Shining Moral Light into Dark Places

All of us like stories about noble and heroic acts of men and women.  These accounts affirm that there are many outstanding, unselfish, and courageous people.  Yet we also realize that the world has some very evil people.  To many, this remains a paradox.  How can there be humans who rise to such levels of sacrificial love and kindness while there are others whose pride and selfishness drive them to destroy human lives for the sake of power or pleasure?

Perhaps the two most tragic practices in which powerful adults inflict harm and even death upon babies and children are abortion and child pornography, respectively.  While the frequency of abortions in the USA has been steadily declining, the increasing acceptance of the practice of “after-birth abortions” or infanticide is very troubling.  Meanwhile, the presence of online child sexual abuse imagery (CSAI) has been increasing almost exponentially.

Plague of Child Sexual Abuse Imagery
Hopefully, a recent New York Times article (Sept. 28, 2019) by Michael H. Keller and Gabriel J.X. Dance will draw much needed attention to the horrific statistics on CSAI and its terrible toll on the lives of our innocent children.  The article is entitled “The Internet Is Overrun with Images of Child Sexual Abuse. What Went Wrong?”

I should warn readers that you may not want to read Keller and Dance’s article because the authors document crimes of assault, rape, and torture by adults against children as young as 3 or 4 years old.  These acts are filmed by other very selfish, twisted criminals for the purpose of online marketing to consumers who are themselves addicted to pornography.

What is most troubling are the stark statistics documenting the explosion of this illegal activity from the underbelly of our culture:
In 1998, there were over 3,000 reports of child sexual abuse imagery. 
Just over a decade later, yearly reports soared past 100,000. 
In 2014, that number surpassed 1 million for the first time.  
Last year, there were 18.4 million, more than one-third of the total ever reported.  Those reports included over 45 million images and videos flagged as child sexual abuse.

Obviously, laws against child pornography and law enforcement have not been successful in this war to protect our children against what has become an increasingly sophisticated underworld.  We are losing the current battle largely due to increasing usage of encryption to assure that privacy of law-abiding internet users is protected.  Encryption, particularly of social media platforms like Facebook Messenger and Snapchat has made it possible for child predators and abusers to conduct their sordid business.  Keller and Dance cite a recent article published in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which stated that reports of online child abuse images were “exceeding the capabilities of independent clearinghouses and law enforcement to take action.”

God’s Moral Standards and Judgment
Clearly, the sordid acts of sexual abuse, torture, and murder of children ought to be considered unthinkable crimes against humanity.  However, even more despicable is the practice of digitally recording and distributing these images on the internet for profit.  Furthermore, this material is then available to feed pornographic addictions of the more hardened addicts.  This sordid behavior should remind us of our universal human need to live according to the moral standards God has revealed in Scripture for the good of humanity.

The horrible nature of CSAI should remind us of the universal nature of sin, rebellion against God’s authority. The account of the first sin as it entered God’s perfect creation is recorded in the Biblical account of the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve yielded to the allurement of Satan who appealed to the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life (Genesis 3; 1 John 2: 16).  When Adam and Eve chose to eat from one forbidden tree out of an abundance of wonderful trees and other provisions God had made for them, they rebelled against the moral boundaries God had given them for their good (Romans 1: 18-21).  The result was the invasion of sin and death that has continued to plague Adam’s offspring throughout the millennia ever since.

Thankfully, the Apostle Paul and many other New Testament writers address our lost human condition and also God’s provision of salvation through the “Second Adam,”  Jesus Christ.  Paul wrote that he was not ashamed of the Gospel…for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith (i.e. how we can be restored to right standing before God) (Romans 1: 16-17).  Paul continues by explaining the consequences of human rejection of God’s moral authority, beginning with ungratefulness and lack of reverence for a holy God.  Namely, we have become darkened in our understanding, spiritually blinded, foolish in our thinking, and idolatrous (Romans 1: 18-23).

But, as we read beyond Romans 1: 23, we realize the depth of our descent into moral depravity.  Beginning in verse 24, the Apostle Paul describes how humans have rejected God’s moral standards of heterosexual relationships within marriage taught in the Old Testament (Genesis 2: 21-25) and reinforced by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 19:4-6).  The consequences are “degrading passions” in which both men and women “exchanged the natural function” for “unnatural function” (Romans 1: 24-32).  Choosing to act contrary to God’s design for human sexuality in any of its perversions is both immoral and destructive to the spiritual flourishing of mankind.  

Paul addresses immorality in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, asking his readers, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.  Paul further warns us,
Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light (Ephesians 5: 11-13).

Spiritual Help with Addiction
Thankfully, there is hope for even the most depraved and hopeless person.  Although the Scriptures above sternly condemn sexual immorality of any sort as sin, we also find reason for hope.  Immediately following his stern warning in 1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 (see above), Paul writes these wonderful words of hope for restoration in the power of Christ (emphasis mine):  And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6: 11).  Paul is saying some of you were fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, etc. but through repentance and faith in Christ, you were washed, set apart, and given right standing before a Holy God, just as if you had never sinned!  Amazing grace of God!

For the producer and peddler of pornography of any kind; or for the person addicted to pornography, there is help spiritually.  Christ died for all mankind on a Roman Cross to pay the penalty for human sin which is death (Romans 6: 23).  The “Good News,” or “the Gospel,” is the power of God for salvation for all who believe as we noted above.  The Gospel is summarized in an outline called “Steps to Peace with God” which explains God’s love, our predicament (sin and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our predicament, and what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a Holy God). When you are “born again” through the power of God’s Spirit, you will be able to seek additional help in the Bible and through counsel from experienced believers who can assist you with your addiction and other sin that has defeated you.

Online websites that provide resources to assist with addiction to pornography include Focus on the Family, Pure Life Ministries (Help for Addiction to Pornography in Women), and Josh McDowell Ministry.

For those of us who, by God’s grace, have been spared of sexual addictions and immorality, we must recognize that we face a spiritual battle to live pure lives.  The temptation to rebel against God’s goodness and moral boundaries remains a challenge to all human beings, Christ-followers included.  As a YouVersion Bible reading plan, “Guardrails: Avoiding Regrets in Your Life,” states, God’s guardrail for our sexuality should keep us from doing anything that’s not what is best for the other person. Will it make them feel shame? Will it become a secret they carry for the rest of their life? Will it undermine their future relationships?” If the answer to any of these questions is “Yes,” then, as Paul says in in 1 Corinthians 6: 18-20, "flee."

As Christ-followers, we must nurture our children and grandchildren in biblical Christianity at home, through a Bible-preaching church, and by being vigilant about who our children are spending time with when they are not in our care, both friends and adult supervisors.  I would also recommend an excellent message by our pastor at West Hill Baptist Church, Pastor Zach Swift.  This message is third in his series, “Do You Surrender,” on the authority of God’s Word, and it is entitled “Morality.”  His message is a great resource for individual and family discussions of God’s “guardrails” to protect us, our marriages, and our families. 

Calling for Legislative and Legal Action
Finally, for those who have been challenged to act on behalf of the helpless children who fall victim to child sexual abuse, trafficking, and exploitation, please contact your U.S. Senators, Congressmen/women, and state and local officials.  There is clearly need for Congress and other levels of government to act on behalf of the powerless.  The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has resources although they need more financial support and technical tools.  As we contact those in authority over us, we ought to pray for them that they will avoid temptation as they deal with the sin and corruption of our world.  We ought to grieve with law enforcement personnel as they regularly face human depravity to preserve law and order (Matthew 5: 4).