Steve Gallagher unpacks Psalm 139 to show us the key to victory—an intimate knowledge of God and His intimate knowledge of us.
Mercy's role in the war against sexual sin is larger than you think! It is a life-transforming force.
God teaches us even through difficult consequences—discover the attitudes to embrace during His discipline.
Sexual sin isn’t the only sin which you must be on guard against—Patrick shares about three more.
Steve Gallagher unpacks Psalm 139 to show us the key to victory—an intimate knowledge of God and His intimate knowledge of us.
Do you realize just how involved God has been in your life? If you’re reading this, chances are that you’ve struggled with sexual sin and have tried countless ways to overcome it—counseling, accountability software, regular meetings with your pastor. But we’re here to tell you that real and lasting freedom doesn’t come from those things alone. Psalm 139 shows us the true key to victory: an intimate knowledge of God and His intimate knowledge of you.
In today’s sermon, Steve Gallagher breaks down David’s powerful prayer at the end of this psalm and calls all who battle with sexual sin to earnestly seek the Lord with that same prayer.
Mercy's role in the war against sexual sin is larger than you think! It is a life-transforming force.
What role has "mercy" played in your strategy while battling sexual sin? For many believers, it only goes beyond God's gracious canceling of their sin. But mercy is so much more than that! It's a force to be reckoned with and has served as the linchpin for many Pure Life grads in their life-long freedom from addiction.
In this episode, Biblical counselor, Regan Bowman, opens our eyes to the transforming power of God's everlasting mercy.
📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org
God teaches us even through difficult consequences—discover the attitudes to embrace during His discipline.
Timeless Truths: Walking through the aftermath of our sin can easily lead us into self-pity. It can also lead us to ignore lessons God is trying to teach us. But if we walk through consequences by putting our trust in the Lord and seeking to learn the lessons He has for us, we will find a tremendous amount of good can come out of them.
In this interview from the archives, Austin Kropf joins us to share some of the attitudes we should have if we are to let the Lord have His way and accomplish His will in our lives while going through the effects of sin.
Host: So, Austin, as we continue in this episode in our series, “Key Lessons on the Road to Freedom,” I was hoping that you could help us see what kinds of attitudes that we should have in our lives when it comes to the consequences of our sin. That might be an attitude that we should have directly toward the Lord or toward other people in our lives or toward the actual logistical consequences of our sin.
The reality is that just because you repent doesn't mean that the consequences just automatically go away and everything's great. So, when you've had to counsel men, or even in your own life, what have you seen are some of the most important attitudes that we should have?
Austin: The first one that comes to mind is humility. For someone who's really sinned against others and against themselves there are going to be consequences and they can come in many forms. But to go and face those is going to require a lot of humility. And once someone has repented of their sin, it's easy to kind of move on past that in their minds as far as what the consequences of past sin entails.
You may just want to live a new life. You don't want to be associated with anything that pertains to your “old life” and so it's easy to just move on quickly and forget that you actually made a big mess of things. And so, for someone to be able to actually face those things it’s going to require them to have a humble attitude.
Host: Yeah. I'm not married and I'm not a counselor, but I've heard enough of the stories about how even after a man has repented to his wife, she still bears the scars and there's a lot of collateral damage there. She's afraid of what might happen in the future. She struggles when they're out in public with wondering if he is looking at other women. She wonders, “What's he thinking about during sex? Is he thinking about people that he saw on the Internet?”
So, his sin has created some real lasting consequences, because there are still problems in the marriage. There's still the residue of a lot of his own decisions. And for you as a counselor, I know you have to really exhort the husband like, “Okay, you've repented and that is good, but now you need to bear with your wife.”
Austin: Yeah. Some of those things can feel like a nagging thing of, “Why can't my wife just move on? I've repented. This isn't an issue anymore. Why can't we just move on?” But that's a great opportunity for him to really focus on what the Lord has done rather than what he wants his life to look like right now. So that kind of leads into what I was going to say next and that is that another very important aspect of walking through consequences is gratitude.
If we were just taking that example from a marriage that's been shattered by sexual sin, if the husband cultivates gratitude for what the Lord has done, his consequences won't seem as overwhelming as before. He could thank the Lord for delivering him out of this perpetual cycle of devastation and destruction. If he is not regularly giving over to his sin then, praise the Lord! That's an amazing thing.
Host: Yeah, that's good. Ingratitude makes us focus on all the things we don't have, but gratitude shows us the value of what He has already given us. What else did you have?
Austin: Yeah. So, another thing I thought of that is very important is keeping an outward focus of loving others and seeing the needs of those around me. Maybe I'm facing some terrible, awful consequences, but all around me every day, whether I'm going out to my job, whether I'm spending my time with my family or my kids or whoever, there are needs all around me. And that's a great avenue to keep my eyes off myself: letting the Lord do good to others through my redeemed life.
If I don’t do that then what did He redeem me for? Just to feel happy and feel good? He made me to love others in this new life that He has given me. Even with the consequences of my sin, I can reach out with the testimony He's given me and bless others and do good to others. I can stop by and just take some extra time to make sure that my friend is really doing okay. Asking questions. Praying with others. There are little practical things that I can do that will keep me out of an inward focus that leads to selfishness.
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Host: Yeah. So, wow, living that love out to other people is really helpful. You have anything else?
Austin: Yeah. So, another thing that I thought of and I suppose it can encapsulate all of this is perseverance. When you think about consequences, what we're talking about is something that's going to take time. You can't make it go faster. You can certainly make it go slower. But there's a lot that isn't in your own control. And if I'm going to make it through, I'm going to need to persevere and I'm going to need to have an understanding that it's going to be hard. I need an understanding that I'm not going to feel like going through this with grace and with mercy, but I'm going to need to in order to get to what the Lord has promised.
And you know when thinking about this, I was reminded of Deuteronomy 8:2 where Moses is speaking to the children of Israel and says, “And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.” (Deuteronomy 8:2, ESV) And in this whole vein of perseverance, that's kind of what the Lord is after a lot of times. He allows things in our lives to purify us. Not as a malicious thing of, “Now you're going to pay.” It's for our good that we're purified in our hearts so that we're not just serving the Lord because our circumstances are good.
Host: Wow. Yeah. Talk about having to live by faith. It takes a lot of faith to really believe that whatever consequences I'm having to experience are not punitive. It's not about God getting back at me. All of it actually is for my own good.
Austin: Yeah. That's so true. If I’m going to face these consequences and stand faithful without compromising with self-pity or cynicism and all of that, I need to see that these things are not God's wrath on me. I've been forgiven by the Lord. He does not hold these sins against me anymore. Jesus took that on the cross for me. Even if others may not have yet forgiven me, that's not God's attitude towards me if I have repented.
So, the hard things I am going through are only there for my good. God’s face is shining on us even during hard circumstances, because they are for our purification. And I'm passionate about this because I've had to really wrestle through this myself. Just because these consequences are hard and difficult does not mean that God is angry with me. And I've had to really be intentional about meditating on God's love for me and see that He is not against me, but He is fighting my battles with me and for me in this walk.
Sexual sin isn’t the only sin which you must be on guard against—Patrick shares about three more.
Sexual sin is not the only sin which struggling believers deal with. But some other sins are more hidden. Yet these will have no less a terrible impact on the Christian's life if he does not stand against them. In today’s message, Director of Ministry Outreach, Patrick Hudson, discusses three of these discreet sins and shares how to be on guard against them.
Episode 4 in our series challenges us to take an inventory of the lives we live. Are we REALLY devoted to the Lord or do we just SAY we are?
When you look at your daily choices, what do they reveal about your true devotion? If someone observed your life for a period of time, what would they say defined you? Our devotions aren't just what we say we value. They're revealed in how we live.
In episode 4 of our "Wholly Devoted Disciples" series, we unpack the vital topic of devotion and challenge ourselves to live fully for Jesus.
If you want your soul to be cleansed from sexual sin, you must join God in His cleansing process.
Good news, struggling Christian: God does want to bless you. But if your soul has been polluted by sexual sin, He must do a cleansing work in order to make you capable of receiving the wonderful life He has for you.
In today’s sermon, Steve Gallagher shares three biblical steps you must take to join God in His cleansing work. And for your personal use in this process, we’re glad to share with you the “Mercy” prayer, which we give to everyone in our counseling programs. You can download it here.
Holiness & consecration aren't relegated to the Old Testament. They offer power over sexual sin for today's struggling Christian!
The Old Testament is full of imagery of God's holiness. The consecration of the priests and vessels for the temple powerfully illustrate how we must reflect that holiness ourselves. But a lot of Christians today seem to think holy and consecrated lifestyles are just for those who lived during the "first big section of the Bible."
But the truth is, they really do apply to our lives today, and are deeply connected to victory over sexual sin.
Director of Ministry Outreach, Patrick Hudson, shares about changes to the podcast coming in 2026.
The heart of our podcast has been and always will be to help people grapple with the real truths of Christianity and apply them to their lives. That's not always comfortable, and it's not always what we hear in the Christian culture of our day, but it is the truth that sets men free—and keeps them free!
Director of Ministry Outreach, Patrick Hudson, steps in front of the camera to share a brief word about how we plan to accomplish this moving in to 2026!
📧Email: podcast@purelifeministries.org
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Joining us this week, Dr. John Oswalt preaches on the kind of Christianity that will change the world.
Have you ever wondered how you could worship the Lord one moment, but then give over to sexual sin the next? Perhaps it’s because of the kind of Christianity you’ve been living.
There is a kind of Christian life that has little to no impact on a person’s life—one that results in only shallow outward changes. But true Christianity has a deep impact on the soul and produces great spiritual fruit. And it’s this kind of Christianity we all need to win the battle!
We’re grateful to have renowned Old Testament scholar, Dr. John Oswalt, return as a regular part of our speaking rotation. In today’s message, he expounds on Romans 12:1-2 and a kind of Christianity that actually works.
Part 2 in our "Wholly Devoted Disciples" series shows how right perspectives on grace and faith help defeat sexual sin.
When a Christian learns what the Lord offers His followers through His grace and their faith, they can live a truly different life.
Now grace and faith are two of the most foundational concepts in Christianity. Many may think that means they don’t really need to hear any more about them in order to win the battle against sexual sin. But the truth is that, far too often, these crucial components of Christianity are terribly misunderstood.
That’s partly why so many Christians are stuck in sin.
Asbury Professor Emeritus, Steve Seamands, lays out God’s pathway to victory using Joshua 5.
Overcoming sexual sin can feel overwhelming to the believer stuck in cycles of failure. This defeatist attitude stems from a wrong way of looking. We look too much at ourselves and at our own weakness. But Scripture reveals that victory over any form of sin comes not from our strength, but from God’s power and might!
Asbury Professor Emeritus, Steve Seamands, explains God’s way to victory using the backstory to Joshua’s battle against Jericho. You’ll see that these things were, as the apostle Paul wrote, “written down for our instruction”.
We begin a new 5-part series! "Wholly Devoted Disciples." This week we discuss why repentance has been a bedrock in our ministry.
Devotion. What do you think of when you hear that word? Maybe it conjures up a sense of loyalty, of someone or something always being there—dedication.
Our latest series is called, “Wholly Devoted Disciples” where we will touch on different aspects of what it means to be a wholly devoted disciple of Jesus and why those aspects are vital to winning the battle against sexual sin.
In this first episode, Steve Gallagher discusses where devoted discipleship begins: repentance.
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