Doubts About Enjoying Porn Come From a Lack of Understanding The Gospel

A Christian man studies the Scriptures and he finds that lust is not mere sexual desire or even sexual fantasy, but it is the desire to entice someone into committing fornication or adultery. He further studies and learns the Scriptural principle that we as Christians do not have to agree with the way something was made (like images of porn constructed by using unmarried actors) to enjoy the use of that thing. And he understands that he can take the good from porn (beautiful images of men and women having sex) and separate that from the bad (sinful set up stories before the sex).

And yet he still struggles with doubt and fear about using porn. I have had a lot of men email me over the past few years telling me “Larry – The Scriptures you show and the expositions of those Scriptures you give make so much sense. But I just can’t over come my feelings and worry that I will go to hell for masturbating and looking at porn”.

This doubt and fear comes a lack understanding regarding the Gospel.

In Romans 4:5-8 (KJV) the Scriptures say:“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.  Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

And one of the famous reformers, Martin Luther, had this favorite verse which was found in Romans 1:17: “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

My point for you men who struggle with continued doubts about using porn after you have seen it is Scripturally permissible is this.  Martin Luther had the weight of the Catholic church who up till then had reigned supreme over the monarchs of Europe . They told him that his doctrines were evil and wrong and he would burn in hell for them.

HIs response was “The just shall live by faith”.  We are saved by faith, not by works.  We are saved by faith, not by being correct in our understanding of every doctrine of the Scriptures.  If we trust Christ as our savior, believing that he was the sinless Son of God, God in the flesh and that he died to pay for our sins – we are saved.  Period.

We might be right or wrong about Calvinism, Arminianism, the other doctrines of Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists or Pentecostals. We could even be wrong on our understanding of the doctrine of lust and how it relates to porn use. But we are not saved by being right on every doctrine – we are saved by believing the only doctrine that can save us or damn us – the Gospel of Christ.

Martin Luther taught doctrines that were contrary to the Catholic church. Many doctrines. But he rested in his faith that he was saved by believing the Gospel, and doing his best to understand and practice what he believed were correct doctrines on everything else.

This was a decision I made many years ago.  To simply follow Martin Luther’s example and live by faith, even with regard to my understanding of the doctrines of the Scriptures.

  And that is what you gentlemen must do. Live by faith, not by feelings.  Knowing that even if we are wrong on this doctrine or that doctrine, as long as we believe the Gospel we will one day see Christ.  Everything else is us just making a judgement call and living by faith that the judgement we have made is right.