The WWW is just like the streets of any large city, or i should say a large city without a police force. On the net, virtually anything goes. 'You want it, we've got it.' It can be an awesome place and it can be Sodom and Gomorrah with an attitude. The most dangerous thing about the net is that it's not quite real, it's virtual. You never really know who you are chatting with or what you are looking at. i could be an 80 year old grandma or a 13 year old boy, you just don't know. Even if i tell you, do you really know? The pictures or video you see, are they real or computer generated. Just what is real and what is not?
Is sin real, if it's on the net? Can you really commit fornication in cyberspace? The Bible doesn't say anything about cybersex. Or does it? Let's not forget, we are talking about the Word of GOD. He formed the universe out of nothing and set the planets in their orbits, He knows the end from the beginning, and He knew about the computer revolution before Eve even talked to the serpent. The WWW is not outside of GOD's creation nor is it beyond His Law. And as we approach the end of the age, the WWW is a battleground between angels and demons fighting for the hearts and minds of man.
"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28)
So, if Jesus said it is sin to even look on a woman in lust, then what of speaking lustful things through a keyboard or scaning lustful images on a video screen? Lust is lust, and that is the true sin. The net is full of XXX sites, many freely available even to our children, not to mention the news groups and bulletin boards that are completely uncensored. There are also chat rooms and virtual communities that cater to those wishing to live out their fantasies through an anonymous keyboard. And that is the most dangerous part of the whole thing. Men (and women) can engage in adulteress affairs while spouse and kids sleep in the next room! It is so "clean", you don't have to go out to bars, or check into a motel, where the Pastor might see your car, and you can be totally anonymous. You turn off the computer and it's all over, no guilt, no repercusions.
Then there is the even more sly sin of lust on the net, cartoon erotica. Hey, they aren't even real, just drawings! Where's the harm in that? Lust is lust and it destroys the heart and mind. The sin is in the lust, not in the object of lust. If it is sin to look at a woman to lust after her, is it not then a sin to look at an erotic drawing of a woman for the same purpose. And if it is adultery to look at a woman in lust then is it beastiality to look on erotic cartoon animals to lust after them?
We justify our sin in order to continue in it without guilt, whether the sin be stealing from an "ungrateful" employer or having an affair because our spouse is "unloving". The unreal nature of the internet makes it that much easier for us to justify, and therefore not repent of our sins in cyberspace. But our battle is 'not with flesh and blood but with powers and principalities, and wickedness in high places. ' There is a strong demonic force at work on the WWW. Satan is the Prince of the Power of the Air. His dominion is in the virtual realities of life, the shadows and the "gray" areas of our man-made morality. His greatest weapon is compromise. To get us to step over the line in slow shuffling steps. Once he can get a soul moving in his direction, the pace will increase, day by day. Each step makes the next that much easier, until we become so accustomed to following the enemy we no longer even realize we are walking willingly into the Pit.
Yes, cyber-sin is real sin. Fornication commited with a computer, or a telephone, is still fornication. Lust is Lust. Sin is Sin. Whether you are looking at Playboy Magazine, Anime comics, playing erotic vidio games, having cybersex, or taking a hooker to Motel 6, you are under a spirit of lust and only Jesus Christ can free you from that. Turn to Him now, and turn away from your sin. He is faithful to forgive and heal. Call on Him now, and if you want someone to talk to who won't judge you, only love and pray for you, then e-mail me. i'm here, and i'm already praying for you.
JESUS is the only Way. He died on the Cross on Calvary almost 2000 years ago that we might receive forgiveness for our sin, even cyber-sin. He knows where you are right now and He loves you enough to give His life for you. Let Him teach you true Love and intimacy. With Christ there is Joy and Forgiveness, without Him there is only judgment and death.