{"id":3582,"date":"2018-09-10T12:51:28","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T10:51:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.safersurfing.org\/loveismore-en\/?p=3582"},"modified":"2018-12-12T17:51:39","modified_gmt":"2018-12-12T15:51:39","slug":"against-sexual-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.safersurfing.org\/loveismore-en\/against-sexual-sin\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do in the Battle Against Sexual Sin"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. Isolation must be eliminated.<\/h2>\n

Mold thrives in hidden, dark places; it feeds on rotting organic matter, and does best in a lukewarm environment.<\/p>\n

Like mold, lust grows strong when it’s hidden; it thrives in the darkness and feeds off of a lukewarm heart, rotting it out over time.<\/p>\n

For the struggler with sex addiction, isolation is death. The only way to counter it is to be transparent with others on an ongoing basis.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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James 5:16 says:<\/h2><\/div>
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Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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and in Proverbs 28:13 we read:<\/h2><\/div>
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“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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We aren’t meant to be lone stranger Christians. Lust is too big for us to whip on our own, and willpower doesn’t work. The only way to dissolve the shame and begin the process of breaking free from sexual sin is to expose our failures, struggles and fears to others. We give sin more power over us when we try to hide it, so the James 5:16 way of life is the only way to deal with it.<\/p>\n

The transparency we read about James 5:16 in Proverbs 28:13 isn’t a one time event; it doesn’t end\u00a0when we finish working a 30 day recovery program or if we feel a little better. We’re all broken clay pots, and we need to live connected with others for life. This is why grace is so critical to the healing process; if others don’t accept us without condemnation then we dare not be vulnerable. The freedom to be broken liberates us from the slavery of sexual sin and shame and opens up a conduit where we can receive God’s healing grace.<\/p>\n

The James 5:16 way of life opens the door for deep friendships to develop, the David and Jonathan kind that every man wants but few find. When another man tells me “I made a big sale today” I think “good for you” and go on my way. But when he says “I’m hurting… I need help… my marriage is teetering on disaster,” I’m blessed by his honesty, and his vulnerability encourages me to be transparent with him; as we encourage and support each other a bond begins to take form. This is how the body of Christ is meant to function.<\/p>\n

Living connected with others replaces shame with confidence; fear with peace. When we’re accepted for who are without being judged for our failures, the light of grace shows us that we’re not the scum we’d mistakenly thought we were. Consistent accountability can be a wonderful preventative against sexual sin, as the knowledge that we’d have to tell someone of a slip forces us to think of the consequences before acting out.<\/p>\n

For complete freedom from lust, all isolation must be eliminated. Become aware of the stresses, circumstances and pleasures of life (such as video games) that set you on the path to isolation. If you feel yourself slipping into isolation, connect with God or a person. We connect with God by talking to him, and we can connect with others by a phone call, sending an email, writing a letter, or meeting them for a meal.<\/p>\n

For those who are single, realize that being alone is not the same as being isolated. To isolate means to “set apart from.” When alone you can still find peace by communing with God, listening to uplifting music, reading a book, or exercising. Jesus often spent time alone with God, so a solitary life is not necessarily an isolated one. There are many marriages where the husband and wife are isolated (set apart) from each other. The unmarried need to make an effort to reach out to others and allow God to form a support base of the family of God around them.<\/p>\n

So what does the James 5:16 life look like ?<\/h3>\n<\/div>