Simply By Grace Podcast

Charlie reads through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of the podcast. In this podcast Charlie reads through Chapter 8 - Grace and Good Works. In it he focuses on the difference between grace and works. What are they and how do good works fit into the salvation picture? Ephesians 2:10 speaks of our purpose in salvation. It says that we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works... good works come after salvation and are intended to be an outpouring of what Christ has done for us. So, while good works are not a condition for salvation, they are a consequence of salvation. However, they aren't to be used as proof of salvation as good works can vary extensively. Charlie goes on to have a discussion with Dr. Fred Lybrand who has pastored a number of churches and written a number of books on this topic specifically and the book of James. Some questions in the discussion that are raised are what is a good work? What is a bad work? What are live works and dead works? How does a person's motivation play into works? Can it prove a person's salvation? Are good works important to an unbeliever and also a believer? Does every Christian do good works? They also touch on common cliche's like "It's faith alone but the faith that saves is never alone." ...what does that mean and who said it? Fred has a ministry called Back to Faith which you can visit here. If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! You can also find the Spanish versions of GraceNotes here (and other languages coming soon!). Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

Charlie reads through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of the podcast. In this podcast Charlie reads through Chapter 7 - Assured by Grace. In this chapter he focuses on a believer's assurance of salvation. Assurance is simply a believer's understanding of their eternal security in Christ. Without a solid understanding of God's free grace, assurance can be something believers end up struggling with. This can stunt growth and/or lead to works-based salvation. Charlie has a great discussion on this critical topic with Phil Congden, pastor of New Braunfels Bible Church. If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! You can also find the Spanish versions of GraceNotes here (and other languages coming soon!). Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

Charlie reads through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of the podcast. In this podcast Charlie reads through Chapter 6 - Secured by Grace. In this chapter he focuses on a believer's security of salvation, aka. Eternal security. He also has an open discussion with Dr. Mark Haywood, who was a dean at the Grace School of Theology and is now a provost. If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! You can also find the Spanish versions of GraceNotes here (and other languages coming soon!). Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

Charlie reads through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of the podcast. In this podcast Charlie reads through Chapter 5 - A Maze of Grace. In this chapter he focuses on how salvation can be confused by commitments or works in order to be saved or prove you've been saved. He also addresses the accusation of 'cheap grace'. He also has an open discussion with Dr. John Salvesen, pastor of Bear Creek Bible Church. John's dissertation focused on cult like characteristics of selected doctrinally orthodox churches which can be found in the Grace Research Room. If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! You can also find the Spanish versions of GraceNotes here (and other languages coming soon!). Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

Charlie reads through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of the podcast. In this podcast Charlie reads through Chapter 4 - Saved by Grace. In this chapter he focuses on how salvation is by grace through faith alone. He also has an open discussion with Dr. Fred Chay who is an active part of the Free Grace Alliance and he also works at Grace School of Theology as a professor and academic dean. If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! You can also find the Spanish versions of GraceNotes here (and other languages coming soon!). Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

Charlie reads through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of the podcast. In this podcast Charlie reads through Chapter 3 - Surprised by Grace. In this chapter he focuses on Justification by Grace alone and Romans Chapter 3. He also has an open discussion with Ben Santamaria, who is originally from Mexico City and is a pastor at FBCVA.org . Dr. Juan Sanchez who works at Grace School of Theology. If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! You can also find the Spanish versions of GraceNotes here (and other languages coming soon!). Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

Join us for a special podcast series! Charlie will be reading through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of each chapter. In this podcast Charlie reads through Chapter 2 - The God of All Grace. He also has an open discussion towards the end with Garth Oliver of TrueQuest Outfitter Ministries. He also has a podcast called Making Sense of Life and walks you through the whole Bible, be sure to check it out! If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

Christmas is just around the corner and Charlie and his wife Karen wanted to share a special Christmas message with you. We hope you enjoy this quick special podcast! Merry Christmas from GraceLife!

Join us for a special 13-part podcast series! Charlie will be reading through his book Simply By Grace with a special guest interview and discussion time at the end of each chapter. In this podcast Charlie reads through his introduction and Chapter 1 - The Gift of Grace .He also has an open discussion towards the end with Dr. David Anderson, President of Grace School of Theology. If you've never heard of Charlie's book, Simply By Grace, you can order it here. There's also a Spanish edition available! Charlie's book, Simply by Grace is an easy-to-read introduction to a core Christian belief. By looking at the major questions and issues that surround the concept of grace, Charlie helps readers understand and appreciate this God-given gift and how simple it really is. "Because only when you understand the simplicity of His grace, can you begin to understand its deep riches also." Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

How do you practice grace in ministry? What does that look like? When we talk about ministry one should view it as a gift from God, this is how the apostle Paul viewed it. Paul said that his apostleship is a gift of grace from God. it wasn't something he earned, it was a privilege to him. So how do we cultivate this same attitude and put it into practice? This is a special podcast that is a rebroadcast of a live webinar with Mark Ray of Grace Center for Spiritual Development (GCSD). This webinar featured a discussion with Charlie who helped author some of the materials provided by GCSD. The book, Living by Grace, is available right now and it focused on how grace can help us in ministry. Help Support This Podcast and GraceLife Ministries.

This is a rebroadcast of C4C Apologetics interview with Charlie. It is one of our longer podcasts but we think you'll enjoy this because of the breadth of topics covered. Daniel Weirback talks with Charlie and focuses on a number of items including the accusation that Free Grace gives believers a license to sin. Some of the questions addressed are: What is "Free Grace Theology"? Is Free Grace Theology a new view about salvation? What is meant by the derogatory terms "Cheap Grace" or "Easy Believism"? What is "Lordship Salvation", is it just a Calvinistic term or something other? Are there Christians who are not disciples; are they born or made? What is Antinomianism? How does the law of Moses apply in our lives today? What is Necronomianism? Are we under law or under grace? What is the difference between entering the kingdom versus inheriting the kingdom? Are there grey areas related to Free Grace Theology? What is the "Outer Darkness" mentioned in Matthew? Can a Christian fall away from the faith? (hint: Christians are capable of doing anything) What is the meaning of Hebrews 6:4-6? Is continual belief required to keep your salvation? Do we have to "Work out" our own salvation to see if we're saved? Is it good to have doubts about your salvation to motivate you to serve? (hint: can a marriage thrive under the continual threat of divorce?) Daniel let us rebroadcast this so be sure to checking his great ministry, C4C Apologetics, here. For further reading on any of these topics, be sure to checkout GraceNotes! We would love to continue providing great content so please be sure to help us out by commenting on this and other podcasts and giving as you're led.

Charlie takes a quick look at Hebrews 11 during a conference and addressing how and why we are to live by faith. But what is faith, what is the nature of faith? What does faith look like? Who exemplified faith? How do we emulate it? Christians are to live by faith and wait for the kingdom of God. But what does that mean? Charlie answers these questions and more in this episode of SimplyByGrace.

Speaking from his office Charlie attends a virtual Word of Life Conference in the Philippines. In this podcast, Charlie focuses on Evangelism during this pandemic time and focuses on Philippians chapter 1 where the Apostle Paul was imprisoned. He was literally locked down, but it didn't stop him from sharing the gospel and evangelizing. The things that occurred to Paul gave him an opportunity to witness to guards and those within the palace; from the servants, to other inmates, to the Pretorian guard. So the gospel made headway in spite of his condition. The other aspect of his presence in jail, also emboldened other evangelists to be more bold about their witness. So Paul should be an encouragement to us to continue to spread the gospel. In evangelism many people focus on the methods, but the key is to start with the message and the method can come naturally. Methods need to adapt and change constantly, but the message never changes. So what message do you share? Do you keep it simple? Find out more about how and what to share in this episode. For more information checkout GraceNotes #40 The Content of the Gospel of Salvation and #27, Sharing Grace Graciously ----more---- If you like this podcast, consider donating to help support this effort and GraceLife Ministries.

This is a rebroadcast of Charlie's discussion on another Podcast, Hope Builders Ministries. This discussion focused on the Gospel of Grace and making Disciples. They address a number of things in Charlie's book, Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship; answering questions like are all Christians disciples? What does a disciple look like? When Jesus says come to me vs. come after me, what does that mean? From their podcast: Charlie Bing, Author and teacher, speaks with Mike about the power of the Gospel to transform lives. He will help us to understand the significant differences between being saved by Grace and becoming a Disciple of Christ. There is no better ambassador of Christ than someone who knows the power of His great love. You can help GraceLife & HBM by sharing this episode with someone via social media. We hope you enjoy the discussion!

Ever done something in vain? To do something that produces nothing or has no meaning? I think at one point or another we've all experienced this in our lives. In this podcast Charlie focuses on 2 Corinthians 6:1-7. In this passage, Paul warns his brothers and sisters in Christ, to not receive the grace of God in vain. In other words don't prevent the purpose of the gospel from reaching the goal; that is to prepare us for eternity. Paul wants to bring his readers forward in terms of harmony with God and with each other. So find out how the grace of God should reach its fruitful purpose.

What if someone promised you everything they owned? They say it's free, but there's a catch...you have to live a good life and do everything right, from keeping the speed limit to not arguing, paying taxes to loving others, not lying to speaking the truth in love. If you messed up once, or twice, you wouldn't get anything. Sounds like good news, but then reality sets in. Who can possibly do that? So what if God did the same thing? He'll give you eternal salvation but you have to be good and do x,y, and z. How would you feel about that? Questions would arise, how much would I have to do? How often? For how long? This is one of the problems when people read this passage, they interpret it to mean you must "work" for the gift. (note: if you have to work for it, it's not a gift) Do people have to "work" for their salvation? Do they have to earn it by being baptized, going to church, being good, etc.. People add work in two ways, either before or after salvation. People will frontload the gospel by adding works to be saved or they will backload it by adding works to prove you were saved. Either way works becomes consequential to receive the gift of eternal life. As can be seen, work, at any level, becomes an impossible standard. In this podcast Charlie expounds on the meaning of Paul's words; rest assured, salvation IS a free gift, no strings attached.

Grace can be a theological concept, and we know grace sometimes as an abstract concept. But have you ever thought about how grace meets us in our suffering and how it makes us stronger as believers? There's probably no better time when Grace takes on in important role and teaches us, shapes us, and mold us as God works through our lives. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul is feeling very weak, he's having to defend himself against false motives. They are trying to capitalize on his weaknesses. But what does Paul do? Find out in this podcast as Charlie walks us through this chapter and teaches us how Grace can meet us in suffering.

Ever been accused of teaching license to sin or worse, being called a heretic for believing that once you believe in Christ you can never be separated from God? It might come as a surprise but eternal security is not well understood at best, and at worst, is simply not well received by many. So it begs the question, why? What would cause someone to deny that eternal life is eternal? It's really a critical doctrine and sets the stability for a Christian and their growth in the Christian life. In this episode Charlie walks us through what eternal security is and why it's important in our everyday life. For further reading be sure to checkout GraceNotes #24 Eternally Secure and GraceNotes #39 How Do We Explain Hebrews 6:4-8 If you wish, you can help support this podcast and other GraceLife material by donating here.

Ever wondered why we call Grace...Free Grace? Isn't Grace Free by definition? Often times, particularly in theological discussions, it's important to define terms. The word Grace is often thrown around, but it can mean different things to different people. In addition, when we don't understand the freeness of God's grace you can end up stunting your Christian growth. Not only is grace the basis of our initial salvation (justification), it is also the basis of our growth (sanctification). By God's grace we are born into His family and by God's grace we are free to grow as His children. Unfortunately, this life of liberty can be lost unless we stand firm in grace.. (cf. Rom. 3:24) In this podcast Charlie walks through 10 things to help you understand what Grace is and why it matters. So what is Free Grace? How does it make a difference? For further reading checkout Charlie's GraceNotes #67, What is Free Grace as well as GraceNotes #12 The Grace Life

So who are you and what do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see who you are or do you only see what others see? Often times we get caught up at what other people think about ourselves and we shape our perception of reality around that. Many of us are confined by the voices of others. These voices can come from various places including the culture, graceless religion that condemns people, unaccepting parents, even childhood experiences, and legalistic churches. These and more can influence the way we think about ourselves. These influences are grace killers and produce people who feel insignificant. So how should we view ourselves? Where does God fit into the picture and how does grace move us into a healthy perspective about ourselves?

Charlie spoke at a conference recently about discipleship. Salvation is instantaneous and free, but discipleship is lifelong and requires work. But what is Discipleship as a spiritual journey involved, and what does the Bible say about it? What are some key differences between salvation and discipleship and why is making a distinction important for both aspects of the Christian life? To address this, Charlie looks at the life of Peter. More specifically he looks at various aspects of Peter and his walk. Peter could be argued is a typical model of discipleship and many people relate themselves to Peter because he does things in his life that correlate well with our own. Charlie argues that this isn't by chance. Peter's experiences trace those of a typical disciple. Be sure to checkout Charlie's GraceNotes #63 "Were Jesus' First Disciples Called to Salvation or Discipleship?"

Ever fear the future? In these tumultuous times fear seems to be par for the course. People are driven by fear. Fear of rising seas, fear of politicians, fear of losing something, fear of climate change, fear of Covid, fear of death, fear of the future and what it might bring. There's so much about life that's unstable, you could have a job one day, gone the next. But should we live this way? People often live life with fear unsure of what's after death. But is there hope? Have you ever wanted to know what waits for us beyond eternity? As believers we can know and should take heart in God's power, His provision, and His promises. This hope is available to everyone who believes. It has the power to heal us now and help us live a life without fear. In this podcast, Charlie walks us through Ephesians 1:7-14 and the hope we have in our salvation. “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6.

Have you ever envied another person's success or seen someone get a financial boost and you ask yourself, "why did God pass me by?" What is our attitude towards someone we know who has success, or even someone we don't know? Do we revel in their blessing and become excited for them, or do we become angry? Charlie was a guest speaker recently and focused on the story of the prodigal son, but not in the way you might think. Many people focus on the bad son who left and then returned, still others focus on the father and his acceptance and joy. But in this episode, Charlie wants to focus on the "good son" in the story. The overarching truth in this parable is that anyone who comes back into a relationship with his or her Heavenly Father, is cause for rejoicing. We see in this story the idea of Grace in restoration, grace in reconciliation, and joy. But we also see that the "good son" was ultimately a brother of ungrace.

Hard work, it's what we know in this world. We're taught that if we work hard, we can earn something for it. We often joke that nothing is free as we have it ingrained into us that nothing is free and we must work for it. But when it comes to the spiritual, and becoming a Christian, does the same idea apply? if we work hard enough do we get salvation? Charlie has often asked people around the world, and it seems to be universal. To get salvation you must earn it. He's heard them say "well, if I'm pretty good, I'll get to heaven." or "all you really need to do is live by the 10 commandments." For many people, this idea of obtaining salvation requires work, some certain amount of effort, and God, they believe, gives them a reward for that effort. But is this the case? Can we do something to obtain salvation? if so what must we do? For further reading on this topic, checkout Gracenotes #29, How Good do you have to be to get to heaven?

What exactly does it take to get into heaven or the kingdom of God? What does it take to obtain eternal life? In the kingdom there will be duties, responsibilities, and rewards. There are things that we can learn on this side of eternity that can help us in the long term. Humility is one of them. As we'll see in today's podcast, humility is also essential to entering the Kingdom of God. Most people believe that by being good, or doing good things will get you there, despite what the Bible says. The question that often follows is how much and which ones? The idea of the unbeliever, and even the believer, that "I must do something" to obtain eternal life is a kind of pride. It's a pride that says I can be good enough on my own. Jesus, in Mark, teaches us about breaking down this pride and having a sense of humility. He give us two stories, one about a child and the other about a young man who was rich and powerful. So checkout Charlie's message and for further reading also checkout Gracenotes #29, How Good Do You Have to Be to Get to Heaven?

What is your ministry? What message are you sharing with your ministry and why? In this podcast Charlie speaks to 2 Corinthians 5:12-21. Paul talks about his motivation for ministry. Here we find a positive motivation that is through the love of Christ; it compelled him and it should compel us. Love is one of the most powerful forces in the world. It shines a light in the darkness. It can overcome barriers and provide a means to bring people together. Much like Christ did for us in taking our place and reconciling us back to God. So find out more about ministry and how we should focus on the message of love.

Ever fail in life? I think we all have at some point. In this podcast Charlie talks about Peter and focuses on recovering from failure. They say it's the journey that is the reward, not the destination. But sometimes along that journey we fail to meet our goal, or even failure to meet what God intends for us. How do we recover and move forward? Do we wallow in our failure or do we learn from it and grow and mature?

In this podcast Charlie speaks about the parable of the soils which is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In this episode the focus is on Luke. The purpose of this parable is to see how people respond to God's truth and it also talks about fruitfulness as a disciple of Christ. But many use these passages to claim that only a true Christian produces fruit and that if you don't, you must not be a true believer or that a person should question whether their faith was genuine to begin with. The problem with doing this, or requiring "fruit" (by this definition we mean good works) to prove ones salvation, is that it necessarily adds works to salvation. It's even worse than that because it does so more deceptively than people who add works before salvation. Adding works to salvation before is more obvious to most, but adding works after salvation is less obvious. The result is the same though and can cause a believer to take their focus off of Christ and place it on themselves. Beyond that, what measuring stick should a believer use for "fruit"? For further reading, Charlie's discussed this in his GraceNotes Can Good Works Prove Salvation? So listen and find out the nature of the soils and how each relates to believers.

Water Baptism...does it save? Is it required for salvation? There's a lot a confusion and even controversy over baptism and what it entails and what the meaning of it really is. Baptism really comes up as a controversy as it relates to salvation, not so much the method. Baptism is misunderstood because people don't understand grace. When someone doesn't understand grace, and salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, Baptism is one of the things that is often added as something you must do in order to be saved. The word Baptism is really a translation from the Greek word. It actually means to immerse or dip and to take on the a new identity. It is ultimately an outward physical expression of a believers new spiritual reality. So checkout Charlie as he speaks to a church congregation and discusses this topic and provides insights from a grace perspective.

Dr. Bing walks us through the parable of the prodigal son. This story is about a young man about a rumor of love, and it paid off for him. Some have called it the greatest story ever written or told. It starts in chapter 15 with an objection to people who accuse Jesus of spending time with sinners. This is one of Jesus' answers to that accusation, and his attitude towards sinners. The first one is the parable of the lost sheep, the second is the parable of the lost coin, and this is the last one. The first two focus on the joy of finding the lost. Here we have something that was lost and is now found. Much has been written about this well known parable but Charlie looks at it from a unique grace perspective. He wants us to take special note of the attitude of acceptance and joy. So pay attention how the father responds to his son, what was his reaction, what was his attitude? Why does it matter and how can it apply in our lives today? What does it show us about grace? If you like to donate to GraceLife and help support the ministry you can do so here.

In this podcast, Charlie speaks about moving from salvation to discipleship. Many come into the family of God and have a desire to move from milk of the word to the meat. But many churches today are stunted and don't move away from the milk of the word so the people starve and stagnate. God clearly teaches us that He desires for us to grow. Having a life after salvation is supposed to be abundant. Christians are meant to live an abundant, overflowing life. Salvation isn't the end, it's the beginning! It's the beginning of a whole new life. So what comes next? Find out as Charlie walks through the process and what needs to be done to move from salvation to discipleship. If you like to donate to GraceLife and help support the ministry you can do so here.

In this podcast Charlie speaks about the topic of evangelism, specifically addressing the lack of winning people for Christ. What can we do to help improve the status and win people of Christ? How can we get the message out, how should we share the gospel? Have you ever led someone to faith in Christ? In Matthew Chapter 4 we see Christ inviting a few disciples to come follow him, and he will make them fishers of men. His goal was to recruit and assign tasks for those who would share the gospel and lead people to Christ. So join Charlie as he breaks down Jesus' call to follow him in Matthew 4:18-22.

What is Lordship salvation and how does it affect the gospel for the unbeliever and also the believer? In this podcast, Charlie is speaking at Bear Creek Bible church and gives an overview of Lordship and Free Grace. He focuses on four aspects that are key in the debate: Faith, Repentance, Lordship, and Discipleship. For example, faith, to those who espouse Lordship, equals submission, as opposed to simply being convinced of something as true. In other words, a person cannot be saved unless they submit to Christ fully. You have to make Jesus "Lord" of all of your life; hence the name Lordship salvation. So be sure to checkout the rest and share with your friends! Also, if you like to donate to GraceLife and help support the ministry you can do so here.

Have you ever despised doing something around the house or taking on a job that you hated? Can you imagine what it would be like for the God of the universe to take on the job of sending His son to become human to deal with this this fallen world? It's hard for us to imagine God stepping down to become human in order that we might have a relationship with Him. What was going through God's mind to be so selfless and so loving and how can we emulate that? Paul, in Philippians, was trying to shape people's thinking into the mind of Christ. When we think of Philippians we think of joy, but Paul also speaks quite a bit about knowing and attitude. "Be like minded" striving for unity and placing the interests of others first. We tend towards our sinful nature and it manifests itself in selfishness and pride. So we need a good dose of humility and selflessness among others. In this podcast, Charlie walks us through Philippians 2:5-11 where we find out some of the things it takes to have the mind of Christ and then apply that in our lives.

Ever been accused of a wasted life? Have you ever regretted doing something or maybe not doing something? I think we all have regrets to one degree or another and I think we would all change something about our lives. In this podcast, Charlie walks us through Paul's view of his life, one of joy, despite his circumstances. In Philippians 1:19-26 we find out three characteristics in making a life of no regrets.

This weeks' podcast was used with permission from Learn the Word podcast where Charlie was a special guest with Academic Dean Paul Weaver at the Word of Life Institute. Charlie and Paul discussed James chapter 2, arguably the most misinterpreted passage of scripture. Key topics discussed are the context of James, who is James talking to and why? What is faith? Are there "kinds of faith" in the Bible? What about the demons? Is there demon faith? How does James align with the Pauline epistles? We hope you enjoy this special podcast! For further reading checkout related gracenotes.

In this podcast Charlie looks at what the key is to Christian unity. Ever been around Christians you can't stand? Ever wonder why there are so many different denominations? How many church splits have you heard of? When we have problems on the horizontal level with one another, it usually stems from a vertical problem towards God. But it's important to have unity for many reasons, one being it affects your witness. The public takes note of disunity and becomes hardened by religion. It's a constant problem of the church. So how do we resolve this and how should we respond? Find out in this episode as Charlie walks us through Paul's words in Philippians.

Charlie spoke at a conference on the topic of moving towards a deeper fellowship with a focus on the book of First John. Some of the passages in First John are difficult to deal with, challenging to the believer not only to understand but also in practice. Charlie helps unwind some of the issues by explaining the various views. One view says that First John is a series of tests of salvation. Robert Law popularized this view, saying First John was about tests of eternal life. Another, John MacArthur, says that there are eleven tests of salvation in First John. He wrote a book called "Saved Without a Doubt" that walks you through these. Another however, says First John's focus is tests of fellowship. Dwight Pentecost was probably one of the first to popularize this view. There's also an interesting third view, which says First John was written as tests of experiencing eternal life. So which is it? How are these understood, how are they applied, what is the result of application?

There are some people who believe disciples are born not made. In other words they claim that every Christian is a disciple. That is to say, when a person first believes they must meet all the conditions of discipleship in order to be saved. This is simply not the case though, it creates an impossible standard. Disciples are made not born. This is clear from the life of the Apostle Peter. He is actually given more attention than any other disciple in scripture. As always, that's not by accident. I think God wants us to see Peter as an example of the journey that one takes in the Christian life; from becoming a believer to becoming a disciple. There are different stages in a Christian life, Charlie broke this down into three; Curious, Convinced, and Committed. So follow Charlie as he walks you through the life of Peter in this episode!

There are many organizations in this world that have standards for entrance into the "club." Some charge fees, while other say you must have a certain income level or be from a certain family lineage. But what does it take to get into heaven, what is the standard that must be met? What is the condition for salvation? Is salvation easy? Is the idea of faith alone in Christ alone lowering the standard to get into heaven or must there be something else? It should be noted that faith alone in Christ alone is often referred to as "easy-believism." This is because it does not add additional steps to salvation. The accusation is that if all a person has to do is believe, it's too easy... they say that a person is fooling themselves and in order to be truly saved, they must also go that extra step and commit their life to Christ. One famous author and theologian makes the accusation that, "the good news of Christ, has given way to the bad news of easy-believism that makes no moral demands on the lives of sinners." In other words, it's wrong to say, all you have to do is believe in Jesus as your savior and not ask for any kind of commitment or surrender, or personal submission of your life. Is this correct? Is there more to believing when it comes to salvation? Come join Charlie in this podcast as he answers these questions and more!

In this podcast Charlie gets detailed and focuses on the book of John and its intent. Specifically that it's an evangelistic book. There are three aspects that Charlie touches on and the second one is the primary focus of this podcast. 1. Jesus is a divine son, John begins and ends focusing on Christ' deity. 2. Presentation of belief as a proper response to Christ's offer. 3. Eternal life is the result of belief. "That by believing you may have life in His name." John's purpose then, was to induce and foster faith. The intent was to lead people to faith. But what were the conditions for salvation? Would we not expect a clear condition if this was the purpose of the book? The answer is yes! But is there a "special" kind of faith or belief required? Listen to find out.

Someone once said "Christians are the only army that shoots its own wounded." I think we've all seen this before where Christians will place burdens on others that are based on their own standards and not God's, and if they fail to meet the test, or if they're different, then they're out. Christians, in other words, can be extremely intolerant of imperfection or even perceived imperfection in others. It was Jesus who said in Matthew 5:7 "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye." In this regard He stressed the foolishness of criticizing someone else. In this podcast, Charlie focuses on Romans chapter 14, more specifically about what it means to be a people of grace. How do we express grace to other people? We'll see how grace gives us the freedom to accept others and their differences. Having a good understanding of God's grace that he gave us goes a long way in helping us show that same sort of grace to others and allow us to accept people for being different or accept people for holding different views than our own.

In this podcast, Charlie focuses on the issue of Lordship. What is it, what does it mean, and how does it relate to salvation and discipleship? Charlie walks you through the Lordship controversy and focuses on three passages. In a nutshell, the Lordship view is the belief that Jesus Christ must be recognized as Lord and Master of one's life as a part of salvation. In other words, a person must be at least willing to give up their life or surrender their life to Christ in order to be saved. Advocates of this view say that faith equals obedience. This effectively conflates salvation and discipleship. The opposite view is often mocked as the "no Lordship" view that denies Christ as Lord. This of course couldn't be further from the truth as you'll find out. Incidentally, Charlie did his Doctoral Dissertation on Lordship Salvation and provided a biblical evaluation and response, which you can find here on GraceLife. His goal was to write in such a way that it would be a useful tool and could be used by anyone who was interested. (You can also visit LordshipSalvation.org for related information) So checkout this podcast as well as his dissertation!

In this episode, Charlie walks through a very controversial passage, James 2:14-26. It's controversial because it's often misunderstood and consequently misapplied. James says some strange things that seem to contradict Paul like "Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." But it can be confusing if you don't understand the context and the distinction between discipleship and salvation. Most people understand this passage as a call to look at your works to prove you're saved. If you don't have works, it proves you're not a Christian. The problem with this is that it takes the focus off of Christ, who did all the saving, and creates an inward focus by the individual to determine if the works they are doing will be sufficient. Those same people will also argue that you have to have "biblical faith" or the "right kind of faith" and they pull from James saying "Even the demons believe..." So if you had that right kind of faith then, you're saved. The argument goes like this: "A person who says that he believes in Jesus Christ as Savior, but does not do good works is not really saved. He is like the demons who believe in God but are not saved because they have not submitted to God or obeyed Him." This is at best a careless misuse of the verse. Many pastors and theologians explain James this way saying "we are saved by faith alone but the faith that saves is never alone." Sounds like a good example of an oxymoron. But could James be talking about justification by works before men? Could he be talking about encouraging Christian growth? The answer is yes, so be sure to listen and find out how to break down this passage and make proper sense of it, and how it can be applied in your walk today. For further reading checkout Gracenotes #47 Demon Faith and the Misuse of James 2:19.

In this special podcast, Charlie expounds upon his latest Gracenotes #91 which is a second part in his Gracenotes Common Objections to Free Grace. While certainly not an exhaustive list Charlie explains some of the more common ones, many of which are either strawman arguments or other logical fallacies. Part 2 objections include the following: Objection #7: Free Grace theology cheapens grace by not requiring commitment and good works. Objection #8: Free Grace teaches that faith is merely mental assent. Objection #9: Free Grace is antinomian. Objection #10: Free Grace believes a person can apostatize (fall away from the Christian faith) and still be saved. Objection # 11: Free Grace is a recent historical and theological aberration. Objection #12: The Free Grace Movement is an irrelevant minority movement Charlie hopes this will help encourage you in your faith and growth in your Christian walk. So what objections have you run into and how have you answered them? For further study and objections 1 through 6, see Gracenotes 90 Part 1.

Charlie spoke abroad and addressed a topic related to assurance. Can a person be 99% sure of their salvation and grow in grace? Assurance is a bedrock of our spiritual growth and maturity. Charlie spoke on the problem of assurance deficit disorder plaguing churches today in another podcast, but how does this lack of assurance affect the believer? What are the real world impacts to the believer in lacking assurance. Keep in mind, assurance is our understanding of our security in Christ. Can a person be 99% sure? Charlie argues that 99% sure is no assurance at all. Being 99% sure begs the question, do we look to ourselves for salvation or do we rest in the power and promises of God? GraceLife's slogan is "sharing the gospel of grace with the unsaved, and the grace of the gospel with the saved." So, in this podcast Charlie emphasizes the last half, helping to ground Christians in the "grip of grace" and moving from doubt to discipleship. A key component to this is assurance. 1 John 5:13 - These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. For further reading checkout GraceNotes #6 Questions of Assurance From Romans 8

C.S. Lewis said that "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." What did he mean by this exactly? Why is forgiveness so important? Why is it necessary to do? In this podcast, Charlie teaches us how to become a person of grace through forgiveness. The focus of this podcast is the grace to forgive with a focus on Matthew chapter 18. One of the key elements in becoming a person of grace is understanding and practicing the importance of forgiveness. Forgiveness is undoubtedly one of the hardest things that God asks us to do. It has been called an unnatural act because seeking revenge and retaliation is much easier than allowing forgiveness to take root. Our natural bent is to seek revenge and it's also what the world teaches. However, revenge or retaliation in any form, never resolves the issue. The Bible however, teaches the opposite. To become a person of Grace you must understand and practice forgiveness. For a related reading, checkout Gracenote #33 The Extent of God's Forgiveness

Charlie spoke at the 2020 FGA conference about six selected common objections to Free Grace. The six objections include: 1) Free Grace is Easy Believism (aka Decisionism) - it may be simple to believe, but it's not easy. Why would God make salvation difficult? 2) Free Grace Rejects Jesus as Lord and still be saved - we don't teach this as part of salvation but we certainly teach it regarding discipleship. 3) Free grace does not teach that a sinner must turn from sins (aka Repent from sin). - If Repentance is defined as turning from sin, then yes, we don't teach that. But if repentance is defined as a change of mind, then yes, many do teach that. Repentance isn't defined by outward actions. 4) Free grace believes a saved person does not have to show evidence of good works (James 2:14 - faith without works is dead) - Well who says that? Which works and how often, and how do you define good works? Which ones are legitimate? Good works can be evidence, but not proof. 5) Free Grace leads to false assurance of salvation - John MacArthur publicly admitted he's 99% sure he's saved. Those who object as he does, cannot say they are 100% sure because they are basing it off of subjective assurance, not objective assurance. Our assurance is based on the power and promises of God, not based on works before nor works after salvation. 6) Free Grace leads to license (aka antinomianism) - Antinomian means against the law. We are not against the law, but the law doesn't govern. Paul addresses license in Romans 6. For more detailed information, checkout Charlie's GraceNotes - Answering Common Objections to Free Grace which deals with this very specific topic!

In this podcast Charlie answers the question, "What about repentance?" What does repentance mean? You might be surprised! One of the reasons for this discussion is that repentance, and its role in salvation, tends to be a controversial subject. Should we preach it more or less? What should we say when presenting the gospel. Do we understand what we're saying and can we explain each word? You've probably heard from many preachers and evangelists their invitations where they say that in order to be saved you must "turn from your sins, from your self efforts and receive Christ alone as savior and Lord." Others say that you must "repent of your sins and ask forgiveness in order to be saved." Still others note that "you must turn from every sin before receiving Christ" (In other words clean yourself up before you come to the cross). Another says that, "if you don't give up your sin after you repent that your repentance must have not been real." and "Thus the call resounds, is there genuine faith?" (In other words, clean yourself up after you come to the cross to prove you were saved). As believers we've heard this language all our lives but it raises some questions. If we are required to repent of our sins, which sins must I repent from in order to be saved? How many must I repent from? What about the ones I can't think of right now, or can't recall? How do I know when enough is enough and where is that line drawn? Must I also change my conduct? How sorry must I be? So we'll take a look at the word repentance in this podcast and also relate it to faith and grace. We'll look at the confusion and take a look at the details. Warning: theology discussion ahead.

Charlie spoke at an FGA conference about seeing the distinctions between salvation and discipleship. This was taken from his book Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship where he breaks it down into A-Truth B-Truth...salvation truth (justification) and discipleship truth (sanctification). Distinctions make a big difference in the Bible, even down to the letter or word and if you're not careful you can end up down a theological path that leads to poor application. So seeing distinctions in scripture is critical. One of the potential dangers is that the Gospel becomes corrupted. Lordship Salvation for example, says that a person must surrender and show obedience in order to be saved. They have taken discipleship truth and ported it into salvation truth. They go so far as to say every true Christian is a disciple, they have to be, otherwise they aren't saved. Reformed Calvinism and the idea of perserverance of the saints says that unless you continue to work and die in the faith, you were never saved to begin with. Arminianism does this as well, if you unbelieve or severely sin you can lose your salvation. Likewise, legalism is simply the idea that you have to do something in order to please God. Needless to say this confuses people and ends up making them questions their salvation. A person cannot have assurance of salvation if it's based one's performance. "Performance based salvation" includes everything from commitments made, obedience, one's surrender, or anything that has to do with one's attempt to please God. This is a challenge to anyone who says you can have assurance and holds to performance based views. The lie of the devil is do good and God will love you. But the fact of the matter is, you can't do good, yet God already loves you; so much so that he sent his son to die in your place and satisfy the payment for sin. So let's keep the gospel clear so that we can preach it to the world freely and make that critical distinction between salvation and discipleship. "Only when we clearly understand what God says can we effectively share a clear gospel, be assured of our salvation, and grow in our relationship with Him."- Norman L. Geisler, Ph.D. ----more---- For further reading see Charlie's GraceNotes, Are Disciples Born or Made?