Step 5 – REMOVE IT.
The fifth “R” to freedom from pornography is to remove what we have renounced. A person can come to the point of recognizing the sin of pornography, taking responsibility for it, repenting before God, and openly renouncing the spiritual darkness connected to it. But freedom is never complete until the pornography itself – and every pathway back to it – is removed.
To remove pornography means eliminating every access point, every hiding place, every digital doorway, and every internal tolerance for it. It means refusing to allow pornography to coexist with the presence of God in the life of a believer. The heart becomes a battleground where the believer declares:
“Not only do I renounce pornography, but pornography and I cannot exist in the same place at the same time. I am a temple of the Holy Spirit – there is no room for this impurity. It must go in Jesus’ name.”
Throughout the Old Testament, the nation of Israel repeatedly cried out to God, accusing Him of being unfair because they continually faced hardship and spiritual oppression. Yet the Scriptures reveal a consistent pattern: they only ever partially repented. They confessed their sin but never fully removed the idols that competed with God. They tolerated what God commanded them to destroy.
Pornography functions the same way in the life of a believer. Partial repentance – saying sorry but keeping access – leaves the door wide open for spiritual defeat.
2 KINGS 15:3-5 “King Uzziah did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done. But he did not destroy the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. The LORD struck the king with leprosy, which lasted until the day he died. He lived in isolation in a separate house.”
King Uzziah’s downfall came not from open rebellion, but from partial obedience. He did what was right, but he refused to remove what God had exposed. In the same way, a believer who repents of pornography but refuses to remove access to it remains vulnerable, divided, and spiritually weakened.
Now consider Paul’s words to the church:
COLOSSIANS 3:1-10
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Paul speaks directly to believers, commanding them not only to repent but to put to death sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Pornography is included in this list. Freedom requires decisive action – not just prayer, not just confession, but removal.
A believer who truly desires freedom from pornography will go to any length to eliminate it from their life. This includes removing apps, deleting accounts, installing filters, confessing to trusted believers, and cutting off every secret pathway. Freedom grows where access dies.
Because every believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit, pornography becomes an intruder – an illegal tenant – occupying space that belongs to God alone. When pornography is tolerated, the Holy Spirit is forced to share His temple with impurity. When pornography is removed, the Spirit fills the space that once belonged to darkness.
A story illustrates this truth. A wealthy man owned a large mansion with many rooms. One day Jesus knocked and asked to be let in. The man agreed and gave Jesus the best room in the house. That night, thieves broke in, beat the man, and robbed the house – except for the room where Jesus stayed. Upset, the man asked Jesus why He didn’t intervene. Jesus replied “You only gave Me one room. If you had given Me the whole house, the thieves would not have been able to steal from you.”
The meaning is clear: Jesus wants full access, not partial access. Pornography cannot remain in even one hidden room of the heart. The Lord desires every room cleansed, every idol removed, every access point destroyed, so that He may fully dwell within His temple.
