This article is a summary of the Vinicius Musselman conference at the Interactive Faithful Youth Conference 2020.
We live in the midst of an epidemic of pornography, Millions of young people suffocate amid guilt and shame. Even the secular world is becoming aware of the problem. And in this context, an alarming number of believers are enslaved by this sin. The impulse is almost irresistible and many even think they don’t. I don’t have the power to resist. This practice is sometimes difficult to mention because it is so terrible. How serious is this sin! But how do we fight in this war?See the text of Colossses 3:1-6, in which Paul gives the manual against sexual sin.
- Some will try to fight with their own leaves.
- But failure is inevitable: they fail miserably.
- We need better weapons in this fight.
- Paulo knows that combat is a war in which we have to kill something (?But let me tell you.
- There’s no quick fix or magic potion to get this over with.
- To win a war.
- You need strategies to resist.
- Enemy attacks.
- Weapons to attack it.
- And an army of reinforcements for that war.
- Let’s look at 3 strategies Paul proposes for victory against pornography.
- It’s a recurring pattern in the scriptures.
1. The strategy of past grace (3. 3). Paul bases the command on the spiritual realities he presented earlier. In chapter 1, Paul declares that the believer has a new identity in Christ and is no longer connected with things on earth. Like Christ, you died but rose again with him, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. This change did not happen because of his works, but because of what Christ did! He took miserable sinners (us) and joined his life to ours. All our guilt, our shame, our misery, He took upon Himself on the cross; with perfect justice and glory he has clothed us. His spiritual reality is given by what Christ is and where he is, seated at the right hand of God. All of this is what we call past grace: what Christ has accomplished for us and in us. The strategy here is to kill the earthly nature by embracing our new identity in Christ, because sin lies to it. Your earthly nature wants you to be addicted to porn and masturbation. But it is necessary to believe that you are what Christ has done in you and what is continually transforming you. This will serve as a shield against the darts of the evil one. We often indulge in the fight against pornography because we believe in what the devil says we are instead of believing in what Christ says we are. When sin comes against you, confront it by declaring that you are a new person, that you have risen with Christ, and that it is Christ who rules over you.
2. La future grace strategy (3. 4). The promise is that when Christ is revealed, we will manifest with him in glory. Think about what that means, you will share the glory of Christ Jesus on his return. Christ guarantees not only a new identity, but also a new future and, in this future, it is glory!Not the shame of impurity, nor the misery of wickedness, nor slavery. sin; but total victory and total peace.
Stop for a moment. Try to imagine the One who will come on a white horse who will come in glory as victorious and who will come out victorious (Revelation 6: 2), establishing his kingdom without blemish and sin. Now look at yourself there, dressed in white, looking at the face of the Savior (Revelation 7: 9-10). Given this promise, what is a few moments of carnal pleasure worth? Considering the happiness that the pure will see God, how satisfying are the images on your cell phone? Considering the rich promises of the gospel, how much is your click worth? Moses rejected fleeting pleasures because he imagined the reward (Hebrews 11: 24-26). Are the pleasures you seek when you are bored worth it? What is it that most satisfies your soul? What is worth more? You know that Christ is worth more than all that, but you have to open your heart to glory and be filled with the promises of God. This is the second strategy in the war against lust. It will help you keep your eyes on the glory and re-evaluate your priorities, values, and activities. When you do, you will no longer find pleasure in the trivial things you have seen. The promises of Christ are far better than the false promises of the devil.
3. When do we reject grace? Use the total dishonor strategy (3. 5-6). Observe the horrible nature of sin. Paulo goes from the outside inward in a progression that turns out to be idolatry, in our hearts there is an idol. Consuming pornography and masturbating, he prostrates himself to another idol and exchanges God for him. Keep in mind that the idol of pornography and masturbation does not keep its promises. They promise complete and lasting satisfaction, but the opposite is true. another abyss and are becoming less and less satisfying.
Paul also presents a future we do not want: the wrath of God. The end of sin is death. With idolatry comes hell. If you live in peace with your sin and have gone to war; If you no longer have any repentance or desire to grow in holiness, from now on, shake!You are subject to the wrath of God, Listen to the call and rise from the dead, wake up now!Look at the horror of sin and go back, to war!The fight against pornography is not just about finding a quick fix, it’s a war. You fall because of your emotional state that opens a gap for the enemy. The fight takes place in your heart.
To put all this into practice, Paul gives a counsel in Colosssenses 3:1-2: look and think from above, you must fill your mind with things above, because it is when our mind is in glory that we can kill what is bad here on earth.
You think this is a very difficult war? Maybe you look too much at yourself. Take a look and see your captain. See what he’s done for you. See the perfect life you lived, the righteousness you obtained, the sacrifice you made, and the Spirit you sent to be with you in this war, ensuring ultimate success until you return in glory. So go ahead! raise your sword and fight for victory in Christ Jesus!