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PORN is big business. Porn is a multi-billion-dollar, global industry that continues to grow and become more and more mainstream.
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PORN is not a victimless crime. Just by looking at porn, you are turning creatures created in God’s image, into objects for your own selfish fantasises. This defiles both you and them.
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PORN is the ‘perfect drug’. Online porn has a triple-A drug rating: accessibility, anonymity and affordability. Once you start, it’s very hard to stop.
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PORN leads to harder stuff. Porn is often the ‘gateway drug’ into more extreme forms of sexual behaviour (e.g. prostitution, voyerism, exhibitionism, molestation, incest, rape). Most sex offenders progressed from ‘innocent’ porn.
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PORN sticks. You may be able to delete images from your computer, but it’s very hard to remove them from your memory.
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PORN is destructive to relationships. Porn addiction is self-focused, done in isolation and is completely devoid of intimacy. It is anti-relationship and will ultimately destroy relationships if left to fester.
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PORN is unfulfilling. Whereas sex in marriage leads to joy and fulfilment, outside of marriage sex leads to futility and pain. Men generally look at porn to feel better emotionally about themselves, but it only leads to shame and guilt.
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PORN addiction is a symptom of a much greater disease. The heart of the porn problem is seeking lasting satisfaction apart from God. Only relationship with God can ultimately give true satisfaction; we need the Spirit to deal with the disease.
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PORN use can be forgiven by God. God hates all sin, because it robs our attention from rightly being focused on him. Sexual sin is deeply destructive, but can be ultimately forgiven through trust in the blood of Jesus.
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PORN addiction can be overcome. Not only are we spared the penalty for our sin, but we are no longer enslaved by its power. Through the Spirit we have the ability to overcome porn addiction, by replacing sin with the enjoyment of God through Jesus. The Christian life is not about running from sin (and coming up with heaps of rules and strategies), it is about running to Jesus and his grace!