“Do not look intently at a virgin, or you may stumble and incur penalties…Turn away your eyes from a shapely woman, and do not gaze at beauty belonging to another; many have been seduced by a woman’s beauty, and by it passion is kindled like a fire” (Sirach 9:5, 8 NRSV).

Pornography is a modern-day plague.  Thomas Venning, one of the 17th century English Puritans, wrote a book on sin, which is entitled “The Plague of Plagues”.  This title could also be justly applied to pornography.

The prophet Isaiah (2:16 KJV) predicted the wrath and destruction by God against “all pleasant pictures” (KJV marginal note: “pictures of desire” i.e. erotic pictures and images) in the nations.  Is this not an ancient expression of pornography?  

Likewise, he judged the Canaanite nations and gave their lands to Israel.  “Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images….” (Num 33:52 KJV).

Granted, God was judging these nations because of their idolatry; nevertheless, he mentioned pictures specifically.  Unfortunately, modern bible versions use a different Hebrew text in which the word “pictures” is not mentioned; instead, they use more general terms, or use words such as “figured stones” (RSV) and “beautiful craft” (RSV); but whether God is referring to erotic pictures or erotic stone figures, the meaning is the same. 

These pictures portrayed highly erotic and sexual scenes vividly and graphically, and God wanted them destroyed.  You can still see examples of this kind of art on the walls of Hindu temples.  And ancient Roman houses had mosaic tiled floors depicting graphic sex scenes.  God hates such art.  It is a perversion and corruption of the way he designed human beings because it brings them into degradation and shame.  Pornography is an attack from hell against God and everything he has said is good.  It is a corruption of his beautiful gift of sexuality; a gift in which one spouse gives themself to the other in the supreme act of love.  But, in pornography, Satan has turned it into the vilest action, warping the whole concept of God’s wonderful gift, as corrupt and fallen human beings pervert it in the ugliest and most hideous ways, making it disgusting and hateful and repulsive. 

In modern society, pornography produces nothing good whatsoever in the lives of those who indulge in it.  Rather, it ultimately brings devastation, destruction, misery, an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, and burdens the soul with guilt and shame; and these induce us to try to hide from God, as did Adam and Eve when they experienced these same effects immediately following their Fall (Gen 3:6-10).  But the full effects of these miseries don’t all hit us at once.  The sinful delight of porn when we first come into contact with it is heady and exciting, and brings us into a high state of sexual arousal.  And although there is an accompanying sense of guilt, immediately the mind has breached that natural and protective wall of naive ignorance and innocence, the soul is instantly brought into bondage, albeit unnoticed by the perpetrator.  They have entered a world of degradation and sorrow from which few escape.  

The song “Hotel California” by The Eagles so appropriately describes this; the final words of the song, the 6th verse, say: “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave”.  An aged friend of mine from church once told me his experience when he first looked at a pornographic video.  It instantly filled his whole being with sexual lust and arousal, and burned itself into his mind and heart.  He said that as this was happening, he had the distinct impression, almost as if he could literally see it, that a hand reached out from the computer screen and clutched his heart.  How chilling!  And he is still enslaved by it.

Samson’s descent into degradation and death 

Pornography can humble and destroy the strongest and best of men and women; nobody is immune to its power when once the heart has opened itself to it.  Porn doesn’t just make a casual visit and then leave when asked; it immediately takes over the whole house and rearranges everything, setting itself up as the new owner.  “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom 6:16).

Samson is a classic example of bondage to sexual lust.  He was so filled with lust for Delilah that he disregarded his holy status as a Nazarite i.e. one set apart exclusively for God, and treated it as a small thing; and he threw away the power and protection given him by the Spirit of God, by surrendering his entire being to a deceitful and worthless woman: “As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, sot is a fair woman which is without discretion” (Prov 11:22).

His lust blinded him spiritually and the end of it was that he was overpowered and taken captive by his enemies: “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (Jas 1:14-15).

The downward progress in Samson’s lust-fuelled journey began innocently, perhaps, in his mind; or, at least, his not considering the possible consequences of a dalliance with an immoral and worthless woman.  However, the text simply says: “…he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah” (Judges 16:4).  Whether the scripture speaks euphemistically of his behaviour, or whether he justified it to himself, it makes no difference because the bottom line is that immorality and fornication have automatic and inevitable consequences.  

Samson had only recently escaped these consequences when he visited a prostitute in Gaza (Jud 16:1-3), but he doesn’t seem to have learned the lesson: “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life: To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman.  Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids.  For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.  Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?  Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:23-28). 

Samson was a judge, a leader, in Israel but this was no protection for him.  Once the heart accepts the temptation, the end is inevitable.  Status and position, even in the church, do not ensure a man’s safety when he chooses to sin.  

Pornography Playbook

What happened to Samson is the playbook for every person who indulges in sexual lust and perversion.  The scripture says of Samson after he had given away his strength to Delilah: “And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist [did not know] not that the Lord was departed from him” (Jud 16:20).  The minister of the church to which I was attached a few years ago said of this passage that he thinks it is the saddest verse in the bible.  

Caught in pornography’s sticky web

Samson’s sexual lust caused his demise, spiritually and literally.  The evil fruit it produced in his life first caused his spiritual blindness and this led to his contempt of God and what God had given him; and it ultimately resulted in his physical blindness as his Philistine captors “bored out” his eyes (KJV marginal note to Jud 16:21), and his literal death.

Samson’s response to the calamity before he was aware of the seriousness of his position suggests that he took his sins lightly because he thought that his relationship to God enabled him to sin without consequence e.g. the prostitute in Gaza.  This is a common attitude among Christians, it must be said; many think that because they’re saved or have some kind of special relationship with God (as they see it), God won’t punish or discipline them; or they think that because they’ve gotten away with their sin for so long that God mustn’t be too worried about it, or that they can just “re-dedicate” themselves at the next altar call, so they continue, all the time unwittingly getting deeper and deeper into sin and further away from their walk with God, having grieved the Holy Spirit.  The warmth of their relationship with Jesus, their delight in reading his Word, and their joy and comfort of their prayer life, cools; and a new relationship with him develops.  This new relationship with Jesus holds him at bay as the sinner’s interest is transferred from Jesus to their self-indulgent lust and perverted sexual activity; their minds become darker and more unaware of their danger of unrepented sins.  The time they used to spend with Jesus is now squandered on the tawdry and empty pleasures of sin; and the joy of life leaves with it.

Furthermore, pornography and the accompanying lust heighten the sexual urge to abnormal levels; but over time, this effect diminishes so that what once inflamed the senses and made lust seem so delightful is now insufficient; thus follows the need for ever more, and more degrading, forms of pornography to keep the stimulation at its peak.  And unwittingly the victim’s heart and mind become harder and more resistant to conviction of sin; and the voice of God in their conscience becomes softer and weaker as the distance between the sinner and God increases.  As he/she descends into this spiritual quagmire, what once seemed horrible or repulsive because of the corruption and wickedness of what they’ve allowed themselves to watch, seems like nothing; and more depraved sexual viewing and/or activities are increasingly sought after in order to achieve the same level of sexual excitement.  The victim’s mind becomes darker and their natural revulsion to depravity is broken down, and they allow themselves to do those things they once thought were beyond what they would allow in a more innocent and sane time in their life.       

Is There a Way of Escape?

Yes, there is.  God has provided ways and means with which to resist the devil.  For example, he tells us: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).

Here we’re told that we’re not alone in the struggle against temptation – that this temptation, along with every other temptation to sin, is common to humanity.  He also assures us that God is faithful – this should give us great confidence as we seek to resist the temptation – God is with us; therefore, our situation is not hopeless.

We also need to own our sin so that we can confess it and receive forgiveness and strength.  We must not give up because of our repeated failures.  As long as we keep getting up after a fall, we will not be ultimately defeated.

And very importantly, we must not blame our sin on the devil.  No doubt he is deeply involved (1 Pet 5:8); but he can be resisted and we are commanded to do so; what’s more, he will flee from us (Jas 4:7).    

But even more importantly, don’t pray to exorcise a demon of lust – this is a fictional notion and is not found anywhere in scripture; so, praying to be delivered from an entity that doesn’t exist can only complicate your problem, because such exorcisms open one to the risk of becoming vulnerable to a real demonic entity.  

To the contrary, the bible says “every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed” (Jas 1:14).  Accept that you weren’t forced into sin – you didn’t have to look at the image or movie, or seek out some way of indulging your lust.  But once having done the wrong thing, you should have repented immediately and shut off the source of the temptation; “Flee fornication” (1 Cor 6:18).  “Flee also youthful lusts” (2 Tim 2:22).  And “flee from the wrath to come” (Matt 3:7).  This is how we escape temptation and become free from bondage.

But we are not only to flee from temptation, we are also to run to Christ, and hide in him: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe” (Prov 18:10).  And “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt 11:28-30).

As part of our hiding in the name of the Lord, we should: 

• Make a practice of reading the bible: “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps 119:11).
• “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Ps 119:9).
• Pray that God will change the way we think: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matt 7:7-8).  “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (Jas 1:6-7).
• “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt 6:33).

Time alone spent with God is the best and most rewarding and fulfilling exercise we can do; it strengthens us against sexual temptation to the extent that sin becomes repulsive to us.  That which we lusted after and which occupied so much of our time and thought retreats into the background with shame as we draw near to God.  When a mere human being becomes aware of the presence of God, they become aware of their own sinfulness and fallen condition; Isaiah experienced this when God revealed himself to him (Isa 6:5); as did Peter (Lk 5:8); and John (Rev 1:17).  In the presence of God, we become painfully aware of our sinful hearts and we cringe in shame and fear.  This is why the above spiritual activities are such an important exercise for us, and they should become an essential part of our lives.  That’s why Satan would have us so caught up with pornography – he knows the power of God’s word and the Holy Ghost, and that porn robs us of that vital time we spend with God.

In conjunction with these spiritual steps, some useful practical steps could be activities such as joining a modelers club and build model kits as a hobby, or do bonsai, or start a building project, start a website, become more active and play tennis or go fishing, learn a musical instrument and then play with a group of fellow musicians in retirement villages, or do some regular volunteering – the options and possibilities are endless.  These are only examples to promote your own thinking and ideas with which to use your time.  There is an old saying: “Idle hands do the devil’s work”.  It is so true.

References

This article was inspired by Vanessa in her podcast:

The Bible Verse That Helped Free Me From Porn (& My Advice to You)

All scripture passages, unless otherwise stated, are from the King James Bible.