Heath Lambert > Quotes

“You will not experience dramatic change in your struggle as long as you use accountability to describe your sins instead of declaring your need for help in the midst of temptation.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“You will know you are finally free from sin when you have full access to it and yet no desire for it.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“You need more than a change in your circumstances to win the battle, you need a change in your heart.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“An immediate and critical test whether your sorrow is godly or worldly is whether you are willing to accept the consequences of your sin”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Sin is a harsh master, not a submissive servant”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“The truth that God wants you to know is that your relationship with Jesus is bigger than your struggles. If the only time your interested in walking with Jesus is you want his help, you are not walking in the fullness of the loving relationship that Jesus wants to have with you.”
― Heath Lambert

“God says that in place of immorality there should be something else, and that something else is thankfulness.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Third, you must reach out for help. Repentance is crucial. Remembering the Bible is essential. But as important as it is to be armed with these powerful graces, you are not designed to fight the battles of sin and temptation alone. You must call in reinforcements. You should have several people you’ve talked with in advance who will hold you accountable, people you can call when you are in trouble. I often tell people that I want them to feel comfortable calling me at any time of the day or night. They might wake me up in the middle of the night, but it’s better to do that than to sin. Reaching out to others immediately in the midst of temptation will often be difficult to do because sin loves the darkness and is skilled at presenting attractive excuses. You must fight these temptations and expose the darkness to the light.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“After you resolve to confess, know that it’s not your job to figure out all the possibilities, plan for every contingency, and worry about all the potential responses. Your job is simply to be faithful and do the next right thing. Confess with a willingness to accept consequences and work toward long-term restoration.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“God made marriage to point to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Husbands and wives exist to reflect the saving purposes of Christ for his bride, the church. Marriage is an arrow that points to the reality of Christ's love for the church. Marriage is a shadow whose substance is the saving purpose of Jesus.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“As long as your sorrow is like your sin and focused on the things you want, you will return to sin again and again”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“There is no struggle for purity so intense that Jesus’ grace cannot win the battle.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret” (Ephesians 5:11–12).”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“no matter how intense or long-standing the struggle, it is the work of Jesus Christ to set people free from such sin. Listen to the words of the apostle Paul: Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9–11, emphasis added”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“The first step in the process of repentance is to confess your sin. The apostle John writes, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8–9). Sinners need grace more than anything else, including the grace to recognize and admit our sin. We reject grace when we deny our sin, according to John. When you deny your sin, you deny yourself access to God’s grace. When you admit your sin to God, you access his grace.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Effective Accountability Involves Someone with Maturity.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“True accountability also requires someone who possesses the biblical knowledge and practical wisdom to guide you toward purity. This does not require years of experience or advanced degrees. It can be any growing Christian who is walking in sexual purity and is willing to read this book along with you.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Worldly sorrow happens when you feel the sting of sin but still cherish a selfish love of sin in your heart. Godly sorrow happens when you are gripped by your sinful separation from God and desire to be restored to him at any cost.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Doing what is right and just doesn’t always make life more comfortable for you. An immediate and critical test for whether your sorrow is godly or worldly is whether you’re willing to accept the consequences of your sin.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Paul calls it godly sorrow. It may look just as sad as the worldly variety, but something very different is happening in the heart. Worldly sorrow is sad over losing the things of the world, while the focus of godly sorrow is God himself. Godly sorrow is pained over the break in relationship with God. It is heartbroken that God has been grieved and offended. The tears of godly sorrow flow from the sadness that God’s loving and holy law has been broken. Of course, there is room in godly sorrow for the loss of family, hurt relationships, or other consequences. You do not have to love the practical consequences of sin. Yet, the pain of these penalties is not what produces godly sorrow; godly sorrow is motivated by and oriented toward God.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Godly sorrow hates the sin itself. Godly sorrow feels the horror of disobedience and weeps over the reality of a heart that chose transgression over faithfulness.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“The great danger in your struggle is that you will devote all of your energy to thinking true and awful things about pornography and spend no time dwelling on the true and wonderful things about Jesus.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Colossians 2:13–14: “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“First, you can ask someone to put passwords on your computer, phone, or TV that will make it impossible for you to access the Internet or to view pornographic material without the code, which only your accountability partner or perhaps your spouse would know. You also should be denied administrative privileges on any devices that allow this. Such access should be reserved for the person who is holding you accountable.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Worldly sorrow is legitimate sorrow. There is actual sadness, brokenness, and tears when a person experiences this kind of sorrow. The issue is not whether a person is sad; instead, it is what they are sad about. The focus of worldly sorrow is the world. People experiencing worldly sorrow are distressed because they are losing (or fear losing) things the world has to offer. The loss could be a reputation, job, money, family, sexual fulfillment, or even access to pornography—anything that brings security, comfort, or pleasure. Some of these things are good, and some of these things are sinful, but they are all things. A sad person consumed with worldly sorrow is concerned about losing stuff—no matter how honorable or dishonorable that stuff is. This kind of worldly sorrow leads to death. It is lethal because it flows from the same kind of heart that wanted to look at pornography in the first place.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Foundationally, this battle begins in your heart—with your thinking.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Many accountability groups function as an opportunity for a delayed confession of sin. You must change this pattern if you want to be free from porn. You must begin to reach out to your accountability partners when you are tempted instead of waiting for a meeting to confess your sins after the fact.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“The responsibility to confess sin and expose the darkness lies with the person who has committed the sin. It’s not the job of spiritual mentors to go on a fishing expedition to reel in a confession from those they are trying to help. A person passively waiting to provide answers to specific questions is in a far different place spiritually than a person who is willing to take the initiative to expose their struggles in the pure light of day. In other words, keep the responsibility where it belongs and simply invite the person to share where they have sinned and need help. This will reveal just how much help a person looking at pornography really wants. Accountability leads to freedom much more quickly when conversations grow into times of honest and free confession on the part of the struggler. Spiritual mentors can certainly begin with questions to start the conversation, but they should also keep in mind the goal—full and free confession without the prompting of questions or probing to uncover hidden secrets.”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. Romans 3:21–25”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace

“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:1–2).”
― Heath Lambert, Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace