Some excellent points have recently been made. I would just add quickly that we need to fear God MIGHTILY and renew our minds in the scriptures.

All who don't repent of pornography will go in the lake of fire forever. That sounds blunt, but it's true! (A hundred scriptures could be given but Ephesians 5:5-6, Revelation 21:8, Rev. 21:27 come to mind) If I were to use pornography, I know I'd either repent of it in tears utterly ashamed I'd ever sin so against God (I looked at it before I was converted and I did repent in tears and shame) OR spend eternity in hell. Brothers, it's that simple! We need to remember that!

Also, if we're renewing our minds in the scriptures and drawing near to God, developing the mind of Christ, won't we be seeing more and more how evil this sin is? Won't our fellowship with Christ increase that the thought of losing it literally scares us? Won't giving into that be like trading ten million dollars for a piece of candy if we are having fellowship with Christ? Won't we realize that the women we're looking at are going to hell and need Christ so badly to save them? How heartless to look at someone in the very thing that is destroying their lives now (many of those women are greatly disturbed and abused) and will contribute in their damnation if they don't repent and flee to Christ? Won't we realize how vain and perverted this will make our minds if we keep indulging in it?

I'm all for filters, but we got to be renewing our minds in the scriptures (Romans 12:2) and fear God. We don't want a candy bar with deadly poison within our grasp; but if it's there, won't it still be impossible to get us to eat it if we're really in our right minds?

hi,
I dont agree with the statement below,if you are in the lords hand your in the lords hand.If thats true all alcholics,all gamblers etc will go into the lake of fire!Where does it stop.How do know where the line is between those who go into the lake of fire and those who dont.The line is in my opinion whether they are saved.The issue raised here is whether you can loose your salvation or not.
I believe you cant and I could be wrong but I think you believe you can.I respect that position.Sin is Sin its all wrong ,habitual or not and all against God and all can be blotted out by the blood of the lamb.I have heard the arguements for and against loosing your salvation and I personally believe you cant but other christians come to the opposite conclusion.Staff


(All who don't repent of pornography will go in the lake of fire forever. That sounds blunt, but it's true! (A hundred scriptures could be given but Ephesians 5:5-6, Revelation 21:8, Rev. 21:27 come to mind) If I were to use pornography, I know I'd either repent of it in tears utterly ashamed I'd ever sin so against God (I looked at it before I was converted and I did repent in tears and shame) OR spend eternity in hell. Brothers, it's that simple! We need to remember that! )

It is exactly true that Christ is the only way out and he is the one who makes us hate the sin...however as anyone who has been an alcoholic or drug addict knows that there are many ways of escape. Some people have great self control through God, but other like Paul do the things they shouldn't and don't do the things that they should....

I have seen folks instantly healed of alcoholism with no need for AA or anything, then I have seem others whose way out has been 12 step programs and slow deliverance, I have seen others who are lovers of the lord who have died of their addiction....

But preachers, I am asking again..are you addressing this from the pulpit, are you offering judgement or healing?
Are you doing anything??? Pray about it...you ALL have congregations full of porn users. Statistically one out of every two men in front of you are using it if they are on the net. Possibly 100% of the young male adults....

I will include these links with each of my posts if that's all right with the administrator. I am associated with one of the companies just so that I am transparent but I am including links to several so that this is not spammming.

www.safeeyes.com
www.wisechoice.net which is a no over ride version of safeeyes
www.hedgebuilders.org
www.xxxchurch.com

I think one of the reasons that internet pornography is not addressed directly in churches is because it is a very dark, depraved subject to be talking about. It really is one of the worst manifestations of our old nature. It's also a problem of a private, personal nature. It may be referred to on the fringes of a sermon, but to get into the details with families present would be unthinkable.
Also, internet pornography is very much a modern phenomenon and many churches have leaders and elders from a generation where pornography was less accessible. Perhaps the pervasiveness of the problem is underestimated as well as the associated spiritual damage.

I do know a number of churches who have specific men and women ministries where the problem can be addressed more directly, but ultimately I think a private conversation with a pastor or close spiritual companion is the best way forward.

This subject should also not be given more attention than it deserves. The way to victory is not constant anguish over failure and falls, but by believers really embracing, taking seriously and enjoying! the new life they have in Christ. This way the mind will quickly be renewed to the point where the attraction to all sorts of sin will die, including internet pornography.

For those struggling, it is imperative to have filter software on their computers otherwise they should not use the internet.

In Christ

David

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David

Good word David, indeed some churches do have groups that address this but most don't...let me tell you my story, perhaps this will help someone.. a number of years ago when I first got onto the internet I had heard about internet pornography. I have always been an activist-pro-life an evangelist etc. so I thought I would have a look at this phenomenon with an eye to seeing about doing battle against it. The porn sites were really easy to find and almost instantly I was faced with insanely graphic sex of a nature I had never seen before- I got really angry and decided that something must be done. A few hours later, I went back to do some more "research" and then back again and again until I was spending hours at a time gorging on the incredible imagry. Suddenly I realized that I had a problem, a character weakness that I never knew existed. Over and over I vowed to stay clear of the sites, made deals with God, prayed but there I was again right after chruch. It was destroying my prayer life and I knew that if my wife found out that i was going to be toast!

I thought about talking to my pastor but the thought of revealing my depravity stopped me.I had never heard of any other of my Christian brothers involved in this (little did I know that many or most had the same problem). At the same time I knew that if I didn't do something about it that God would! In my case he would shout it from the house tops....

So in the spirit of "if your right hand offends you then cut it off" I decided that I had to get off the internet. The same day my webmaster for my business website came in and asked if I had heard of internet filtering. He knew nothing of my use of pornography (oh no! Nobody knew except me and God...and satan).

A way of escape- There was no filtering available back in those times in my area 1998 so he hacked me onto one of the filters. It was wonderful-such a relief. Soon after I was discovered and they kicked me off even if I would pay for it!! So being the activist that God made me to be I decided to start my own filtering company for our area.

Since that time I have operated a filtering resource aimed toward adult men and since that time I have found out that this is a dark secret that no one will talk about..not to their pastors, not to their friends , certainly not to their wives. It is this secretiveness that the enemy uses to keep us locked up. Men are easy pickings for this type of activity-we are visual and sexually driven. The society beats the sexual drum constantly.

The power of internet porn in the natural is explained by the three A's of internet porn addiction- Accessibility (anyone with a internet connection-Affordability,millions of sites absolutley free, and anonymity-you can hide out in the back room or after your wife has gone to bed and know one has to know......

We must bring this out into the open. Where there is light the darkness must flee! There is virtually no light on this subject in the church and the enemy is reveling!

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Travis

Areadymind,

I love Jesus so much, Love you to brother.

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Travis

No sinner will enter the kingdom of heaven.(no human therefore will enter the kingdom)...here comes Jesus!

I hope you never relapse into Meth use...but if you do I suspect that you will stay "saved". I don't want to get into a major theological debate about once saved always saved, or predestination etc.

I do know that I am sold out to Jesus and I also know that I need a hedge of protection around me as the "old man" keep poking his head out to bring me down...filters don't provide salvation they are merely a tool to provide a wall around us so as to guard the "eye gate". The word says to flee from evil, yet if you must use the internet then evil will find you unless you take steps to guard your self. The word says to bear with the weaker brother. I hope that you are sucessful in staying clean...I know that I would have real problems if I let my guard down.

Please do not say that I am not saved as you are not one to judge my heart.

Ask Ned,

God will be the judge of you and me.

"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." John 14:15

"Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality" Romans 13:13

Not loving Jesus is spiritual harlotry. Babylon is the mother of Harlots and those in her will drink from the cup of her abominations.

God alone will keep us clean by his Holy Spirit. The blood of Jesus alone will wash our stains away.

Many want to do it their own way,

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Proverbs 14:12

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Travis

My story is from a woman’s experience (I hope this translates well). When married, my ex-husband wanted me to watch with him and I did but I secretly blamed him for watching porn b/c he was the one with the problem and the Lord revealed to me “MY” own lusts of the flesh.

During this time I would pray, “Lord, show me what I need to be removing from my life and I will remove it!” When all the while, this tiny, small voice in the back of my mind would imply ‘pornography,” and I’d pray louder, “Lord show me what you want me to remove and I’ll remove it!” I didn’t want to admit that “LISA” might have a problem.

One night I had a dream and in it the phone was ringing AT 3:00 in the morning (on the other side of the my house) and as I was walking through my house, it was like walking through a half lit house with lots of shadows and the light trying to get in. (It looked like SWAT had all their lights set up outside of my house.) I got to the phone, picked it up and said, “Hello,” a voice sounding very strong said, “You aren’t MOVING what you’re supposed to be moving.” I said, “Who is this?” and the voice said, “I’m an angel in the night.” I asked, “What am I supposed to be moving?” And he said, “You know EXACTLY what supposed to be moving. I’ve got to go; I have more phone calls to make.” Click.

In my prayers, I was blaming my husband and saying, “If you fixed him, then I would be helped, so help him first; (I tell ya, we human beings like to play the games, don’t we? lol) It took a few months of prayer and reading the word but the Lord began showing me that it was “ME” oh Lord standing in the need of prayer.

The second thing that the Lord brought to my attention was through listening to a local pastor’s wife speak at a women’s prayer breakfast (on cassette tape in 1996 or 7) and I can only remember one sentence from it; she was semi-quoting Job, “I DON’T LOOK AT THE THINGS I USED TO LOOK AT BECAUSE I HAVE MADE A COVENANT WITH MY EYES.”

I wept all the way home and looked up “eyes” in my strong’s concordance and found Job 31.1 and Rev 3.18. I found Wesson oil in my cabinet and anointed my eyes tears and oil and made a covenant with God that I would not look at the things I used to look at. I shared this with my husband and he did ask me a little later about watching a movie but I started crying and he KNEW I couldn’t and wouldn’t. He never asked again.

Then the cares of this life got in the way and I divorced and backslid a few years later and I never watched porn again BUT I did buy romance novels. God has such patience with us. After 3 or 4 years, the Lord wooed me back to Him and we started again to clean out my mind from even more stuff, here’s what has worked for me.

Finding a private place and describing (out loud and in detail) to the Lord what I was thinking about. Do you know how humiliating that is? But I would rather be humiliated here on earth than be standing before Him and Him showing all that stuff to me and the masses behind me.

I’m not bragging, I am just humbling sharing that when you are tired of being carried away by your mind, you try anything. And I tried one time explaining out loud to God what was going on in my mind and it worked! So I tell him when satan tries to onslaught me.

Only what we try to hide and keep for ourselves (in the dark recesses of our mind) thrives and takes root. The only ammunition the devil has is when we are working with him to hide whatever it is we don’t want God to see; stop hiding your fantasies from God, be honest with Him and these won’t have such a hold on you.


God help us all get to purity in mind and body,
Lisa

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Lisa