The Lord be with you and bless you today.
Today’s Kindle deals include several options that are new for the day—books for parents, women, elders, and so on. Remember also the massive commentary (and other resource) sale that’s going on now.
Amazon’s Big Deal Days wraps up today. I added quite a few Christian and general market deals yesterday evening and will keep adding new [print] book deals if and when they appear today.

Trevin Wax is convinced we’re living in a context that has normalized slander and I think he’s right. “Slander is spreading untruth about someone else so their reputation is damaged. These untruths are sometimes flat-out lies designed to inflict maximum harm, but often slander takes the form of deceptive inferences, assuming the worst of others instead of the best, or deliberately crafting a preferred narrative out of conveniently edited facts.”

There are lots of interesting insights in this article from Ian Harber. He writes about “the role of doctrine in the Christian life” and asks, “What is someone to do with doctrine? It seems to me that there are at least four postures someone could take toward doctrine. We could be ignorant of doctrine, master of doctrine, negotiator of doctrine, or formed by doctrine.”

“Let’s look at Romans 12 and consider what it would be like to apply this passage to a destructive relationship without Romans 13. As you read the end of Romans 12, imagine yourself as a child with an abusive mother, a wife with an abusive husband, or a parent of a drug-addicted young adult who is increasingly disrupting the stability of your home.”

Some skeptics claim that the two different accounts of Judas’s death are contradictory. Jonathan Noyes shows how they do not contradict one another in the least.

I like what Cheryl Balcom writes here—that sometimes the ability to not take yourself too seriously is grace.

Satan’s strategy is to make you feel alone and ashamed, leading you to isolate yourself from God and others. That’s the theme of John’s article.

Wouldn’t I be most closely imitating him if I went beyond merely completing the task and chose instead to do it with joy, with excellence, with a desire to in some way make it beautiful?

When you default to thinking of prayer as an abstract activity, a ‘thing to do’, the tendency is to focus on the prayer as an activity – which makes it boring. Instead, focus on the one to whom you’re praying.
—Michael Reeves

I’m so glad you are asking this question because it’s an important one. Maybe you will find it comforting to know you are not the only one asking it—more people come to this site by searching “Is watching porn a sin?” than any other question.
I think I know what you are hoping for. You are hoping I will say “No, watching porn is not a sin.” You are hoping I will say that because you want to watch it and that answer will give you a little more freedom to indulge in something that tempts you, draws you, and offers you a kind of satisfaction.
But it’s not quite that simple, is it? I think there is a part of you that also hopes I will say, “Yes, watching porn is a sin.” You are hoping I will say it’s a sin because that answer will address the sense of guilt you feel, that part of your inner self that nags you when you watch it. Human beings are complicated that way—different parts of us can desire different things or even opposite things. It’s possible to long for something with one part of yourself and hate it with another.
I am glad you used the word “sin,” because it is the key to a good answer. When we consider whether watching porn is a sin, we are essentially holding it up to a set of morals to ask, “Does it violate this standard of morals or is it consistent with it?” But here’s a follow-up question: whose morals are we comparing it to? This is where the word “sin” is so helpful, because when we commit a sin, we are violating God’s morals. As the one who created this world and the people who live within it, God is the one who gets to determine what is a sin and what is not. It doesn’t really matter what you or I believe about it, but it matters an awful lot what God believes about it.
So what does God have to say about pornography? To answer that, we would need to turn to the book he gave us, the Bible. While the Bible does not mention pornography by name, it does tell us a lot about God’s plan for sex and sexuality. God makes it very clear that sex is to be expressed in only one context—the relationship between a husband and a wife. In other words, sex is good and it pleases God when we express it, but only when we express in a way that is consistent with his design. In fact, the Bible would go so far as to say that any expression of sexuality other than the one between a husband and wife is committing the sin of adultery. And that’s true even when it does not involve actual physical contact with another person (such as watching them on a screen or looking at them in a magazine). Here’s how Jesus says it: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). It’s simply impossible to reconcile that with pornography.
The other place we can look to tell whether something violates God’s law is in the human conscience. I suspect the reason you Googled what you did today is that you are feeling a kind of nagging in your inner self that tells you that you should not be looking at porn. The conscience is not as trustworthy as the Bible but is still crucial, and we need to be very cautious about ignoring it or violating it. It’s a wise practice to follow that prompting straight to the Bible so you can better inform your conscience. And more often than not you’ll find that your conscience is quietly prompting you away from an action that would be sinful.
More often than not you’ll find that your conscience is quietly prompting you away from an action that would be sinful.Share
So yes, my friend, I want to affirm what I am pretty sure you already knew or at least suspected: Watching porn is a sin. It is a sin you ought to stop for the good of your own spiritual and relational well-being. And I want to encourage you that it’s a sin you can stop. In fact, you can even get to the point where it’s no longer something you crave. Most of all, I want you to know that pornography is a sin that God can and will forgive. Even though it is a violation of his standards of morality, he delights to forgive those who have committed it. Forgiveness is available to all who will simply confess their sins to God and ask him to save them from the consequences of their sin. So why wouldn’t you do that today?
Let me close with a few recommendations. If you want to know more about God’s forgiveness, visit Two Ways to Live. For more about pornography, I have in the past explained 8 different sins you commit when looking at porn and 7 good reasons to stop looking at porn right now. I have also written a book called Sexual Detox that may be helpful.

I’m grateful to Christian Focus for sponsoring the blog this week to tell you about their new exposition of the London Baptist Confession. Please do make it a point to visit the sponsors since they play a key role in keeping this site going.

Westminster Books has a deal on a new book for kids. And don’t forget they’ve also got Paul Miller’s new A Praying Church discounted.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Divine Tapestry)
An Eton Mess: The Failure of English Bishops
Here is another article that reflects on the failure of the Anglican hierarchy to properly settle the issue of same-sex marriage. They have come up with a solution that will actually just make everyone unhappy!
Six Ways Pre-Born Babies Glorify God
Paul Tautges offers six ways that pre-born babies glorify God. “As pastors, we must be able to speak biblically about the value of human life. We must help our congregations mull over life in the womb, which is often a dangerous place for pre-born children.”
The Basis is Biology
”On Christmas Eve Melissa Courtney set a new women’s parkrun world record at Poole parkrun. Melissa is originally from Poole so all our local runners basked in the reflected glory as she ran a time of 15 minutes and 31 seconds. This was a truly world class performance.”
The Lies Writers Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free
This is a perceptive article that will speak to many writers. “The world is full of good advice for writers. Just ask Google, “How to start writing?” and you’ll get a host of interesting answers like become a reader, commit to a routine, use writing exercises, and find a community to support your efforts. We’d all agree that this advice makes sense and would help us grow. But what Google doesn’t say, is to figure out who you are in Christ first…”
More Than Jumper Cable Christianity
Jeff Medders wants to help you avoid what he calls “jumper cable Christianity.”
The Young Adults’s Guide to Social Media
Younger Christians may benefit from reading this guide to social media.
Flashback: When You’re at Your Best, Plan for Your Worst
It is when we are not being tempted, it is when we are standing strong in the Lord’s grace, that we ought to consider the times we will be weak and tempted and eager to sin. We need to assume such times will come and we need to use the moments of strength to put measures in place that will protect us when we are weak.

The basis of my marriage is this: God has called me with an irrevocable, inexcusable calling to lay down my life for one specific woman all the days of her life. And to serve her unconditionally, whether she deserves it or not. —Paul Washer