The tenth in a series of 16 “blog bites” answering anticipated objections to material set forth in A Way of Escape, i.e., the tenth in a series of 16 “blog bites” answering anticipated FAQs.
OBJECTION #10 (of 16)
In your book, you document how, as of January 2022, you had not “acted out” sexually for 100% of days over the most recent 34 months. And you continue to update that statistic in your blogs. God sent a plague upon the land for David’s numbering of Israel (II Samuel 24:1-9). It was prideful (and therefore sinful) for David to number Israel. Isn’t it also prideful (and therefore sinful) for you to number your sexual sobriety?
RESPONSE
A two-layered response. The first to address the need for Real Data to support the book’s Holy Spirit theology. And the second to comment on what Scripture has to say with regard to those situations when numbering does not equate to sinning.
REAL DATA TO SUPPORT THE HOLY SPIRIT THEOLOGY
The Scriptures have much to say about the Holy Spirit’s inner-working power to deliver believers from lusts of the flesh (e.g., Galatians 5:16, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 8:13-14, Ephesians 3:20-21). But in the war against the flesh, the Church has instead looked (almost) exclusively to accountability groups for a way of escape. How to effect change in such a deeply rooted and widely held belief that accountability is the addict’s only means of escape from lusts of the flesh?
To effect change, and to awaken the Church to the possibility of wholly Spirit-led escape, perhaps the Church needs to see the Holy Spirit theology applied in the solution of a real-world sin problem. And this is precisely what the Way of Escape Battle Plan does. It takes the Holy Spirit theology, applies it to the real-world problem of porn addiction, and out pops a Spirit-Powered Battle Plan for Purity. No accountability partner/group required. A wholly Spirit-driven solution to the problem of porn addiction.
To effect change, and to awaken the Church to the possibility of wholly Spirit-led escape, perhaps the Church needs to see the Holy Spirit theology applied in the solution of a real-world sin problem.
In the Way of Escape Case Study, I document sexual sobriety, as this is the most telling piece of data that could be used in support of the Holy Spirit theology. And for the same reason, I continue to report on the updated numbers in my blogs.
(for a lengthier response to this objection, including a discussion of when numbering does not equate to sinning, see the full blog at www.wileygrafbooks.com/news/glory-in-the-lord-v2).
A GAME-CHANGING BOOK HAS ARRIVED
In A Way of Escape, readers learn how to apply Holy Spirit theology in their war against the flesh. Readers learn how to step up the degree to which they “walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16). They learn how to build a library of Spirit-anointed apps. Apps that are uniquely fitted to them, and their unique Spirit-filling triggers.
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
The still-struggling now have another option. The still-struggling now have fresh hope for discovering that long-sought-after way of escape from sin and temptation (I Corinthians 10:13). A way that—because it is wholly Spirit-powered—does not require enlisting the aid of an accountability partner or group. Truly, a game-changer!
