For Pastors: Preaching the Cross to Set Captives Free (an article written by Mike Cleveland at the request of Covenant Eyes Ministry)

Wed, Aug 4, 2010
Course Specific Materials

Freedom through the Cross
Preaching Christ Crucified as the Means of Deliverance from Bondage to Pornography

"For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2

Paul writes to the Corinthians and reveals his focus in life and ministry: the cross. How powerful the cross must be when considering the context of the Corinthian letters. The context reveals that these churches were dealing with division (1:10-17), immaturity (3:1-9), incest (chapter 5), lawsuits (6:1-6), carnality and impurity (6:12-20), and sin and idolatry of all kinds (6:9-11). With all these issues as the background of his writing, Paul determined to focus his attention on the cross, as if stating that it alone had the power to deal with all the issues in the Corinthian church and bring freedom, healing, cleansing and deliverance to all who would embrace it.

The church of 2010 is not very different than the church of 60 A.D. Local churches today still deal with all the same issues that the church faced from the beginning. Pastors today face an intense assault on the church in the form of pornography, just as lust and impurity had wreaked havoc in the Corinthian church. The focus of this article is on the church's battle with impurity, and how pornography's assault on the church can be overcome by the preaching of the cross of Jesus Christ.

In my younger years, I was exposed to pornography and became enslaved for 15 years, during which time the "locusts" of sin devoured my life. In January of 1999, I was exposed to the gospel, and through godly sorrow and genuine repentance, and the forgiveness of the cross, God began restoring the years the locusts had eaten. Later, as my wife and I began the ministry called "Setting Captives Free," and then as I was called to preach the gospel in pastoral ministry at Ohio Valley Church, I have seen pornography grab a hold of numerous men and women and have watched Satan destroy their lives, in varying degrees, through its deception and bondage.

What is the answer? Many would say that these issues are too difficult for the local pastor so he should refer those who struggle to "the professionals" meaning psychiatrists, psychologist or family therapists. How foolish! The answer today is the same as it was 2,000 years ago: the cross of Jesus Christ! When preaching to captives today, or counseling men and women who are enslaved, we would do well to imitate Paul's focus and "determine to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified." The gospel is still "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16) and is still that which "stabilizes" and strengthens believers today (Romans 16:25).

Pastors are especially the target of Satan because he knows if he disables the shepherd, he can devour the sheep. As those called to minister the gospel we must first ensure that our own lives are free from impurity and that we are walking in the Light. We must have no secret sins if we wish to minister freedom to others (Psalm 51:12-13; 2 Timothy 2:20-22). We must be extra vigilant and utilize all the resources of God's Word and God's church to live in the light. Modern technology can be of great help to us in this area—tools such as Covenant Eyes accountability and filtering technology can go a long way toward helping a pastor "walk the talk" and therefore have power in his preaching and his counseling ministry, family relationships, and every other area of life.

As pastors we must use the tools God has given us to help those who come to us in darkness as "prisoners in iron chains" (Psalm 107:10) of pornography. God has given us His Word, His Spirit and His body to specifically deal with all the sin issues in a person's life, and so we have all we need to minister healing and freedom to those who are caught in the trap of the evil one. We need not look outside of God's Word and God's church for any methods of deliverance, but rather proclaim Christ crucified, buried, risen, interceding and returning as the hope and freedom of all who believe.

So how do pastors deal with the very real threat, the clear and present danger of the increase of pornography? At the risk of seeming simplistic, we deal with it the same way we deal with all sin, by the preaching of the cross and the whole counsel of God's Word. This should be done from the pulpit, in counseling sessions, one-on-one mentoring, and any other time there are people who will listen. The remainder of this article will give specifics on how to preach and counsel from the cross so that we minister grace and freedom to the people God has entrusted to our care.

Colossians chapter 2 presents us with an opportunity of preaching freedom from the cross. This passage is a sample of how we can apply the gospel to those in bondage. It is thrilling to then watch the Holy Spirit bring freedom to their hearts and lives as they receive and apply the good news.

¹¹ In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. ¹³ When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴ having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. ¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Colossians 2:11-17

The context of this passage is the cross, as noted in the following:

The "circumcision" (vs. 11) that was "done by Christ" happened at the cross, where our old nature was "cut off" and discarded when Jesus died. When He rose, we rose with Him as a new creation with a new nature, created in Christ Jesus in truly holiness and righteousness (Ephesians 4:23-24). Those enslaved to pornography should be encouraged to look at Jesus' death, and in His death see their sinful nature cut off and discarded. This "circumcision" was prophesied in Deuteronomy 30:6:

"⁶ The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live."

Now, viewing the cross of Jesus Christ, we see our old nature cut off, our hearts circumcised of sin, and we can look at that cross and love God and live! This heartfelt affection for Jesus is what releases a man or woman from their fatal attraction to lust and impurity, and keeps them free forever.

Verse 12, likewise is a reference to the cross/resurrection event, where all believers were "buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him". Preachers can help those enslaved to see that their "old man", who loved lust and impurity, died on the cross and was "buried with Jesus in baptism". Now we must "reckon" or believe our old selves to be dead (Romans 6:11).

This unity in the death and resurrection of Jesus was prophesied many places in the Old Testament. For instance, in Hosea 6: 1-2 it says:

¹ "Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. ² After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence."

Those in bondage to pornography, indeed all sinners, were with Him and in Him when He was "torn to pieces" and "injured" on the cross, and we were with Him and in Him when He was revived and restored on the third day. Now "we live in His presence"! The one in bondage to pornography needs to see that it is the presence of God that brings freedom from sin and idolatry, even as the presence of the ark of the covenant knocked over the idol god Dagon (1 Samuel 5). Those previously in bondage can know what a joy it is to be "buried with Him" and "raised with Him", for therein is real freedom.

Verse 13 is a reference to the cross where "He forgave us all our sins". Those enslaved to the destructive power of sin need to see the forgiveness that flows from Calvary. Their sins were nailed to a tree, covered in Jesus' blood, and buried in a tomb. These sins were "blotted out" (Isaiah 44:22) and "washed away" (1 Corinthians 6:11). Issues of pornography and adultery are often called "scarlet sins" but the good news for the slave of pornography is that through the cross our scarlet sins are made "white as snow". Though our sins are red as crimson, through the cross they are made "like wool" (Isaiah 1:18). Horatio Spafford saw the forgiveness of the cross as a glorious thought: "My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul."

Verse 14 references the cross where He "cancelled the written code..." as it was "nailed to the cross." That which opposed us by highlighting all our faults and magnifying all our sins, that which condemned us to hell because of our disobedience has been nailed to the cross and taken out of the way. The one in bondage to pornography needs to grasp that the cross is the death of all evidence against him or her, and the complete removal of the Law that condemns.

Verse 15 shows us that Jesus defeated the devil and triumphed over all the powers of darkness. He defeated them..."triumphing over them by the cross." The cross is our banner of victory. It is our triumph over Satan and all his demons. "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8) and when He did so He declared victory for every child of God. Because of the cross all who were previously enslaved can now be "more than conquerors through Him Who loved us." It is in the context of "the gospel, which is of first importance, that Christ died for our sins..." (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) that Paul offers up his thanks to God for victory: "Thanks be to God. He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57). As we preach the glories of Calvary we bring those in bondage to pornography to the place of victory.

So the preaching of the cross brings freedom to those in bondage, for it is the place of "circumcision" of our old nature, the burial of our old nature and the birth of our new selves, the complete forgiveness of all our sins, the cancelling of all evidence against us, and our victory over Satan and his demons.

As preachers of the gospel, we have the opportunity of applying the entirety of Scripture to the heart of the captive. We have used one example from the New Testament above; let us now close with one example from the Old Testament.

We are all familiar with the passage that describes the gospel very clearly in the Old Testament—Isaiah 53. Here is a sample of how we might preach this passage to bring freedom to those in the clutches of pornography. As we are preaching the glories of Calvary throughout this passage, we come to verse 8 which shows how God dealt with our sin.

"By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken" Isaiah 53:8 NIV

God deals radically with sin; He put it on His Son and then Jesus was "taken away" and "cut off" from the land of the living.

And Jesus used these same words when speaking about lust in Matthew chapter 5. He said,

"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell."

Jesus refers to the two body parts that are involved in pornography and self-gratification: the eye and the hand. It should be clear that Jesus is not speaking literally here, for self-mutilation does nothing to restrain the lusts of the flesh. Rather He is speaking spiritually, saying that "radical amputation" is needed if we wish to be free from sin. We must treat sin as God did and radically cut it off. Give ourselves no access to it. Don't allow ourselves to see it (the eye) or get to it (the hand). Cut the cable, destroy the DVD's, tear up the video club membership, and be as radical as necessary in order to be free.

So again, using the cross of Jesus Christ, we can preach freedom to those in bondage. Just as Jesus, with our sin on Him, was "cut off" when He died on the cross, even so we are to imitate God's method of dealing with sin and radically amputate all avenues to it. This, if done thoroughly, and if the previous sin habits are replaced with "radical appropriation" of the cross (John 6:50-58), and "radical accountability" in the body, produces real and lasting freedom.

Preachers have a wonderful opportunity today, just as they have for hundreds of years. We get to apply the power of the cross through our preaching to the issues that people face today. We should not hesitate to speak to the issues and reveal how they were all dealt with through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Forgiveness and freedom, pardon and power are all ours through the high cost of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us celebrate the power and the preeminence of the cross by determining to "know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified" as we preach the whole counsel of God's Word.

May God give you the glorious sound of chains falling off and prison doors opening as you glory in the gospel and call others to worship around the cross with you.