For a very long time, I chose to believe the lie of the enemy that I wasn’t hurting anyone by looking at porn and masturbating to it. It’s not like I was hopping in bed with the women I was lusting after. All I was doing was looking and pleasuring myself. What was wrong with that? No harm no foul! Or so I thought.
Jeremiah 7:6 says, “Do not go after other gods to your own harm.”
I don’t want you to miss God’s warning here. When you worship King Me you are going after another god and you are doing your own self harm.
Welcome to the Point of Purity Podcast. I’m your host, Steve Etner, Author, National Speaker, and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry. This is Episode #94, and in this week’s episode we take a look at what’s wrong with “just a little lust.” So, let’s dive right in as we ask the question, “What Can It Hurt?”
As we begin this week’s episode, I want you to take a few moments here to think through the following questions. In fact, I strongly encourage you to talk with your accountability partner(s) about your answers to these 9 questions. Here they are ...
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your view and understanding of God?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your worship of God?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your fellowship with God?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your prayer life?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your mental health?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your emotional health?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your marriage?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your view of women (or men)?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your interaction with other family members and friends?
It is important you understand that lust, porn, and masturbation has not helped you at all. Rather just the opposite. By going after another god, you have not only turned your back on the One True God who alone can set you free; you have chosen to harm yourself and those you care about.
God’s word is quite clear, we are not to worship or serve any other god except the Creator and Heavenly Father. Listen to the following verses carefully. Think hard about what God’s Word is telling us here.
“If you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 8:19)
“I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:5)
“Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods ... I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:4)
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21)
“Do not be idolaters.” (1 Corinthians 10:7)
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14)
“You shall have no other gods before me. ... You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:3, 5 see also Deuteronomy 5:8-9)
When you are worshipping King Me, when you are choosing to worship a false god, what are you ultimately guilty of? Here is the point I don’t want you to miss: when you are giving in to the sinful, selfish, evil desires of King Me you have made yourself a god. You have chosen to worship and adore King Me. You have willingly chosen to give in to the selfish, sinful whims and wishes, desires and fantasies of King Me. Watch this now: Since you are not God, you are guilty of worshiping a false god. You are guilty of idolatry, and that is wicked and evil in the eyes of your Heavenly Father.
Nothing is more dangerous than worshiping a “god” that is not God (See Exodus 22:20; Joshua 23:16). This is why God commands us to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:5-6 NIV’84)
Don’t miss this. Sexual immorality is idolatry. Sexual impurity is idolatry. Lust is idolatry. Evil desire and greed are idolatry. Each of those are acts of self–worship; worship of a false god. Idolatry. Putting yourself ahead of God, believing that King Me can satisfy yourself more than God will, offends Him – it makes him angry. “We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things.” (Romans 2:2) “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14)
“Because of your hard and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:5)
“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater) has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:5-6)
I share with you these verses to drive home the point that sexual impurity, lust, porn, self-gratification is a serious, grievous, horrible sin in the eyes of God because that behavior gives evidence to a heart that is guilty of idolatry–worship of that which is not God.
So, you have a decision to make. You can choose to keep King Me on the throne of your heart, you can choose to continue in idolatry and be hostile to God; or you can make the hard choice to daily dethrone King Me and allow your Creator and Heavenly Father, your Savior, and the lover of your soul to take His rightful place as the Lord and leader of your heart (see Luke 9:23) thereby experiencing His unfathomable blessings. The choice is yours. However, understand this: with every choice you make there are always consequences. (See Genesis 4:7)
“Now (make the choice right here, right now to) fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. (Choose to) throw away the gods (you have) worshiped ... and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15 NIV’84 additions mine)
“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws (choice); then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you (consequence) .... But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them (choice), I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed (consequence). ... This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20a NIV’84, additions mine, emphasis added)
Yes, you have a choice. God gives you the amazing freedom to make whatever choice you want. He will not force His will and His way upon you. But as we have just seen, He has also given you fair warning. Whatever you choose will have consequences.
As we will see in an upcoming episode, when you choose to worship God, you will be blessed. However, choose to worship yourself, and sin will not only pounce on you, but it will also devour you. It will consume every part of your life. So, it’s entirely up to you. You can “Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” (Judges 10:14) You can choose to “keep on praying to a god that cannot save.” (Isaiah 45:20b) Or you can “call upon (God) in the day of trouble; (He) will deliver you, and you shall glorify (Him).” (Psalm 50:15 additions mine) The Almighty Creator, the Most Holy God, your Heavenly Father promises, “When (you call) to me, I will answer (you); I will be with (you) in trouble; I will rescue (you) and honor (you).” (Psalm 91:15 additions mine)
Here is a word of warning, in the form of a question from Isaiah 10:3. “What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help?” If you choose to worship King Me, you’ll feel good to begin with. You’ll experience pleasure (see Hebrews 11:25). You’ll enjoy physical satisfaction in the moment, but what happens when real trouble comes your way? What happens when the world you have worked so carefully to create comes crashing down around you? Will your sinful, selfish, sexual habits be able to save you? In Jeremiah 2:28 God asks, “Where are your gods that you made for yourself (then)? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble.”
OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study. But before we wrap up this episode, I want to share with you some great, encouraging, uplifting, and healing news. Listen to these verses, let them wash over you and give you hope.
In Psalm 119:114 David says of God, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word.” Then in Psalm 130:7 we read, “Hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.” The fact is, “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Psalm 147:11) Proverbs 23:18 promises that “surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”
So, let me encourage you, let me challenge you to keep God on the throne of your heart today. Because (Jeremiah 17:7) “Blessed is the man (or woman) who trust in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord.” You see my friend (Zephaniah 3:17) “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing!”
If you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about our ministry, be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com .
One of those resources I would like to highlight for you today is my book entitled “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide: A Biblical Toolbox for Purity.” You see, building a life of purity doesn’t happen overnight, and like any building project – it will be best when you use the right tools for the task.
This book, “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide: A Biblical Toolbox for Purity,” is a toolbox filled with nearly 700 passages of Scripture all for the purpose of equipping you with the proper tools to build a lasting life of Biblical purity.
This 5-week devotional guide will help you see how the enemy attacks and, more importantly, how to skillfully handle the Word of God as you learn to fight back. So I encourage you to visit the resource section of our website, or go directly to Amazon.com and search either for “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide” or just look up my name, Steve Etner, and purchase your copy today.
