Pornography Lies to You



"Your old self . . . is corrupt through deceitful desires." -Ephesians 4:22

In the garden, the serpent told Eve, "You will not surely die." And Eve saw the fruit, that it was pleasing to the eye, and she took and ate. Adam also took and ate. And in this way, the whole world was plunged into death, pain, and chaos. Deception led to death.

Pornography lies to you in a million ways. It tells you, "In me you will find joy and life." This is a lie, because in pornography you will find only death that keeps on growing. "And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death" (James 1:15). 

Porn promises you pleasure. It promises joy. And for a moment, the apple tastes sweet. Then comes death. 

Porn promises to be a safe place to bring your frustrations and anxieties. It promises you rest. But as you come and lay your frustrations at the foot of that idol, you find that you leave with more anxiety. It fuels and flames it. It is like gasoline on a fire. 

Porn promises to be a legitimate and fulfilling expression of your designed sexuality. Porn does not operate in a vacuum. It appeals to your sexual nature, tugging at who you are on a deep level. But far from bringing fulfillment, porn actually slowly chips away at your true sexuality, leading you away from God's design. It leads not to life, thriving and prosperous, but to destruction.

Porn promises that it is harmless, that it will leave you alone after this time. It promises that you will be able to detach quickly. "Just one more time," it whispers. And then it whispers again. And again. And again. Soon it starts yelling, and you find yourself entangled, trapped, feeling no hope for escape. 

Porn is distortion. Deception. Lie. 

Don't listen to lies. Jesus said, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." -John 8:31-32

Fight porn with truth. Porn will not give you true pleasure. God will. "In your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Ps. 16:11) "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night." (Ps. 63:3-6) To know God through Jesus Christ is way better than anything porn will ever give you.

Porn will not give you relief from your burdens. Christ will. "Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Mt. 11:28-29) "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord." (Phil. 4:6-7) "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." (Ps. 62:8) Bring to God the things that weigh you down. He is the only One who can actually handle them, anyway.

Porn will not give you fulfillment. It will not satisfy your sexual design. It will slowly whittle it away. Fight this lie with truth: "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." (1 Cor. 6:18) Porn will not liberate you and build you up; it will enslave you and tear you down, perverting and destroying the good sex drive that God has given you. He created you to fulfill your sexual design within a marriage covenant, not to destroy your sexual design in the fulfillment of your own lusts.

Porn is not harmless. When you think porn, you should think a million hate-filled warriors coming straight for your soul. "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." (1 Pet. 2:11)

And perhaps most importantly, porn does not own or define you. This is a lie that porn loves to tell you. It loves to tell you that you are a hopeless case, that the guilt will never go away and the shame will never be removed. Fight this lie with weapons from the Bible's armory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body" (1 Cor. 6:19-20). "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). "If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2). "And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5:24). 

Porn is one big lie. It promises much and does not deliver. Jesus Christ is the truth. He promises much, and always delivers. May we fight the lie of porn with the sword of the Spirit, which is "the word of God." 


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