Powerful forces in society have profited multiple billions of dollars annually from the sale of pornography. It is not a problem that will go away anytime soon.
However we can find true freedom from pornography in Christ Jesus. For the unsaved, the first step is to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord through a true heart-felt repentance and born-again experience – the kind that changes your life forever. Such a choice is the kind of Christianity that produces fruit that others can see is real. I believe it is nearly impossible to walk away from pornography, or any serious addiction, without the real change that takes place when Jesus Christ makes you a new creation through regeneration. (2 Corinthians 5:17).
But what about the Christian who struggles with pornography? How can a Christian who has allowed this addiction into their life find freedom? Firstly, we must deal openly and honestly. Pornography is not a cultural fad or a form of release; it is sin. It must be confessed as such and we must ask the Lord for help in moving away from its addition. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Realize also that all personal sin do not always just disappear in one day. You will need to have your mind renewed which takes place over time as you get into the Truth of God’s Word and with the help of the Holy Spirit daily changing you. In this process, you will need to make the decision every day to instantly obey what God says to you by the written Word and the leading of God’s Spirit. This is the fastest way to develop spiritually and become a mature Christian. It is also the path to having sins that gave you problems before not even be a temptation to you today. That is the goal as you start this path to true freedom from pornography.
Rom 6:11-14 “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Roman’s is an excellent starting place in renewing your mind with the Truth that will set you free. You must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God, which means your response to the sin of pornography will be ineffective and at the same time your response to the prompting and convicting of the Holy Spirit will be very effective. If the Bible says not to let sin reign in your mortal body, then this is possible for you to do.
I was exposed to pornography as a fifteen year old boy. And for years I struggled, even as a Christian, to get free. But I will say the number one thing that set me free was my heart making the steadfast decision to surrender my whole life to Jesus Christ. One day as I attended Bible School, I surrendered all. I fully committed to Jesus Christ. And from that day onward God gave me the grace and power to live free from pornography.
Being a nominal Christian doesn’t bring real freedom. You must be a committed Christian wholly devoted to letting Jesus be Lord in every area of your life. Choose to the let Jesus fully have the rest of your life – every thought, every decision, every action.
The Institute for Family Studies said, “Across all religious groups in America, people who attend religious services more frequently are far less likely to view pornography. Nominally-Protestant men are nearly five times more likely to view pornographic films as men who frequently attend religious services (more than weekly). And across all levels of religious attendance, Protestant men are about 5 to 10 percentage points less likely to have viewed porn in the last year.” –https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-truth-about-conservative-protestant-men-and-porn
That is evidence that being a nominal, in-and-out of church Christian, will not work. You need to commit to the Lord Jesus Christ with your whole heart and life.
Other things that will help you get free include humbly crying out to God for His grace and help. Make sure your heart stays in a place of humility and submission to His will. Also put away anything inappropriate that can tempt you, like throw out inappropriate magazines and use pornography blocking on websites. Your spouse or other Christian friends can help keep you accountable. Finally, learn how to control your thinking so that any thought that is ungodly, cast it down and put your mind on that which is pure and godly.