Originally posted at: https://refugenortheast.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/the-secret-sins-of-the-church/
Statistics show that 50% of men in the church today struggle with some type of sexual sin. I have even heard of the number getting up to 80% of men in the church struggle with sexual sins. 97 billion dollars a year is spent on pornography worldwide and 13.3 billion is spent here in the United States. In fact, 89% of pornography is created here in the US. The statistics are shocking and at the same time very sad.
The average age children are getting exposed to pornography is age 9, and the type of pornography they are exposed to is the extreme hardcore pornography. If this goes uncheck and if parents are not teaching and training their children, their children could struggle with an addiction to pornography for the rest of their lives unless they get help. This causes so many problems when they are adults and are married if the addiction goes untouched.
Pornography is a progressive sin, in that, in order to receive the same high, one will continue to look at hardcore pornography and will start acting out in the form of seeking sexual acts to continue to get the same type of high. Pornography is such a huge problem in the church, it is killing the church. What is the church doing about it? Nothing. Now there are churches that are attacking this problem; but for most of them, nothing is being done. Either the leaders of the churches don’t want to deal with it or they don’t know how to deal with it, or they themselves are struggling with it. Instead of doing anything they are turning a blind eye. The church has put sexual sins in a whole category by itself, making sexually sins far worse than other sins. In God’s eyes, there is not a difference, sin is sin.
By church leaders not doing anything in their churches they are making a bigger problem. In an article I recently read, “Porn in the Church: The High Cost of Silence” Bill Perkins was interviewing a leading expert in the area of sexual addictions. The expert said, “I believe evangelical Christians have a greater tendency to fall into sexual addictions than any other sub-culture in the United States.” When Bill asked him why, the expert stated, “Because sexual sins are so taboo in the church, people find them more exciting.” Bill makes the comment about the person he is interviewing and states, “His thoughts underline the possibility that churches, by refusing to address the problem of porn in the church, are actually creating an environment that fosters porn addictions.” If church leaders are not openly talking about the problems of pornography in their churches they are allowing the sin to remain secret.
The church needs to be equipping their men for this battle, instead of doing nothing. Let’s not forget about the women in the church as well. Statistics are showing that more and more women are now dealing with sexual addictions. I believe the number one way the enemy is destroying the church is by destroying men and their families. It is time the Church lets the light in and confront sexual sins head on. We are not doing anyone any good by turning a blind eye. By not addressing this problem, we are allowing the enemy to win, and allowing him to destroy families. Jesus came to die on the cross for sexual sins as well, and if it’s the number one struggle men are facing, why are we not talking about it?
“Porn is an enemy that will infiltrate and destroy churches from the top down, and it will do so without a blink of remorse.” Bill Perkins
