Simply By Grace Podcast

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? 

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