Pure Life Ministries Podcast

Do you ever find yourself bragging to others about your spiritual life or telling others about how you gave financially, or how you spent extra time in your devotions? These can often point to a dangerous sickness called spiritual pride. Pastor Steve Gallagher joins us this week to help us understand this deceptive piety. We also talk about how easy it is for other sins to creep in with spiritual pride.

“Work hard.” “Do your best.” What do you think of when you hear things like that? Now, there is obviously nothing wrong with putting your heart into something and seeking to do your best. But as with any good thing, our human nature has a knack for corrupting it into something wicked. Enter perfectionism. The perfectionist takes these things to an unhealthy, and prideful level. They hear words like “do your best” as “you must be perfect.” But what is so sinful about perfectionism and why is it prideful? We discuss that and more on this week’s episode of Purity for Life.

Pride can spring up in many ways depending on our temperament. Last week, we talked about pride that loves the spotlight. But maybe you’re not like that; maybe you want to be in the background. Maybe you’re sensitive, quiet, or even shy. In this episode, we’ll look at the expressions of the self-life and pride that are revealed in those who want to keep themselves safe – safe from embarrassment, safe from being exposed, safe from being hurt.

Every single person is vulnerable to the sin of pride. You might be the kind of person who loves being in the background or maybe you’re a people person. It makes no difference; our self-lives will find a way to express themselves. And It will do that in many ways, leaving us blind to the way pride takes root in our hearts. This week we’ll start with the type of pride found in those who want to be at the ‘top and in the center.’

Last week we began to explore how our prideful self-life is the root of all sin. Today we dig a little deeper, looking at what allows pride to flourish and grow. We’ll look at life in America and examine the ways it encourages us to be proud. We’ll also be talking about trials in marriage, and how they can nurture the growth of pride in unexpected ways. Both topics will help us see more clearly the way God deals with pride, and the consequences of its unchecked influence.

One truth has forever shaped our work at Pure Life Ministries. And that is, that a man’s sexual addiction is merely the symptom of a much deeper problem; pride and self-centeredness are the ruling force in his life. If transformation is ever to occur, then these must be dealt a death-blow. Over the next nine weeks, we will be exposing the root of all sin: the self-life, and its many insidious fruits.

The apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” The path into a life filled with Christ is the crucified life, a life marked by profound brokenness and dependency. But those in sexual sin cannot live the crucified life, because their lives are marked by self-will and hardness of heart. But it is our testimony, again and again, here at Pure Life that God is able to transform anyone’s life that will earnestly seek Him and surrender to the truth that true life is when Christ lives in us.

The world tells us that hope comes from an expectation that something good is going to happen. But if that’s true, how can a wife have hope when her marriage is failing? You see, we need a hope that anchors itself in something beyond this world of suffering. We need a living hope flowing to us despite the difficult circumstances of this life. Kathy Gallagher joins us again to talk about the true hope of all believers, and she helps us see how to anchor ourselves in it.

We were made for love. To give it. To receive it. And no wonder, because the God who made us in his image—is love. Maybe this is why a husband’s betrayal is so painful; because first and foremost, it is a sin and an offense against love. Kathy Gallagher joins us to talk about the love of God, and why the knowledge of His love is crucial if a wife is going to find her way through the devastation of a husband’s sin. Plus, Stephanie Ehrenberg testifies to the grace of the Lord even in the midst of difficult trials.

Hey everyone, welcome to ANOTHER Christmas episode of Purity for Life! In our last episode, we took time to reflect on the wonder of Jesus—his lowliness, his love and his sacrifice. This week, we'll do it all over again!