Do You Believe Freedom Is Possible?
Jesus and His Promise [For Freedom — Porn Resource Pt.4]
Note: This series was originally written as a group resource to be read and discussed over a period of several weeks. If you’re reading this alone, I pray that it helps you, but I encourage you to go through it with someone.
Repent and Believe
“Repent and believe the Good News!” (Mark 1:15 NIV).
God’s capacity for redemption is greater than your capacity for sin. Repent and trust in the grace of God to deliver you. Do you believe He can?
Other times, we fail to see the true cost of our sin. We become complacent and just accept it, thinking it’s not a big deal. Ask God to show you the true cost of your sin: in your life, in your relationships, and in the lives of others. Repent and believe for freedom.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1 NIV).
Your Sin Doesn’t Define You
David was the man after God’s own heart, but even he was fallible. He was a sinner just like you and me and everyone else to have ever walked this earth (minus Jesus). However, he did some things that, by comparison, would have many of us feeling like we’re not that bad.
While the army was at war, King David — the supposed leader of the army of God’s people — was back at home chilling when Bathsheba caught his eye (2 Samuel 11). He watched her bathe, and when she was done, he wasn’t. He ordered one of his men to bring her to him so that he could finish what he had started in his mind. Your mind matters.
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14–15 ESV).
David slept with Bathsheba before sending her away. When she became pregnant, he pulled her husband from the battlefield in hopes that they would sleep together, thus ending the inevitable scandal before it could begin. When that failed, he strategically had her husband murdered on the battlefield. Sin is a slippery slope.
Read Psalm 51
Sin doesn’t have to define you. Psalm 51 is a beautiful depiction of David’s repentance and faith in God’s grace. Through the family line of David and Bathsheba — an immoral relationship — King Jesus was born.
“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7 NLT).
Mustard Seed
“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20 ESV).
Do you believe that Jesus was born of a virgin? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save you from your sin?
Is that not more than a mustard seed of faith? You already have more than enough faith to move mountains and do the impossible.
You don’t need more faith. You need to start walking in the faith already granted to you. Activate your faith. Stop looking at your sin and depravity, and start looking at Jesus and His faithfulness.
Faith the size of a grain of mustard seed can move mountains, and it can set you free from porn.
Shame
God has already set us free from sin and death. The devil is powerless to stop Him, but he is wily. He may not be able to chain us, but he has a crafty weapon to convince us to re-chain ourselves: shame.
Don’t let shame in. Shame is born in the darkness and attempts to trap us in our sin. Shame isolates us from the community of believers. Shame tells us that we’re not good enough. Shame steals our hope and joy.
Shame is worse than the sin that caused it, but here’s the deal: shame cannot live in the light.
Find an Ally
Confess your sin to a friend. Share your battle plan, and create one together. Ask for help.
Continually confess when you fall. Repent. Get back up. Rejoice again in your salvation. Fight on. The devil works in darkness, so turn the lights on.
Exercise // Psalm 51
Read Psalm 51 and Galatians 5:1.
Spend 15–30 minutes with Jesus to answer this question, “Do I believe that I can be free — not in the distant future — but now?”
