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Episode #6 - Sinful, SAD, and Sorrowful
When you choose to do what is wrong, choosing to do what you shouldn't instead of choosing to do what you should - what are the consequences?
Choose to lust, look at porn, masturbate; choose to worship King Me, run after another god instead of the true God and you will experience the absence of genuine joy and perfect peace. You will know nothing but sorrow and sadness. That’s a fact of Scripture, and a painful reality of life.
"You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
God is saying that nothing, absolutely nothing and no one is to be worshiped other than Himself - ever. He alone is God. He alone is worthy of our worship. When King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart, you are worshiping King Me. Not God. Self.
In this episode we will discover from Scripture how to make the right choices and experience the peace, joy, happiness, and genuine satisfaction that only God can give.
Transcript
(Opening Sound Track)
Welcome to the Point of Purity Podcast, a weekly study filled to the brim with all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity.
When you choose to do wrong, when you choose to do what you shouldn’t and not do what you should – when you choose to lust, to look at porn, to masturbate, when you choose to worship King Me running after a false god instead of the One True God – you will experience the absence of genuine joy and perfect peace. You will know nothing but sorrow and sadness.
That is the subject of today’s Point of Purity Podcast. I’m your host, Steve Etner, and this is Episode #6.
(01:00) A Wicked Sorrow
“The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply.” (Psalm 16:4)
“Many are the sorrows of the wicked.” (Psalm 32:10)
It is important that we pause here for a moment and consider this question: Is allowing King Me to sit on the throne of your heart a “wicked” thing? When King Me is in charge of your life, are you “running after another god”? And if you are “running after another god,” is that actually a wicked thing? Is that evil?
Before answering the question, let’s take a few moments to talk about the word “wicked” in Scripture. In today’s culture we tend to see the word as referring to a really bad person, the scum of the earth, the one guilty of the most heinous crimes known to man. Someone who has no moral conscience. That is definitely a wicked person. As a result, you may be strongly inclined to believe that you personally are not “wicked.”
The word David uses for “wicked” literally translates to “hostile to God” or opposed to God. Would you say that describes the person who is living for King Me? When King Me is on the throne of your heart, God is not. You are worshiping King Me. You are hostile to God.
Paul says, “The mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.” (Romans 8:7) When you are all about King Me, you are not about God – you are against Him. James asks, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
Again I ask: Is allowing King Me to sit on the throne of your heart a “wicked” thing?
(03:36) Profile of a Wicked Person
Listen to God’s description of a wicked person.
“For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” (2 Timothy 3:2-5)
Does that sound like anyone you know? Read that list again. Can you see yourself painted in this picture? When I think about my personal 30-year battle with that 3-headed dragon of lust, pornography and masturbation, I truly see myself described in each of the points of 2 Timothy 3:2-5. I was:
- A lover of self (I want, I need, I desire, I deserve, I must have, I cannot live without! I constantly gave into the act of self-gratification);
- Proud and arrogant (I can handle this, I have it under control, I don’t need any help, I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill);
- Abusive (I became an angry man and took it out on my family with a bad attitude, verbal abuse, withdrawing into myself and ignoring them);
- Ungrateful (I did not appreciate all that God had blessed me with, I wanted more and different than what God had given me);
- Unholy (my attitude and behavior did not glorify God – rather I was entirely focused on exalting myself);
- Heartless (I didn’t care whom I was affecting or hurting, I had developed a hard heart);
- Unappeasable (my hunger for sexual satisfaction and fulfillment was never satisfied. I was constantly on the search for the next fix, the next rush, the next better thing);
- Without self-control (I couldn’t control my thoughts, my eyes, my fantasies, my behavior. My ability to resist was all but gone);
- Not loving good (all I loved was myself, I loved my sin, I loved my wickedness);
- Treacherous (I betrayed the trust that my wife, my children, my church had put in me. I was a traitor to my faith);
- Reckless (I took a lot of risks and I didn’t care who it hurt, I just wanted to be sexually satisfied);
- Swollen with conceit (I was full of myself, characterized by pride);
- Definitely a lover of pleasure rather than of God,
- and I appeared to be godlier than I was. I was a wicked man.
Did you notice in each of those points the word “I”? That was the problem. I was living for me, and when King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart – everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do is for King Me.
David writes, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’.” (Psalm 14:1) Consider this: when you choose to lust, look at porn, and masturbate you are in effect saying, “there is no God greater than me!” You are openly declaring that you and you alone are god, and everyone and everything must worship King Me. God says that makes you a fool.
Isaiah says of the wicked, “their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity.” (Isaiah 59:7) When you give in to the beast, aren’t you being “foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures” (Titus 3:3)? Aren’t you disobedient and rebellious against God, casting His law behind your back (see Nehemiah 9:26)?
God says that the wicked “draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13) If you listened to my testimony in Episode #1, then you know that verse described me to a “T”. I claimed to be a Christian, a worshiper of God while secretly rejecting God in favor of King Me. My words said one thing, but my heart was somewhere else. Can you relate?
David says, “in the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God’.” (Psalm 10:3-4) The wicked “have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:19) They “rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil.” (Proverbs 2:14)
Face reality my friend. When you choose to worship King Me, when you choose to give in to your sinful passions, these verses are describing you!
“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32)
Let’s be honest here. You know that looking at porn and masturbating to it is wrong (see Matthew 5:28; Proverbs 6:25; Exodus 20:14; Psalm 101:3; and 1 Corinthians 6:14). You know that those producers of porn, those filming it, those acting it, and those who are making it available to the masses are all promoting and participating in wickedness. Yet every time you visit that porn site, every time you watch that video, every time you choose to masturbate to those images, you are giving your “approval to those who practice them.”
(11:25) A Wicked and Evil King (Me)
Let me revisit the question that is currently on the table. Based upon what you just heard me say, would you say that placing King Me before God is evil? Is giving in to your temptations to lust, look at porn, masturbate – to worship yourself as god – wicked? The answer is an unequivocal “yes!”
“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3)
God is saying that nothing, absolutely nothing and no one is to be worshiped other than Himself - ever. He alone is God. He alone is worthy of our worship. When King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart, you are worshiping King Me. Not God. Self. That is wicked.
“You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them.” (2 Kings 17:35) Up to this point, in what ways have you been bowing yourself to the will and desires of King Me?
I submit that every time you choose to look at porn and masturbate, you are choosing to turn your back on God. You are choosing to bow yourself to the whims and wishes of King Me, offering a personal sacrifice to your false god through the act of masturbation.
“You shall not go after other gods.” (Deuteronomy 6:14)
“Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them.” (Jeremiah 25:6)
(14:00) What Can it Hurt?
For a long time, I chose to believe the lie of the enemy that I wasn’t hurting anyone by looking at porn and masturbating to it. It’s not like I was hopping in bed with the women I was lusting after. All I was doing was looking and pleasuring myself. What was wrong with that? No harm no foul! Or so I thought. (We will talk more on that in a future study)
“Do not go after other gods to your own harm.” (Jeremiah 7:6)
I don’t want you to miss God’s warning here. When you worship King Me you are going after another god and you are doing your own self harm. Consider this:
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your view and understanding of God?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your worship of God?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your fellowship with God?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your prayer life?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your mental health?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your emotional health?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your marriage?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your interaction with other family members and friends?
- How has serving and worshiping King Me harmed your view of women (or men)?
It is important you understand that lust, porn, and masturbation has not helped you at all. Rather just the opposite. By going after another god, by turning your back on the only true God who can set you free; you have chosen to harm yourself and those you care about.
God’s word is abundantly clear, you are not to worship or serve any other god except The One and Only True God – your Creator and Heavenly Father.
“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:5)
“If you forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 8:19)
When you are worshipping King Me, when you are choosing to worship a false god, what are you ultimately guilty of?
Let me help you with that answer.
“You shall have no other gods before me. ... You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:3, 5 see also Deuteronomy 5:8-9)
“Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods ... I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:4)
“Do not be idolaters.” (1 Corinthians 10:7)
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21)
“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14)
Here is the point I don’t want you to miss. When you are giving in to the lure of lust, the pull of porn, and the magnet of masturbation you have made yourself a god. You have chosen to adore yourself. Since you are not God, you are guilty of worshiping a false god. You are guilty of idolatry, and that is wicked and evil in the eyes of your Heavenly Father.
(18:40) Stranger Danger!
Nothing is more dangerous than worshiping a god that is not God. This is why God commands you to “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:5-6)
Don’t miss this, sexual immorality is idolatry. Impurity is idolatry. Lust is idolatry. Evil desire and greed are idolatry. Each of those are acts of self-worship, worship of a false god. Idolatry. Putting yourself ahead of God, believing that you can satisfy yourself more than God can, offends Him – it makes him angry.
“Because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:5)
“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater) has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:5-6)
As we will see in more detail in a future episode, you have a decision to make. You can choose to keep King Me on the throne of your heart, you can choose to continue in idolatry and experience God’s wrath; or you can make the hard choice to daily dethrone King Me and allow your Creator and Heavenly Father to take His rightful place as the Lord and leader of your heart thereby experiencing His unfathomable blessings. The choice is yours. However, understand this: with every choice you make there are always consequences.
“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws (choice); then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you (consequence) .... But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them (choice), I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed (consequence). ... This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20a)
(22:50) The Ship is Hard
When you choose to do wrong, when you choose to do what you shouldn’t and choose not to do what you should, when you choose to allow King Me to sit high and mighty on your heart’s throne – certain things are guaranteed to happen. Not only will you be sad and depressed, you will also experience significant hardships in life.
These next three questions are powerful. They are going to require you to think hard. They will also require honesty and truthfulness. Oh sure, you can choose to keep King Me on the throne of your heart right now and lie and deceive. In the long run, whom are you hurting? Be honest here.
- “The way of the unfaithful is hard.” (Proverbs 13:15) In what ways have you been “unfaithful”?
- In Proverbs 13:13 we read, “Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself.” In what ways have you “despised the word” of God?
- “There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil.” (Romans 2:9) God says, “Disaster pursues sinners.” (Proverbs 13:21) What tribulation and distress have you experienced because of your sexual sin? In what ways has “disaster” pursued you?
Scripture is clear that “all wrongdoing is sin.” (1 John 5:17) In fact, “everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.” (1 John 3:4) In other words, when you sin you are guilty of violating God’s law.
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” (James 2:10)
God’s law states that “this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3) We are to “live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:2) When you choose not to, you are guilty of breaking God’s Holy law.
Here’s the good news: “The God of peace (will) equip you with everything good that you may do his will.” (Hebrews 13:20) It won’t be easy. “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23) And “if you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” (James 1:5)
(26:53) Closing Sound Track
As you follow this podcast, let me remind you and encourage you that in Christ you can do this! You can say “no” to lust. You can say “no” to porn. You can say “no” to masturbation.
Why? Because God can and will supply all of your needs according to His glorious, abundant, bountiful riches – giving you exactly what you need, every moment of every day.