Why are most Christian men living sexually immoral lifestyles?
The Reality Is…
There are threats that face the Christian Church, and the cause of those threats is sin. Sin affects every member of the Christian faith, no matter the status. Sin causes us to stumble and sets us back in our cause for Christ. Ultimately, it should remind us how desperate we need the forgiveness and guidance of God.
But which sin seems to set us back the most? What are we glossing over, pushing under the rug, and pretending isn’t there? That, my friends, is sexual sin. In 2016, Josh McDowell told CBN News, “pornography is probably the greatest threat to the cause of Christ in the history of the world.” Wow. That’s a strong statement to make.
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Churches should be pushing the alarm button…not the snooze button! The sad reality is we are not hearing the alarm because most Christian men are in the clutches of this sin. Barna Research Group and Josh McDowell Ministries commissioned a studyfound that the number of Christian men who view pornography nearly mirrors that of non-Christian men. How can this be?
Factors
How has the Church suddenly become a fruitless and passive representation of God in this area? There should be alarms ringing left and right about this topic. Yes, there are certainly pastors and leaders out there addressing it and hundreds of books have been written on it. However, instead of winning against this sin, we’re backsliding.
A recent Lifeway Research poll found that 81 percent of Americans said they were concerned with the declining moral behavior of America. If God calls and equips the Church to be set apart from this world and its lusts, why are most Christian men living sexually immoral lifestyles?
There are a couple of primary factors that contribute to this decline in morals and moral behavior. First, the world is constantly advancing the availability, accessibility, and acceptance of sexual immorality. Over half of men aged 18-49 label pornography as morally acceptable. What’s even more disturbing is that 50% of those who claimed their religion was important to them, also said porn was morally acceptable.
The second factor contributing to this moral decline is that Christians frequently underscore God’s Word and the role that He plays in the battle between the flesh and the spirit. Most of the sermons and books today focus on what you need to do to become free — not how God has a role and provision for us in this battle.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. (2 Corinthians 10:4-6)
It’s time to fight
As the Body of Christ, we cannot allow this moral decline to continue. We must sound the alarm.
Did you know that sexual sin is different than all other sins? The Bible tells us, “Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Sexual sin incapacitates us both spiritually and physically. Satan knows this and has been using this sin against man from the very beginning. He knows we were created as sexual beings (Genesis 2:24) and our sexual immorality incapacitates us. He also knows sin causes us to hide from God (Genesis 3:10) and he specifically targets Christians.
The Church has been putting forth unbiblical tactics far too long and it’s time for the Church to stand up and fight the war of sexual immorality.
Adapted from J.S. Shelton’s book “Unmuzzled: Escaping sexual sin, Satan’s grip on men.” For more information about J.S. Shelton and “Unmuzzled” please visit: https://unmuzzledmen.com/
Author of the book UNMUZZLED, Jeremy is a man on a mission to directly confront sexual sin in the church today. He does so with the belief God is using him to grab hold of those heading toward a slaughter. He and his wife of eighteen years have five children and live in Texas.
