Simply By Grace Podcast

Charlie shares a message on Col. 2:16-23 and gives examples of how churches fall from grace into legalism. Many churches create rule after rule squeezing out grace. Paul warned of these types of churches and warned not just about legalism but to not be swayed by anything other than Christ.  So what is your attitude about the Law (Mosaic Law) and how does it apply in your life today? Are you still trying to earn God's favor and righteousness by doing things like keeping rules? If you're in a legalistic church, what can you do, where should your attitude be? How should we respond to legalism?  

Do you find yourself in difficult circumstances? You may be going through some type of suffering be it from COVID reprecussions or some other infirmity. Dr. Bing walks us through 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 and describes how to use grace to help us through trying times. Grace is not just a theological term, but becomes practical when we need help. It is when we feel weak that we can find the strength that God provides through the grace of the Lord Jesus. His grace is sufficient.

The last in this series on Ecclesiastes, Dr. Bing takes us through the warnings about watching your words, knowing that a fool's voice is known by his many words and a wise person by few.  Honor God by the things we say. 

Ecclesiastes written by Solomon as an honest perspective about the world. Some things are still a puzzlement to him though and he mentions the word vanity 38 times. Solomon expresses it as a form of futility. In this chapter Dr. Bing walks us through Solomon's view on work and how work can often be futile.   So how do you make work worthwhile? What attitude and perspective should you have on work? We all have to work, but there are extremes, laziness to making it your entire life. So let's look at why work can be a vanity or futility and how to have a proper perspective on this gift God has given us.

"under the sun"...this phrase appears 29 times in the book of Ecclesiastes, and it is used by Solomon to describe what life is like in the human dimension without God. It's what life looks like here in our world.   In this chapter Dr. Bing walks us through Solomon's observation that there's injustice in the world. From shootings to pandemics, iniquity is there. If there is a good God, why does he let bad things happen?  Why would he allow them? How do we deal with it?   It's not until the end of the book that Solomon describes how to view life differently, from God's perspective.

Ecclesiastes is really about when we don't really understand life, we should trust God anyway.   Dr. Bing takes us through chapter 2 and in it he talks about the timing of events in our life, not just why, but when. We seem to question why things happen, but not often think about when.   For example, how do we make sense of the timing of tragedy or challenges in life? Let's remind ourselves of life's vanity (incomprehensibleness) and see what the wisdom of Solomon helps us understand God's timing in our lives.

We all want to have a good life, we all want to chase a good life. Do we ever really catch the good life by chasing after wordly things like a better home, location, cars, or other possessions?  Most people don't find the good life by catching success, but by rejoicing in something that's beyond this world. People look for fulfillment and some people try to fill that emptiness with many things. So what do we fill our life with?

Dr. Bing begins walking us through Ecclesiastes and addressing questions like, How do we find success to significance? How do we find meaning in our life?   Most people live a life of quiet desperation, yet we should number our days with wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Don't just count your days, make your days count. Don't just measure success, measure significance in the eyes of the Lord.   By following the wisdom of King Solomon in the scriptures, we can find true significance and meaning in our lives.

A question on the mind of many is how good they must be to get to heaven. Many people have the idea that if they do enough good things, or their good things outweigh their bad things, then they will be saved eternally. One error in this thinking is the failure to understand the absolute standard of God's goodness. He is perfectly good and therefore cannot tolerate any imperfection in His presence. Another mistake people make is thinking that their behavior is good enough to get to heaven. But they fail to understand that if they resort to performance such as keeping the law, they must have a perfect record or they fall under the curse of failure. It is also a mistake to think that behavior alone can be good enough to get into heaven. Our problem is not sins, per se, but sinfulness. We are sinners who need to have the root of the problem taken care of, and it is sin. The good news is that God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life we could not live, and to pay the penalty of our sins, which we could not pay. So we conclude that we can get to heaven based on what Jesus did, not on what we do. Charlie challenges all who see this episode to trust in Christ's righteousness alone in order to get to heaven. That's a message worth hearing and sharing. We trust you will share this, like it, and leave a comment, especially if you place your faith in Jesus as your Savior. #FreeGracegospel#Savedbygrace#Howtogetto heaven#faithnotworks$simplybygrace

Everyone likes a new book. Dr. J. Paul Tanner has blessed us with two. The latest is called "Salvation: The Most Incredible Gift from the Most Magnificent God." It is a comprehensive book on soteriology, which is also available as a course book called "God's Free Gift of Salvation: A Coursebook for the Study of the Biblical View of Salvation." Dr. Tanner's deep scholarship is evident behind the pages of this book, but it is written at a level usable by anyone. All subjects related to salvation are covered. You will appreciate his gentle tone and irenic spirit as he writes on the difficult words and ideas that a study in soteriology must cover. But that is not his only recent contribution. He has written a commentary on Hebrews, which is also accessible to anyone. He believes it is written to believers, the warnings also. Charlie talks about both books with Dr. Tanner. In addition, you can find many more resources and scholarly articles on his website at www.PaulTanner.org. His books can be ordered from his website or from Amazon. Also, check out his commentary on Daniel, a comprehensive study that took him many years.

Charlie explains the Free Grace perspective: salvation is an undeserved, complete gift received by simple faith in Jesus Christ, not earned by works. He addresses common objections about Lordship, repentance, assurance, and whether grace promotes license, grounding his answers in Scripture and practical examples. The episode highlights how grace motivates godly living, the role of the judgment seat of Christ, and how believers can have full assurance of salvation. 

Charlie explains eternal security and assurance of salvation, grounding the message in Scripture and addressing common objections. He shows how understanding God’s unshakable grace changes fear into confident, joyful service, using biblical proof, real-life stories, and the sealing of the Spirit as guarantees of our secure future in Christ.

What kind of person do you want to be? Or better, what kind of person does God want you to be? In 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4 the Apostle Paul speaks about four kinds of people: the natural person, the spiritual, the carnal, and the newborn. Charlie describes each from a spiritual perspective, then defines God's ideal, the spiritual person. But what does it mean to be spiritual? It has everything to do with the permanent indwelling Holy Spirit who Christians have today. While there is much written and spoken about making disciples, which is an emphasis in the Gospels, we cannot ignore the Epistles which tell us how to keep the commitments of discipleship. It seems there has been some neglect of the Epistles' view of spirituality. Hear this message and ask youself again, what kind of person does God want me to be and how do I become that person? #GraceLifeMinistries#Spirituality#CarnalChristian#ChristianLife#SimplybyGrace

When it comes to our salvation, is doubt good? This verse has been and is continually used by some to cause many Christians to doubt their salvation. They claim that it is good to question our salvation by examining our works, attitudes, motives, and conduct. But the verse says nothing about examining these things. Understanding the context of the passage--and the whole epistle--is the key to understanding what Paul is saying. In short, he is not telling them to question their salvation. But by using irony, he is making the point that they are saved, and that is how they should know that he is an authentic apostle--because he brought the gospel to them first! In other words, he is saying, "Look at yourselves. Are you saved? Of course you are! Then I must be a true apostle because I got you saved with my gospel." This understanding will free believers who are prone to look within or at their works, which is a quagmire that will stifle growth. God doesn't want us to doubt our salvation! See 1 John 5:13. #Assuranceofsalvation#eternalsecurity#gracelifeministries#Simplybygrace

Christians can get confused and lose the assurance of their salvation for a number of reasons. Charlie will name some of these, but more importantly, he will show how four rhetorical questions from Romans chapter 8 are designed to give full assurance of salvation. The first question reminds us that since God is for us, no one can stand against us. He answers a question with another question by arguing from the greater to the lesser. That is, if God gave us His Son, will He not also give us everything else needed to accomplish our final salvation? The second question reminds us that no one can bring a charge against us because we have been acquitted (justified, declared righteous) by the Judge of the universe. His third question reminds us that no one can condemn us. The fourth and final question elicits from the Apostle a flourish of imagery meant to convince us that there is nothing, no one, nowhere, at no time which can separate us from God's tenacious love. After hearing this episode, you will find peace as you rest in God's securing and assuring grace. This episode is from GraceNotes no. 6 of the same title. #Assuranceofsalvation#eternalsecurity#gracelifeministries#Simplybygrace

God's grace can meet all our needs, which is especially important when we are suffering hardships of all kinds. In this passage from Second Corinthians 12, we find an amazing revelation about the Apostle Paul's amazing revelation! He is too humble to claim ownership of it lest he be accused of boasting, but he describes his experience in unmistakable terms. We see that God did not answer His prayers to remove the "thorn in the flesh" for a reason--so that he could experience Christ's power in his weakness. We see that sometimes, God uses suffering to keep us humble, and may allow it to continue. It is at those times that we discover His strength and even take pleasure in our sufferings. Suffering is a part of everyone's life, but God's grace can carry us through it. He has an abundance of grace for any and every need. This message will give you a biblical perspective on your own suffering and how God can use it for your good. (We apologize for a few minutes of silence that are not crucial and are explained in the slides.) #Suffering#GraceLifeMinistries#SimmplybyGrace#Thornintheflesh

We usually emphasize the deity of Jesus Christ, which is a good thing. But the book of Hebrews has a lot to say about His humanity also. In fact, Jesus' favorite title He used for Himself is "Son of Man." Why? Because he was identifying with the human race as the Second Adam who came to undo the damage of the first Adam. Charlie list six ways from Hebrews chapter 2 how the humanity of Jesus Christ is important. First, he came as a man to rule as the future millennial King. Second, He had to experience and suffering for our salvation. Third, He wanted to make us part of his family. Fourth, He defeated the power of death and the devil to free us from the bondage to fear and death. Fifth, He became our High Priest to make propitiation for our sins. Sixth, He can identify with those who are tempted. This truth should give us comfort in the present and hope for the future that we share with our Lord. #SimplyByGrace #GraceLifeMinistries#Hebrews#HumanityofChrist#BaysideCommunityChurchTampa

This episode is a replay of Charlie's interview by Jamie Bryant of Faith Bible Church (The Woodlands, TX) on their Epilogue podcast in a series devoted to the free grace view. They discuss the nature of "saving faith" (a term Charlie thinks needs clarification). Their talk covers the accusation of easy-believism, the intrusion of works into faith, and illustrations of the faith that saves. #gracelifeministries #eternalsecurity #simplebygrace #EpiloguePodcast #FaithBibleChurch

That’s the name of a new book written by pastor Gary Johnson of Westport Baptist Church in Indiana. In this interview with Pastor Gary, Charlie explains why he likes this book so much: It is clear, simple, and useful to someone without theological training or a deep knowledge of the Bible. Pastor Gary reviews his religious background that did not give him peace until he searched the Scriptures and came to understand and accept the teaching about eternal security. This interview also discusses some of the key Bible passages and the objection that eternal security encourages people to sin. You will enjoy hearing Gary’s heart and hopefully will get his book and share this podcast and video with others. Here is where you can hear more from pastor Gary: Podcast: Westport’s Words of Hope & Grace - One Verse At a Time (Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Lys2GdE8McfzsE4TxNbua, also available on: Youtube, iHeartRadio, Spreaker, Amazon Music, Deezer, Podchaser, and Podcast Addict). Book: You Are Eternally Secure: Count the Cost, But Know the Promise; Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Eternally-Secure-Count/dp/B0FKHNGXTC, or from Gary Johnson. Contact: pastorgary.westportbaptist@gmail.com #gracelifeministries #eternalsecurity #simplebygrace

Chapter 4 of Paul's epistle to the Galatian church is a declaration of the freedom believers have as sons of God, not slaves. The author reveals his heart's affection for his readers and his desire for them to live in the freedom that Christ brings. To illustrate the contrast between the Law that enslaves and the gospel of grace which liberates, Paul uses the analogy of two women in Genesis: Sarah and Hagar. Each had a son, but they were incompatible, so Hagar and her son had to be cast out. So too, the Law and grace are incompatible when it comes to how we are saved and sanctified. Believers are of the free woman, not the slave. #Galatians #SimplybyGrace #GraceLifeMinistries #longstoryshort #winterbibleschoolnewzealand