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It's no secret that sex is everywhere, infiltrating the remotest points of our society. How does a Christian remain in this sex-obsessed world without falling into its lies and snares? Ed Welch teaches how we can live godly lives amid rampant wickedness, and how we can counsel those who have been harmed by it.

Ed is a counselor and faculty member of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation, as well as the author of several books. Today you'll hear Ed in a full-length address titled "Sex in the City, Suburbs, and Countryside: Maintaining Purity in a sex-obsessed culture."

Can God change those who are addicted to pornography? Yes, God can and does bring people out of their isolated, imaginary world of sexual addiction into the real world of authentic, loving relationships with God and people. David Powlison explains that change happens as people are lovingly challenged to face their behavior honestly, understand its roots, and turn to God for help. True change from God will bring freedom from pornography addiction by transforming the sexual addict’s imagination and behavior.

In this article, Winston shows how seemingly “harmless” sexual fantasies and masturbation negatively impact people and their ability to have healthy relationships with others. He shares how to build a new inner world founded on Christ’s love, instead of imaginary fantasies. Learning these truths will help those who struggle with masturbation and sexual fantasies to grow in their ability to have loving relationships with the real people in their lives.

Winston will speak on this topic in a lecture titled “Solo Sex” at CCEF’s National Conference in November. Click here for more information.

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This week we present a favorite presentation from one of our past National Conferences. Speaker Diane Langberg is a practicing psychologist and director of Diane Langberg, Ph. D. & Associates in Jenkintown, PA. She is an international conference speaker and adjunct professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, as well as the author of numerous books and publications, including On the Threshold of Hope and Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse.

In this conference address titled "Self Deception - a Supporting Column of Addiction" Dr. Langberg helps us understand that at the root of not only addiction but most sins is deception, lies we tell not only to God and our loved ones, but to ourselves.

by Ed Welch

We aspire to have a point of contact when we disagree with someone. We can agree in part with small government conservatives who distrust political machinations and we can also agree with big government liberals who are concerned about the neglect of the poor. An interest in a point of contact is both civil and biblical. But when it comes to sex, Christians accent their differences with the rest of the world.

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; (1 Thes.4:3-5)

The East, The West, and Sex: A History of Erotic Encounters, by Richard Bernstein, reminds us that most of the world has lived in a “harem culture” throughout recorded history. The eroticized version that Westerners have of the East, he writes, is largely true. Against this backdrop it shouldn’t be too difficult for Christians to be different.

by Ed Welch

There was a time when I wanted to write a book about sex. Maybe I will someday, hopefully before I lose interest in it, if such a thing happens in a growing marriage. My goal was not so much to say anything new, but I believe that this era deserves as many sane books as possible on sex.

A Vindication of Love: Reclaiming Romance for the Twenty-First Century, by Christina Nehring in one from the competition. Her enemy is dull and limited monogamy. Her goal is sexuality out of the conventional box where passions can truly be savored. Nothing new here, but if there is a steady stream of books from the reckless sexuality genre that sound fresh, then I expect that Christians can be making the biblical case for sexuality in new and engaging ways too.

by Ed Welch

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; (1 Thes.4:3-5)

Do you ever get the feeling that the church – that is, us – is gradually giving up in its battle with sexual passion? I am certain that I have been to conservative churches where the actual practice with some sexual sins, such as premarital sex, was, “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” The message of the culture is finally taking hold: you can’t put boundaries around voracious sexual drives – at least men certainly can’t. Too much momentum of having been instinct-driven simians and all that. We have enough stories of prominent preachers who, while preaching against sex outside of marriage, have already given up the battle with the beast within.

This is a difficult one. Of all the ordinances of God, which are intended to teach us how human beings are really intended to live, only the sexual commands are suspect, and all of the sexual commands are suspect. No one, Christian or not, condones murder, stealing, disrespect toward parents or slander. But the world around us doesn’t get the sexual commands, and many of us are beginning to scratch our heads too. When homosexuals are speaking about committed love, when everyone throughout history is saying that boys will be boys, and when we know by our own experience that sexual passions don’t easily take “no” for an answer, we gradually adopt causes with a higher probability of success, such as world peace, and become quieter about sexual sin.

A Review by Winston Smith

“Just say no.”

Not bad advice as far as it goes but, then again, it doesn’t go all that far. When it comes to dealing with sexual sin, willing yourself to say “no” usually isn’t enough. And thankfully Christ doesn’t just help us to say “no” but gives us so much to say “yes” to. That’s what I like about Winner’s book, Real Sex. It isn’t just one more plea for Christians to say “no” to sexual sin, but a help to say “yes” to sexual purity by appreciating the connections between sex and the riches of life in Christ.

An Old Approach Made New: Chastity.

Interestingly, one of the ways Real Sex helps us to say “yes” to purity is by refusing to downplay the difficulties of sexual purity. Winner understands that sexual sin isn’t an annoyance that can be flicked away, an addiction that is excised with a therapeutic scalpel, or a cultural wave that we simply must brace ourselves against. No, sexual temptation has been and always will be with us. Successfully navigating it requires a long view, discipline, and an awareness of how the means of grace apply. In part, Winner does this is by reintroducing us to the concept of chastity as a spiritual discipline. Viewing chastity as a discipline reminds us that sexual purity is hard; it reminds us that the Christian life is hard. Real Sex isn’t a cookbook of magical formulations that make purity easy – and neither is the Bible. Winner shows us how chastity, rightly understood, points us to life in Christ. That gives us hope, direction, meaning, purpose, and even great power and resources in battling sin. But the help is not in the form of a three, five or twelve step program that allows us to simply tackle one problem and move on to the next. Winner gets the big picture of the Christian life and so chastity is presented as a vibrant, time-honored and biblical way of battling sexual sin.

This week's podcast is an excerpt from an actual CCEF Distance Education class.

Taken from CCEF faculty member Ed Welch's "Counseling: Problems and Procedures" class, this excerpt is from a lecture focusing on suffering, particularly the suffering that results from sexual violation. To hear an extended version of this class sample, click here.

CCEF offers training in biblical counseling both on site (at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia) and online (wherever you have a computer and an Internet connection). To learn more about CCEF Training, click here. Deadline to register for August Distance Classes is July 15.

Masturbation, pornography, sexual fantasies...what's so bad about these? No one gets hurt, right? Aren't they better than indulging in actual sexual indecencies with other people? In this podcast, CCEF faculty member Winston Smith addresses the issue of what's sinful (if anything) about these supposedly "victimless" indulgences.