Most people think of hardened criminals and the most duplicitous of men when speaking of someone with a seared conscience. Yet, I believe many in the Church today are also in very real danger of this spiritual phenomenon.

The apostle Paul had a clear understanding of the damaging effects of sin on the human heart. He spoke insightfully of those who were “seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1 Timothy 4:2), and those who “because of the hardness of their heart (have) become callous.” (Ephesians 4:18-19) Both metaphors—the seared conscience and the hardened, calloused heart—describe the same condition.

The Need for the Conscience

What is the human conscience? According to Vine’s Dictionary, the Greek word for conscience (suneidesis) literally means to possess “co-knowledge” of something resulting in one’s “sense of guiltiness before God.”  Thus, we were created with a unique and intrinsic faculty that gives us a kind of third-person perspective on the rightness and wrongness of our actions.

According to A.W. Tozer, the foundation of the human conscience is “the secret presence of Christ in the world.” To support his conclusions, he points to John 1:9, “There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” This inward moral awareness is simply the “secret inner voice” of the Lord “accusing or else excusing him.”(1) Tozer very well may be right.

In the physical realm, the conscience is comparable to the human nervous system. When a person is wounded, he feels pain—the body’s inherent means of alerting him that something is wrong. Likewise, when a person sins, the human soul has a warning system that sounds an alarm because the person’s actions have wounded him spiritually. This soul-alarm trumpets, “Mayday! Mayday! Something is wrong!” He senses that his actions are not only wrong but will also result in destructive consequences.

A Tender Conscience

A person with a tender conscience is keenly aware of every infraction against the Lord. He recognizes sin for the ugly thing that it is. Immoral deeds, though seemingly insignificant to others, are viewed by him as monstrous crimes against a holy God. Their importance, while not exaggerated, is internally magnified so that their true, insidious nature may be clearly seen.

The person with a soft heart also remains consistently open to the Holy Spirit’s conviction. He is not looking to push the limits of sin—to see how much he can get away with—but to avoid it altogether. Sin, to him, is a poison which must be eradicated at any cost. The prayer of David expresses the unseen attitude of such a person: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psalm 139:24)

Most people who have experienced a true conversion begin their new life with this kind of spiritual sensitivity. The “eyes of their hearts” have been opened to the wonders of Jesus Christ and His kingdom. Concern over the prospect of doing something against their Savior can actually drive them to run to their pastor over things that seem ridiculous to more seasoned saints.

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A Wandering Conscience

Unfortunately, it is often only a matter of time before the “first love” for Jesus dwindles into religious form. As new converts begin to “learn the ropes” of Christianity, a slight hardening of the heart takes place. The deep sense of helplessness that once created such a humble dependence upon the Lord is gradually replaced with spiritual pride. Bright and innocent faith is slowly supplanted by cynicism. Eventually, the world’s attractions regain their carnal luster, old idols are re-erected within the heart, and once-forsaken sins start to resurface.

The Bible describes this process as the “wandering away from” a “good conscience,” (I Timothy 1:5-6) and the corrupting of the conscience (Titus 1:15). Both describe the same process of inner moral decay that occurs when a person allows sin to re-establish itself within their heart. If the person continues along this course, he will soon lose the sense of the evil nature of sin. A perfect illustration of this truth is the way a nonsmoker can become accustomed to the smokiest room—once he has taken up the cigarette habit himself. Clean lungs detect every whiff of pollution; dirty lungs have lost that capability.

The person who habitually gives himself over to sin loses the ability to feel the spiritual “pain” of sin. What happens to people who lose this sense? Consider lepers who experience a similar thing physically. Having lost sensation in their extremities, they are often terribly hurt and can even die because they are unaware of a bodily injury. In the spiritual realm, this is a picture of the hardening that takes place inside a person who remains in unrepentant sin. As his heart becomes increasingly calloused, the spiritual system God constructed within him slowly loses its ability to detect the damage being done to it. It’s little wonder that Christian men in habitual sexual sin can sit in church week after week, singing songs of worship to a God they continually defy. “Hardened by the deceitfulness of sin,” (Hebrews 3:13) their entire beings are riddled with a leprosy of evil which they can no longer even detect!

In such cases, as their conscience undergoes a constant searing, these men are gradually desensitized to the guilt of sin. If left unabated, this process will eventually lead to the death of conscience. As one writer stated it, “Such men must have won that most disastrous of victories — the victory over conscience.”(2)

A Seared Conscience

What does it mean to have one’s conscience seared? To answer that question, I consulted the godly writers of yesteryear. Adam Clarke described it thus: “One cauterized by repeated applications of sin, and resistings of the Holy Ghost...”(3) The Fausett Bible Dictionary explained it as, “…a hardened determination to resist every spiritual impression…”(4) The Pulpit Commentary said it is “the gradual deterioration of sensibility produced by (habitual sin).”(5) John Wesley likened it to, “drunkenness of soul, a fatal numbness of spirit…”(6)

In summation, if a person remains in sin long enough, he can reach a point where he is no longer influenced by the Holy Spirit. He has become so hardened that he will not listen—does not want to hear. I believe this phenomenon is that which the Bible terms apostasy.

How can a man know if he has gone too far? The very concern over such a possibility reveals the fact that there remains hope for him. Apostates, having lost all sense of morality, have no concern over such matters.

A Renewed Conscience

However, when a man in habitual sin repents—by acknowledging his guilt and taking steps to put it behind him—his hardened heart begins to soften, and he gradually begins to feel the conviction of sin once again. Finally, he is back in the place where God can reach him and help him overcome. As the writer of Hebrews exclaimed, “how much more will the blood of Christ... cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)

Nobody enjoys the feeling of guilt over wrongdoing. However, the alternative is to have no feeling: no Holy Ghost conviction, no discernment of right from wrong, and no sense of shame over the evil nature of sin. The human conscience truly is a gift from God. Personally, I plan on treasuring this gift by maintaining a soft heart and a ready ear for the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit.

(1) A. W. Tozer, The Ground of Human Conscience: Christ’s Presence in the World from the book Echoes of Eden, copyright 1994. Used by permission of Christian Publications.

(2) H. Melvill, The Biblical Illustrator, Isaiah 1, Ages Software.

(3) Adam Clarke, Hebrews 13, ibid.

(4) Fauset’s Bible Dictionary, Blasphemy, ibid.

(5) Pulpit Commentary, 2 Samuel 18, ibid.

(6) The Works of Wesley, Vol. 5, ibid.

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Have you noticed that the winds of change are blowing with ever-increasing intensity as of late? Nowadays anything goes, and there’s a different “take” on many of the moral issues that regularly pop up in the daily news headlines.

With all sorts of opinions permeating news outlets, blogs, and social media, everything is now up for debate including the topic of homosexuality.

Despite widespread attempts to make Christianity culturally relevant by redefining biblical standards, I find tremendous comfort in knowing that the truth of God’s Word remains steadfast and unshakeable from generation to generation. Amid all the clamor of the opinions and teachings of men, it is positively crucial that believers know “thus says the Lord” concerning the various controversial issues that challenge those who profess to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

The Bible tells us clearly what God has to say about the sin of homosexuality, regardless of what the secular world—and a growing segment in the Church—have to say.

But for decades now, specific passages in the Bible stating clearly that homosexuality is sinful, and therefore forbidden by God, have been deliberately misinterpreted by some, and basically ignored by others, who regard these scriptural references as irrelevant for contemporary society. As a result we have seen numerous denominations divided over this issue, with more and more yielding to the pressure to conform to an unbiblical view of homosexuality.

Nevertheless, God is not mocked, and there is no way anyone can legitimately circumvent what God prohibits.

Over the years, as I’ve counseled hundreds of men struggling with homosexuality, I’ve found many who were convinced that God made them that way (despite the fact that over time most are terribly unsatisfied, enshrouded in self-condemnation, and increasingly burdened with guilt and despair). The scientific community has reinforced this mindset among countless struggling homosexuals, and the devil has worked through numerous activists and influential personalities to widen the gate for individuals to enter this pathway which eventually leads to death. Others make excuses and point to things they experienced in their past (abuse, rejection, low self-esteem and so forth) which relieve them of responsibility for their sin and taking it to the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Those who bravely declare the truth of what God says about homosexuality are in many instances viciously attacked, labeled as self-righteous, branded intolerant, despised as “haters,” and perhaps in the not too distant future they are destined to face imprisonment for committing a so-called “hate crime.”

From my own personal experience, I know that a person who chooses a homosexual lifestyle cannot glorify God and is therefore destined to enter a  ‘spiral of degradation’ described by Paul in Romans 1:21-27:

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

But here’s the good news in all of this: because the root of all sinful behavior is found in the heart, there is hope for any man or woman who is struggling with some besetting sin—even homosexuality! It is a heart issue (as Jesus describes in Mark 7:20-23). And the good news is that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8)—no matter how dark and wicked our hearts may be.

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In his first letter to the Corinthian church, Paul warns believers to guard against deception but also offers hope that homosexuality – like any life-dominating sin—can be forgiven and overcome:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (I Corinthians 6:-11)

This passage gave me much hope and encouragement when I was going through the Pure Life Ministries Residential Program in 1999. For the first time, it was real to me: I can overcome and be cleansed from homosexual sin because of the blood of Jesus! My years of victory over homosexuality proclaims this truth.

I’m so grateful that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to save the world from SIN. So to call homosexuality SIN, actually offers tremendous hope to anyone who struggles or doubts that it’s possible to live in freedom.

Someone who has been steeped in this sin for years and years, might have a difficult time believing in God’s forgiveness  because of all the lies he’s believed and been fed by various sources. But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) He is forever our great Sin-bearer and the God-Who-Forgives. (Psalm 99:8) He “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:14) The Lord has not changed, nor will He ever alter His Word to accommodate man’s sinful desires and choices.

He is a God rich in mercy and willing to deliver anyone who cries out for help and deliverance.

It was December 1993, and I was ticked! I sat across the desk from my pastor who told me that I’d have to leave the church until I got my life in order. Even though I had repeatedly binged on drugs and illicit sex, I didn’t want to accept responsibility for my actions. After working with me for several years, he finally acknowledged that there was nothing else he could do for me. “But I do know a place in Kentucky…” he said.

Well, my life changed at Pure Life Ministries, and I thank God my pastor took a stand with me. Since that time, I have been involved in some situations where church discipline was used effectively by the pastor, but unfortunately, many pastors haven’t utilized this God-given tool for restoration. “I have tried everything to help this guy,” is frequently what I hear. However, upon further questioning, it usually turns out that “everything” did not include church discipline! In light of the overwhelming problem of sexual sin in the Body of Christ, I would say that it is time that this powerful tool is restored to our churches!

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Quite honestly, excommunication from a church (like I experienced) should be the last step in a lengthy process of correction. Working with an erring believer also involves discipleship, correction, and reproof. But if a person will not repent, there comes a time when he must be dealt with more severely.

The New Testament handles this subject very specifically. In Matthew 18:15-17 the Lord gives step-by-step instructions on how to help a person who continues in habitual sin.

“And if your brother sins go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer.” (Matthew 18:15-17)

The Process of Church Discipline

1. Reprove in private

In the situation the Lord relates, the Christian who sees a brother in sin is instructed to reprove (Gk. elegcho) that person. He later made the statement, “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline...” (Revelation 3:19)

Unquestionably, biblical reproof done in the right spirit (cf. Gal. 6:1; II Timothy 2:25) is the most loving tool a pastor can use to help a struggling saint. In fact, Paul lists it as one of the primary usages of the Word: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” (II Timothy 3:16) The pastor who only uses the Word for teaching is limiting his ministry to one-fourth of its power!

2. Reprove with two witnesses

Although some men want their sin (and will not listen), I am convinced that many whom I’ve dealt with over the years would have been stopped in their tracks by a timely word of reproof and on-going “correction” and “training in righteousness.”  Sometimes the pastor may get to the point where he feels the erring believer is not taking his sin seriously, not honestly responding. What does he do now? Follow the formula Jesus gives: confront him with “two or three witnesses.” Having two church elders present will help the man to sense the gravity of his sin. This might be just enough of a wake-up call to bring him to true repentance.

3. Bring the sin before the entire church

If the sinner “refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church,” Jesus said. Up until this point, his privacy has been carefully protected, but once the pastor begins to sense that the man is refusing the correction, he is instructed to bring the sin into the light for all to see. Now the situation is treated with even more gravity. This man’s future (and possibly even his eternity) is at stake! He needs to wake up! Perhaps the shame of being exposed before the entire church will be enough to help him repent.

4. Treat the sinner as an unbeliever

However, Jesus goes on to say, “if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer.” This is the last step to reach the erring brother. This may seem extreme, but God takes drastic measures whenever there is an unrepentant sinner in the camp. Dr. Jay Adams said, “No one should be put out of the church because of his sin (as though some sins require discipline and others do not). No, precisely not that. It is the failure to ‘hear’ that moves discipline to the final stage of putting one out of your midst.”(1)

We find an example of this in I Corinthians 5 where a man was living in sin with his father’s wife. In this instance the man needed to be brought to the final stage of church discipline quickly: “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves,” Paul told the church. This is the procedure my pastor rightly used with me.

The Purpose of Church Discipline

Without a doubt it takes a great deal of courage for a pastor in our day and age to excommunicate an unrepentant sinner. Not only must the pastor face the man’s anger, but the members of his church may misunderstand his intentions. Nevertheless, there are three very important reasons why it must be done.

First, the spiritual integrity of the church must be maintained. Paul said, “Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump...” (I Corinthians 5:7) Leaven illustrates the contagious and corrupting power of sin. A church that is tolerant of sin will soon be full of compromise.

Second, when someone in sin is dealt with openly, it causes the other members of the Body to comprehend the seriousness of sin. Paul told Timothy, “Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning.” (I Timothy 5:20) This seems to be a forgotten concept in many of today’s “user-friendly” churches.

Third, it is done to save an unrepentant sinner from his sin. (1 Corinthians 5:5) Paul told the Corinthians, “I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.” We must remember that God is more concerned about a person’s eternal destiny than He is about his temporary comfort.  If a person refuses to repent, the time will come when God will “give them over” to their sin. (Romans 1:24, 26) This happened to the man in Corinth, and we find out later that he repented of his sin. (II Corinthians 2:6-8)  The complete restoration of an erring believer is the ultimate goal of church discipline.

Remember the man in Corinth, that Paul removed from the church? We find out later in 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 that he repented of his sin. We must keep in mind that God is more concerned about a person’s eternal destiny than He is about his temporary comfort. The complete restoration of an erring believer is the ultimate goal of church discipline.

Is there a place in 21st century Christianity for church discipline? Absolutely! Our loving Savior has been in the business of correcting wayward souls for a long time. I think it is time we return to the methods offered to us by He who created us. Don’t you?

Dr. Jay E. Adams, Christian Counselor’s Commentary on I & II Corinthians, P & R Pub., p. 34.

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A friend recently informed me of an all-too-familiar situation involving a married couple, Charles and Linda. Linda had become concerned about her husband’s honesty. She did a little investigating and found evidence that Charles had been looking at pornography on his laptop—again. She confronted him; he denied it; the evidence was produced, and now Charles and Linda are separated.

Linda feels she’s been down this road countless times before. I knew from past conversations we’ve had that she would undoubtedly be wrestling now with whether to seek a divorce from her 16-year marriage to Charles. This is the same question I face over and over in counseling hurting wives like Linda. “Can I divorce because of my husband’s obsession with pornography?”

Does the Bible Permit Me to Divorce?

Like many of the questions that arise in counseling, there aren’t simple black-and-white, yes-or-no answers. In order to deal with divorce from a biblical viewpoint, one of the first things we must do is take a closer look at God’s view of marriage.

In Genesis 2:24, we read God’s original design for marriage: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” And Jesus affirms this when the Pharisees questioned Him concerning divorce: “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?’ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6). Clearly, marriage was to be permanent.

Perhaps it’s simply the prevalence of divorce that has led us to lose sight of the permanency God intended for the marriage covenant. The most recent statistics tell us that 50% of first marriages end in divorce, and 80% of second marriages end in divorce.

Yet in Malachi 2:16, we hear the heart of the Creator, “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce.” I believe the reason God hates divorce is because marriage was meant to be a blood covenantal relationship (Malachi 2:13-14), meaning it was to be for life (Matthew 19:6; Mark 10:8). Marriage was also to be a representation of Christ and His commitment to the Church (Ephesians 5:25-32; II Corinthians 11:2, 3).

Some may ask, “What about the rest of Jesus’ conversation with the Pharisees? After pronouncing the permanency of marriage, Matthew’s Gospel records a further exchange:

“They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.’ ” (Matthew 19:7-9)

When one reads these words, it certainly appears that Jesus is saying divorce is permissible on the grounds of sexual immorality. In Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus also says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

So if My Husband Is Committing Acts of Sexual Immorality, Including Viewing Pornography, I have a Ticket Out of My Marriage?

Given the biblical insights into the intended permanency of marriage, I feel it is my first obligation as a biblical counselor to encourage perseverance and offer hope to any wife who’s dealing with her husband’s sexual sin. Even if the Bible offers a way out, that doesn’t make divorce the best option for every person in every circumstance.

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When Jesus condoned divorce for reasons of sexual immorality, I believe He was referring to those who were in ongoing, unrepentant fornication with another person. Furthermore, He said Moses only permitted divorce due to the hardness of our hearts, but reiterated that from the beginning it was not so.

Therefore, if a spouse is truly repentant (see Psalm 51), meaning he or she is willing to take full responsibility for the sins committed, if he is willing to humble himself by submitting to his spiritual leaders and get the help that he needs, there is absolutely no reason why this couple should file for a divorce—especially if they are both professing Christians. Isn’t the whole message of the gospel is a message of love, forgiveness and reconciliation?

We see this quite plainly in the account of the woman caught in adultery—caught in the very act—by the Pharisees (John 8:3-12). This woman was in sin and she was deserving of the consequences of her sin, which according to the Levitical law meant being stoned to death (Leviticus 18). However, Jesus told the Pharisees, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

What always amazes me about the words of Jesus is that they cut to the heart and expose the darkness of our own evil heart that is so prone to condemn another’s sin.

The beauty of this story is that none of her accusers were able to cast any stones at her. Jesus lovingly asks, “‘Woman where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ And she said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’ Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” What a picture of the loving and forgiving heart of God! If there is true genuine repentance, no matter what the sexual sin is, the power of the Cross is greater.

But What if the Spouse Is Unrepentant and Unwilling to Change?

We have seen countless situations in which husbands have been involved in homosexuality, prostitution, self-gratification, pornography or habitual affairs for years. The wives of virtually all of these men felt they had biblical grounds for divorcing their spouse when his sin was exposed. However, many have seen God miraculously and suddenly grant the gift of repentance to their spouse. These “re-born” marriages are living testimonies of the power of the Cross—a power greater than any sexual sin known to mankind! I’m thoroughly convinced that no marriage is beyond God’s ability to restore.

Many biblical scholars have concluded that the Scriptures do support divorce in a situation when a spouse is in unrepentant sexual sin, including pornography. However, others say this conclusion is not at all clear. Regardless, I would still encourage you to make sure this is how God is leading you, and also to remember that He really does hate divorce.

You must also consider that God is full of mercy and is able to make all things new. God will not give up on your spouse. He is preparing the way for his (or her) repentance. The truth is, you will please Him much more if you hang on to the hope He promises in His Word. You will please Him much more by remaining steadfast in prayer and being a vessel of mercy in your spouse’s life.

I will be the first to acknowledge, this is hard to do. Living as a true Christian IS hard, even impossible, without the grace of God. But the rewards are eternal. Whether your spouse ever responds or not, you will be blessed by choosing this path. You will find a much greater intimacy with your eternal Husband, Jesus Christ.

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I believe that something very evil was unleashed upon our land in 1971 when Joseph and Louis Peraino, members of the Colombo Mafia family, produced and released the X-rated comedy Deep Throat. The enormous success of that movie paved the way for the birth of the adult entertainment industry.

It was also a watershed moment in the spiritual history of the United States.

It was then that the door into a very dark world of succulent evil was opened to the average American male. The budding adult entertainment industry seized the opportunity, producing thousands of X-rated movies. This onslaught of pornography paved the way for multitudes of men to become addicted to illicit sexual activity. Strip clubs, massage parlors, escort services and gay bathhouses proliferated as porn addicts sought places to act out what they were viewing.

By the time I wrote the original version of At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry in 1987, the “group think” of our nation was already well on its way to being desensitized to lasciviousness. The “sex-is-everything” mindset of adult entertainment was beginning to reshape the American persona.

Just when it seemed that it couldn’t get any worse, a new medium was invented that would further open this Pandora’s Box of evil: the Internet. Within three years of its advent there were already 10,000 websites dedicated to obscenity. And recent data suggests that number is thought to have skyrocketed to 4 million sites.

There are two unsettling aspects to all of this. The first has to do with the law of diminishing returns which states that since sin does not satisfy, a person must find increasingly more base activity to view or participate in. This explains the record numbers of men accessing websites dedicated to deviant images such as child pornography, bestiality and S & M.

The second troubling aspect emerging is that adolescents and teens have become the largest single group using online porn. Insiders now believe that the average age of first-time exposure to pornographic content has dropped to 11 years of age. What is especially disconcerting about this is that those formative years tend to establish a youngster’s course of life. Even an alarming number of girls and young women are becoming addicted to pornography.

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These trends are very disturbing and one can only imagine where this is all headed.

Unquestionably, today’s pastor must be careful not to allow himself to get swept along in the mindset of tolerance that is overtaking our culture. Taking a clear-cut stand for holy living is crucial—like never before.

Since this spiritual darkness has already made deep incursions into our congregations, pastors also must be prepared to offer spiritual aid to those already bound up in sexual sin. Nowadays, it is vital that pastors understand the grip of sin and the path to freedom.

Yes, the evil is mounting and the darkness is growing. But there is a silver lining with this dark cloud that Paul himself alluded to: Anytime sin increases, grace will flourish to meet the need. (Romans 5:20) Christians—people sitting in your pews every Sunday—will continue to fall prey to the enemy’s malevolent traps. As terrible as this is, however, we can all be comforted by the fact that God’s marvelous grace will super-abound all the more to draw people out of sin, hypocrisy and dead religion and into a vibrant life in Christ.

This may come as a surprise to many readers, but sexual sin in and of itself has never sent anyone to hell any more than a person’s morality can secure him or her a place in heaven. People are sent to hell because they have never been converted—regardless of how moral or immoral their outward behavior might be.

Having said that, the practice of willful sin, of any kind, could certainly be considered as evidence of an unredeemed life—even for a professing Christian. So does that mean if someone is given over to sexual sin that it is proof he is headed into hell? Maybe, maybe not.

I tend to lump “Christian” sexual sinners into two basic groups: those who are sincerely striving to disentangle themselves from their past life of sin and those who are exerting only enough effort to fool themselves and those around them. Determining which group a man or woman is in is no easy matter.

Experience has taught me over the years to look for certain indicators as to an individual’s actual spiritual condition. The following are the sort of unspoken questions I consider when dealing with such a person.

1. How do you respond to a convicting sermon, article or passage in the Bible?

Insincere “Christians” tend to avoid sin-confronting messages and those who present them. Instead, they are attracted to peddlers of easy-believism. This, of course, is no new phenomenon.

When Isaiah was trying to win the Jewish people back to their God, he faced a great deal of hostility and resistance. He wrote, “They are always rebelling against God, always lying, always refusing to listen to the LORD’s teachings. They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say, ‘Don't talk to us about what’s right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions. Get out of our way and stop blocking our path. We don’t want to hear about your holy God of Israel.’” (Isaiah 30:9-11 GNB)

How different is the attitude of a man or woman who truly wants to be free! He is drawn to Scriptures that bring a sense of conviction about his sin; he is attracted to preachers who present an uncompromising message; he seeks out counselors who will tell him the truth about himself. This person may still be caught up in some form of habitual sin, but he will not attempt to silence the voice of the Holy Spirit in his life—in fact he longs for it.

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2. How does the guilt of sin affect you?

Guilt is a natural reaction to sexual sin and is not necessarily an indicator of a person’s spiritual status. Most unbelievers and pseudo-Christians (people involved in church life and yet unconverted) will feel a degree of shame about being involved in sexual sin because of the social stigma attached to it. However, that sense of shame is shallow and comes and goes.

On the other hand, the true believer who keeps failing will nearly always experience guilt on a much deeper level. Their overriding concern is not the possibility that their sin might be publicly exposed, but that their fellowship with God has been greatly compromised. When a true believer gets off track spiritually, he undergoes constant inner turmoil. The Lord, in His mercy, makes sure that His son feels miserable until he rids himself of the ongoing sin in his life and makes things right with God.

3. Do you feel compelled to “fight the good fight?”

Whether or not a person is really battling the pull of temptation is another good indicator to his spiritual condition.

I cannot recount the times men have told me that they “struggle with” pornography or some other form of sexual sin, and, when I begin to ask them about their ongoing war with temptation, they recount a long list of failures. “Where’s the struggle?” I ask incredulously. “You have only told me about a life of defeat; you haven’t said anything that leads me to believe that you are actively fighting those carnal urges! The fact that you are using terminology such as ‘struggle’ only indicates that you are exaggerating your spirituality while minimizing the seriousness of your problem.”

One common denominator among those who successfully fight their way out of the terrible hold of sin is that they are always trying to move forward spiritually. They may have failures, but they never quit fighting.

Hope for the Believer

It may take some time for an individual saved out of a life of wickedness to find real freedom from it. The hold of sin can be extremely powerful, but one thing is certain: if this person has truly been converted, sin will not—cannot—hold him indefinitely.

The Apostle John forever debunked the notion that a true believer can practice sin when he wrote, “The man who claims to know God but does not obey his laws is not only a liar but lives in self-delusion… The man who lives “in Christ” does not habitually sin. The regular sinner has never seen or known him.” (1 John 2:4; 3:6 Phillips)

There is something, or rather Someone, inside a bona fide believer that will not allow him to rest until he finds freedom from the hold of willful sin. How can the Holy Spirit indwell a professing Christian who regularly practices evil? Or as Paul put it: “How can light and darkness share life together?  What common ground can idols hold with the temple of God? For we, remember, are ourselves living temples of the living God, as God has said: ‘I will dwell in them…’” (2 Corinthians 6:14b, 16 Phillips)

In the final analysis, if a person is sincere, he will end up on the right side in the end; if he is insincere, he will find himself locked out of the Kingdom. It’s really as simple as that.

One need only look at the different paths Saul and David took. Every time King Saul disobeyed God, he attempted to justify his behavior, shift the blame off himself or minimize the sinfulness of his actions. Insincerity characterized his entire life with God.

How different it was for David. Once Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba, all of his defenses wilted. He crumpled into a heap and exclaimed, “I have sinned against the Lord!” Out of that heartfelt sorrow came forth the earnest prayer found in Psalm 51. And there, in the sixth verse, he penned the words that perfectly describe what God is after: “Sincerity and truth are what you require…”

How can you be saved and still be doing this? You can, but if you have a sincere heart and belong to Christ, your days of bondage are coming to an end.

They came at will—pillaging and terrorizing as they went. Young men were taken captive to a life of hopeless servitude. Girls became sex-slaves, subjected to every filthy whim of their masters. For forty years, the people of Israel suffered under the barbaric cruelty of the Philistines. In utter desperation and despair, they pleaded with Jehovah to deliver them. God’s merciful ear was attentive to their cries.

The Angel of the Lord appeared to a childless Jewish couple, announcing that they were to have a son. Samson would be his name and he was to be a Nazarite, “one separated unto God.” Two of the components of his special vow of consecration required him to abstain from drinking wine and cutting his hair. However, these were mere outward signs of the sanctified inward life he was to maintain with God. This special child, if he were to fulfill his calling as Jehovah’s champion, must keep himself pure before the Lord.

When We Deride God’s Call to Purity

Unfortunately, Samson treated his special call with disdain. While faithfully maintaining the outward requirements of the Nazarite vow, his inside world was wildly out of control. Though especially called of God, Samson’s life bore little resemblance to the lives of other O.T. “heroes of the faith,” such as Moses, Joshua, Joseph or Daniel. Rather than displaying a zeal for the house of God, he allowed his sensual passions to run riot. Instead of leading Israel to mighty victories against the Lord’s enemies, he continually acted in his own self-interests. Lacking the holy fervor that inflamed the righteous indignation of all true men of God, his exploits were always motivated by vengeance and pride. In short, Samson’s life was one long story of epic self-indulgence.

It wasn’t that Samson didn’t have a sincere affection for Jehovah; I’m sure he did. He undoubtedly loved his country and wanted to help. He didn’t voice an outright disdain for God’s call on his life; nevertheless he was unwilling to embrace the responsibility that accompanied it. With only a superficial devotion to the Lord and a merely outward consecration, Samson eventually became easy prey for the enemy.

When We Pursue the Forbidden

Samson’s life ended tragically, as a slave in a Gazan prison. However, the final chapter of this saga began when, driven by curiosity and lust, he sought out the forbidden—a Philistine woman. For the sexual sinner, one of the strongest motivations to sin is lust for the forbidden. I wrote about this in my book, At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry:

“One of the most captivating features of illicit sex is its forbidden nature. Seemingly, the more forbidden it is, the more alluring it tends to be. This is one reason why a married Christian man addicted to sex feels the need to be with other women. He is not supposed to. It is “off-limits.” Thus, for the Christian who feels pressured to live a righteous life and is constantly struggling to resist the demands of his flesh, it can be overwhelmingly irresistible because of this. Desiring that which is forbidden is part of man’s fallen nature. Just try leaving a four-year old alone in a room with a box that he has been told not to open!”

Samson craved the forbidden fruit of heathen women. In a bizarre way, his hatred and fear of the Philistines only served to fuel his lust for their women. Driven by his insatiable sexual cravings, he indulged himself more and more. Eventually, through a series of poor choices, he found himself inexorably enslaved to his passions. As is always the case with sexual addicts, he would do well for a period of time, but eventually, the delicious enticements of Gaza would overwhelm his best intentions. Before he knew it, he would find himself back on the road to Philistia. It was inevitable that he would one day end up “in the lap of Delilah”.

Given the tremendous power on Samson’s body that could spoil the enemy at will, the Philistine commanders were obviously desperate to find a way to destroy him. It’s very likely that Delilah was the most beautiful seductress in their country. They made sure the mighty man from Israel met her.

Delilah, masterful in the art of seduction, knew the secret of keeping a man in a constant state of desire for her. Coolly and deliberately, she toyed with Samson’s emotions and passions, never allowing him to feel as though he was in control—yet always leaving him yearning for more. Once irreversibly under her licentious spell, he was powerless to resist. In a matter of days, he became like putty in her hands. The Black Widow’s prey was helplessly dangling in her enticing web.

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When We Ignore Warning Signs

With a soothing voice, Delilah began to ask Samson about the mysterious source of his great strength. On three different occasions, he lied to her about how to dry up the source of his power. Each time she did what he said only to discover that she had been deceived. Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me?” Every day, she “pressed him” and “urged him” to disclose his secret. She played on his emotions, pleaded with him, threatened him; all the while keeping him in a heightened state of sexual desire.

Three times her treachery had been exposed: there was no mistaking her intentions. But the lap of Delilah is very intoxicating. “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27) He finally relented and “told her all that was in his heart.”

“A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb,” he gushed. “If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man.” (Judges 16:17)

The power that had been on the body of Samson came from the keeping of his vow to God, his long hair merely being an outward sign of his separation unto Jehovah. As he lay in a semi-conscious trance of bliss—with his head in her lap—the crude scissors snipped away all that remained of his weak devotion to God.

When We Suffer the Consequences

Like a pack of wild jackals, the Philistines swarmed into her bedroom. Samson’s bald head betrayed his enfeebled condition. They quickly seized him, dragging him into the city square. There, in front of a jeering mob, his eyes were mercilessly gouged out of their sockets. He must have screamed in pain before passing out. The great champion of Israel was thrown bleeding and whimpering into a foul prison cell.

In the months that followed, the blinded judge was forced to push a huge grinding stone. One can only imagine how the thoughts of his foolishness must have plagued him day after day during his endless trips around the same tedious circles. Over and over again he replayed the events leading up to his capture. “How could I have been so stupid?” he would demand of himself.

Samson discovered that once “the pleasures of sin” have had their season, they must give way to “the wages of sin.” Not only did he suffer physically, but it seems that the Philistines also routinely brought him out of the prison to play the part of a fool during their frequent parties. He was probably forced to dance and act like a buffoon before the jeering mob.

When We turn back to the Lord

But in his sufferings, something stirred within his heart. Samson’s heart began to awaken unto the God whose loving call he had treated with such disdain. One old-time writer stated:

“Pitiable as the loss was, Samson was better blind than seeing. The lust of the eye had led him astray, and the loss of his sight showed him his sin. His hair grew together with his repentance, and his strength with his hair. The cruelties of the Philistines were better for him than their kindness. It is penitence which pleads, ‘Remember me, O Lord God!’ He knows that his sin has broken the flow of loving divine thought to him, but he asks that the broken current may be renewed. Many a silent tear had fallen from Samson’s blind eyes, before that prayer could have come to his lips, as he leaned on the great pillars.” (1)

For years, he had lived in a selfish lack of concern toward the plight of his own people, squandering the sacred duty that had been entrusted to him. His indulgence eventually brought him to a Gazan prison. But where there is true repentance, there is always hope. Samson’s greatest victory was yet to come.

A great celebration in honor of the Philistine god, Dagon, quickly deteriorated into a drunken orgy. It wasn’t long before the inevitable calls began for the Israelite champion to be brought forth. Mercilessly, the jailers came for the blind man. Standing there in their midst, listening to the blasphemous praises to their demon-god, power once again flowed through Samson’s arms as he braced himself against the building’s supporting pillars. In one moment, enlivened by a forgiven soul and a regenerated heart, the disgraced Nazarite did his greatest work for the people of Israel.

Beloved of God, do not let your soul be turned away from Jehovah to lust after the forbidden manna of this world. You may have already spent years in servitude to the inexhaustible cravings of your own flesh. You may even have experienced a Samson-esque fall from grace, your faith shipwrecked on the shores of unfulfilling pleasures and enslaving passions. However, it is not too late! The call of God is always before you, “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.” (Ezekiel 18:30) Flee the soothing, treacherous voice of the enemy and run into the arms of God, for He alone can satisfy your every need.

(1) Alexander MacLaren, Strength Profaned and Lost, Ages Software.

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Nothing of real value is ever accomplished without a sincere belief in its being accomplished. At the core of all enterprise lies the hope for success. Robbed of his hope, a man loses every ounce of strength and motivation to continue trying. Knowing this, the enemy does his utmost to breed hopelessness and despair, especially in men who struggle with addictions and habitual sin. Every failure or setback is followed by the foul stench of some devil’s breath as he condemningly whispers, “You see! You thought you could be free, but you will never be free!”

Why does the enemy fight so vehemently against a believer’s faith? Because he knows it is one of the most powerful weapons in the battle with habitual sin. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” was the apostle Paul’s confident claim. (Philippians 4:13) To the man who has tried time after time to quit his besetting sin, these words can seem like a mockery. Nevertheless, they stand as a testimony of truth to every blood-bought child of God. The defeated Christian’s problem, then, is not any failure on the Lord’s part but his own lack of faith in the veracity of the statement. God has already fulfilled His end of the bargain by sending His Son. It is therefore left to the Christian to believe and then act in faith on that belief!

Paul faced his own internal struggles with his fallen nature—as the 7th chapter of Romans candidly describes. With utter transparency he penned his deepest personal battles. “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” he cried out. But then, at the darkest moment of despair, it seems that Paul received a fresh revelation from on high: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!... For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 7:24-8:2)

Inherent within these verses is a promise, but it’s a conditional promise. Until a man truly believes there is hope of freedom—believes the truth of God’s Word—he will never take the necessary steps to claim the promise of freedom. This life of liberty was purchased at Calvary for every child of God. It was there on the Cross that Jesus forever broke the hold of sin on the believer. Freedom for the captives has been declared! The chief problem is simply that many Christians don’t realize the magnitude of what was purchased for them. They don’t realize that they are free.

The Emancipation Proclamation

This reminds me of a story written by Hannah Whitall Smith about some Southern slaves who lived during the Civil War. President Lincoln had recently issued the Emancipation Proclamation and news of it was sweeping across the land. The Proclamation secured freedom for every slave as soon as it was issued. However, each slave, wherever he might be, had to believe and act on the report before this freedom would actually become his. Mrs. Smith tells the story:

“In a little out-of-the-way Southern town, a Northern lady found, about two or three years after the war was over, some slaves who had not yet taken possession of their freedom. An assertion of hers, that the North had set them free, aroused the attention of an old colored auntie, who interrupted her with the eager question: ‘O missus, is we free?’

“‘Of course you are,’ replied the lady.

“‘O missus, is you sure?’ urged the woman, with intensest eagerness. ‘Certainly, I am sure,’ answered the lady. ‘Why, is it possible you did not know it?’

“‘Well,’ said the woman, ‘we heered tell as how we was free, and we asked master, and he 'lowed we wasn't, and so we was afraid to go. And then we heered tell again, and we went to the cunnel, and he 'lowed we'd better stay with ole massa. And so we's just been off and on. Sometimes we'd hope we was free, and then again we'd think we wasn't. But now, missus, if you is sure we is free, won't you tell me all about it?’

“Seeing that this was a case of real need, the lady took the pains to explain the whole thing to the poor woman; all about the war, and the Northern army, and Abraham Lincoln, and his Proclamation of Emancipation, and the present freedom.

“The poor slave listened with the most intense eagerness. She heard the good news. She believed it. And when the story was ended, she walked out of the room with an air of the utmost independence, saying as she went, 'Ts free! I's ain't agoing to stay with ol massa any longer!’” (1)

The point of this story is clear: The woman was by all rights free, but it was not an experiential freedom. Until she believed the report and acted on it, she remained bound to her old master. So it is with the children of God. We were once held in Satan’s malevolent bondage to sin. Then we repented and believed the good news. At that moment, our own Emancipation Proclamation was issued. We now only needed to act upon it.

The Biblical Pattern of Freedom

Thus, a biblical pattern emerges. First, a man must hear the report that he is free. Second, he must believe it by faith. Third, he must act upon that faith by fulfilling any conditions attached to it. After doing all of this he will begin to feel the freedom that was being offered all along. This, Smith points out, is the divine order of faith. Regrettably, many Christians want to reverse this order. They desire the feeling of freedom before the actions of faith. But, feelings follow behavior. We feel free when we act like free men. Living by feelings rather than faith, they doom themselves to a life of defeat.

The Word of God is heaven’s “emancipation” report, signed with Christ’s own precious blood, and sent to God’s people on earth. It boldly proclaims liberty for the captive soul. If we will only believe and follow through on what we have been told, we will find God’s grace is there to set us free and keep us free. “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free… So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:31-36)

(1) Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, © 2004 by Hendrickson Publishers Peabody, MA, pp. 51-53.