deliver us from demons. There are so many great resources on YouTube and books available from Derek Prince Ministries that specifically address the spirit of pornography and how you can be set free. God delivered me by providing the wonderful teaching of Derek Prince and these resources through our Church. All Praise and Glory to God our Father, Jesus his Son, and the Holy Spirit for sending this message and providing true deliverance by the power of the Blood.
Father God – we ask for a spirit of boldness to fall upon Christian leaders and others to confront and address the evil of pornography. We pray for you to equip people to address this scourge on our nation. Bring a renewed spirit of conviction upon our land that will cause people to turn away from pornography. We pray for more people to rise up against it. We especially pray for the state of CA that openly and legally accepts tax revenue from adult industry and leads the nation in the production of this filth. We pray that a new spirit of conviction would fall upon not only the leaders of that state but upon the church… that they would rise up consistently in protest against it. Expose the devastating consequences of those who are or have been involved in the industry. Let their truth be known. And for any and all politicians who accept money or any type of favor willingly…let them be exposed in order that they may be saved. In Jesus name we pray.
I must humbly reply in love from experiential knowledge of Jesus to Josh McDowell’s statement that “But they are going to need more than Jesus to get through the addiction. I put it this way: When it comes to porn and most things in your life, you need more than Jesus.” I speak of what I have experienced in the Lord. At age 12 after confirmation classes, I confessed and received Jesus as my Lord and Savior and was “sprinkled.” Fast forward my life. My husband introduced pornography into our marriage. Over time that dark seed sprouted and destroyed our marriage, plunged me into homosexuality, addition to drugs, and strong suicidal depression. I stopped attending worship. Overpowering condemnation plagued me 24/7. I put a loaded gun in my mouth several times, but couldn’t pull the trigger. Killing myself became the goal to stop the pounding condemnation.
ENTER JESUS. He brought me the message that I needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit to have the power to live for Jesus and be freed from darkness and sin. So, I repented and recommitted my life to Jesus. I pledged my allegiance to God and His Word. I ask Him to talk to me Himself and tell me what to do and I would obey. And I asked Him to fill me with His Holy Spirit.
He came in power! Praise God His Spirit and His cleansing blood delivered me from pornography, drug addiction, homosexuality, cursing, pride, lust of life, lust of the flesh, and loving the world within the first few weeks of knowing God. Other sins pealed off as I received the truth of who I was in Christ from the scriptures. I hungered to know God & His Word, and I read the Bible over and over. He taught me that “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” And “…my God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” And when satan would shoot ideas in my head tempting me to go back to my past sins, the Holy Spirit would remind me that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who love it will eat its fruit,” and I would start using the Sword of the Spirit (scripture) against satan, just like Jesus did in the wilderness when He said,”It is written….” The Truth of God’s Word chased satan back to hell. I’m not saying life is now soft and fuzzy and roses. Satan will never give up his attack on me until I leave this earth. We are in a battle against the evil one, but God has given us all the tools we need on earth to stand, fight the devil, and overcome…His Spirit, His blood, His Word, His name. What a privilege! This all began 35 years ago, and I walk in victory to this day. I thank God for coming into my life and saving me from destruction. I would be in hell now if He had not gotten through. Jesus’ love did this for me. I did not talk to an earthly counselor, but a heavenly Counselor. I did not take prescription drugs to overcome depression and suicide. Jesus healed me by the blood of His stripes, and gave me His joy. I pray and look vertically to Jesus each time I have need, not outward horizontally to earthly people & things. Then I follow what He tells me to do. I do not assume that help will come from this realm. I leave that choice up to God to keep me on His path of righteousness and lead me to the green pastures where he will make me to lie down. He uses who and what He chooses. I need JESUS. I do not need lesser things. I will keep my eyes on Jesus at all times. Lord, thank You for the finished work of Christ on the Cross. Thank You for the continued work of the Holy Spirit, the blood, and the Word in our lives. Thank You for the good gifts that come down from the Father. May the Body of Christ stand boldly, repent,forgive,declare the works of God freely,and praise You for Who You are and what You are doing! Amen
Peggy, what an amazing testimony! I agree with you in prayer! I pray that Jesus would set people free all over the world from all sexual sin. Thank you for sharing–they overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony!
[those of the Kingdom of GOD] overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony AND and they loved not their lives unto the death. Revelation 12:11
Peggy, i agree with Judy and am praying with you for many, many others to experience the freedom JESUS brings. So glad you included that He has delivered you (and all of us) from: pride, lust of life, lust of the flesh, and loving the world. Too often when we think of turning from our “wicked ways,” we don’t always include things like gossip, desiring to please or impress others, judgmental attitudes, criticism, complaining, murmuring or other negative talk. JESUS brings transformation – HALLELUJAH!
Dear Peggy
Your story is one of many which confirms that when Jesus comes into your life and you accept His Holy Spirit living in you, you change. This is what it means to be born again. Jesus said that we must be born again. That is what happened to you. You went from sinner to saved. It happened to me too. God Bless you for giving your testimony and may it bless others.
The enemy is very deceptive and ensnares his victims. Dear Father, I pray for discernment for all Christians to understand this temptation as coming from the enemy. I pray for exposure of the enemies tactics so that all may be warned before they fall into this trap. May they understand they will pay a heavy price for their actions should they choose to give in to this temptation. Dear Father, wake up the church leadership to see how destructive this habit can become. May they fear you more than the approval of man.
What is needed is to turn unto Our Lord and Master and truly repent of the sin of sexual idolatry. Sadly McDowell and others have bought into the myth of worldliness and seeking out ungodly “counselors” guess what you have a WONDERFUL COUNSELOR if you are a believer in Christ! His name is the Holy Spirit and He is able to help the believer who truly wants to be free of habitual sin. You may be reading this thinking that it is impossible to be free from the bondage of pornography and sexual enslavement. Yes absent of the Holy Spirits power it is impossible. You can not free yourself if you try in your own power and self will. The Devil knows that but the good news is that their is hope and His name is Jesus the WORD made flesh. He is able to help you heal you and restore you to a right
relationship with Him. This will bring His name Glory, Honor, and Praise. Precious Lord of Glory Master Savior Jesus help each of your children to return to repent of ungodly living and to quicken Our minds to seek you with all of Our
understanding. We give everything every sin and shameful deed to the all seeing eyes of Our Savior so that you can restore your precious children to bear much fruit that will last. Amen
You may have misunderstood the emphasis on how the LORD designed us to need accountability and other “like-minded” image bearers to help us maintain freedom. Yes, Jesus delivers! Even successful weight management programs in the world system understand that “there’s safety in numbers” ( Weight Watchers – one of the most successful.) I don’t believe Josh was pointing Christians to “worldly” counselors, however there is most certainly a lack of Spirit filled counselors to help in this area. Almighty God can even speak through a donkey if it serves His purpose to help one who is ensnared in this vile trap of the enemy.
Yes amen we all need one another as we are one body as His Bride in Christ!
God provides godly counsel and guidance as part of a warrior’s arsenal to battle and win their war against the evil one. Proverbs 11:14: Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in the abundance of counselors there is victory.
I agree with you Brent.
The devil is using McDowell to tell people, Jesus is not the Way. I pray for McDowell to see the Light aka Jesus, and to stay away from the world ways. McDowell reminds me of my liberal college professor, he also say people need more than Jesus to defeat the problems of this world. Maybe McDowell has became liberal and allowing the devil speak through him. The lack of knowledge, referring to the Word of God aka Jesus.