One of the ways that Satan attempts to thwart us is to make us believe that all we have to do is change our behavior. If we are just able to stop looking at porn then everything will be OK. And so we charge ahead believing that abstinence is the solution.
Unfortunately there are two things about this approach that will inevitably lead to failure.
1) Abstinence only focuses on the problem. When we think to ourselves "Don't do this, don't do this, don't do this" we are actually focusing on the problem rather than the solution. Worse yet, in the back of our minds we are actually tempting ourselves to do the very thing we are trying to avoid.
2) Abstinence doesn't address the root cause. A person can completely stop outwardly sinning and still not grow in holiness. How? By only addressing one's actions we ignore the actual source of the problem: the heart. If we don't deal with the lust in our hearts then we haven't accomplished anything.
...for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. -1 Samuel 16:7
In order to properly mortify the flesh we need to work with the Holy Spirit and the Word to reveal the true motives of our heart and clean out the parts that we have let entangle us.
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