This is miserable. Whether you are picking up this material for yourself or to help a friend, you’ve probably tried to avoid this subject for a while. Although unpleasant, this material is vital. It is vital for you personally if you are caught in sexual sin, because you will never know lasting peace and joy while the leach of lust drains your life. It is vital for you as a friend, because sexual sin is reaching epidemic proportions in our culture and must be addressed if we are going to do “relevant” ministry.
"If you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues that deal specifically with your time, you are not preaching the gospel at all." Martin Luther as quoted by Tim Chester in Closing the Window (p. 10).
Sex is awkward to talk about, especially when guilt is involved. Even reading about sex when it has to do with sin. Thinking about confession is as painful as sex is fun; as repulsive as sex is attractive. The equal and opposite force of what drew you to sexual sin will try to drive you away from this study. Satan, the one seeking to destroy your life and relationships (I Pet. 5:8) wants to keep you from this study, especially in the openness of a G4 group or counseling relationship, as much as he wanted you to sin.
One of the things that makes sexual sin hard to talk about is the stereotypes that we place on those who struggle with lust. It feels like if you admit that you struggle with sexual sin that you are confessing to being a pedophile, a social misfit, or a danger to society. Our goal in these materials is to speak to the real dangers of sexual sin without reinforcing these stereotypes.
“Sex addicts, however, do not fit the popular stereotypes. They are otherwise gentle and kind. They care deeply for others. To fellow church members they appear to be ideal Christians (p. 16).” Mark Laaser in Healing the Wounds of Sexual Addiction
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