✝️ It's Still Every Man's Battle

Good morning, my brothers! Porn. Sexual sin. Few men are totally free of the clenches from the devastating impact of these seemingly overpowering temptations. But God provides ways to escape the bondage. He's also given us resources to aid us in the fight. Check out the links at the end and begin to live in victory. Let’s go!

This week: 4-minute, 58-second read

Sexual Sin
It’s Still Every Man’s Battle

There are few battles more hidden, more isolating, and more shame-filled than the battle with pornography and lust.

It’s the sin we rarely confess out loud, and yet it’s the one that quietly drains our strength, dulls our worship, and destroys our intimacy with both God and others. I know from personal experience (see newsletter from late March, on sexual integrity).

Also, many of you have shared with me that you feel as though sexual sin and pornography are the biggest things holding you back from being the man God has called you to be. I’ve talked with other guys, men from high school to retirees, and we all whisper the same confession: “I’ve prayed. I’ve promised. I’ve deleted apps. But I keep going back.”

And if that’s you, brother, hear this clearly: You are not alone. And you are not beyond hope. In today’s newsletter, we hope to provide you with biblical tools and ministries to aid you in the battle.

The Real Battle

The fight against porn isn’t primarily about behavior; it’s about worship. Porn is false worship. It seemingly offers comfort, control, and escape when life feels empty or hard. But at its core, it’s idolatry. It replaces the living God with a fantasy.

That’s why willpower alone will never win this fight. Porn isn’t just a moral problem; it’s a spiritual stronghold. And strongholds are only torn down by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul put it this way:

The battle is real. But so is the power of God.

Step One: Bring It into the Light

Sin flourishes in the dark. It feeds on secrecy. The first move toward freedom is exposure, not to shame you, but to heal you.

James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” Healing doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens in community.

That’s the beauty of ministries like Pure Desire and the Samson Society. They create safe, confidential environments where men can finally say, “This is me. I’m done hiding.” These groups are built around truth and grace. No masks. No pretending. You’ll find men who understand your struggle because they’ve lived it.

When you finally tell another brother the truth, something powerful happens: shame loses its grip. Darkness loses its power. And the Spirit begins to breathe hope into the ruins.

Step Two: Guard the Gate

Let’s be clear: you can’t keep access to temptation on every device and expect to walk in purity. That’s where practical guardrails come in.

Covenant Eyes calls it “living connected.” Their accountability app sends your screen activity to a trusted ally, creating honest, ongoing transparency. It’s not about control; it’s about connection.

Why does this matter? Because sin thrives in isolation but dies in honest relationships. You don’t just need filters, you need brothers who will ask real questions, who care more about your soul than your image.

Every man who has walked free will tell you: you must remove easy access to sin.
Jesus said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.” That’s not about mutilation; it’s about desperation. Radical amputation of access is evidence that you’re serious about holiness.

Step Three: Understand the Deeper Wound

Pornography is rarely just about sex. It’s about medicating something deeper: pain, rejection, loneliness, boredom, fear, control, or the ache of feeling unworthy of love.

The men who lead Pure Desire talk about how every addiction begins as an attempt to numb pain. The fantasy feels like relief, for a moment. But afterward, the shame returns, and the pain grows deeper.

The Holy Spirit doesn’t just want to change your behavior; He wants to heal your heart.

Let Him. Invite Him into that wound. Ask, “Lord, what am I running from when I run to porn?”

He already knows. And He opens His arms to you, loving you every step of the way through your wound, onto victory.

Freedom begins when we let God comfort forever the ache that porn only numbs for a moment.

Step Four: Rewire Your Mind with Truth

Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

That means the lies we’ve believed - “I can’t change,” “I’m too far gone,” “This is just who I am” - must be replaced with truth.

That’s what Heath Lambert’s Finally Free drives home so powerfully: Grace doesn’t just forgive, it transforms.

You’re not a man defined by failure. You’re a man defined by the cross.

Christ’s victory over sin isn’t theoretical; it’s the same resurrection power that lives in you through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11).

So every time temptation comes, you’re not helpless. You can actually stand up and say, “That’s not who I am anymore.”

That’s not arrogance. It’s faith in what God says about you. Remember what He tells us through Paul:

Step Five: Train for Battle, Not Just Avoidance

Every Man’s Battle taught a generation of Christian men that sexual purity isn’t just about avoiding temptation, it’s about redirecting desire.

We don’t fight lust by hating sexuality; we fight it by reclaiming it as something sacred, designed by God for covenant love.

A man who trains his eyes and mind toward holiness isn’t repressing desire, he’s retraining it. He’s learning to see women not as objects but as image-bearers. He’s learning to honor his wife or his future wife if single, and ultimately his God.

This is where the Holy Spirit’s power becomes practical. Galatians 5:16 says, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

That’s not a command to be perfect—it’s an invitation to be filled. The more you walk with Him, the less room lust has to lead you.

So worship. Pray. Read the Word. Surround yourself with men who are fighting for holiness, not perfection. Feed the Spirit and starve the flesh.

Because make no mistake, the Spirit in you is stronger than the sin against you.

The Hope of the Holy Spirit

If you’ve fallen a thousand times, the enemy will whisper, “You’ll never change, loser.”
But the Holy Spirit says, “I’m not finished with you. I love you. You have great value.”

You are not the sum of your temptations. You are the temple of the living God.

You were never meant to fight this alone or in your own strength. You were meant to walk in step with the Spirit, moment by moment, thought by thought, until the chains that once held you become the very testimony of God’s power.

Freedom isn’t just possible. It’s promised.

So rise up, my brother. The fight for purity is not about perfection. It’s about pursuit. Pursue Christ with everything you’ve got. Bring your darkness into the light. Let the Spirit do what you cannot do on your own.

When you do, you’ll discover something incredible: You weren’t just fighting against porn.

You were fighting for your purpose, your peace, your purity, your family, and your relationship with the God who made you a man.

Practical Tools for Freedom

1. The Samson Society: Join a group for authentic brotherhood for men walking out of isolation into honest, grace-filled community.

2. Covenant Eyes / Victory App: Guard your eyes with the accountability software and coaching to build transparent relationships and break isolation.

3. Every Man’s Battle: The classic book and attend in-person intensives for men pursuing sexual integrity.

4. Pure Desire Ministries: Small groups, counseling, and the “Seven Pillars of Freedom” program for men seeking real healing and community.

5. Finally Free: The book provides a grace-centered roadmap for fighting pornography through the transforming power of the gospel.

Reflection for the Week

1. Where have you believed the lie that you can’t change?

2. What practical steps will you take this week to bring your struggle into the light?

3. Who will you invite to walk with you in honesty and accountability?

4. What guardrails can you set up today, not tomorrow, to remove easy access to temptation?

5. How can you actively invite the Holy Spirit to renew your mind each day?

-Will

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