Accountable2You » Resources » Personal Accountability » The Beauty of Christ
In “The Ugliness of Pornography,” we are confronted with the real and sobering danger pornography poses to our souls. But knowing something is harmful does not automatically lead to change. We may recognize the ugliness of our sin and still feel unmoved to turn from it. Facts, warnings, and statistics can inform us, but they can’t free us.
Once we see the depth of our sin, we can’t simply acknowledge it and move on. There must be a response. Otherwise, we become like the man described by the apostle James, who looks into the mirror of God’s Word, sees what is wrong with himself, and yet walks away unchanged. Scripture gives a clear exhortation: “Be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22 ESV).
There is a path forward, and praise the Lord, it is not one of lifelong enslavement to pornography.
But we are not here to keep looking at our own reflection. If we dwell on the many times we have used our eyes to look at pornography, we will only sink deeper into self-pity and despair, eventually convincing ourselves that we are beyond hope. After all, we have perverted God’s good design for sex and marriage, walked in darkness, placed our souls in grave danger, blinded ourselves to the extent of our sin, enslaved ourselves to the wrong master, and chosen to indulge in sexual lust.
What we need is not just awareness, but a new direction. There is a path forward, and praise the Lord, it is not one of lifelong enslavement to pornography. There is something far more beautiful to behold. In Part 1, we looked at the portrait of a fictional character, Dorian Gray. Now, we turn to a biblical portrait and fix our eyes on Him: Jesus, who is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form (Colossians 2:9). To look at Him is to behold the very face of God (Hebrews 1:3).
God created us to know Him and worship Him alone. Unlike the rest of creation, He gave man his “personal touch” by forming him from the dust and breathing life into his nostrils (Genesis 2:7). As creatures made in His image, we were created with the ability to reason, make moral choices, and experience deep, personal relationships. He not only gave us life, but He also filled it with good gifts, including the intimacy of marriage and sex. Everything we enjoy ultimately comes from Him (Matthew 5:45; James 1:17).
Jesus is central to all of this. As the second Person of the Triune God, He was active in creation (Genesis 1:26; John 8:58). Colossians 1:16 tells us that God created all things through Christ and for Christ. This means that our lives are His and are meant to be lived for Him. This same truth extends beyond the creation of the world.
After sin entered the story, we can see a new creation being made through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Ephesians 2:10 calls those who put their faith in Christ alone for salvation (Ephesians 2:8–9) as His “workmanship,” created in Christ Jesus for good works. To be His workmanship means we reflect the beauty of His work, not only in being created after His own image, but also in being redeemed after having been marred by sin.
God is not only powerful but also holy (Isaiah 6:3). God’s holiness is central to His character and sets Him apart from all creation (1 Samuel 2:2–3). His holiness means that there is absolutely no sin in Him; He is perfectly morally pure. He has set the same standard for His people: “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
Because Jesus is God, He is perfectly holy. When He walked on earth, He lived a completely sinless life (1 Peter 2:22). He kept the law perfectly and even challenged the religious leaders of His time to identify any sin in Him, knowing they could not (John 8:46). Jesus is the High Priest who is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). It is only through Jesus’ perfect holiness that we can reach God’s righteous standard.
Jesus’ holiness is beautifully expressed in His identity as the Light. Just as light is pure and without darkness, so Christ is completely without sin (1 John 1:5). In John 8:12, He rightly declares, “I am the light of the world.” His light not only shows His purity but also exposes sin hidden in darkness. As His children, we are commanded to walk as children of Light. The apostle Paul gives us the reason: “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8).
We read in John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, the glory as of the Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus, the only perfect sacrifice, gave His life for sinners who have offended the holy and righteous God. He not only lived the perfect life we could not live, but He also died the death that we deserved (2 Corinthians 5:21). All this was done out of love (John 3:16).
If we don’t see sin as our greatest problem, we will not see God’s sending of His Son to save us as the greatest thing that’s ever happened in the world.
This was necessary because sinful man cannot measure up to God’s perfect standard (Romans 3:10). There is nothing in us that can save us. Even our “good works” are like filthy rags before God (Isaiah 64:6). Even as Christians, we falsely believe that we can remove our guilt by trying to do good works after we have sinned. But there is no other way to be free from sin except through Christ. Jesus declares this when He says, “I am the door” (John 10:9), showing that He is the only way of salvation.
If we don’t see sin as our greatest problem, we will not see God’s sending of His Son to save us as the greatest thing that’s ever happened in the world. If we view our condition as mere failure or mistake, we will look to ourselves to fix it. But when we recognize that our problem is a sinful heart that naturally rebels against God, we will look to the Savior for salvation. Those whom He has redeemed from lawlessness and purifies for Himself will be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14).
Jesus’ selfless sacrifice on the cross not only granted forgiveness of sin but also reconciled former enemies (Colossians 1:19–20). Because of our sins, we did not have a good standing with God. For one, we were the subject of His wrath (Psalm 7:11). Sin broke our perfect relationship with our Creator and God, and we were alienated from Him.
But Romans 5:8 says it beautifully: “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Being truly God and truly man, Jesus was the only one qualified to bridge the gap between the holy God and sinful man. He declares this bold statement of exclusivity when He said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Through what Jesus did on the cross, we not only get forgiveness for our sins, but we also get God Himself.
Once we were enemies of God; now we are friends. And much more than friends, we have been adopted into God’s family. We can now call Him our Father, too (Romans 8:15), a privilege given only to those in an intimate and affectionate relationship with Him. When we sin as Christians, Jesus restores our broken fellowship with the Father when we go to Him for forgiveness. He stands as our Mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), and He continually intercedes on our behalf at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34).
God is the sovereign ruler over all (Psalm 115:3). His sovereignty means that nothing exists outside His rule. Therefore, His creation ought to acknowledge His lordship and submit to Him (Job 42:2). However, sinful humanity doesn’t naturally respond in this way. Those who refuse to submit to His will remain under the power of Satan (Acts 26:18) and under the rule of their master, sin (Romans 6:17).
Our dependence on Him and the fruit that we bear make it evident that Christ is the Lord of our lives.
Christ is not only the Creator but He is also Lord of all creation. His claim to be the resurrection and the life demonstrates His authority over life and death (John 11:25). He sustains all things by the word of His power (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:3). Because He is Lord, He calls for our complete allegiance. In contrast to the rulers of His time who placed heavy burdens on others (Luke 11:46), He calls Himself the Good Shepherd (John 10:11) and invites people to come to Him for rest (Matthew 11:28–30).
The most cruel master from which Jesus saves us is sin. Romans 6:14 affirms that for those who are in Christ, sin is no longer their master. Our dependence on Him and the fruit that we bear make it evident that Christ is the Lord of our lives (Galatians 5:22–23). As Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). He also taught that those who do not bear good fruit are cut off. They may call Him “Lord,” but He will say, “I never knew you; Depart from me” (Matthew 7:23).
God has revealed Himself to us through Christ (Hebrews 1:2). We can know God personally and intimately through His Son, through His redeeming work on the cross, and the spiritual blessings that we get to enjoy because we are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3–14). As Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 ESV). It ought to be the lifelong pursuit of the Christian to know Christ more. Marshall Segal said, “I believe the more we see and enjoy him [Christ], the better equipped we are to reject lesser, sinful pleasures.”
Christ fills us so that we wouldn’t go to any other sources of satisfaction. He said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst” (John 6:35). We make the folly of only going to Jesus to satisfy our earthly desires, like the crowd that kept following Him only for physical nourishment. But Jesus did not come to earth to make us rich, famous, healthy, sexually fulfilled, and whatnot. He came to earth so that we might find eternal satisfaction in the One True God who created us for Himself.
If we think sexual gratification is worth sinning against God for, our satisfaction is not rooted in Christ. Instead, we should emulate the faith of Moses, who looked to his eternal reward and chose to suffer rather than enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the “reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt” (Hebrews 11:25–26).
There’s much that can be said about Christ and His beauty. Men and women throughout church history have written about Him. One of them is Samuel Rutherford, a Puritan known for his deep love for Christ. He wrote about the importance of gazing on the Savior’s beauty in his book, The Loveliness of Christ:
“Our love to Him should begin on earth, as it shall be in heaven; for the bride taketh not by a thousand degrees so much delight in her wedding garment as she doth in her bridegroom; so we, in the life to come, howbeit clothed with glory as with a robe, shall not be so much affected with the glory that goeth about us, as with the Bridegroom’s joyful face and presence.”
If you do not see the beauty of Christ, it may be that your heart has not yet been made new to see it that way. Or it may be that you have looked so long at the ugliness of your sin that you no longer recognize what is beautiful. We must not remain fixated on ourselves, but instead fix our eyes on the One who is altogether beautiful: Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15).
Friend, if you feel weak in your fight for purity, it may be because you are relying on your own strength. Perhaps you are even fighting the wrong enemy. Jesus alone can free you from your sin. He died on the cross so that those He saves might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised on their behalf (2 Corinthians 5:15).
Go to Him in repentance and faith. Confess your sins, and call out to Him for help. Look and live just as in John 3:14–15, where the bronze serpent, a picture of Christ, was lifted up to provide salvation. Fix your eyes on Him, and be saved.
Stephanie Colinco is the Educational Content Manager at Accountable2You. She holds degrees in biblical counseling (MABC, TMU; DEdMin, SBTS) and loves using her training to serve women both globally and at her local church, Grace and Truth Church Cincinnati.