Growing in Grace
Growing in Grace is a weekly program featuring informal conversation to help with growth in understanding the gospel, and to live in the freedom that comes through Jesus Christ.
Episodes
October 8, 2025 • 17 mins
Our conversation this week takes a different approach on avoiding the judgment of others when it comes to trying to identify whether or not they are saved or considered as believers in Christ. We find passages in the Bible where it's easy to jump to the wrong conclusions and allow human speculation and misdirected theology of the written pages to put God in a box, which limits His love and grace.
The brothers who shared the same m...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
"So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you'" (John 6:53).
This was one small piece of a passage that had people trying to figure out just exactly what Jesus was saying. This not only included those opposed to Jesus but also those who had been following Him. In fact, many of the disciples left at that point.
Jesus asked the twelve who...
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October 8, 2025 • 17 mins
Chairs within church buildings are filled with people week after week who just want someone to tell them what they need to do to experience God's blessings and acceptance. They just want to know they are right with God.
In John chapter 6, after seeing Jesus perform some miracles, a group of people went looking for Him across the sea—who previously had their stomachs filled with what started out as a few loaves and a couple of fish...
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October 8, 2025 • 19 mins
Have you been told that God will not provide blessings to you until you pass a test ... or a series of tests throughout your life? Imagine being in a state of mind that constantly has people wondering if God is withholding blessings as they try to figure out how to make themselves worthy.
It's another one of those foggy notions religion likes to throw out there which leaves believers in Christ longing for more of what they think ...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
This week is a spontaneous conversation we were not planning on doing—as it happened in real time.
There are tons of different church brands out there. Most consider the pages of the Bible as the source for their beliefs. And yet, consider there are millions of different opinions and perspectives that may be very contrary to each other. Even within circles where individuals consider themselves a grace-minded person, it's easy to ...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
"Working for God" is a theme that gets tossed around in the religious world. The memo suggests that too much grace will throw things out of balance and will deceive people. You may have even heard some say grace is dangerous.
Experiencing God's grace, peace and rest doesn't mean people should be encouraged to do nothing while their earthly life passes them by. The Apostle Paul said this: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, an...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
If repenting is required in order to be saved, justified and sanctified, it might be good to know exactly what it means. How is it defined? Well, that will depend on which church brand you do business with. Some will tell you one thing while others communicate something quite different. But most will be quite vague and not very specific. If repentance is based on a change of behavior, how does one know when they have fully succeede...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the words repent, repenting, and repentance? When someone from ChurchLand says people need to repent, they are usually communicating that the person who sins needs to stop sinning. But the messenger stating this hasn't stopped ... in spite of whatever sin reduction they may boast. So where does that leave them if God requires humans to stop committing sinful actions? Of course, a c...
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October 8, 2025 • 19 mins
Once upon a time there was a covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. It was based upon a law of hearing it and *doing* it. The ultimate goal was to be a doer of that word of law as they pursued right standing with God. In spite of how many may have thought they were performing as required, nobody could actually do it.
About 1,500 years later, the fulfillment of that law arrived in the form of a Person who came to provi...
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October 8, 2025 • 19 mins
Overheard inside a church building near you:
"The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin."
"Sin separates us from God."
"Sin will hinder our fellowship with God."
What if none of these things are accurate? Would it positively change how you see God in your daily life? What if the blood of Jesus was stronger than sin ... stronger than your fleshly works ... would it bring an indescribable peace that surpasses your understanding?
Sometime...
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October 8, 2025 • 19 mins
The practice of inviting God into our presence may be something many of us have done and may still do without stopping to think much about it. There are various phrases used when the invitation is extended but they all pretty much imply that God isn't with us, and we would like Him to show up and make some sort of appearance.
God never leaves you. He doesn't come and go. The "worship" environment we try to create within our surro...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
Behavior improvement is a great thing. It can be profitable in multiple ways for yourself and those around you. Avoiding sinful options is always good advice. But our conduct and good works should not be considered as our testimony of faith in Jesus Christ. To do so is boasting in the flesh with an attitude of self-righteousness. It proudly screams, "Look at me!"
Paul said if anyone thought they might have confidence in the fles...
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October 8, 2025 • 19 mins
When Jesus spoke about being His disciple, it contained some pretty overwhelming requirements to even qualify for a shot at the position. It's not unusual to see the world of religion try to "Christianize" something Jesus said that was specifically intended for those to whom He was speaking ... Jewish people who were still under the Mosaic law, before the cross. It meant hating family by comparison, carrying your own cross, and giv...
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October 8, 2025 • 16 mins
"Discipleship" is often a big theme inside of many church buildings. But when we are told to be disciples, what does it mean? What pops into your mind? What do you need to do to get there? Is it your level of dedication? Your commitment to God? To the church corporation? To unwavering Bible reading and prayer? Maybe you just automatically think of the twelve that followed Jesus ... and that you should do the same and "follow Him."
...
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October 8, 2025 • 17 mins
Imagine seeking guidance from a trusted clergy or spiritual counselor who taught and instructed you to work hard at keeping a code of stone-tablet commandments in order to succeed at securing favor and blessings from God. Chances are good you won't have to imagine because you've experienced it firsthand. You were exposed to the two-headed monster known as law and grace.
What they didn't understand was that they were pouring gasoli...
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October 8, 2025 • 16 mins
We're continuing on the question as to why the Christian church world has largely mixed law and grace. Something that is often overlooked from the legalistic side of the fence is that the old Mosaic law of stone tablets was not rooted in or based upon faith. Think about that. The religious mixture emphasized so frequently has confused "doing" with faith—much like those who were under the law prior to the cross.
Most have failed to...
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October 8, 2025 • 19 mins
There is a wide array of different church affiliations out there around the world and many have *very* differing points of view on many different things. But there are some common threads found through the spectrum. First, most believe that they pretty much use the Bible as the source for their beliefs. Second, they mix an "old covenant" that Israel was under with a new and better covenant established after Jesus died.
The first ...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
Religion is man's attempt to do enough to make themselves acceptable to God. The grace of the gospel reveals something different ... and that is ... God did everything necessary to draw us near to Him. It's wrapped inside an eternal inheritance—guaranteed in Jesus Christ.
When feeling overwhelmed by condemnation, know that you will never be able to "do enough" to position yourself to be right with God. Our right standing is based ...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
After more than twenty years of doing the Growing in Grace podcast, you might have guessed we like talking about the gospel, God's undying love, and overflowing grace. Nearly each week, our conversations use the Bible as a springboard ... and we're so thankful to be able to have these writings to look back upon.
However, like with any religion who uses their own written material or "book" to guide them through a belief system, it ...
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October 8, 2025 • 18 mins
Did Jesus really take away sins for all time? Was the blood He shed enough to complete what was necessary for eternal redemption or do you need to work at adding something to what He has done? How can you be sure your efforts of "doing" will bring justification without judgement?
Many church goers have struggled with thinking the gospel revolves around right doing while going through life being needlessly worried about whether th...
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