Purity For Life

Over the next four weeks, we’re going to play a series of messages by Reverend Dave Leopold from the Zion Faith Homes. These talks, delivered back in February to the men in our Residential Program, focused on helping us to see the character of Jesus Christ more clearly.   This week’s message comes from John 1, where the Apostle wrote that Jesus Christ came to us, “full of grace and truth.” These words are a profound revelation about Jesus’ ministry, but they also reveal to us what we truly need from God in this life. Grace enables us to do what we could never do on our own, while truth tells us exactly what we need to hear and shows us what we need to see. Together, they work to help us to find our way towards real freedom.

People who are sincerely seeking freedom from sexual sin usually have a vague idea that there is something under the surface that needs to be dealt with. This is true, but they are usually very surprised when they find out what it is. In a recent series of shows, we asked the question, “What does that have to do with my problem?” And all the issues we touched on in those episodes – self-righteousness, self-pity, obsession with success – all of them flow out of a thriving self-life. In this week’s show, we look at another key feature of the self-life: pride, and how it really is another hidden fuel of sexual sin.

Last week we looked at how vital confession is for someone to find freedom from sexual sin. This week we look at another aspect of confession: confessing adultery to a wife. Pastor Ed and Kathy Gallagher join us to look at some practical steps and considerations when confessing sexual sin, as well as some of the struggles that come with taking this difficult, but vital step.

One of the most common lies whispered into the ears of men in sexual sin is, "You can get free between you and God. No one needs to know." While many are willing to believe this deception, the truth is that confession is absolutely essential for anyone who desires genuine freedom. In this episode, Pastor Ed Buch helps us unpack the spiritual realities behind confession.

We’re taking a break from producing a new episode this week as we get settled, following a wonderful time at our Annual Conference this past weekend. This replay is one of our favorites from our 20 Truths series, and we hope it’s a blessing to you. In it, we’ll define hedonism, and look at its close connection with sexual sin. Much of today's church lives more to please self than to honor Jesus, and it’s this kind of lifestyle which opens the door for sexual sin. If you haven't listened through the whole 20 Truths series before, we’d also encourage you to go back and listen to that series. Just look for episodes 363-364 and 366-381. 

In this new Ask the Counselor episode, we continue looking at sins which are closely tied to sexual addiction. Today we’ll look at self-pity, covetousness, self-righteousness and living by our feelings. While on the surface these issues may seem unrelated, they are still sins that must be dealt with if a person is ever to experience genuine freedom over their sexual addiction.  

Have you ever sought counsel for something and the person giving you counsel starts touching on something that you think is totally unrelated to your problem? For example, you want help with your addiction to sexual sin and they start talking to you about your relationship with God, your ingratitude, fear, worry, or even your perfectionism. In this episode we discuss some of the spiritual issues that a person must deal with if he or she is looking to find freedom from sexual sin.

The 22nd Annual Pure Life Ministries Conference is coming up April 22nd & 23rd and will be hosted in the Answers Center at the Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY. In this episode, we want to give you a taste for the kinds of powerful teachings you can expect at this event by playing a sermon preached by Steve Gallagher at our 2019 conference. We hope it will bless you, and that you will consider joining us this April.

One of the worst aspects of sexual sin is that it breeds deception in the heart and in the soul. The many lies that come with sexual sin slowly corrupt a person until they are completely blind to the spiritual realities of life. Therefore, the sexual addict must learn to live in truth if he or she is ever to find freedom from their sin.

In the final episode of our series, Refined as Silver, we look at what it means for a wife to forgive her husband truly, completely and radically, even after the devastation of sexual sin. Biblical Counselor Rose Colón joins Nate to talk about the challenges that arise as a wife seeks to live in forgiveness, and the incredible freedom that comes through it.

When Susan was a young wife, she didn't give the idea of submission much weight. But when she and her husband got serious about following Jesus, she took another look at the subject. In part four of our series, Refined as Silver, Susan talks with us about this very touchy topic. 

In part three of our series, Refined as Silver, we look at the crucial role a wife plays as her husband walks in repentance from sexual sin. Kathy Gallagher helps us see that when a wife selflessly puts her husband first, she is learning to embody the love of Jesus Christ.

How can a wife trust her husband when he has proven himself to be unfaithful? How can she know that he has truly repented of his sin or if he will betray her again? In part two of our series, Refined as Silver, we discuss how a wife can learn to rest in the Lord as she entrusts her marriage to Him. And she must also learn to have faith that God will hold her husband fast as he walks out His repentance.

When a woman finds out that her husband is in sexual sin, she passes through a fire of deep pain and suffering. For many, this experience creates long-terms wounds that never quite heal. But others have a surprisingly different story to tell. In our new five-part series for wives, Refined as Silver, we will talk to women who found an unexpected liberty as they allowed the Lord to use the fiery trials they endured to refine them and produce His character in them. 

When a person believes that freedom from sexual sin is impossible for them, it often leads to feelings of despair and hopelessness. We looked at common things inside us that lead to these feelings in our last episode and showed how they prevent us from gaining freedom. This week, we’ll identify five crucial steps that a person must take if they want to walk in true liberty from sin and what it looks like to put those into practice.

How is it that many find themselves hopelessly bound in their sin when there is a God of tremendous hope offering them the keys to genuine freedom? We’ll help answer that in our next two episodes. Today’s focus is on the common barriers to overcoming sexual sin and the ways these often produce hopelessness in a sex addict’s life. This interview is part of our new and ongoing “Ask the Counselor” series, where we interview various members of our counseling staff about some of the common questions asked by those in sexual sin.

When Jesus came in the first century, what He found caused Him to fashion a whip to cleanse the temple and led Him to pronounce woe on the religious leaders. We know that He is coming again—perhaps soon—but the question remains, “What will He find?” What will it take to be part of the faithful remnant who continue pressing on, clinging to God’s Word, and living in daily anticipation of His coming? We must prepare our hearts now!

For anyone who has truly found a new life in Christ, there will be a severe fight against their old nature. But it’s easy to overlook some of the enemies that one will face in that battle. One of those often-unnoticed opponents is pride, and yet overcoming it is closely linked with living a pure life. In this episode we talk about the struggle for humility and why it is so important to never give up in that fight.

Pastor Steve preached a sermon to the men in our residential program in 2019 titled "Consider Jesus". In it, he challenged them to consider all that Jesus has done, and the radiance of His glory and how great a salvation He has bestowed upon us. In this episode, we play that sermon. We hope that it richly blesses you and points you to the tremendous hope you have in Jesus Christ.

In this episode, we play an interview conducted by the Clarity Podcast featuring Pure Life’s Pastor Ed Buch and our Director of Intake, Ken Larkin. The Clarity Podcast is geared towards missionaries. So the host wanted us to weigh in on some of the issues overseas Christian workers face regarding sexual temptation. Ed and Ken tackle these issues from a biblical perspective, centering their answers in the Word of God and how we’ve seen it impact men in our programs for over 35 years.