If I love God/Christ, why do I knowingly give into temptation so often?

[PraiseTheLord84]

I noticed that no matter how hard I try, no matter how good my Christian walk may seem, that I end up sinning every few days or weeks.

My major stumbling block in my life, at my current age of 25, is lust. Mainly, in the area of online lusting. I don't look at inappropriate contentography mind you(Thank You Lord), but I go to sites that have the latest female celeb pictures with them usually being scantily clad. This leads to either one of two things: Wasting hours of time looking at every intriguing picture I can find or two(the worst option) masturbation.

As wrong as I know it is to lust, and knowing all the biblical scriptures regarding lust, I still do it anyway. The sad part is that while lusting online, I have a picture of Jesus right over the wall above me and the computer. I get so engrossed in the moment and the harmones get flowing so much that the picture almost ends up seeming like it's not even there.

This brings me to my main question, if I am a believer in Christ, have been since childhood, love him and want to walk righteously, why do I knowingly keep giving into this sexual temptation? Until I can break this issue, I will always be frustrated and disappointed with my faith and walk. When it's to the point where you are lusting heavily over a picture, with Jesus's picture right above you, you know that you have serious problems, and I'm not afraid to admit it, that's why I'm seeking help from you all.

Thanks for your time and concern.

 

[oryx]

try setting captives free .com

 

[drich0150]

Paul endured a similar struggle with sin, luckily for us he explains why we all struggle with sin in Romans 7:

5For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
7What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

So long as we live in this body we are slaves to sin.. (Even being new creations in Christ) Only sin through pride or covetous would have us believe otherwise.

 

[childofGod31]

I noticed that no matter how hard I try, no matter how good my Christian walk may seem, that I end up sinning every few days or weeks.

My major stumbling block in my life, at my current age of 25, is lust. Mainly, in the area of online lusting. I don't look at inappropriate contentography mind you(Thank You Lord), but I go to sites that have the latest female celeb pictures with them usually being scantily clad. This leads to either one of two things: Wasting hours of time looking at every intriguing picture I can find or two(the worst option) masturbation.

As wrong as I know it is to lust, and knowing all the biblical scriptures regarding lust, I still do it anyway. The sad part is that while lusting online, I have a picture of Jesus right over the wall above me and the computer. I get so engrossed in the moment and the harmones get flowing so much that the picture almost ends up seeming like it's not even there.

This brings me to my main question, if I am a believer in Christ, have been since childhood, love him and want to walk righteously, why do I knowingly keep giving into this sexual temptation? Until I can break this issue, I will always be frustrated and disappointed with my faith and walk. When it's to the point where you are lusting heavily over a picture, with Jesus's picture right above you, you know that you have serious problems, and I'm not afraid to admit it, that's why I'm seeking help from you all.

Thanks for your time and concern.

You need to TRULY fall in love with God. There is POWER in that. You are living apart from the power of God, unless you come really really close to Him. Jesus said: you can do nothing without me.
Some people think: well, I gave my heart to Jesus and invited Him in, that means I am doing things WITH Him.
But it doesn't work that way: just look around at all the Christians who simply believed and keep failing to walk the walk.

The power of victory comes through the knowledge of God (2 Pet 1:1-10)

When you come really close to God and you can see His face (in the spiritual sense, in the sense that you have grown in your knowledge of Him), you will have POWER.

His power will be activated in you.
THEN, when you are close to God, it will be Jesus in you bringing fruit. THEN, this verse will be fullfilled: remain in me and I will remain in you and you will bring fruit. Before you come close to God: this verse is true: apart from me you can do nothing.

So get to know God better, come close to Him so that you can see His face.

Bible 101 • View topic - What does "draw close to God" mean?

Bible 101 • View topic - How to Draw Close to God/How to feel God's Love

Bible 101 • View topic - Only pure in heart will see God, how to know if your heart..

 

[ditte]

Hi.You have to know that God loves you.If you believe in Jesus and gave your life to him and accepted him as your saviour and are born again,you are part of god's family.Man is not only body.Man is:spirit (it is immortal,it is the inward man),soul and body.When we are born again in God's family,our spirit self is born again and made alive by God.Before being born again our spirit is dead.But now that we are Christ's,it is alive and connected to God.Our soul (mind,personality) and body is not new yet.So your body tells you often otherwise than your spirit.(please read Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans)But we have to be spiritual people,meaning that our spirit must controll our soul and body.
When we are born in God's family and become christians,it's like being a baby in Christ.When a child is born,first it is a baby,than a child ,then he grows up.It's the same in our christian life.We read and listen to the Word of God,let ourselves led by the Holy Spirit and God gives growth in our life in Christ.We grow up to be more and more like Christ.We are the members of the Body of Christ (the Church),so we are different and the Lord gives us different task as in a real body,the different body parts has different tasks.
Please know that yes there are temtations and attacks from the enemy,and your body (your old self,your flesh) tells you otherwise than God's truth,but God is always there to help and there is the Word of God and we can fight and win with Christ.Tell him with open heart that you sinned against him and you love him and ask him to help you.It is written that if we confess our sins to Him,he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.(1 John 1,9.)Read the Bible and "stand" on the Word,don't just listen to it but do what it says.Walk after the Spirit.God is on our side.He never leaves us.He loves us.

"Therefore being justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."(Romans5,1.)

I'm sorry I can't write all the verses,but please read the Roman letter and of course other Words of the Bible.

"For we know that the law is spiritual,but I am carnal,sold under sin.
For that which I do I allow not:for what I would,I do that not;but what I hate,that do I.
Ifthen I do which I would not,I consent unto the law that it's good.
Now then it is no more I that do it,but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I lnow that in me (that is,in my flesh),dwelleth no good thing:for to will is present with me;but now to perorm that which is good I find not.
For the good that i would I do not:but the evil which I would not,that do I.
Now if I do what I would not,it is no more I that do it,but sin that dwelleth in me.
I find then a law,that,when I would do good,the evil is present with me.
For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
But I see another another law in my members,warring against the law of my mind,and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am!Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God;but with the flesh,the law of sin."(Romans7,14-25.)

"This is the message which we have heard of him,and declare unto you,that God is light,and in him is no darkness at all.
If we say that we have fellowship with him,and walk in darkness,we lie,and do not the truth:
But if we walk in the light,as he is in light,we have fellowship one with another,and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin,we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins,he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned,we make him a liar,and his word is not in us."(1 Jihn 1,5-10.)

"My little children,these things I write unto you,the ye sin not.And if any man sin,we have an advocat with the Father,Jesus Christ,the righteous:
And he is the propitiation of our sins,and not for ours only,but also for the sins of the whole world."(11 John 2,1-2.)

"There is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ,who walk not after their flesh,but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of Christ Jesus hath made me free of the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do,in that it was weak through the flesh,God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,and for sin,he condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,who walk not after flesh,but after Spirit.
For they that are after the flesh,do mind the things of the flesh;but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death;but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:for it is not subject of the law of God,neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
But ye are not in the flesh,but in the Spirit,if so be that the Spirit ofGod dwell in you.Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,he is none of his.
And if Christ be in you,the body is dead because of sin;but the spirit is life because of righteousness.
But if the Spirit of that who raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you,he that raised Christ up from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Therefore brethren e are deptors,not to the flesh to live after flesh.
For if ye live after flesh,ye shall die:but if through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,ye shall live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,they are the sons of God."(Romans8,1-14.)

"For ye have not received the Spirit of bondage again to fear,but ye received the Spirit of adoption,whereby we cry,Abba,Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirits that we are the children of God."(Romans8,15-16.)

Please also read Psalms 51. and Psalms 103.

God bless you and keep you.

 

[Quasicentennial]

Sexual pleasure is suppose to be experienced between a married couple, not with oneself. If Adam and Eve obeyed God and disobeyed Satan by not touching the tree of good and evil, life-wasting lust would never exist. A sinless life is sexual pleasure experienced with all the power that health and youth brings. You can imagine the limitless joy with sexual love between Adam and Eve, including us being the next generation of handsome perfect humans: one race free of disease and old age. Every adult having a partner, nobody would be single. No homosexuality, other sexual perversion or masturbation.
If you really want answers from God, accepting Jesus is a must to enter heaven and have all the time in the universe to ask questions to God or Jesus.
From a health point of view, it might sound irrelevant or confusing at first, but as I see it, lust is another form of communication from the mind and body. If you are concerned about your health, especially genital health when it comes to disease such as prostate cancer, "listening" to your body and how it contacts the mind with sexual urges can be warning signals to check yourself to see if there is any discoloration in the fluid (sperm) then you must watch your diet when it comes to foods with sugar and fat. Health advice websites such as menshealth.com can give excellent information.

 

[Dorothea]

I noticed that no matter how hard I try, no matter how good my Christian walk may seem, that I end up sinning every few days or weeks.

My major stumbling block in my life, at my current age of 25, is lust. Mainly, in the area of online lusting. I don't look at inappropriate contentography mind you(Thank You Lord), but I go to sites that have the latest female celeb pictures with them usually being scantily clad. This leads to either one of two things: Wasting hours of time looking at every intriguing picture I can find or two(the worst option) masturbation.

As wrong as I know it is to lust, and knowing all the biblical scriptures regarding lust, I still do it anyway. The sad part is that while lusting online, I have a picture of Jesus right over the wall above me and the computer. I get so engrossed in the moment and the harmones get flowing so much that the picture almost ends up seeming like it's not even there.

This brings me to my main question, if I am a believer in Christ, have been since childhood, love him and want to walk righteously, why do I knowingly keep giving into this sexual temptation? Until I can break this issue, I will always be frustrated and disappointed with my faith and walk. When it's to the point where you are lusting heavily over a picture, with Jesus's picture right above you, you know that you have serious problems, and I'm not afraid to admit it, that's why I'm seeking help from you all.

Thanks for your time and concern.

It's called spiritual warfare, and everyone goes through this on a daily basis in their minds. Their minds are full of thoughts, opinions, and emotions. All of that chatter and buzzing going on in there 24/7. Your mind is thinking of one of two things: Desire or Fear. I learned this from a monk who spoke at one of our sister churches in our area last month.

You've done the first part in recognizing what sin you are committing. That's the first step. That's a good start. Now you have to gently brush the thoughts aside as soon as they pop into your brain. Do not give it time to settle in there, lest you ednd up doing what you've been doing. That same well-trodden path will be hard to change unless you find out when and where and how you've come to lusting and how to combat it by realizing as soon as the thoughts come into your head, you must blot them out. The best way to do so is to say the Jesus prayer, which is "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner," or you can simply say one of these: "God, help me" or "Lord, have mercy."

We all have these battles daily if we realize the temptations of desire and fear going on in our brains every day. But this advice and tools I shared with you should truly help.

God bless.

 

[makeupgirl]

OK so there will always be a spiritual warfare within us until we go home to be with Jesus because we still have the sinful nature in us (Gal 5:17).....However, that's why it's important to feed your spirit and not the flesh but studying the word, praying without ceasing, talking to the Lord about your problems and shortcomings; he knows what's going on he just want us to admit when we have a problem to him. I also had a problem with sexual stuff as well and for a while I had no idea that it was fornication so I would pray about it but will still continue to sin until the Holy Spirit pointed out that I'm continuing to sin because I want to sin. Once that was brought to light it made sense and I repented and turn away from that with the help of the Lord. Even today I'm still tempted but I remember that I have to give an account of that action if I do it. So just go before the Lord, tell him what's going on. Tell him your fears, reasons for doing the sin. You're just being honest with him and that's all he wants from us so he can get us to the next step in our growth. So, go before our heavenly Father and repent and allow him to lead and guide you. Good luck to you brother!

 

[Johnnz]

It seems that many Christians have a view of their sexuality that makes virtually all and any sexual reaction into 'lust'. That's crazy. We have an active human sexuality quite independently of whether or not be make right choices about it.

Males find females attractive as part of God's design to get us to marry. That's normal, natural, healthy human sexuality. That's not going to go away either. However, that drive can get you into some bad places. This is where you must think through your values. And recognise too that one of the most misunderstood verses in Scripture is that one in Matthew about looking at a woman. That verse is about a deliberate willingness or intent to actually commit adultery, and has nothing at all to do with a spontaneous experience of arousal.

John
NZ

 

[jarrettcpr]

It seems that many Christians have a view of their sexuality that makes virtually all and any sexual reaction into 'lust'. That's crazy. We have an active human sexuality quite independently of whether or not be make right choices about it.

Males find females attractive as part of God's design to get us to marry. That's normal, natural, healthy human sexuality. That's not going to go away either. However, that drive can get you into some bad places. This is where you must think through your values. And recognise too that one of the most misunderstood verses in Scripture is that one in Matthew about looking at a woman. That verse is about a deliberate willingness or intent to actually commit adultery, and has nothing at all to do with a spontaneous experience of arousal.

John
NZ

You're very wise. I agree, so many people believe lust is thinking about a pretty person or finding someone else sexually attractive. I'm a goner if that were true.

Biblically speaking that is not lust, though. Lust comes with the intent to take, literally. To lust after something means to literally take it. Either someone else's spouse or belongings (money, house, car, clothes, and etc.).

Lust can also be good. We can lust after righteousness.

 

[Forealzchola]

sexual temptation is a big issue for many people thats why its probably time that you start looking for a wife...if the celebs you are looking at are that clandly dressed then that would be considered soft inappropriate content...you are old in age and personally i think its time for you stop looking for a wife so that you can express your sexual energy in a healthy way

 

[John Park]

It seems that the hardest one to overcome out of them all is lust. I don't know where you are in your walk with the Lord, but I can suggest a couple of articles for you to read at this site: itrustgodonly.com. One is about confession and another is a 12 lesson journey that helps you to get to know yourself and it will show you how to cleanse yourself. All this is done with the help and guidance of Jesus Christ. It's good that you are willing to fight this matter and overcome it. Keep up the faith and keep fighting. When evil things try to invade my mind I repeatedly say this prayer: Be pleased O God to deliver me, O Lord make haste to help me. Works everytime. If I can help you any further you can contact me at my site. God Bless You

 

[Gezeppi]

I deal with these same kinds of issues myself, though I've sadly found myself go deeper down this road than your situation seems. I try daily to improve myself, and pray to God for guidance. I think making our best attempt to master ourselves and rely on God to show us the way is the best we can do in many of these situations involving the strong natural drives that sometimes overpower our better judgment.

I've often felt ashamed of myself and fell into self-loathing at my repeated failures in these situations, but I always know that God recognizes my weakness and frailty and will be there to help me overcome these obstacles in my life.

From a more direct standpoint, you could have a trusted friend set up some kind of limited blocking software on your computer to help restrict access to certain types of websites. I don't know how realistic that is though.

My two cents. I hope it helps.