A struggle for many Christian men and women alike, pornography is an insidious and sinful addiction. Viewing it once quickly spirals out of control and becomes habitual. Before you know it, you're enslaved to sin and gratifying the flesh.
From the above, it's probably clear that I think pornography is a serious sin.
But I wanted to explore this topic and why it's such a harmful sin. We'll also address common justifications such as: if participants are consensual, is it really sinful?
Our Identity
Pornography appeals to our need and desire for reproduction.
We sometimes protest and say we don't want children, but the relationship between sex and reproduction is not a mere coincidence. You don't have sex and by freak accident a child is born. Sex is the act of reproducing, our desire is to reproduce.
From the very beginning God commanded us to fill and subdue the earth (Genesis 1:28). We were created in His image (Genesis 1:27) and capable of perceiving his divine attributes (Romans 1:20). God gave us sex so that we would reproduce and glorify him.
These passages are the crux of why pornography is sinful. We'll break them down further and explore dignity and purpose.
Dignity
Because God made us in his image and to perceive his divine attributes, we are to treat each other with dignity. We dignify each other by honouring and loving one another, never degrading or harming others.
It's on these foundations that Jesus rests the most important commandments: love thy God and love thy neighbour (Matthew 22:37-40). Indeed if we read through the Ten Commandments all of the laws can be categorised in two:
Love thy God:
You shall have no other gods
You shall make no idols
You shall not take God's name in vain
You shall keep the Sabbath day holy
Love thy Neighbour:
You shall honor your parents
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness
You shall not covet
We use pornography to gratify the flesh. We lust after that person, we yearn to take them for ourselves. In other words, we are coveting their body. By using people as a sexual object, we rob them of dignity.
Jesus raised the bar when he told us that adultery starts with lust, not sex:
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:28 ESV
The sin isn't the gratification or the act of sex, it is the lustful intent.
Purpose
Secondly, God's purpose for sex is a consensual, non-incestuous, male-to-female relationship, inside of a marrital commitment, and with a view of filling the earth.
I add these requirements because it has become unclear in our age. Unclear in the sense that non-consensual sex happens both inside and outside of the church, and both heterosexual and homosexual relations are happening outside of marriage.
I'll address the bible verses behind each claim:
Consensual
God takes a tougher stance against rape than we do. He writes 'the man who lies with her shall die' (Deuteronomy 22:25-29) and compares the crime to murder.
In the United Kingdom the maximum sentence is life imprisonment, but typically ranges between 4 to 19 years depending on circumstances. We dont tolerate rape, but we aren't as tough as we ought to be.
While the adult film industry is mostly consensual, some forms of pornography are not - such as voyeurism or revenge porn.
Non-incestuous
It is unnatural to have an incestuous relationship within your own family (Leviticus 18:6). The most known story is of Lot who was tricked to sleep with his two daughters and made them pregnant.
The adult film industry regularly use incestuous role play scenarios, promoting a perverse and sinful gratification. While most of it is role play, some of it is not.
While it might meet human legal standards, pornography falls short of God's standard.
Heterosexual
The adjective 'heterosexual' describes a person that is attracted to the other of an opposite kind. However, the word is not ancient, first appearing in the 19tb century, and therefore has no recorded uses in the Bible, and neither does 'homosexual'.
However, the Bible is not silent on this topic just because it doesn't use our words.
God states clearly 'you shall not lie with a male as with a woman' (Leviticus 18:22) and 'you shall not lie with any animal' (Leviticus 18:23). These teachings are not isolated to the Old Testament, it is the same in the New Testament:
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Romans 1:26-27 ESV
There are several other verses making clear God's purpose for sex, but the above is sufficiently explicit to make the point: sexual relationships are reserved for men and women and is otherwise dishonourable.
Pornography regularly subverts this purpose through same-sex content and other unnatural content. For the most perverted, even sex with animals is illegally attainable.
Marital Commitment
When God created the Woman, the Man said she is 'bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh' (Genesis 2:23). Immediately following is the pattern of marriage:
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:24-25 ESV
The pattern starts with a man and a woman leaving their parents, marrying to become husband and wife, and then becoming one flesh. Moses isn't writing that they were naked and unashamed because they were nudists - they consummated their marriage.
In the story of Isaac and Rebekah, he brought her into the tent, then 'took her' as his wife, and he 'loved her' to consummate the marriage (Genesis 24:67). Likewise, Boaz 'took Ruth' and she became his wife, then he 'went in to her' (Ruth 4:13).
Later, in the New Testament, Paul encourages those that are struggling with passions that they should marry (1 Corinthians 7:9). While there is no 'smoking gun' verse that explicitly states sex outside of marriage is a sin, the evidence is clear.
Filling The Earth
Lastly, as stated towards the beginning, God's purpose for sex is to 'fill the Earth' (Genesis 1:28). The adult film industry contributes towards, and is part of, a community that pursues pleasure. It is hedonistic. They exhibit individuals pleasuring themselves, so that you might join in and do the same.
If we view sex the way that God intended, we would be aiming to reproduce, still enjoying the process, but it would be a consequence of following God's purpose.
Overcoming Pornography
It's clear from the New Testament that we ought to examine ourselves carefully (Titus 3:8), the desires of the sinful nature are evident (Galatians 5:19), and are not in-step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).
But how do we practically achieve this change?
First you should identify your behaviours. Where do you do these things? When do they happen? What triggered the urge? And then finally, how can you break this cycle?
That might be removing your computer or laptop from a specific room, going to bed earlier, avoiding certain non-pornographic websites that trigger you to look at pornographic websites. In short, examine yourself and change your behaviours.
Second, but by no means less important, you should pray to God continually for help. With every sin, repent whole heartedly and ask for help to overcome your sinful nature. Be thankful when you go from one day without sin to two days, then three days. Every small improvement is a victory, don't become discouraged - keep reflecting and changing.
Final Remarks
It can be tempting to play down pornography, as though it wasn't a sin. We try to justify sinful behaviour, always finding an excuse for why it wasn't too bad.
Unfortunately, a little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:9). Which, as an aside, if you ever bake bread, you will see the wisdom of Paul's illustration.
The smallest sin defiles us. God saves us eternally from our sin, but we battle temporarily and resist being enslaved to it. We don't do it alone. Jesus is our high priest, offering a sacrifice for our sin, interceding and praying for us.
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