Porn Addiction Disqualifies Missionaries

Quote: Half the males who apply to serve as a missionary...

Wait a minute, they apply for missionary work whilst knowingly viewing pornography?

Are they applying not because they have a real concern for the lost, but to get away from the addiction that is gripping them?

Which ever it is, there seems to be a heavy oppression on the Church right now, in Western nations that is.

We can all sense it, those that are not caught up in it. Seems like deception is working its way through the hearts of God's people.

The apostle Paul says in Romans 8v38, 'For I am persuaded...then he list the things that will not separate him from the love of God.

In other words, he was unmoveable.

Where has that gone to?

God help us if this is Church in the 21st century.

The need for revival is greater than ever, God will send it as we seek Him.

God bless.

We ought to support the native missionaries with www.heartcrymissionary.com and gfa.com

Its a sure thing they've never viewed pornography because they can't afford a computer. Not that only, but why spend 80,000 a year to support a western missionary when 20-30,000 will support one (maybe two) native missionaries?

Let us support the native missionary movement with our prayers and financial support.

Sean, there's a need for both native missionaries and western missionaries. I love KP Yohannan, but the man that first made an impression on him for missions was George Verwer... what was George doing in India you might ask?!

Heartcry Missions is another missionary organization I respect greatly... but how long was Paul Washer on the mission field? He's a westerner.

There is a place for Westerners in the mission field.

I'm a Southern Baptist, and I know that odds are if I'm going to go to the mission field it won't be as a Southern Baptist.

Yes I've struggled with pornography over the years, but that isn't the reason why. Southern Baptists require that all missionaries be at the Body Mass Index (BMI). The Southern Baptist Mission Board doesn't send anyone overseas whose overweight or obese. I'm husky, I'm stuck.

As for me, my PC is in the apartment living room visable to everyone, my laptop has been at my parent's house since november. I run X3watch, my leaders know about my problem, and God knows i anguish over it.

I'm also taking a missionary training class right now... am I disqaulified?

This topic concerns, what I believe to be one the strongest - if not [i]the[/i] strongest - battle a Christian man will ever face. The sense of guilt from giving in can be absolutely devastating on the moral conscience...even long after God has forgiven the sin and washed it once again in the Blood.

As far as it being a disqualification for ministry, one brother here has wisely said that only [i]God[/i] can disqualify a man on these grounds. Men can and will dismiss your credentials for this type of moral failure, but this doesn't mean God dismisses you. God chastens you, but there is always blessed restoration and healing in His wings for the genuinely repentant, sin-sick heart. We should never tread lightly on this terribly destructive sin, but we should also not go off the deep end and conclude a person's ministry is irrevocably terminated as a result of giving in. Lust wars in our members, and if we are not vigilant, it can gain the upper hand and easily break forth into open flame. Many who have not openly manifested this sin on a computer screen, have it [i]hiddenly[/i] manifested on their "heart screen" with daily, unmitigated indulgence. Either way, such factors cause the heart to condemn the believer, which, in turn, makes prayer and Bible meditation impossible.

Brethren, we must always remember that God is not a man, and He knows of man's desperate plight against this insidious temptation that endeavors to master us daily. Where much grace is needed, much is given.

Brother Paul

Please read first Corinthians 5 & 6... God has spoken and he has not bowed to our lukewarm and compromised american "christianity".

Amen! Believe me, I loathe this sin and readily identify it for what it is - an incalcuable detriment to the body of Christ, and one that has incapacitated multitudes of otherwise strong men and potential missionaries and pastors and evengalists and prayer-warriors.

However, if a righteous man falls and then repents, you automatically sweep him under your abovementioned category? Again, I'm not condoning this sin, and I never said that God "bows" to it. I am certainly not talking about those "addicted" to it, either. I totally agree that men should be reprimanded who fall into this sin, but the reprimand should aim toward restoration and not, "That's it. You failed. You sinned. It's all over. Go home."

I will say that only God determines when a man's ministry is truly "shelved". Men look upon the outer, but God sees the inner. Though you may not have indulged in this sin on a computer screen, have you indulged on your "heart screen" at anytime within in the past year? Would you feel comfortable were the Lord to display it all here on SI, in full color and graphic detail? You would be mortified, brother.

More grace is in order, and we should truly hate and kill this sin by the Spirit, but let's have the mind of Christ, knowing that "he shall have judgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy." Greg is right: there is victory over this sin, and we should encourage and strengthen our suffering, weaker brothers and sisters and not only spank them for "giving in"; their own hearts and consciences take care of the spanking just fine (even long after God has put His arms around them and welcomed them back into right standing through the blood). I propose that victory was never wrought through this mindset. But unless you've ever suffered a defeat in this battle and been graciously restored (as I have), you won't know the grace needed to restore a hurting believer and to get them back on the old paths of holiness and purity that God so delights in offering the wayward.

Brother Paul

The Lord has given me victory over this thing that used to keep me in bondage.

This very well may be, and, like you said, this freedom from the bondage of lust was not [i]your[/i] doing; it was by the grace of God and I don't think anyone here is contesting to what is being asserted (that this addiction is sinful). I am only saying that the approach to blanket someone who has fallen unto a besetting sin as having their ministry automatically terminated may not be altogether wise. Undoubtedly, there is [i]never, ever[/i] any reasonable excuse for yielding to temptation, and were a Christian worker confess to me that they have been succumbing to this sin, I would counsel them to step back from the ministry (if they did not already volunteer to step back themselves!) I am quick to understand that God graciously restores the repentant sinner, even if men will not. I can tell you that personally, if I fell to this sin, I would be the [i]first[/i] to disclude myself from any ministerial opportunites, until (and if) God opened the door to ministry once again. Though the Lord restores repentant sinners, ministerial restortation isn't always assured.

Nonetheless, I would warn certain stonefaced sin-crusading pontificators on SI most solemnly: Do take heed, brethren. Men who assume graceless, ruthless stances against certain besetting sins and continue to heap fiery condemnation upon the heads of fallen believers and thus discourage them from seeking out God's continued holiness...have a mysterious tendency to fall themselves. And how great is the crash when they do! They are painfully humbled, and this too is by the grace of God lest they continue to puff themselves up and harden their hearts to the plight of broken and besieged believers who have temporarily fallen. Ah, we get our greatest example from Jesus Christ Himself in his dealing with us when we "miss the mark". I shouldn't have to expound on the awesome mercy and grace and patience of God bestowed upon such hurting believers. Many of us here can attest to the unspeakable mercy God has shown us when we should have been deservedly cut off for transgressing against Light even [i]after[/i] coming to the knowledge of the truth.

Brother, I can take the same cut-and-dry warrior stance you are taking now, and use scriptures to show how God hates sin. Everyone here knows this, but there is a better way. I've heard "Wild Donkeys" and "Iron Chariots", but from reading your post I wonder if you subscribe to Dave Wilkerson's newsletter as well? It is full of grace, as much as he preaches against sin he encourages to get up and continue walking with God. He doesn't merely say, "You've failed. You can't be trusted."

I had to learn grace the hard way, brother. I fell miserably after having continuous victory for years and years, and suddenly thought there was no hope. After all, I had preached so ardently against sin, so strongly, so passionately, so conclusively - as though I could never fall or yield to temptation again. I thought all my strongholds were vanguished as long as I continued to _________ (fill in the blank). But whose to say I could continue to ______ as long as my confidence was misplaced? I was a boaster! So, when I did fall, it was wholly my fault, the giving in to flesh, the weakness, the disobedience, the horrible shame. No one needed to tell me "Read 5 & 6 Corinthians!" Most men of God who fall into sin know 1 Cor. 6:9 by heart, and if they don't, the Holy Spirit quickly and lovingly brings it to their recollections. Before I fell, I [i]knew[/i] there was victory, because I was living in it with unbroken success! This only compounded the guilt. I discovered that mere willpower is often enough to keep your flesh in check for a length of time. The greatest hope, however, after I fell, was not wrought through people telling me "God hates sin! You can no longer be trusted!" but, rather, "Brother, there is forgiveness, restoration. Gird up thy loins and get back up upon the paths of holiness, and take heed and look [i]only[/i] to Jesus, lest ye fall again."

Brother Paul

Amen to these encouraging words (by Paul). This porn plague has caught and snared many precious brethren, and the Lord's heart is broken and pained for them over it all. Anticipate great and severe judgments for all this!
Meanwhile we must rise up and fight! Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin.
There are two aspects of Truth we need to war a good warfare and come out victorious in this battle.
We see these two in Acts 9.31... where we are told the churches were edified "walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit."
First the fear of the Lord: we must know what is at stake if we treat this sin lightly or half heartedly. We are admonished to look diligently "lest there be any fornicator or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know that afterward when he would have inherited the blessing he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance though he sought it carefully with tears."
And so, as someone has already made clear, this is one of the sins that can cost a person his inheritance in the Kingdom of God.
Now, these scriptures and others like them can be a torment to a sincere conscience genuinely broken over this sin and seeking repentance and deliverance. But they are there, and we must face them squarely. This truly is a matter of life and death, and we must treat it so.
We must walk in the fear of God.
And with that, then also, "the comfort of the Holy Spirit."
We have great hope that if we truly desire to fear His Name and see Him glorified in the earth, and in our own lives, He will lead us in the paths of righteousness for His own Name's sake.
If we are honest and come to the Light, there is cleansing. "If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."
So there is hope for the brother who has become entangled in this web. Rise up, and fight, beloved brother! Put on the armour of Light! "...the breatplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the HOPE of salvation" (1 Thes. 5.8).
There is such an onslaught of Satan against the Church in this hour... DON'T QUIT THE BATTLE NOW! A great victory is at hand! You will be part of it! God has provision for this hour, and He has it for YOU! He is preparing to release from the Throne of Grace in this bitter hour a Righteousness--HIS VERY OWN-- which will clothe YOU and cause His Name to shine again, shine in YOU who have fallen and been so beaten by this! He has such a Sacrifice that is able to so purge and cleanse you as leave you with "NO MORE CONCSCIENCE OF SIN."
So rise up again, fallen one! "Cleanse your hands ye sinners, and purify your hearts ye double minded!" Seek Him for the grace to do this!
The battle is not over yet! Let not him that putteth on his armour boast as him that putteth it off! Put on your armour... and strip Satan of his!
Rise up again! For this is the factor that determines whether or not you are disqualified or not, whether you are among the just, or among the wicked: can you rise up again? "For a JUST MAN falleth seven times, AND RISETH UP AGAIN: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (that is, utter ruin). Pr. 24.16 (What he's saying here is that it's possible for a just man, yes, a JUST man, to fall... but because He is just-- RIGHTEOUS-- He rises up again, and again, and again... till he comes to walk totally in the Way of LIFE, in Resurrection Life, in Newness of Life, in which there is no more falling.
But the wicked, it's the wicked who when he falls he stays down.)
Oh, on behalf of His Name that is so tarnished and scorned these days... be among those who love His Name... and RISE UP AGAIN, AND FIGHT.
AD

Even though I think one year is a rather artificial number, however, it is not necessarily unwise. It's a decent test of your character to see just how matured you are in your faith, and how consistent you are in your walk. Though we are not to put any confidence in the flesh, it is a good chance that if you are a male and have gone a year without looking at pornography, you probably are of consistent character and not likely to stumble into such anytime soon.

I had to learn grace the hard way, brother. I fell miserably after having continuous victory for years and years, and suddenly thought there was no hope. After all, I had preached so ardently against sin, so strongly, so passionately, so conclusively - as though I could never fall or yield to temptation again. I thought all my strongholds were vanguished

Brother Paul, what you wrote is so cloesly my own experience it could have been me who wrote it. I thank you brother for the encouragment you wrote in that post.

I think i had reached a stage where (by God's grace) i was walking in a victory over lust that i once thought not possible, and yet as a result of this i know i looked down on other 'believers' who confessed they fell in this area. In my heart i would judge them, and think myself the standard. I didnt have any real compassion and sympathy for them. But oh, when i fell big time into the area i was convinced i would never fall into again i was so humbled, so broken. And this time when i fell, i stumbled many times in the process of 'getting up' before i had to take radical action to cut off all sources of temptation and be ruthless in a way that was so humbling for a guy who thought this was mastered long ago.

Now i have such a better understanding of God's mercy, and unfailing love, and of is Faithfulness. To me He has proven to be the God who will not let go.

I have even doubted my salvation again recently because of this last fall. Yet i think of the times when i would walk through the fields near my house looking up into the sky praising God with such love for Him that i was quite caught up in another world. And when i think of the desires i have had for His glory and all other manner of what Jonathan Edwards would call 'Religious Affections', i have to conclude that i am truly His child, and time and God's grace shall prove that at the last i am found as one of the 'just' who despite having fallen into great sin against His Saviour, got back up and was led into paths of righteousness by that same Saviour who would simply not give him up.

You make it sound as though holiness and purity are wicked and all those who are walking in victory by the blood of the lamb are pharisees?

I'm sorry you feel this way, and I must say it seems [i]you[/i] are the one taking offense to this discussion and misreading my intentions. Why is this? I too happen to walk in victory, brother. I am not advocating sin, nor am I living in sin. I believe as you do - there is absolute victory over all sin, and anyone who knows me on SI knows that I endorse [i]total[/i] holiness and purity in Jesus Christ. So, you see, I am on your side!

You seem to imply that I have advocated [i]cheap grace[/i]. Would you care to elaborate on this inference? Where and how have I advocated this? I, like you, can put as my moniker "Pauldied2sin" but I dare not boast. For I know that I am only where I presently stand but by the grace of God alone, and should I tomorrow learn that a certain dear brother or sister stumbled by this particular sin, I should choose to show grace rather than contently boast how I am freed from sin and so likewise they should be. I guarantee you that I preach sin and holiness and judgment just as strong as anyone on these forums, but the Lord has also taught me to expound 1 Corinthians 6:9 with grace and fear and trembling.

I can only pray, dear brother, that you never stumble after this discussion. Not everyone who stumbles with lust is addicted and deserves to have instant condemnation heaped on him or her. God does not do this to the repentant, so why should we? And those that remind believers who are already walking in victory that God's grace is sufficient for weaker brothers and sisters to overcome shouldn't automatically be accused of propogating a gospel of cheap grace. I can't tell you of the people I've met that have been beaten over the head by "victorious" brethren without compassion or hope. Dear brother, I am not saying that you do this, but I do sense you taking certain offense when fire-breathing condemnation is countered with a measure of compassion for the sin-stricken and those held in bondage. Do you prostrate yourself and weep for their souls before you tell them how you have died to sin? If a person doesn't weep for sinners, I believe he has no right to unctionlessly brand them with 1 Corinthians 6:9.

To stomp one's feet against sin is easy, but to preach transforming grace with unction is a totally different story, and, in my opinion, a greater sign of Christian maturity. The ultimate goal is to preach holiness with grace, with tears, with compassion. Dealing with religious hypocrites is one thing; ministering to sin-sick, hurting, downcast brethren is another. There is a way to preach sin, righeousness and judgment [i]without[/i] bringing attention to self and assessing how others should behave from our own victories by grace.

[i]"Confess your faults to one another, and pray one for another....if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know , that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."[/i]

It's about [i]converting[/i] and not condemning, for when I should have been condemned, the Lord graciously converted. Should I not go and do likewise? Is it possible to demonstrate the grace of God [i]without[/i] excusing sin? Is there not a better way in the mind of Christ, who Himself was full of grace and truth?

Brother Paul

i know i looked down on other 'believers' who confessed they fell in this area. In my heart i would judge them, and think myself the standard. I didnt have any real compassion and sympathy for them. But oh, when i fell big time into the area i was convinced i would never fall into again i was so humbled, so broken.

Yes, this is the pattern I've seen again and again and again. "Take heed lest you fall." I hate to say it, but for many believers they will have to find this out on their own. Sadly, some of them never really recover. They plateau off and remain lukewarm, devasted and despondant, never reaching the heights they attained before their fall. They never seem to get the burden and fight back, and this is all the enemy was after. Satan smells blood and quickly moves in to brainwash them that God is now finished, they are "shelved", grace is now expended, and they will have to finish their lives in a substandard mode of Christianity. Part of the reason why these falls are so devastating is because while they walked in victory they showed little or no grace and compassion to those that were downcast and burdened with sin. I was so guilty of this as a youth pastor. I brought a lot of confusion down on kids and strapped weighty holiness burdens to their backs that I wasn't willing to drop a tear for (i.e. lift a spiritual finger to help carry). I just couldn't understand how someone could sin against God after beholding the kind of victory I was experiencing! Ah, I got proud and started telling people I had complete victory and was dead to sin and all they needed to do was get what I got!

Well, I eventually crashed and burned and as a result God taught me grace when my joy and fellowship with him was at last restored. I learnt a tremendously valuable lesson in the school of God: to show grace to my downcast, weaker brethren and never [i]ever[/i] suppose that I understand a person's situation by looking at their surface-struggles. I already understood [i]truth[/i]; what I needed now was the revelation of [i]grace[/i] to balance my growth. And this revelation came through pain, pain, pain. I don't think I ever hated sin more than when God began teaching me the unsearchable wonders of His grace.

Brother, and I'll bet your little "experience" changed your entire outlook on sin and grace as well: it made you tolerate sin all the less, and understand and cherish God's grace all the more.

Brother Paul

I do pary the very best for you in Christ and am deepy sorry if I have offended you by miscommunicating or by appearing boastful.

Oh, no, dear brother. I thought it was [i]me[/i] offending [i]you[/i]! I am not offended, and it is truly to be regretted that we cannot see each other face to face. So much is lost over this computer screen, so much seems cold and calculated. I want you to know that I am not at all offended or frustrated or upset or begrudging in the least because of our discussion. I believe a struggling believer will read our gracious words (for you have been truly gracious in this discussion - and I pray I have showed the same) and take comfort and be renewed to seek God and persue the paths of holiness and be set free from besetting sin!

Grace and peace and love in Christ Jesus our Lord,

Brother Paul

Brothers Paul and Jim, i think you are really on the same side and in agreement with each other. It is so easy to misread what is said in text.

I feel that there is a bond of unity and love there and that your hearts are both in the right place concerning this disscussion.

God Bless you my brothers!

Brothers, i hope you dont mind me continuing this discussion, but as a youth pastor i have been thinking about dealing with the issue of pornography with young men who confesses to me they have this problem, which two have in my youth group already have (and i am sure there represent a lot of others that may be struggling with it, but not so bold as to speak to me about it).

I have found it very difficult counseling on this issue because with the two guys that have come to me, from observing them i have had my doubts about them being truly saved for a while (ie, they both really struggle to pray out loud in our bible study, and i dont see a real love for Jesus Christ flowing from them in any outward visible ways, which always concerns me). So in counseling people to do with this issue, it is neccessary to try and discern the persons true relation to God first would you agree?

It is a real difficult one because i have fallen into this sin myself and yet i am pretty sure i am saved (although i still do examine myself to see if this is so), and so the ways in which we would counsel someone who is a true Christian but struggling, would be very different from someone who thinks themself a Christian because they've said the prayer etc (you can tell im a big Paul Washer fan!) but who is actually deceived.

I guess this raises another question of what signs do we look for in someone who is genuinely saved. (I listened to a great sermon on this by Paul Washer last night called 'Examine yourself').

But you see guys i think it is probably possible to beat a pornography problem with sheer will power and any man could do it without the Holy Ghost (because there are people out there not saved who dont struggle with this), but without the Holy Ghost you could not break the chains of inward lust that afflict you in your every day life. And even if you could it would be tragic if as a lot of people you think yourself saved because you are are not committing 'outward sins' and yet you are not saved and that is evidenced by a lack of what Edwards would call 'religious affections', i.e. true affection toward God and Christ and a love of holiness and a measure of hatred of sin.

I just don't want to counsel guys about how to beat pornography when actually what they need is to get saved. Do you understand what i mean? We really need discernment from the Lord on this to discern between the true struggling believer and the deceieved unregenerate 'Christianised' person. I guess as we get more into His Word and come to know and walk with Christ more intimately this will come.

thanks for the heads up on safe eyes, I just downloaded it and it looks like i tdoes an excellent job. I really like all the features (time control, pop up blocker, etc) it has.

I realize that this thread is over 3 years old, but I wanted to write and let you know that God is still using it. First of all, I want to thank you all for treating each other with respect and brotherly love. It makes a difference. Most of all though I want to thank Jim for holding fast to the truth in Scripture and not bending to what can be very strong pressure from the culture. Jim, your words spoke to the deep conviction I have always held (surely planted deep in my heart by the Word itself) that total deliverance and freedom from porn was always possible. I just could never get there.

I struggled with lust pretty much my whole life and with porn for my entire Christian life of 15 years. I always hated my sin but could not break free from my addiction. The Wilkerson message was fantastic and was just what I needed. When it ended, I kept saying, through tears, "finally, someone who will simply tell me the truth!" It broke me, and I experienced a powerful move of God in real repentance. I am free now, and again, I simply wanted to thank you for your faithfulness and adherence to what the Word of God says and not man, the culture, or anything else. May Jesus receive all the glory!