Marc's Story
My Problem
I discovered pornographic magazines and masturbation when I was around 8 years old. Immediately my eyes were fascinated by the images and my body was quickly aroused. I would sneak in to the basement and view the magazines regularly. Additionally, throughout my teenage years I had developed a dependency on drugs. As a result, I found myself incarcerated and completely broken and humbled by my mid twenties. While incarcerated, the Lord graciously revealed himself to me. However, I consistently struggled to fully relinquish or repent of the sin of sexual immorality - in all its various forms. Consequently my faith was lukewarm, if not completely dead, at best. Somehow, I managed to conceal the extent of this sin in all my relationships - even my marriage. Ultimately, my growing and insatiable desire for sexual immorality manifested through ongoing infidelity. In my desperate, broken, helpless, and hopeless state, I again asked the Lord for help. He graciously "left the ninety-nine" to find me....and more importantly, correct my Gospel.
God's Solution
To me, it was obvious that if what I believed as "The Gospel" had produced a sinful lifestyle that was leading me to an eternal lake of fire, I must have grossly missed something. In the process of this correction, it became apparent that I was misinformed about what exactly was the Gospel in which we are to "hold fast to" (Rev 2:25, 3:11, et al.). Furthermore, it was abundantly clear that the sexually immoral will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9, Rev 22:15, et al.). It was time for me to put aside my gentile arrogance and preconceived theologies/ideologies and learn what the bible is actually communicating. I learned this is best accomplished through interpreting the entire bible - from Genesis to Revelation (e.g. creation, sin, covenants, Jewish election, messianic expectation, redemption, eschatology, and restoration), through a first-century Jewish apocalyptic framework. Having been grafted in to this [Jewish] hope, we can now become disciples of Jesus Messiah that live in light of the Day of the Lord, in obedience and patient endurance, through the power of the first fruits of the Holy Spirit. This is how the Lord delivers us from all unrighteousness, which includes sexual immorality, that we may be found "blameless and at peace with him" (2 Peter 3) and given a "rich welcome" (2 Peter 1) into His eternal kingdom.
Moving Forward
Therefore, our gospel must first be corrected and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. Then, as a result, the yoke of sin will be relieved allowing daily accountability and encouragement to then become effective and critical - rather than approaching it the other way around.
Thus, the Apocalyptic Accountability Group was birthed.
