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Pornography Pastors and Paternal Parents
July 11, 2006
Greetings in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

This message is to pastors and paternal parents (fathers) about the perils of pornography.

One of the reasons the church is so powerless today is because its members are impure. It’s like trying to fly an American fighter jet—the most powerful and sophisticated in the world—with water in the aviation gas. All that potential just sitting on the runway going nowhere because of impurities in the power source. Imagine trying to fly the “Shock and Awe” air battle with which we so swiftly prepared Iraq for the invasion of ground troops when all of our planes are grounded due to gas impurities!

Paul commanded Timothy in I Timothy 5:22, “Keep thyself pure.” King David vowed in Psalm 101:3, “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.” It was King David who did not keep this vow and brought great havoc to his nation and his own family when he viewed pornography on his neighbor’s roof. Then he murdered to get it. And there are studies and case files out that show unchecked pornography will eventually lead to murder in a vain attempt to stop it (see James Dobson’s interview with the mass murderer Ted Bundy). Pornography is not a harmless sin.

So, what are we to do? As always, God’s commands in Scripture provide plenty of remedy. First, the theme verse of this web site should be applied. We need to repent. If we have any secret places in our hearts where we really would like to see some pornography, then we need to confess to God and “turn from our wicked ways.” A great way to “turn” is to fill our minds with Scriptural encouragement instead of secular excrement. Consistent personal devotions are a must.

Second, to avoid finding ourselves right back at the repentance altar, we need to be accountable to someone. James 5:16 says, “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.” This is of particular importance to pastors who rightly need to set the example for the flock but often carry this too far and feel that they must convey an air of perfection in order to get the flock to listen to their preaching. You are not perfect! Pastors will serve their flocks better and fathers will serve their families better if they admit they have sins they need to overcome. The healing part is not just for the confessor. I can’t tell you how many times that someone has come up to me and said, “You know, the Devil was sitting on my shoulder telling me that I was the only one with this sin until you shared.” Name the sin. If you confess to others and pray for each other, the one who hears you admit that you are not perfect often encounters a healing time with God.

To whom should we be accountable? Obviously, someone in whom you can trust. Ideally, if we are married to a strong, good woman, then we should be accountable to our wives. Imagine my trouble, spending five nights a week in an apartment (for my long distance commute) where I need to have high-speed internet for both my work and for this web site. And imagine my wife’s dismay if I have not maintained a pure walk. I cannot and will not lie to her. So, I have a very strong incentive to “keep myself pure.”

Third, the Devil plays dirty in every direction. He will not only condemn us after we sin, but it is he who tells us the mental lies to tempt us to sin in the first place! Here’s a classic lie, “I can handle it. I can get close to the line and not cross over.” This is straight from the pit of hell. What does the Bible say about temptation? It says in several places that we are to FLEE! I Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee fornication.” I Corinthians 10:14 says, “Flee from idolatry.” Again, Paul mentoring the young pastor Timothy says, “Flee also youthful lusts” in II Timothy 2:22.

And the lines to cross over are so readily available in this Information Age of the Screen Generation: pop culture magazines (like People) discussing such-and-such actress who regularly gets naked on TV, which leads us to watch the not-so-innocent-anymore network TV shows that may not even show nudity but come provocatively close (could be as “harmless” as a beauty pageant), and that leads to staying up late (we tell the wife we have some work to do on the computer) to paddle our progressive pornography canoe right into the bottomless vortex of internet pornography. Gentlemen, let’s follow James 5:16 and II Chronicles 7:14 and II Timothy 2:22 to create a path to purity!

Some practical things to remember from Scripture: repent, be accountable, stay way away from the line (get rid of pop culture magazines in the house and don’t read them in public settings, stop watching TV, don’t go to movies that advertise using a sexual attraction, take the door down in your home office, don’t stay up later than your wife at home, have your computer screen facing directly at the door to your office, and most importantly, fill your heart and mind with daily prayer and devotions. Jesus encouraged his disciples in three of the four gospels to “pray lest ye fall into temptation.”

Here’s point “3a” about the Devil’s lies: “I just can’t help myself. It’s my thorn in the flesh. It’s the way I am.” The Devil’s lies always have a shred of truth. The only shred in this one is that we all have a propensity for sin. And we each have our own bent. The truth stops there. Pastors, fathers and boys—and all other congregation members for that matter—should commit First Corinthians 10;13 to memory, “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.” We CAN overcome with God’s help IF we really want to!

God is a Holy God. Would you give your brand new car to an irresponsible teenager? Neither will God impart to us His unadulterated power when we are disobedient to His Word. Assemblies of God pastors and congregation members should be running to the altars based on the things I’ve heard them admit to first hand. And how can we ask God to clean up the world when we ourselves are secretly indulging in visual sin?

In order for our fellowship to return to a position of experiencing Pentecostal power, we must be passionate about purity before a Holy God. The Old Testament stories of Samson, King David and Bathsheba and the Children of Israel being carted off to Babylon convey that God is passionate about purity. James 1: 14-15 says, “But 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.”

The signs are everywhere that the American church is becoming a house of cards. And the Assemblies of God are no exception. God’s next little puff of judgment will expose it for the fraudulent, powerless shell that it is. Please repent A/G members before we are discarded by God and He chooses another!

For Our Own Sake and the Sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,

Brother Mike

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