The Curse Of Pornography

Disclaimer: Source material for this sermon has been gleaned from many different sources. I have attempted to acknowledgethese sources whenever possible.

THE CURSE OF PORNOGRAPHY

MATTHEW 5:27-30

Introduction: Have you ever done a web search on your computer only to be shocked and embarrassed at what came in over the internet. Accidental hits are symptomatic of a greater problem in our society brought on by the curse of pornography. We are experiencing pornography in our society in epidemic proportions. What is sad is that it is not just outside of the church but many in the church have been caught up in this plague.

I. The Plague of Pornography

A. What is pornography? Pornography, according to the dictionary definition, is sexually explicit pictures, writing, and other materials.

B. The vast majority of pornography users are men, however some women partake as well. Some couples use pornography in an attempt to "spice up" their sex life.

C. Pornography is big business. According to U.S. News and World Report, the industry grosses an estimated $10 billion per year. General Motors, the world’s largest company, now sells more graphic sex films through its DirecTV subsidiary than does Hustler pornographer Larry Flynt, according to distributors of the films. EchoStar Communications Corp., the No. 2 satellite provider, makes more money selling sex films than Playboy does with its magazines, cable, and Internet businesses, records from the companies show. It is estimated that 60% of all web sites are pornographic and that Americans spent $220 million in 2002 at fee-based adult web sites. By the year 2005, the amount is expected to reach $320 million. The United States is now by far the world’s leading producer of porn, churning out hard-core videos at the astonishing rate of about 150 new titles a week.

D. Unfortunately, the church has not been exempt from this curse as many Christians are caught in the deadly attraction to pornography. George Barna says that 28 % of “born Again” Christians feel it is acceptable to view pornographic pictures.

E. As many as one in four pastors struggle with or are addicted to pornography.

F. Josh McDowell’s website states that “virtually ALL” teen boys look at it!

G. Matthew 5:27-28 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

II. The Effects of Pornography

A. Defenders of pornography argue that it is not harmful, and thus should not be regulated or banned. But such is not the case.

B. Pornography harms children. Of the 1400 child sexual molestation cases in Louisville, Kentucky, between July 1980 and February 1984, adult pornography was connected with each incident and child pornography with the majority of them.

C. It has been estimated that approximately 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 7 boys will be sexually molested before the age of 18. The relationship of pornography to child sexual abuse is compelling. Seventy-seven percent, of those who molested boys and 87 percent of those who molested girls said they were regular users of hard-core pornography.

D. Pornography degrades women. Women are seen as animals, playthings, sex objects, and merchandise.

E. Professor Cass Sunstein, writing in the Duke Law Journal, says that some sexual violence against women "would not have occurred but for the massive circulation of pornography." Citing cross-cultural data, he concludes: The liberalization of pornography laws in the United States, Britain, Australia, and the Scandinavian countries has been accompanied by a rise in reported rape rates. In countries where pornography laws have not been liberalized, there has been a less steep rise in reported rapes. And in countries where restrictions have been adopted, reported rapes have decreased

F. Pornography desensitizes to deviant behavior.

G. Pornography is as addictive as any drug.

III. The Cure for Addiction to Pornography

A. Confession

1. Do not expect God to cover what you are not willing to uncover. - Duncan Campbell, Leadership, Vol. 3, no. 4.

2. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

3. Confession is to bring to light the unknown, the unconscious darkness, and the underdeveloped creativity of our deeper layers. - Fritz Kunkel

4. Being general director of the New York opera took a toll on Beverly Sills; she ballooned into obesity. "It made me sick to look at myself. I’d reached the point where I didn’t want to have my clothes made anymore. It was too embarrassing. So I ordered everything from catalogues." Eventually Sills was forced to face the problem. "I woke up one day and realized I was really ill." She went to see a specialist. "He put me on the scales. They read 215 pounds. ’I cannot possibly weigh that much!’ I gasped. And the doctor said, ’Please look down. Are those two fat feet on the scale yours or mine?’" Beverly smiled. "Once I accepted the problem, I was on my way." – Phyllis Battelle in Ladies Home Journal, quoted in Reader’s Digest 1986.