Silas
Beloved of All
Your honest confession before the Lord is heard and it matters. To come openly and say forgive me for this sin is the right step, and Scripture assures us that there is forgiveness with God and you have not gone too far to receive it.
Your greatest need, and the greatest miracle God does in any life, is the forgiveness of sins. Without it we remain lost and under judgment, but God has made a righteous basis for forgiveness because Jesus took our sins upon himself and bore the penalty in our place. Through his death for you, God can forgive you fully and justly. As David wrote, how happy is the person whose transgression is forgiven. That forgiveness is offered to all, because God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and it comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Pornography is not a small struggle. It has the power to take a person captive and hold him like a slave in a tight grip. God designed sexual intimacy to belong only within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and any use of it outside that commitment is a distortion of his good design. That is why this sin can entangle so deeply and lead further into bondage. Yet the Bible gives hope even for those who have gone far in this path. There was a king who went further than most away from God and still, when he called upon the Lord in humility, he found a loving and forgiving God. Peter also failed grievously and denied his Lord, yet he found forgiveness and restoration and was used again. God is gracious, merciful, long suffering and patient toward those who turn to him.
The sorrow you feel can become the doorway to real change if it is godly sorrow. There is a sorrow that only regrets consequences and brings death, like a man who weeps because he lost something but does not weep over the sin itself. Godly sorrow is different. It works repentance that leads to salvation and it always shows itself in a change. True repentance is not only saying I am sorry, but turning away and walking a new direction, bringing forth the fruit that demonstrates the heart has changed. If we are sorry and we leave the sin behind, that is repentance.
You asked also for healing, and God does heal. He heals in many ways, sometimes instantly, sometimes gradually through processes he has built into our bodies and minds, and he can heal the wounds and scars this sin has left in your emotions and thoughts. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the suffering of the coming Savior for our sins, and Matthew shows that this also includes our physical healing, so we should not limit what God can do to only the spiritual. At the same time we are not to presume that God wills a particular healing in every case in the way we expect, as Paul learned when he prayed three times about his thorn and God had another purpose. What we can know with certainty is that God wills to heal you spiritually, to forgive, to cleanse, and to make you new. That salvation is far more important than any other healing, and when you receive his forgiveness the war with God is over and he gives a wonderful peace because you are no longer running from him or fighting against him.
Bring this sin into the light before Jesus now, confess it fully, and ask him to be your Savior and Lord. Turn from the sources and habits that feed this temptation and do the practical works that show repentance, such as removing access, seeking accountability with a mature believer you trust, and filling your mind with Scripture. God will meet you as you turn to him, forgive you completely through Christ, and begin his healing work in you.
Your greatest need, and the greatest miracle God does in any life, is the forgiveness of sins. Without it we remain lost and under judgment, but God has made a righteous basis for forgiveness because Jesus took our sins upon himself and bore the penalty in our place. Through his death for you, God can forgive you fully and justly. As David wrote, how happy is the person whose transgression is forgiven. That forgiveness is offered to all, because God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance, and it comes through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Pornography is not a small struggle. It has the power to take a person captive and hold him like a slave in a tight grip. God designed sexual intimacy to belong only within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, and any use of it outside that commitment is a distortion of his good design. That is why this sin can entangle so deeply and lead further into bondage. Yet the Bible gives hope even for those who have gone far in this path. There was a king who went further than most away from God and still, when he called upon the Lord in humility, he found a loving and forgiving God. Peter also failed grievously and denied his Lord, yet he found forgiveness and restoration and was used again. God is gracious, merciful, long suffering and patient toward those who turn to him.
The sorrow you feel can become the doorway to real change if it is godly sorrow. There is a sorrow that only regrets consequences and brings death, like a man who weeps because he lost something but does not weep over the sin itself. Godly sorrow is different. It works repentance that leads to salvation and it always shows itself in a change. True repentance is not only saying I am sorry, but turning away and walking a new direction, bringing forth the fruit that demonstrates the heart has changed. If we are sorry and we leave the sin behind, that is repentance.
You asked also for healing, and God does heal. He heals in many ways, sometimes instantly, sometimes gradually through processes he has built into our bodies and minds, and he can heal the wounds and scars this sin has left in your emotions and thoughts. The prophet Isaiah spoke of the suffering of the coming Savior for our sins, and Matthew shows that this also includes our physical healing, so we should not limit what God can do to only the spiritual. At the same time we are not to presume that God wills a particular healing in every case in the way we expect, as Paul learned when he prayed three times about his thorn and God had another purpose. What we can know with certainty is that God wills to heal you spiritually, to forgive, to cleanse, and to make you new. That salvation is far more important than any other healing, and when you receive his forgiveness the war with God is over and he gives a wonderful peace because you are no longer running from him or fighting against him.
Bring this sin into the light before Jesus now, confess it fully, and ask him to be your Savior and Lord. Turn from the sources and habits that feed this temptation and do the practical works that show repentance, such as removing access, seeking accountability with a mature believer you trust, and filling your mind with Scripture. God will meet you as you turn to him, forgive you completely through Christ, and begin his healing work in you.
