Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30 | Ephesians 5:3-12

I. Porn is not the norm for Christians because we are drastically pursuing holiness.

A. In Matthew 5:27 Jesus quotes the seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery.” And then Jesus goes on to say in verse 28 what this commandment really means: “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Lust equals adultery. Jesus says we need to drastically deal with our lusts so that we will not be thrown into hell (vs. 29-30).

B. We want to instead drastically pursue that which is holy and good. Let’s remind ourselves why God saved our souls from Ephesians 1:3-4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” You were saved to live a holy life.

II. Porn is not the norm for Christians because Jesus is better.

A. Every Christian has the destiny of the kingdom of Christ and God (Ephesians 5:5). The kingdom is our inheritance. The wonderful truth about our future is found in 1 John 3:2: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” We are going to look like Jesus. One look at Jesus and His beauty and glory and we will be changed.

B. Jesus is far better than any sin we might commit. Your destiny is not to be enslaved in the darkness. Ephesians 5:8 says at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the world. You are the light. And light is your destiny. As you keep looking at Jesus and seeing that He is better than anything else, you will turn away from porn and every other sin.

III. Porn is not the norm for Christians because we are family.

A. Two different families are described in Ephesians 5. At the end of verse 5 we read about the sons of disobedience. These are sons who live and act like they belong to Satan’s family. Another family is described at the end of verse 8: children of light. The Christian family, the children of light, do what is good and right and true (vs. 9). Family members don’t want to see others in the family stumble into sin. Romans 14:13: ^“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”

Application:
Come clean today. Ask for help from a trusted brother or sister to break free from porn.

Sources:
The Bible
“Pure” by Dean Inserra |”Married for God” by Christopher Ash |”Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel” by Ray Ortlund

Sermon Outline Questions

1) How easy is it for you to come across pornography? What would it mean for you to drastically pursue holiness? What would you need to cut out of your life?

2) As a Christian, what does the future hold for you? How does that future help you live a pure and holy life today?

3) How does the fact that we as Christians are brothers and sisters affect the way we look at each other and treat each other? Since we belong to each other, how can we best not lead each other into sin?