The Gospel, Porn and Infatuation with Death (Losing Your Pride to Gain Your Life)

These are scary statistics. He states previously before those statistics, "Last week, the small town of Bailey, (just northwest of where we are in Colorado Springs) was traumatized by the sexual assault and murder that took place at Platte Canyon High School. People wondered what kind of monster could do what this 53-year-old man did before shooting himself in front of his stunned victims.

We have to realize that men like this don't come out of nowhere."

Steve asks the question, "Should we be surprised when that dabbling drives some down a path of destruction?"

In 'Dexter': He'd Kill to Solve This Case a Washington Post staff writer explains the show's (Dexter) premise about:

"a Miami lawman who moonlights as brutal serial killer, using the same barbarous tactics of those he is trying to catch. But this avenger is one who only choppity-chops the bad guys who have either outsmarted the legal system or are guilty but haven't been caught. ...

'I'm a very neat monster,' Dexter says, fittingly describing himself in a monotone narration used effectively throughout the series.

After dispatching his victims -- with the help of drills, knives, duct tape and lots and lots of cellophane -- Dexter keeps a tiny sample of their blood on a glass slide, which is kept in a wooden case hidden behind the air conditioner of his apartment.

It's all very tidy. ...

We're not too sure yet how Dexter got the way he is but, luckily, his foster father, Harry ... knew early on he was a natural-born killer. "Maybe we can do something to channel it -- use it for good," he tells his teenage son in one of many flashbacks.

So begins Dad's training of Dexter, which we come to know as the "Code of Harry." It includes: Don't go hunting after random individuals but rather those who have it comin', and make sure to "always cover your tracks."

Apart from the horrible fact that Dexter is entertainment, again, I repeat Steve's thoughts, "We have to realize that men like this don't come out of nowhere. Should we be surprised when that dabbling drives some down a path of destruction?" (after all, no one is inoculated from this possibility....).

A significant part of this issue is that a show like Dexter is even on television. The show started on CBS owned premium channel Showtime but now, Dexter is on CBS itself. Dexter is teaching us that it is OK to be something that society hates as long as it is for "the greater good". This is a case where evil is called good and good is called evil. As entertainment.

How can we protect ourselves from such sexual and murderous debauchery?

To slightly paraphrase John MacArthur, "No matter what the sin is, whether [sexual deviancy or murder] or anything else, God has provided forgiveness, salvation, and the hope of eternal life to those who repent and embrace the gospel."

We protect ourselves through the application of the Gospel to every area of life. This application of the Gospel begins with understanding the Gospel. Our faith in the Gospel is not a blind faith. We must know and understand key elements of the Gospel that enter us into the Christian life (i.e. we are made in the image of God, we sinned against God with the result of death - both physical and spiritual - Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a perfect sacrifice and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, thereby vindicating Him and us as we believe in Him), but the Gospel is infinitely more deep and that which enters us into the Christian life is only the tip of the iceberg called the Gospel.

With this in mind, the Gospel to which we are called is revealed in Scripture. The Scripture is that which renews and transforms us into the Image of God's Son. But even though Scripture's perspicuity is clear pertaining to matters of salvation (and more specifically Justification/Conversion), the application of the Gospel upon our lives takes work and effort. Hebrews 4 explains, "¹¹ Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. ¹² For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³ And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Let me interject, I do not believe in "Slippery Slopes" for the simple fact that the phrase denotes the idea that there is no turning back once you've started slipping down the slope of sin. When God's grace is given, a person can turn from his sin. Period.

So how can we protect ourselves from such sexual and murderous debauchery?

Immerse yourself in Scripture. This is a two-fold endeavor- first, make Scripture an intellectual endeavor. Wrestle with Scripture and strive to understand it as best as you can. Don't read commentaries until you've spent a considerable amount of time in the text itself. A considerable amount of time could be (but not limited to) hours and hours and hours of time- possibly wrestling with the text to such an extent that you spend days upon days even months (altogether).

The other side of this coin of immersing yourself in Scripture is practice. Practice what you learn. Apply what you learn. Be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only, deceiving your own self. What is the sense of reading, learning but not doing? What profit is there to merely make Scripture an intellectual pursuit?

When pursing this endeavor, one pitfall can emerge- beating yourself up because you miss a day of Scripture reading or you fail in practicing what you read and learn, or outright sinning. Remind yourself of Paul's words, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" ( Romans 8 ).

Accountability is huge in this area. If someone is struggling with sinful desires (of any sort) like these, talk to a Pastor or godly friend whom you trust and get help! This is when, although not necessarily taken literally, we must pluck out our eye so that we may live a whole life. In other words, we must initiate drastic measures to not only protect others but to protect ourselves. This also means that, for the sake of the Gospel and the sake of our (and others') conscience, we must relinquish our pride, humble ourselves and receive the grace of God which passes all understanding so that we may live holy lives; submitting ourselves to the Gospel in Jesus' name.

The life of the Christian is a continual repenting (of sin and self-righteousness) and believing (in Jesus). Don't do these things to fulfill a requirement (you set yourself up for failure), but do these things as worship to the Savior because of what He has done.