STEP 6 TO FREEDOM: RESIST IT
We recommend that you read the first five Bible studies before beginning this one, as each step builds on the last and will help you better understand and apply Step 6 to your journey of freedom from pornography and sexual sin.
The sixth step to freedom from pornography and sexual sin is simple but absolutely essential: Resist it. Whenever we remove a sinful pattern from our life, it will always try to return. Accepting this reality helps us stay alert and committed to the process of freedom.
The enemy will attempt to flood the mind with lies—especially after a season of breakthrough. He whispers things like, “See? You’re still tempted. You’re not really free. If you were, you wouldn’t feel this way.” These accusations are designed to discourage and deceive. But if you have walked through the first five steps—recognizing, taking responsibility, repenting, renouncing, and removing—then the power of pornography has already been broken. What you are experiencing is simply the enemy trying to reclaim territory he once occupied.
MATTHEW 12:43–45 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So, it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”
This passage is sobering. It does not mean that everyone struggling with pornography is demon‑possessed. But it does reveal a spiritual reality: the enemy harasses, tempts, and pressures relentlessly. When someone is set free, the enemy does not simply walk away. He attempts to return, often with greater intensity, hoping to regain influence and drive the person deeper into bondage than before.
This is why resisting temptation is not optional—it is vital. But resisting is pointless if the earlier steps have not been taken. Freedom begins with removing the stronghold; resisting keeps it from returning.
To resist pornography and sexual sin, we must actively grow in intimacy with the Lord. Freedom is not maintained by willpower but by relationship. We must fill our lives with God’s Word, welcome the Holy Spirit’s presence, and stay connected to strong believers who can encourage, support, and hold us accountable.
Complacency is dangerous. If we neglect spiritual growth, fellowship, or accountability, we risk sliding back into old patterns—and sometimes ending up worse than before.
One of the most important principles on the road to freedom is this: never walk alone. Isolation is the enemy’s playground. He waits for moments when we feel lonely, tired, stressed, or vulnerable. Accountability is not a sign of weakness—it is a weapon of warfare. Reaching out for help before you fall is a sign of maturity and victory. Many only confess after the fact, but true freedom grows when we reach out in the moment of temptation.
The strength to resist pornography does not come from human effort. It comes from submission to God.
JAMES 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Many believers attempt to resist the devil without first submitting to God. They try to fight temptation in their own strength, and they fail because they have skipped the most important step. Submission—humbling ourselves before God—is what empowers resistance.
Submitting to God means listening to Him, obeying Him, and following His lead. In the context of sexual sin, it means acknowledging our inability to overcome temptation on our own and asking Him to change our desires, strengthen our will, and guard our hearts. As Joyce Meyer wisely said, “Our power to resist is in our willingness to submit.”
Submission is difficult for many Christians because the sinful nature resists surrender. The flesh wants control. But freedom requires yielding to God’s authority.
GALATIANS 5:17 (AMP) “For the sinful nature has its desire which is opposed to the Spirit, and the [desire of the] Spirit opposes the sinful nature; for these [two, the sinful nature and the Spirit] are in direct opposition to each other [continually in conflict], so that you [as believers] do not [always] do whatever [good things] you want to do.”
The solution is found in the previous verse:
GALATIANS 5:16 “But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance], and then you will certainly not carry out the desire of the sinful nature.”
When we submit to the Holy Spirit, He guards every doorway of our life. He strengthens us where we are weak and empowers us to resist the enemy’s attempts to return.
Freedom also requires change. If we keep doing what we’ve always done, we will keep getting what we’ve always gotten. Many people remain trapped in pornography because they refuse to change their habits, routines, or environment. But change is necessary to break addiction. Ask the Lord for new strategies and be willing to walk them out.
To close this study, here is an example of a submission prayer:
“Thank you, God—you are the One who is setting me free. I confess that I am totally powerless on my own to deal with the devil and his strongholds. I need YOU to do the work in me. I humble myself in Your presence, and I surrender my life wholeheartedly to You. Please take full control of every part of my life and continue to set me FREE.”
