Luke, let's get down to where the rubber meets the road. Lets see how your doctrine stacks up against real life. What is your answer to overcoming pornography?
I venture to guess it is
1) pray more
2) fast
3) read the Word
4) install some blocking software
5) accountability partners
And when a brother tries all these things and still continues to fall, what do you say then? 'Behold, this one is weak and does not truly love God'. 'I bet if I walked in the room while he was looking at it he'd find a way to stop himself then!' 'How bad do you want to be free?' Etc., etc., etc.
So we are left with a conundrum: either the brother 'doesn't want to be free bad enough' or else God just isn't able to deliver.
Either way you turn with your doctrine of works-based salvation, God doesn't get any glory. If the brother does get free from pornography, it is because he exerted phenomenal willpower and broke himself out of the trap. Reading the bible, fasting, praying, software, and accountability partners all rely on human ability and strength. Oh sure, the brother can say God used these methods to get him free, but lets be honest - how is this any different than performing catechisms and praying the rosary? Why do we even pray for freedom from addiction if we still have to go through a 12 Step program?
Ephesians 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
The problem with your doctrine is you don't have any room for the empowering grace of God, and certainly no room for giving God the glory. 'Grace' is just a part of the New Testament that is given lip service but has no place in your everyday life of legalistic, willpowered routines.
The only way a brother can be free from pornography is by getting to the root of the problem, which is a disconnect in our relationship with Christ. By believing our relationship with our savior hinges on whether or not we perform certain tasks and routines, we unknowingly introduce a wall between ourselves and Christ. We've resurrected the law, and there is no way past it, as many backsliders can attest. It condemns us every day we live in its shadow, and each day a spotlight shines from the top of that wall and illuminates every failure in our lives.
The only way to have a real relationship with Jesus is to start with the basics. Go back to page 10 and read what Aquila wrote - I can't do it any better than that.
Once you start there, I can attest from personal experience that past stumbling blocks and sins will fall by the wayside. You will TRULY take on the mind of Christ, and those old sins won't hold any attraction for you. I've heard that described before in my old legalistic church, but I never experienced it until I began to understand these things I'm telling you about. I won't pretend that I don't occasionally find myself slipping from time to time, but they are mere stumbles in a life that I can feel drawing ever closer to God. I know what I tell you here is right because the life I live today mirrors far more closely the teachings of Paul, than what I had before.
Luke, I'm not telling you that you have to give up your works. What I'm telling you is that you've got the cart before the horse at this point in your life. You believe your works are what draw you closer to Christ. That cannot be farther from the truth. But once you start with the basics you will see that the works,
and the fruit of the spirit, will follow close behind. You will
want to study God's word. You will
relish your time in prayer. Old habits and sins that you once struggled so vigorously to defeat will fall by the wayside, like a child abandoning an old toy. When you live like this, there is no one else who can receive glory for your deliverance, than the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
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