When Defeated Sins Strike Back

Christians often live knowing that sin has been defeated in their life. This is true in one sense and false in another. It is true because Christ has overcome the world. He has defeated Satan, sin, and death so much so that many Christians find that they are able to just walk away from old sins that controlled their life for so long. This was the case for me with porn. While it is true that I have been able to walk away from it, it is not completely eradicated as a challenge for me. There are two analogies that can be used to describe this. The first is that Christ has won the war, but the individual fights still rage. The second is that of a snake or a chicken that has had its head cut off. The snake’s body will still writhe, and the chicken will often run and jump around, despite not having a head. In a similar manner, sin has been defeated, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still have power.

I got into porn at a fairly early age, and it held on tight all through my time in the Navy. It consistently escalated until it was no longer enough. But that is not this story. This story is about its defeat. In 2016, I defeated this sin through two things. The first is that I entered into a relationship with a woman (my now wife). I knew enough to know that porn could have no place in that relationship. I stopped cold turkey here. However, I believe the only way that this was a lasting move away from porn is that this relationship is what God used to call me back to him. It was being made new in Christ that made the defeat of porn something that could realistically last, and, for the most part, it has. What has shocked me is how strongly it can hit me out of nowhere. A few years ago, when my faith was backsliding, I fell back into porn. Looking back, I can’t see a specific and conscious choice that caused this. Obviously, there was, but I don’t see it. Overall, it seems as though it was all of the small choices of choosing myself over God and my wife. Eventually, it was only a small choice to consume porn. But again, that is not this story. This story is about the disturbing strength and speed with which the demons of our past can strike us.

Recently (December 2025), my wife and kids went to my wife’s hometown in Minnesota to attend her grandma’s funeral. The night before they left, as I was climbing into bed, a particular video that I had watched popped into my head. And it consumed my mind. Tomorrow I can watch this. That was the thought that ran through my mind. Honestly, this shocked me. It came out of nowhere. I wasn’t backsliding in my faith. My wife and I’s relationship wasn’t strained. And yet it happened anyway. This was probably the most powerful spiritual attack I have ever felt. Looking back on it, the term that I want to use to describe the attack is getting run over by a freight train. It was so powerful and inevitable. Tomorrow I can watch this.

Despite its power, I never gave in to it, and it has almost nothing to do with me. It wasn’t just my willpower that prevented me from falling back into porn while my family was gone. In fact, I am fully convinced that, on my own, I would have failed. However, in the midst of this attack, I prayed. I asked God to protect me. To give me the strength to stand against this attack. To have the resilience to stand firm while my family was away. And he did. The attacks came randomly while my family was gone, but he gave me the strength needed, which is exactly what he promised to do in his Word. Scripture tells us, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). This is exactly what happened for me. In this case, the way of escape was literally to lean on God. This is the main takeaway for this blog. We are never tempted to where we cannot resist, but resisting is rarely going to be just on us. It is God who provides the means of escape.

While the above is the main takeaway, I want to draw attention to what happens around 1 Corinthians 10:13. It is surrounded by warnings. In front of the verse is what we all need to be aware of (and my story above illustrates it perfectly), is the following warning: “Now these things [the Israelites dying for their idolatry, grumbling, and sexual immorality] happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:11-12, emphasis mine). Basically, be careful. You may be standing strong, but don’t get arrogant about it. My story shows that all may be well and seemingly safe, but that can be the exact time when the enemy will strike. After all, attacking when no one expects is one of the most effective military strategies. That is the first warning.

The second warning comes immediately after the positive framework of 1 Corinthians 10:13. God will provide a way to escape the temptation. “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14, emphasis mine). This whole passage is in a broader section on eating food sacrificed to idols, but the point here is that temptation is common to man. One of those temptations is arrogance. I am strong in my faith, and thus, eating food sacrificed to idols is not something to be worried about. Paul is saying that it is not so safe. Yes, food sacrifice to idols is not necessarily bad because the idols themselves are not real gods (1 Corinthians 10:19). In one sense, it is just food. But in another sense, it is eating food that has been presented to demons and is a participation with them (1 Corinthians 10:21). “Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (1 Corinthians 10:22). Broadly, this is just a sin problem. If we are not careful, we may find that we have fallen into sin. In a very real sense, all sin is idolatry. It is choosing something over God, whether that is sexual immorality, arrogance, actual idolatry, grumbling, or anything else.

Flee from it.