Every time I read or listen to David Powlison I thank God for him. He has incredible wisdom and it comes through so clearly in the practicality of his theology! My encouragement is to clobber anything Powlison you can get your hands on. Below is a semi-outline of his “Breaking Pornography Addictions” pt 1 that I hope and pray Christ uses to rid some of you of your addiction.
WHAT IS PORNOGRAPHY?
The first part of the word pornography, “porné,” means immorality and the second part, “graph” means to write, draw, or portray. Pornography is about picturing, imagining, and fantasizing about immorality…We are all bombarded with pornography every day—it’s the atmosphere we live in.
FANTASIZING IMMORALITY IS WRONG
It’s important for you to acknowledge that what you are doing is wrong, because you won’t fight well unless you are able to say, “This is an enemy. When I do this, I sin.”
WHAT DOES PROGRESS LOOK LIKE?
- A decrease in the frequency of a sin is a true good..
- A change in the actual nature of the sin is progress.
- A change in the battleground is progress.
- An increase in honesty and accountability is progress.
- Not always responding to difficult circumstances by indulging in sin is progress
- Repenting more quickly is progress.
- Learning to love and consider the interest of real people is progress.
UNDERSTAND YOUR DEEPER STRUGGLE
How do you get going in the right direction? You start by understanding your struggle. It’s easy for your big, obvious sins (like surfing the internet for pornographic material) to conceal the deeper sins that fuel your struggle with pornography. But unless you recognize and repent of the sin patterns underlying your addiction, you won’t be fighting the right battle
Start a journal, and keep track of what’s happening in your life when you struggle with pornography. Answer these questions:
- When does it happen? What is going on? What happened that day?
- What were you thinking about? What was the nature of the temptation?
- What did you do about it? Did you act on it?
- If you didn’t act on it, how did that happen?
- If you did what did you do after you fell?
- How did you recover? What was the after-effect?
As you start to grapple with your deeper sin patterns, you’ll see that your problem is much bigger, your need for grace is much deeper, and your goal is much more magnificent than you ever imagined.
YOU GO TO GOD
How do you begin taking those small steps in the right direction that will add up to deep down change? You go to God…Your only hope for deliverance from this never-ending cycle of self is going to Jesus. How do you recover from defeats? You recover from defeats by going back to the God who offers mercy and forgiveness to you through the death of his own Son on the cross. Jesus died so you could be forgiven.
Pt 2 is coming soon.
Britten