With a record number of believers struggling with the temptation to watch pornography, author and theologian John Piper is pointing Christians to a verse that should motivate them to resist lust.
As CBN News reported last fall, a new study, Beyond the Porn Phenomenon, a joint venture from the Barna Group and Pure Desire Ministries, found around 54% of Christians and 68% of non-Christians admitted viewing pornography. And, when broken down, the survey revealed 75% of Christian men and 40% of Christian women use pornography to varying degrees.
On his “Ask Pastor John” podcast, the 79-year-old minister answered a question from a listener named Derek, who wondered the relevance of Psalm 16:11 in the Christian battle against temptation toward lust.
In the Old Testament passage, King David wrote, “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever” (NLT).
Piper encouraged believers to be motivated to reject fleeting sinful satisfaction because of the promise of everlasting joy in the presence of God. Pornography offers a false contentment in comparison to the eternal gratification that comes from Jesus.
“The Bible,” he said, “uses fear and hope to draw us away from impurity.”
The Minneapolis-based minister pointed to Romans 8:13, in which the Apostle Paul wrote, “For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live” (NLT).
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Piper said a central theme of Scripture is the juxtaposition of fear and promise.
“Hell is real; heaven is better. Flee hell; pursue heaven,” he pointed out, noting the consequences of sin and the benefits of righteousness. He added, “No other religion reveals a God who sent His own Son to endure the punishment for the sins of His enemies.”
Ultimately, Piper encouraged Derek — and other believers facing the same temptation toward lust — to reflect on the two realities laid out in the Bible: “My mind turns to beauty, and my mind turns to blood.”
The beauty is the promise of eternal presence with God and the blood is the sacrifice of Jesus that made the reconnection with God possible. Those two truths — taken together — are the best motivator for purity, he said.
“My ears hear Jesus say, ‘I suffered crucifixion to turn you away from the fleeting pleasures of sin and lust to embrace the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore,'” he said. “And, in that way, Psalm 16:11 is the greatest promise purchased at the greatest price — and, therefore, I pray it will become the greatest power for purity.”
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