Chrysostom
Beloved of All
God has heard your honest cry and it is good that you have brought it into the light instead of hiding it. Do not think that because you have fallen countless times you are beyond mercy. The very fact that you grieve over this sin and desire to be free is a sign that God is still working in you and calling you to return.
Scripture teaches that there is only one washing of baptism, but repentance has not been taken away. God in His longsuffering bears with us and gives us space to repent, not because He overlooks sin, but because He is patient and desires to lead us to repentance. He is a righteous Judge and He is powerful to forgive, and the Church is like a spiritual bath where stains of the soul are washed away through sincere repentance. If you are willing to turn to Him rightly, all can be accomplished. Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered, and that blessedness comes not by our own work but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who bore our sins and carried them to the Father not to condemn us, but to obtain forgiveness for us.
Yet there is a sorrow that leads to life and a sorrow that leads to death, and you must understand the difference. Godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation, a repentance that brings no regret, because the person mourns his sin, condemns it, and turns from it to be healed. There is another sorrow that is not true repentance. Esau sought the blessing with tears, but he found no place of repentance because his tears were not for his sin but for his loss, and his heart did not truly turn. Judas also felt remorse after his sin was completed, but his sorrow did not lead him back to Christ. He threw down the silver, but then he despaired and destroyed himself, and the devil led him out of repentance too soon so that he reaped no fruit from it. Do not follow that path of despair. To condemn your sin is right and acceptable to God, but to hang yourself in despair, to say there is no hope and no forgiveness left for you, is the work of the enemy. Your sorrow must lead you to Christ, not away from Him.
Therefore do not remain in despair, and do not treat repentance as only feeling bad. True repentance is to see your sin clearly, to agree with God that it is sin, and to turn from it in practice. For sins of lust, this means fleeing what feeds them. Just as anger is fed by clamor and railing, lust is fed by fornication, uncleanness, and the things that lead to them, including filthy talk and jesting and images that inflame desire. If you would be healed, you must cut off the ways that bring the temptation to you. Put away pornography completely, make it inaccessible, bring your struggle into the light with a trusted pastor or mature believer who can walk with you and hold you accountable, and stay in the regular life of the church, in prayer, in the Word, and in fellowship. Each day God gives you is a gift of His patience so that you may put off the old life.
Let us pray for you now as you have asked.
Father, have mercy on Your child who confesses this sin before You. Forgive him through the blood of Jesus Christ alone, who bore our sins on the cross. Cover his iniquities and cleanse his conscience, not because of his works, but by Your grace. Save him and deliver him from the power of this sin. Grant him godly sorrow that works true repentance unto salvation. Lift despair from his heart and give him hope, strength to flee temptation, and a pure heart that seeks to live in holiness as You designed, with sex and intimacy kept within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Fill him with Your Holy Spirit, renew his mind, and keep him in Your longsuffering love. Lead him to walk in the light and to find help and healing in the fellowship of Your people. In the name of Jesus we ask this, amen.
Do not stop praying this prayer and do not stop turning to Him. If you fall again, rise again and return. Seek help in person from a pastor this week, tell one faithful person the truth, and remove every access to pornography today. God is able to heal those who turn to Him.
Scripture teaches that there is only one washing of baptism, but repentance has not been taken away. God in His longsuffering bears with us and gives us space to repent, not because He overlooks sin, but because He is patient and desires to lead us to repentance. He is a righteous Judge and He is powerful to forgive, and the Church is like a spiritual bath where stains of the soul are washed away through sincere repentance. If you are willing to turn to Him rightly, all can be accomplished. Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered, and that blessedness comes not by our own work but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who bore our sins and carried them to the Father not to condemn us, but to obtain forgiveness for us.
Yet there is a sorrow that leads to life and a sorrow that leads to death, and you must understand the difference. Godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation, a repentance that brings no regret, because the person mourns his sin, condemns it, and turns from it to be healed. There is another sorrow that is not true repentance. Esau sought the blessing with tears, but he found no place of repentance because his tears were not for his sin but for his loss, and his heart did not truly turn. Judas also felt remorse after his sin was completed, but his sorrow did not lead him back to Christ. He threw down the silver, but then he despaired and destroyed himself, and the devil led him out of repentance too soon so that he reaped no fruit from it. Do not follow that path of despair. To condemn your sin is right and acceptable to God, but to hang yourself in despair, to say there is no hope and no forgiveness left for you, is the work of the enemy. Your sorrow must lead you to Christ, not away from Him.
Therefore do not remain in despair, and do not treat repentance as only feeling bad. True repentance is to see your sin clearly, to agree with God that it is sin, and to turn from it in practice. For sins of lust, this means fleeing what feeds them. Just as anger is fed by clamor and railing, lust is fed by fornication, uncleanness, and the things that lead to them, including filthy talk and jesting and images that inflame desire. If you would be healed, you must cut off the ways that bring the temptation to you. Put away pornography completely, make it inaccessible, bring your struggle into the light with a trusted pastor or mature believer who can walk with you and hold you accountable, and stay in the regular life of the church, in prayer, in the Word, and in fellowship. Each day God gives you is a gift of His patience so that you may put off the old life.
Let us pray for you now as you have asked.
Father, have mercy on Your child who confesses this sin before You. Forgive him through the blood of Jesus Christ alone, who bore our sins on the cross. Cover his iniquities and cleanse his conscience, not because of his works, but by Your grace. Save him and deliver him from the power of this sin. Grant him godly sorrow that works true repentance unto salvation. Lift despair from his heart and give him hope, strength to flee temptation, and a pure heart that seeks to live in holiness as You designed, with sex and intimacy kept within the lifelong covenant of marriage between one man and one woman. Fill him with Your Holy Spirit, renew his mind, and keep him in Your longsuffering love. Lead him to walk in the light and to find help and healing in the fellowship of Your people. In the name of Jesus we ask this, amen.
Do not stop praying this prayer and do not stop turning to Him. If you fall again, rise again and return. Seek help in person from a pastor this week, tell one faithful person the truth, and remove every access to pornography today. God is able to heal those who turn to Him.
