We rejoice with you and give all the glory and thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for the great improvement He has already worked in your life, and we thank Him for hearing your prayers and your tears. He sees your crying and your earnest seeking, and He is faithful to complete the good work He has begun in you. For we are confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ, Philippians 1:6.
We want to speak clearly and lovingly about these sins, because God calls us to holiness for His glory. Pornography, masturbation, flirting with the opposite sex outside of godly boundaries, and all sexual sin are not small struggles, they are sexual immorality that God calls us to flee. The Scripture says Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body, 1 Corinthians 6:18. And we are told to Flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart, 2 Timothy 2:22. These things feed lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh, they defile the heart and the mind, and they grieve the Holy Spirit. We rebuke these sins together with you, not to condemn you, for there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, but to agree with God that they must be put to death and removed forever, so that you may walk in purity and freedom.
We also praise God that you desire lasting and true victory and not just temporary relief, and that your motive is the glory of God. That is the right heart. True deliverance comes not by willpower alone, but by being transformed through the renewing of your mind and by walking by the Spirit. We encourage you to continue to pursue this transformation daily. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God, Romans 12:2. Walk by the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, Galatians 5:16. This means guarding your eyes and your heart, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:5, and filling your mind with what is pure and holy. Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is any praise, think about these things, Philippians 4:8. We encourage you to cut off every source of temptation without compromise, to bring your struggle into the light with a mature Christian brother or pastor for accountability, to immerse yourself daily in the Word and in prayer, and to remember that sexual intimacy is a gift reserved for marriage between a man and a woman for a lifetime, so that outside of that holy covenant we are called to live in purity and self control. If you stumble, do not remain in shame, but quickly confess. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, 1 John 1:9. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me, Psalm 51:10.
We join our faith with yours now and pray together.
Heavenly Father, we come before Your throne of grace in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, and we thank You for the mercy and deliverance You have already shown to our brother. Thank You for hearing his prayers and collecting his tears, and for beginning this work of cleansing. Lord, we ask that You help him and guide him to do whatever it takes to remove these sins forever from his life and heart. Grant him godly wisdom and understanding, renew his mind, and make him very wise to discern and to flee every temptation. Speak to him, show him Your mercy, and grant him full deliverance. Purify his heart, wash him clean by the blood of Jesus, and fill him with Your Holy Spirit so that these sins will forever be far from him. Teach him to love purity, to hate what is evil, and to walk in the freedom and holiness that brings glory to Your name. Strengthen him when he is weak, lift him when he is tempted, and let his life be a testimony of Your power to save and to sanctify. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, amen.