Does the Bible talk about pornography?
Great question. Not in those words, no.
However, the Bible tells us how to stand strong in God to live free from sexual temptation.
Why? Because God wants the best for us.
Throughout Scripture, He calls us to be holy as He is. Like the Father in heaven, as his children, we are to be like Him. We cannot do this in our strength. Since I make at least 7,519 mistakes each day ??♀️, how do I attain this standard? In John 14, Jesus told his disciples and us that the Father would send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who would teach us all things and remind us what Jesus said and promised. That’s great news! We are not alone when we determine to stand for a home with a heart after God.
We can trust God to be holy, faithful, and present because He promises never to leave us. As you think through every aspect of God’s character, His holiness creates the foundation to trust each trait.
God’s holiness also creates the need for a Savior. We need someone to stand in the massive gap for us—and the only one who can is Jesus, who came to earth to pay the penalty for our sins and redeem us.
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. [emphasis mine] Romans 6
We couldn’t do it on our own. Without Jesus, we have no hope for holiness and eternal life with God. But if we are mistake-makers and sinners, why try? And how?
How do we stand strong in God’s way free from sexual temptation and sin?
-
Stay away from sexual sin and temptation.
Sometimes the obvious has to be stated. We need to start here: Intent. Discipline. Actions.
Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-5
-
Serve each other.
This is an easy one to forget especially if you’ve been married more than a month. I am to serve my husband. And he, me. Because he deserves it? No. Jesus served Judas. Yes, THAT Judas—the guy who betrayed the son of God. Jesus knew Judas was a sinner and still lived with him and served and loved him.
Ephesians 5 tells us to
Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.
Now, don’t misunderstand this. If your situation is unsafe, you need to get to someplace safe first. Abuse is not God’s way.
-
Submit to each other out of reverence for Christ and follow His example.
People get stuck on the “submit” word. Don’t let that hang you up. If you love “out of reverence for Christ,” your heart’s in the right place, which is where you need to start. Christ left the right hand of God in heaven to come to earth to show us how. He wanted a more “real world” example for us to follow. Jesus knew we are that kind of people—show me, prove it, what, why, how? He showed us how. He became a servant.
God’s way means we don’t follow the status quo, cultural norms, and politics. Rather, we spend time reading the Bible to learn God’s way. Jesus kept the law didn’t bow to popular opinion. He taught us to serve each other, which went contrary to current thought and practice at this time.
To fully understand how to stand strong, you and I need to know God’s heart.
The best way to accomplish this is through regular study of the Bible.
Remember Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit to teach us and remind us about what Jesus said and how He lived? When we invite the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read in the Bible, we have the best teacher. He answers that request.
We need to be open to correction too. And we need wisdom for how to help others walk in holiness. The Holy Spirit corrects us when we do something contrary to God’s way. But you are NOT your husband’s holy spirit. Not even close! God will speak on God’s behalf. You are responsible to learn, love, and lean more on Jesus to become more like him.
As we spend more time learning God’s Word through the Bible, we recognize Satan’s lies so we can choose holiness and follow God’s way. We will never do this perfectly until we see Jesus face to face. But, through the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives, we are changed to become more like Jesus.
What does God say about sexual sin and temptation?
God’s way means living without sexual sin. The subject of living a sexually pure life runs throughout the Old and New Testaments. Check this out. In the Bible, these verses relate to sexual sin:
- Adultery – 45 references
- Adulterous – 18 references
- Sex – 77 references
- Sexual relations – 75 references
- Sexual immorality – 23 references
- Lust – 31 references
That’s 269 verses! This is not a subject God ignores. Why? God says that sexual sin affects your body like none other.
Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
The lie of online porn use is that it is a harmless pastime.
Not true. When we accept God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, we are joined to Him. Engaging in sexual sin breaks the covenant relationship we have with God. We dishonor our bodies and thus damage our relationship with God (and our spouse). In Ephesians 4, we’re reminded not to grieve the Holy Spirit through our sinful choices. Doing so puts a damper on His work in our lives. It’s like we choose to muzzle Him instead of listening to Him.
Many verses talk about how to stand strong in God and the holiness of the marriage relationship.
These are a few:
God takes holiness and the marriage relationship seriously.
It is His designed imagery to understand how He loves and cherishes us. When we choose to engage in porn use or any other sexual immorality, we damage ourselves and God’s image.
Okay. Deep breath. This is all very heady and heavy.
You can stand strong in God when facing sexual temptation.
Holiness? Sounds impossible. Porn addiction recovery? That sounded impossible to me too when I first learned of Dave’s pornography addiction. God is the God who does the impossible. Not because He overlooks sin, but because He loves sinners like you and me.
Take the next step and sit down with your phone and a Bible app or your Bible and ask God to reveal the one verse He would have you learn. A verse to provide strength to address your husband’s porn addiction or one to give you peace in the midst of not knowing what to do next. Write it out. Learn it. And let the truth of the One who made you move you one step closer to holiness and a marriage free from sexual sin.
When you’re ready, talk to someone. Gather some insight on how to approach this porn use “monster” in your home. Science tells us that porn use rewires the brain after as little as five hours of viewing. So you may need someone to help you take that next step. I’d be honored to help. But know this, God desires holiness in your home because He loves you like the perfect parent. He wants the best for you, your husband, and your children.
