Ask the Counselor: Three of our biblical counselors sit down to discuss how a man who wants freedom should approach entertainment.
Luke Imperato, Director of our Residential Program, testifies of God’s unchanging pattern of redemption.
Latest podcast: Learn to flee temptation! Our biblical counselors tackle tough questions from young men in part 1 of our Q&A.
Steve Gallagher explains how Christians in sexual sin have more in common with the older brother than the prodigal son.
Ask the Counselor: Three of our biblical counselors sit down to discuss how a man who wants freedom should approach entertainment.
Ask the Counselor: How should Christian men fighting for freedom from sexual sin engage with the worldly entertainment that is all around them? Biblical counselors Regan, Josh, and Tyler join us to answer that very question.
Host: Tyler, we received this question and I want to start with you answering this one. How should believers set boundaries for what they watch, what they listen to and what they play? I'm assuming they mean video games.
Tyler: The Word of God doesn't talk about every specific scenario, right? But it gives us principles. When we understand those principles, it helps us make decisions when it comes to practical matters. So, I want to first talk about a spiritual principle to be separate from the world. Romans 12:2 says it very plainly. “Do not be conformed to the world.” Or we have James 4:4 where he says, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4b, NKJV)
And you know, John also talks about this in 1 John 2:15-17. This is a little bit of a longer passage, but there is very good foundational truth here. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17, ESV) Here we see specifically that the problem is not so much rooted in the things in the world, but it's where our affections are. And Scripture couldn't be clearer, love for God and love for the world cannot coexist. You're either going to be in one or the other.
I'll say this because this was really helpful in my walk when I came to Pure Life Ministries. It can be extremely helpful if you've really been immersed in our worldly culture to do what I’d call a spiritual detox. Basically, in the beginning of your fight for freedom, you would need to be a bit radical for a period of time. It would look like as much as possible refraining from any form of secular entertainment such as music, movies, or maybe even news for a time. What this will do is help you become sensitive again to the voice of God. Where you've maybe become hard in your conscience or lost your sensitivity to the things of God, you can begin to cultivate discernment and be able to hear from the Lord, which you need to be able to set godly boundaries.
And as the question mentioned, of course we need to set boundaries. You can't just have a theoretical principle but not set some practical boundaries. So, some specific boundaries might be limiting phone screen time. Maybe not even having your phone by you during times where you'll be more vulnerable, like at night. It might look like choosing not to have certain apps on your phone that might cause you to stumble or maybe deciding what kind of video content you're willing to watch or how much you're going to watch each week.
And it's also important too, not just to make these boundaries, but you have to hold yourself accountable. So, it's helpful to have someone else in your life who you can say to, “Hey, look, I've got some areas here where I'm seeing a weakness. I'm setting some boundaries and I want you to hold me accountable to these things. Check in on me.” And in the end I'll just say, loving God and walking with God is going to require making some sacrifices and giving up some things. That's just the way it is. But gaining intimacy and real fellowship with God is worth it. Having clarity of mind and purity of heart is worth it. You can't trade those things.
Regan: Yeah. To add to that, I would venture to say that most people are not living as consecrated of a life as they should be. So, when you decide to establish some boundaries in your life and begin to say, “I can't go these places. I can't watch this. I can only be on my phone for this amount of time,” you are one fish swimming upstream. There are going to be people around you who are going to say that you're being too legalistic.
What I have found personally is that there will be times where you have an internal argument where you tell yourself, “If I do this, people are going to think I am being extreme.” That thought drove me to not make boundaries where I probably should have made boundaries. But that was not worth it. And I think if we're honest with ourselves, most of the time, thoughts and fears like that are just an excuse for us not to change.
Josh: Yeah. And the other thing that we haven't talked about yet is that pornography is a huge issue for young men. And I would say that there is hardcore pornography and then there is just sexually alluring entertainment. For me as a pastor’s kid at 16, that was TV shows that pushed the limit. I remember wanting to watch shows that were about sex back when I was young. I wasn't watching pornography, but I had lust in my heart.
So, if you're doing things on TikTok, on Instagram, on social media, or you're viewing things on Netflix or Amazon Prime, there is a lot of garbage on these platforms that affect us and they will appeal to your flesh. You have a sin nature and the world is in an antichrist spirit. These platforms of entertainment worship sex. And you have the choice to say, “Because I desire Jesus I will say no to the things of the world.” But we are not going to walk in the purity that we should if we are seeking Jesus in the morning but filling ourselves with hours of entertainment that feed lust. That lust is not benign. That lust is going to grow in your heart. Sin is going to take you farther than you want to go. It's going to keep you longer than you want to stay. It's going to cost you more than you ever wanted to pay. Pornography is dangerous. It's highly addictive. Don't waste your time. And listen, Jesus wants to give you freedom. So even though sexual sin is enticing, you can go the other way, and He can give you the power to do that.
Host: Yeah. Amen.
Luke Imperato, Director of our Residential Program, testifies of God’s unchanging pattern of redemption.
Sexual sin causes destruction in people’s lives. But the good news is that God does redeem sexual sinners! He just has to start the process by dealing heavily with our sin—something that really puts it to death. But this will produce spiritual life if we respond with repentance and faith.
Latest podcast: Learn to flee temptation! Our biblical counselors tackle tough questions from young men in part 1 of our Q&A.
2000 years ago, Paul told the Corinthian Christians to RUN from sexual sin because our bodies are meant to be the dwelling place for God’s Spirit! This requires us to stand AGAINST cultural norms and let God’s Word set the standard for our behavior.
This is the first of a two-part episode where our counselors answer questions from young men about purity. In this episode we’ll tackle things like “What’s too far physically in a dating relationship?” “Is co-habitation really a big deal?” “Is sexting a sin,” and more.
Steve Gallagher explains how Christians in sexual sin have more in common with the older brother than the prodigal son.
Christians in sexual sin have more in common with the older brother than with the prodigal son. Although the older brother remained in the father’s house, he was just as spiritually disconnected from his father as his prodigal brother. Sin always separates people from God, whether they’re in church or not.
In today’s message, Steve Gallagher explains the older brother’s case, calling people to reject lifeless religion and to return to the Father.
Join us to hear about major changes coming to the Pure Life Ministries Podcast.
In our latest episode, Nate Danser is joined by fellow staff member Josh Bergstrom in the studio to share some exciting news about the future of the show. Plus, Steve Gallagher joins us not as a guest—but as our host! Tune in to hear a behind-the-scenes look at how God is leading the ministry into a new season. You won’t want to miss this heartfelt and hope-filled conversation that marks a major turning point for the Pure Life Ministries Podcast.
In today’s message, Steve Gallagher focuses on the prodigal son’s long journey home.
Once a sinner comes to their senses and repents of their sin, they’re only at the beginning of what is going to be a long journey home to the Father. Along the way, there are many difficulties—temptations and discipline to name a few—but they all have one purpose: to keep that man on the narrow way home. In today’s sermon, Steve Gallagher explains this journey using Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son.
This episode: If Jesus said every secret deed would eventually be exposed, why not bring it to the light yourself so God isn't forced to?
Jesus said that every deed done in secret would eventually be exposed. It’s not a question of if…just a matter of when. That's a frightening thought for those who have done a lot of shameful things in secret. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about the danger of hiding sin, what happens in our souls when we refuse to bring our sins into the light, and the blessing of dealing with our sin in God’s chosen way.
Let God illuminate your darkness; listen to the final sermon of our “Unveiling Yahweh” series.
In the final sermon of our “Unveiling Yahweh” series, we will be looking at the Light of God.
There are many Christians bound up in sexual sin who don’t know what’s holding them back. They try to find the answers through professional counselors, weekend seminars, teaching books, and accountability groups—but are left stuck in a cycle of sin time and time again.
Little are they aware that if they simply turn to the Lord and open their whole heart to Him, He will faithfully perform a twofold work in their hearts. He will first expose what is below the surface, causing them to continue to fall. And then He will give them the power to walkout a life of righteousness!
This episode: Yahweh is incomparably greater than all other gods and worthy of total devotion. When we see this it will change everything.
Study the writings of godly men throughout the ages, and one thing stands out: In their eyes, He was incomparable, unsearchable and eternal. He wasn’t just a little better than the false gods, there was no comparison. He wasn’t just barely deserving of His people’s worship, He was worthy of total and utter devotion. In Part 2 of our Unveiling Yahweh episode, the PLM speaking team sits down to discuss Steve Gallagher's sermon on the greatness of God and will talk about why having a vision of God's greatness is so important for every professing believer.
God didn’t conquer death so that we can live for this world—He did it so that we would live forever in Him.
In the 33rd message of our “Unveiling Yahweh” series, we will be looking at God’s power over death.
Strong or weak, rich or poor, proud or humble—death will eventually overcome us all. But here’s the good news: God has provided the way out through a living relationship with Jesus Christ.
But we must make a choice:
refuse the gospel in exchange for love of the world,
or
repent of our sins and believe in Him.
Only when we choose God’s way, can we know Him as the victor over death in our lives.
This episode: Without a sight of God we are spiritually blind. But a sight of His glory brings us to deep repentance and inward change.
About a year ago, we embarked on a new preaching series called "Unveiling Yahweh." Why? Because Scripture tells us that without a sight of God, we are spiritually foolish, shortsighted, proud, and hard-hearted. But when the eyes of our hearts are opened, His glory convicts us, breaks our pride and selfishness, leads us to repentance and then fills us with hope, courage, purity and love.
In this 2-part episode, the speaking team of Pure Life Ministries will discuss two sermons that are part of this series, in hopes that your eyes will open to see the transforming glory of God.
Paul knew that Christians don’t have to live in defeat, but in victory! Do you?
Good news, Christian: You don’t have to live in defeat! Even though sin seems to be accepted in American Christianity, Romans 6–8 shows this was never God’s plan. In the final message from our recent special meetings, Dr. John Oswalt unpacks this passage to show that, for all who repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ, the truth is clear: You can live in victory!
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