Overcoming Sin

Is it possible to break free from addictive sins like pornography?

Yes.

John wrote the first chapter of his epistle so that we may not sin. In it, he tells us how to leave the life of sin and share in the life of God. The key is to live in the light, which simply means being open and honest before God.

This chapter has been incredibly helpful in my life and in my friend’s lives. I believe it can be just as helpful for you as it has been for us.

Experiencing Life

John’s first few verses may not seem relevant to our battle against our sinful desires, but hang with him. He was setting the stage for the punchline.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—
1 John 1:1

John experienced an interaction with a Person who fully lived in the life of God. He met a Man with a life that was very different from the lives of people we normally see on earth. John described Him as full of grace and truth when he wrote about Him in his gospel (John 1:14).

The Beauty of Grace and Truth

A life having a balanced combination of grace and truth is unique. Perhaps you’ve seen a person either full of grace but compromising the truth, or full of truth with very little grace. Jesus embodied both attributes fully and beautifully.

An example is His interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well. He was incredibly gracious with her but did not compromise truth. When she indicated an interest in receiving living water, Jesus asked her to bring her husband.

The woman answered and said, “I have no husband.”Jesus said to her, “You have well said, ‘I have no husband,’ for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly.”
John 4:17-18

He exposed the truth: she was a wretched sinner. But He was so gracious to her. Fully knowing her history, He offered, and ultimately gave, her living water. Jesus’ entire life was characterized by this beautifully balanced combination of grace and truth. It’s the life John experienced and invites us to share.

The Good Life

the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—
1 John 1:2

The life of Jesus was a perfect expression of the life of God. John’s experience with this life from God was so good that he couldn’t help but tell people about it. He wanted each of us to share in his experience.

that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
1 John 1:3-4

The Greek word for fellowship carries the idea of sharing. John wanted us to know about his experience with the life of God so that we could share in that life with him. He knew that if we did, we would also be sharing in life with the Father and the Lord Jesus.

This life shared with God is the key to joy. We tend to think that to live God’s life is to live a dull, holy life that misses out on all the fun. But John’s experience was that this life was the best life a person could experience.

It is, in fact, the kind of life that we long for as believers who struggle against sin. That’s because it is a life of victory over sin, freedom from guilt, and the joy of knowing God’s full acceptance (even if we fail).

John poured out his thoughts on paper so that we could share in that good life.

Life In the Light

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5

The first thing we absolutely must realize before we can share in God’s good life is that He lives in openness and transparency. There is no concealing darkness in Him at all. If we are going to share in His life, we must live in the light.

If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
1 John 1:6

Being in the light means being open, honest, and transparent before God. We can’t share in His life if we are trying to conceal things from Him. God is a God of truth. If we try to present ourselves as different than what we truly are, then we are living a different life than God’s life.

John was confronting the tendency people have to conceal their wrongdoings and sin, especially when they are in a religious setting, such as church. Because we typically feel like we need to put our best spiritual foot forward when we come before God, we often try to cleanse ourselves of impurities before we approach Him. But in God’s sight, our pretty front is just a lie.

Turning to Honesty

But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7

To live in God’s life, we need to be open and honest before God about our sins and failures. As risky as that may seem, we’ll find that God doesn’t shun us, but that our sin and failure is the exact reason He sent His Son. The Lord Jesus fully resolved the problem of our sin.

God welcomes and rejoices over every repentant sinner who comes to Him. This is the majestic grace and truth that characterizes His life. When we repentantly step into the light, being open and honest about our sin, He rejoices over us. Then we share in the good life that the other believers enjoy.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1.8

In this verse, John wrote plainly, not using his metaphor of light and darkness. If we approach God feeling that we have cleaned up good and proper, and are mostly sin-free (at least for the moment), we fool ourselves. We simply are not being true to reality. God is not impressed. He isn’t looking for some kind of pseudo-perfection. He’s looking for honesty in repentance.

Cleansing From Unrighteousness

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

If we approach God while owning and acknowledging our sin, He rejoices in our willingness to repent. He has no issues with forgiving our sin. He even can cleanse us of our unrighteousness. Agree with God

If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:10

Again, if we do not acknowledge ownership of our sin, but blame someone or something else for our failure, we are contradicting God. His word tells us that we are sinners. To enter His life, we need to acknowledge that His word is true.

Freedom From Sin

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
1 John 2:1-2

John wrote chapter one, not to give us a license to sin, but to help us overcome our sin. He was telling us that the key to overcoming sin is being honest about it before God by confessing it. John wasn’t shaming us for our sins, as some people do. He was offering us a way into life through honesty and repentance.

He wasn’t promising that the act of confession would magically eradicate our sin, for he acknowledged our ongoing need for the Advocate. But he wanted us to know that our failings and sins should not put a wedge between us and God. When we bring our sin before God, we find He is still merciful towards us and readily receives us. It really is true that the blood of the Lord Jesus takes care of our sin. How else could God so freely receive us?

Walk in the Light But we must be honest about our sin. We must own our sin. It does no good to say that the other person’s rudeness caused me to sin. The reality is that a person’s rudeness brought out the sin that was in my heart. I responded wrongly to their rudeness because I’m a sinner. We must acknowledge the sinfulness of our sin. It does no good to say that I was justified for doing wrong because the other person deserved my retaliation. The reality is that showing kindness to your enemy is righteousness and being mean is always wrong, even when the other person deserves it.

God does not forgive our sin if we are making excuses for it.

God absolutely forgives our sin if we acknowledge that we were inexcusably in the wrong in committing the evil deed.

Punchline

How can we apply this truth in our battle against addictive sins such as pornography? Be open and honest about your desire to sin. When temptation comes, we typically feel the rise of desire to do wrong in our hearts. We then struggle against the desire, trying to squash it in any way possible. We quote verses, say prayers, and maybe cry out for God’s help. But too often, our efforts end in failure.

John has presented a different approach for us.

The next time temptation comes, try being open and honest before God. When you feel the impure desire rise in your heart, cry out to God. But don’t say that you desperately don’t want to sin. It’s simply not true. If you truly didn’t want to sin, then you wouldn’t have to struggle against yourself to keep from sinning. The reality is that sinful desire you feel is your desire. It comes from within you. It is a part of you that really, really wants to sin.

So, acknowledge the truth. Don’t tell God that you don’t want to sin. That’s like saying you have no sin. You only deceive yourself (verse 8).

Instead, step into the light. Tell God that you have a strong desire to do what He said was sin. Tell Him that you know the deed is sin, because He said it was, yet you want strongly to do it. Put all your ugliness in the light. Be brutally honest.