When Paul writes, “keep in step with the Spirit,” the word he uses is the same as that of an army marching in line, a platoon following their marching orders. Lest we think keeping in step with the Spirit is a purely mystical experience, Paul says it is very practical. Keeping in step with the Spirit means obeying His clearly revealed orders.
During anti-porn week, we identified from secular research what viewing porn does to a person.
This week presents practical advice of how to stay away from the influence of porn.
We cannot claim to keep in step with God’s Spirit if we ignore or disobey the writings He inspired—the Scriptures. Through the Bible, the Holy Spirit speaks clear words to the church. Growing up in a Jewish context, Paul understood this. He knew all the writings of the prophets were “breathed out by God” (2 Tim. 3:16). No less than 32 times in Paul’s letters he uses the phrase “it is written,” pointing to the writings of the prophets who came before him. Paul also knew the Spirit was inspiring him and his fellow apostles (Eph. 3:5). “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction,” Paul says, “that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
To keep in step with the Spirit we must know and obey the Book He inspired. We must explore the Bible and learn what God thinks. We must renew our minds with His thoughts.
Take, for instance, the five main ways pornography warps the mind. Exploring the Bible, we can “reverse engineer” the bad training pornography has given us and replace it with God’s thoughts.
1. God is the creator of sexual satisfaction and has designed marriage, not pornographic fantasy, for its enjoyment (Song of Sg. 4:9-16; 1 Thess. 4:1-8).
2. God has defined good sex as an expression of “oneness,” not emotional detachment (Gen. 2:24).
3. God has created women in His image. They are not sexual commodities but are worthy of great honor (Gen. 1:27; 1 Pet. 3:7).
4. God has designed sex as an expression of affection, not aggression (Deut. 22:25; Eph. 5:28-30).
5. God redeems our fallen sex drive so sex is an act of love and giving, not selfishness (1 Cor. 13:4-7; Gal. 5:22-23).
Each of these ideas is only a seed, but the more the mind engages with the Bible around these truths, the more our thoughts are renovated. Over time our minds will be rewired to see things God’s way. As we do this we are “sowing to the Spirit” and in time will reap a harvest of eternal life (Gal. 6:8).
Tomorrow, we discuss the power of community.
This post is taken from the booklet, YOUR BRAIN ON PORN by Luke Gilkerson. The booklet can be found at: http://www.covenanteyes.com/brain-ebook/
BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.
During anti-porn week, we identified from secular research what viewing porn does to a person.
This week presents practical advice of how to stay away from the influence of porn.
We cannot claim to keep in step with God’s Spirit if we ignore or disobey the writings He inspired—the Scriptures. Through the Bible, the Holy Spirit speaks clear words to the church. Growing up in a Jewish context, Paul understood this. He knew all the writings of the prophets were “breathed out by God” (2 Tim. 3:16). No less than 32 times in Paul’s letters he uses the phrase “it is written,” pointing to the writings of the prophets who came before him. Paul also knew the Spirit was inspiring him and his fellow apostles (Eph. 3:5). “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction,” Paul says, “that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4).
To keep in step with the Spirit we must know and obey the Book He inspired. We must explore the Bible and learn what God thinks. We must renew our minds with His thoughts.
Take, for instance, the five main ways pornography warps the mind. Exploring the Bible, we can “reverse engineer” the bad training pornography has given us and replace it with God’s thoughts.
1. God is the creator of sexual satisfaction and has designed marriage, not pornographic fantasy, for its enjoyment (Song of Sg. 4:9-16; 1 Thess. 4:1-8).
2. God has defined good sex as an expression of “oneness,” not emotional detachment (Gen. 2:24).
3. God has created women in His image. They are not sexual commodities but are worthy of great honor (Gen. 1:27; 1 Pet. 3:7).
4. God has designed sex as an expression of affection, not aggression (Deut. 22:25; Eph. 5:28-30).
5. God redeems our fallen sex drive so sex is an act of love and giving, not selfishness (1 Cor. 13:4-7; Gal. 5:22-23).
Each of these ideas is only a seed, but the more the mind engages with the Bible around these truths, the more our thoughts are renovated. Over time our minds will be rewired to see things God’s way. As we do this we are “sowing to the Spirit” and in time will reap a harvest of eternal life (Gal. 6:8).
Tomorrow, we discuss the power of community.
This post is taken from the booklet, YOUR BRAIN ON PORN by Luke Gilkerson. The booklet can be found at: http://www.covenanteyes.com/brain-ebook/
BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.
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