EPISODE Quote: “I have a friend who’s made some mistakes. She wanted to feel love, so she took some pictures of herself with a boy and shared them in a DM. At first, she felt ashamed and embarrassed, but then people started asking her for more pictures. So she took them…things got really dark. It’s like her life was a car that got a flat tire on the side of the road. But instead of fixing the tire and getting back on the road. She said effit. Doused it in gasoline. Lit a match. Stood back and watched the whole car burn to the ground. Her life was like that car. We could have just fixed the tire.”
What happens when we “mess up” sexually is no different than what happens when we commit any sin. We don’t have to “set the car on fire,” as we see in the video. Nor do we have to throw in the towel and decide that because we can’t go three weeks without looking at porn, God no longer loves us so we might as well stop trying.
Michael J. Kruger in Surviving Religion 101 says it this way, “Just because a certain behavior is difficult for someone to avoid is hardly grounds for declaring that someone should abandon his efforts—and it is certainly no basis for declaring it to be good!”
The antidote to sin is the same in every instance, no matter what the sin might be: confession to God and repentance. As many times as we sin, confession and repentance, rinse and repeat. The Bible tells us that “if we admit our sins—simply come clean about them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.”[1]
Paul speaks of some of these habitual sinners (those who have confessed and repented of their sin) in the past tense: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”[2] No matter how “big” the sin, there is always forgiveness for everyone who repents and trusts in Jesus Christ for their salvation.[3]
[1] 1 John 1:9, The Message
[2] 1 Corinthians 6:11
[3] Romans 5:8
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Psalm 119:9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.