The Addictive Power of Sexual Sin

The Dark Secret

Sexual sin is running rampant in the secret places of the church -- not just in the pews, but behind the pulpits. Statistics reveal that 18 percent of the clergy have had some form of sexual contact with someone other than their spouses while in the pastorate, (Leadership. Vol. 9, No. 1, 1988). That is nearly one in five -- who admit it! This does not even count those who play around the edges with pornography or other less explicit sources of lust, while keeping their sin to themselves.

The Bible has some very clear words regarding sexual sin: "Flee sexual immorality," (I Corinthians 6:18); "...make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts" (Romans 13:14); "Outside (the gates of the Holy City) are... the immoral persons..." (Revelation 22:15). There is no doubt that God wants His people to be sexually pure, but the reciting of these verses seems an exercise in futility for those who struggle with sexual sin. Those who would go to a brother who is involved in pornography, or struggling with an adulterous relationship, and quote these verses in the hope of "helping" the brother, are sorely naive. Sexual sin is not something that a few Scripture verses and a prayer can prevent. For sanctification to occur in the realm of sexual sin, a long complex process must occur. The purpose of this article is to help those who are struggling with sexual sin to come to an understanding of this type of sin, and how God can and will grant freedom. This article, however, does not give an easy formula answer. There are no easy answers.

Sexual Sin is "Addictive"

The term "addiction" is now being commonly applied to the struggle individuals have with the use of such things as pornography, adult clubs, prostitutes and illicit relationships. The term is a good descriptive term in that it conveys the feeling of being out-of-control. Individuals who struggle with sexual sin often describe that they feel like they cannot control themselves. They describe a cycle of behavior which seems to run on its own, seemingly independent of their will. They describe how they go into a pattern and trance-like, follow it through robotically. They use the term "addicted."

If we mean by the term "addiction" that people are victims or helpless -- controlled by some mysterious genetic pre-disposition -- then the term "addiction" should be discarded. Such a use of the term ignores human responsibility and subverts any concept of Divine justice. If we mean, however, that people can become so enslaved to their sin that it becomes a pattern which is almost independent of their conscious choices, then the term is acceptable. To call sexual sin "addictive," is to say that people have in their lives "prevailing sins" or "life-dominating sins." This is the terminology of the Puritans, and is still applicable today. People often have certain sins which seem to run through their lives like a sewer down a medieval street, and they feel like they can never really break free and be pure.

Christian writers from previous centuries would often use allegory to point to this phenomena. For example, George MacDonald's main character in his book Phantastes makes a sinful choice and as a result a shadow attaches to him. No matter where the character goes the shadow is there. The character becomes entirely preoccupied with his shadow, and spends most of the book worried about it. An act of grace removes the shadow at the end of the story. The message of MacDonald is clear: People have sins in their lives which hang on them constantly -- which they struggle with and seem to have no freedom from -- and yet God's grace will prevail.