Purity For Life

The Bible says, “The Message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” Could it be that multitudes of professing Christians are trapped in sexual sin because they have rejected The Message of the Cross, and thus have been denied its power? Today we continue to discuss The Message of the Cross, and why it is so important to realize the depth of our sinful condition before a holy God. Without it, we are devoid of strength to turn from our sins, strangers to the true power of God.

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” This is The Message of the Cross, and it stands against the message of our culture which teaches us to pursue what we want, when we want it, how we want it. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus must be willing to die to this self-centered mindset. But amazingly, as we surrender to the way of the Cross, we are deeply transformed. Today we look at how The Message of the Cross demands the death of our self-lives.

Most church leaders today would condemn pornography use as wrong, but are they also warning their churches about entertainment? And they would show great concern if a church member spent their time and money pursuing drugs and sex, but what if they were just obsessed with being happy? In this episode we look at the spiritual danger of spending your life pursuing pleasure. Our 30 plus years of ministry, have revealed that the pursuit of pleasure, comfort and happiness leads many men into sexual sin. But we’ve also seen that when the lust for pleasure is overcome, sexual sin’s hold will be broken.

The Apostle Paul said that the mind set on The Spirit is life and peace, but the mind set on the flesh is death. Sexual sin is not a disease - it is the fruit of a mind set on the flesh. But there is hope, because Paul gave us a solution: If by The Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. But how do we actually do this? In this episode we'll look at what it really means to set our minds on The Spirit so that our heart and lives will change.

Being needy is not a popular idea today. Our culture values self-confidence, self-reliance and self-satisfaction. Unfortunately, these values often put on a religious mask and sneak into the church in the form of religious pride. This pride deceives many people into believing the best about themselves, even those who are enslaved to sexual sin. Today we’re going to look at how important it is to grasp our true condition before God. We’ll also explore why our attempts to be good in our own strength often prevent us from experiencing the abundant life promised to us in Jesus.

The Bible is full of people that were called to be holy and to separate from the world around them. The author of Hebrews even declares that without holiness no one will see the Lord. Clearly God is calling us to leave our love for this world to draw near to Him. In this episode, preacher, author, and Pure Life graduate Dustin Renz looks at this vital subject and asks this question: what is hindering us from a deeper walk with God?

In difficult and uncertain times it’s natural to run to something or someone for security—to try to avoid uncomfortable circumstances. But the Bible tells us that trials are a gift from God and that they will bring about good in our lives if we learn to put our hope in something unshakable. In this episode of Purity for Life, Kathy Gallagher challenges us to let go of earthly distractions and to gain an eternal perspective.

The Word of God has been under attack for millennia. Many godly men went so far as to spill their own blood so that we could hear God’s Word for ourselves. But in modern times the attack against the Word of God is far more subtle and insidious. The opponents of God’s Word aren’t burning Bibles here in America, but they are discrediting it, obstructing it, minimizing it and perverting it. This is leaving millions of people wide open to every kind of deception. In this episode, pastor David Ravenhill exhorts us to develop a deeper relationship with the Word of God so that we will be able to discern what is true and what is dangerous to our souls.

We all know the physical principle of cause and effect. Our natural actions on earth always have a natural result. But we often forget that this applies to spiritual things as well. We think of obedience to God in terms of a list of rules…do’s and don’t’s, failing to remember that when God tells us to obey Him, He’s inviting us into a life where we reap a wonderful spiritual harvest. In this episode we are going to talk about "A Lifestyle of Obedience is a Lifestyle of Blessing."

Faith is such an integral part of Christianity that it is often referred to as "The Christian Faith." Faith is the subject of sermons, songs and movies and is featured on artwork, decorations and even clothing. But for the Christian who has been bound by sexual sin for years, it can be difficult to really have faith in what the Bible says about freedom. Why? Because their experience seems to contrary to faith. Today, we are going to look at why faith is the Victory over Sexual addiction.

The fight for freedom from sexual sin is often a long, drawn out battle. Failures along the way are so common that nearly every one has asked themselves, "Why does it have to be this way? Why doesn’t God snap his fingers and make me holy? Why do I have to go through the pain of trying and failing numerous times before I finally start to achieve victory? How do I respond if I fall back into sin?" These are all common questions, and ones we will address on this episode of Purity for Life!

One of the greatest dangers to Christians in modern America is worldliness. And yet, in this day and age, if a sincere pastor declares that God requires His people to live holy and separated lives, his words are often dismissed as legalistic, or worse, as an attack on the grace of God. But the Word of God tells us that if we are a friend of the world, we make ourselves enemies of God. The biblical call to holiness must not be dismissed, but properly understood and then lived out.

How many times have you promised yourself, “I will never do that again!” but soon found that you were doing it all over again? If that cycle continues long enough, you may start believing that you cannot possibly stand against these powerful temptations. That’s what Steve Gallagher used to think, until he learned how to win the battle against temptation. In this episode we continue to share with you the truths found in our YouTube Series, “20 Truths that Helped Me in My Battle with Porn Addiction.” Today’s topic? “Temptation is a Winnable Battle.”

For the man struggling to be free from sexual sin, the world around us is a difficult place to be. Billboards, television, magazines and the internet barrage us with images that draw the eye and entice the heart. If a man is used to caving into these temptations, how can he find the strength to resist the allure and keep a pure heart and mind? As we talked about in our last episode, Scripture plays a huge part in this, but there is another vital part to living in freedom. This week, we will look at how time spent in prayer transforms us into the image of Christ and gives us the strength we need—his strength—to resist temptation. To win the Battle of Temptation, You Must Have a Prayer Life.

When a man determines to be free from pornography, one of the things he is immediately confronted with is how much his mind has been polluted by porn’s filthiness. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is living and active and full of power...” We here at Pure Life Ministries place a huge emphasis on having a daily, vibrant relationship with the Bible because we have experienced its effect in our own lives and have watched it work wonders in the lives of the men we counsel. Today we are looking at how Scripture will restructure a pornographic mindset.

Hedonism is the mindset of one who only wants to pursue pleasure and avoid discipline, hard work and pain. We see this in the American culture that wants to escape into drugs, alcohol, porn, entertainment, and sports. Much of today's church is more about entertainment than enlightenment, more about pleasing me than honoring Jesus.

For all that the Bible has to say about repentance, you would think that most Christians would understand it, that preachers would preach about it, and that we would all practice it. Yet repenance remains a forgotten theme in much of the church. Yet the Bible remains clear that repentance must continually be a part of every Christian's walk with God.

There are many so-called Christians who have an outward display of piety but no real inward relationship with God. Like the Pharisees of Jesus' day, they were keepers of the religious rules, but had no power to overcome inward sin. As we continue through "The 20 Truths Series," Steve Gallagher shows us that a form of godliness does not have the power to deliver from sin.

Many people are surprised to learn that there is an issue behind the behavior of sexual sin that is far more serious than the sin itself. It is a huge problem. We examine the issue of the self-life, because the root of sexual addiction probably isn't what you think it is.

The "Fear of the Lord" is widely misunderstood and all but ignored in much of the Church today, and yet the fear of the Lord was a driving force in Steve Gallagher's life as he came out of addiction to pornography. This is a pertinent and powerful message for the Church today.