Today’s Book was provided by Cross-Focused Reviews in exchange for an honest review. If Shaun thinks my review is dishonest, he comes to my house and smacks me with the book before he takes it away. If I ever review a hardcover, that review will be so honest that Abe Lincoln will marvel. 
Pornography is major issue among Christians today. I will admit to knowing quite a few people that have struggled with this, and also point to this reality: porn exists because people support it. We can fume about the ‘industry’ all day long, the ready availability on the Internet all we want, but consumers stopped paying to see people participate in sexual activity, then it wouldn’t be there.
And the reality is, there are far too many of us who claim to walk with God that support pornography. At the core of this is our addiction to evil. Some people cannot see the attraction to pornography, and then return to another sin that they cannot shake. It’s not about the porn, really, it is truly about being hooked on sin.
Onto this stage comes Finally Free: Fighting for Purity with the Power of Grace by Heath Lambert. This is a short read, addressing eight major strategies for fighting away from pornography in your life.
The opening and closing chapters, though, are the most valuable. Lambert’s basis in Finally Free is that of God’s grace. We can fight sin, of any kind, by the power of God’s grace. Lusting after pornography certainly fits that category.
Some of Lambert’s concepts are not new here. Most of us have heard that accountability partners, blocking software, and honesty with our spouses will help fight pornography. These tools are valuable and should not be neglected. Finally Free touches on these and others.
I do find Finally Free to be over-focused on married men. Information shows that women also struggle with pornography, and single folks have temptations too. Unfortunately, the bulk of the suggestions for the single person seem to hinge on how porn will affect their marriage later, rather than how to deal with it as they are. This also leads to an undercurrent of seeing marriage as something to enter into just to avoid sexual sin, when that is not the best approach to marriage.
In all, Finally Free is a useful little book, but I think its applicability is a little more limited than intended. The content is straightforward, which is helpful. I would hesitate, though, to push it as a must-read. Not due to any errors but simply due to what feels like a lopsided look at the problem.
Summary? 3 stars. I’m not sure there’s anything better on the market, but I’m not convinced this one fills the hole, either.
Free book provided by publisher in exchange for review.
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