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
July 17, 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...
Mark as Played
July 17, 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."
...
Mark as Played
July 17, 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...
Mark as Played
July 17, 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...
Mark as Played
July 17, 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 ...
Mark as Played
July 17, 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 ...
Mark as Played
July 17, 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 ...
Mark as Played
July 17, 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...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 18 mins
The word "atonement" gets tossed around quite a bit in church circles, but it really isn't a word that should be associated within the context of the New Covenant. It was something more prevalent within the previous and now obsolete covenant the Jewish people were in before the cross.
Atonement represented a covering that included a priesthood involving many repeated sacrifices that ultimately could not take away sins. It was a c...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 16 mins
Many people who have already come to believe in Christ – who Himself in reality has set them free from the bondage of sin and death – are yet unfortunately living in a type of bondage. It’s a needless, unwarranted bondage that is based upon not knowing the fullness of the reality of all that was accomplished for them through God’s grace. Their daily lives consist of a struggle of wondering if they’re truly forgiven by God for all ...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 17 mins
One of the biggest things people struggle with is wondering where they stand with God. This certainly includes professing Christians who may attend a church building every week. In fact, that may be part of the problem if they are consistently hearing the wrong message. Am I truly forgiven? Am I doing enough? How can I be sure? What more is needed from me?
There is a peace that passes understanding. It starts with knowing that God...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 18 mins
The mixed covenant message found within the majority of church buildings is one of great inconsistency and perhaps even hypocrisy. Traditions of men and false assumptions about the Bible have resulted in discounting the abundance of grace that came through Jesus Christ ... and advocating for an impossible law of obsolete rules and regulations—while focusing on a handful and ignoring the rest.
Therefore, why not make it possible f...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 19 mins
When trapped within a religious maze, it gets confusing when the focus becomes about you and your dedication to God through your works and actions. Those from the "holy hierarchy" will be spouting grace and God's love one minute but in the next breath, they'll tell you to behave in a certain way to ensure you're right with God, justified, sanctified ... while on the journey to making faith perfect.
The way of the old unprofitable ...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 19 mins
Paul offered some gems in the opening segment in his letter to the Ephesians, explaining that as adopted children, God *made us* accepted in the beloved and brought redemption through the blood of Jesus, according to the *riches* of His grace.
And let's not forget this reminder in Titus chapter 3: "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but accord...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 21 mins
There was a significant lack of knowledge in the early years of the church. The cross and resurrection changed everything, resulting in the elimination of a covenant that had been in place for centuries. Consider if a Jewish person who believed in Jesus after the cross ... but still also believed the law of Moses was still to be applied for all Jewish people ... just exactly what did that mean for them? How did the blood of Jesus f...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 19 mins
A lawyer was intending to challenge Jesus publicly to test Him with a bit of a trick question: "What Shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Keeping in mind that the Mosaic law was still being applied to Jewish people who were under it before the cross, Jesus referred him to that law for the answer to his question. In short, Jesus said in order to find the life he was seeking, all he would need is to do what the law says. That was not...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 19 mins
The law that came to the Jewish people through Moses was considered to be a word that they believed was able to save their souls and result in attaining righteousness. The only requirement was for them to do it—all of it. After the cross, even Jews who came to believe in Jesus lacked an understanding about a new and better covenant ... as they continued to pursue a relationship with that law of works.
The difference in gaining li...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 18 mins
It is difficult to give to others what we do not have ... or do not understand that we have within our possession. This is true when it comes to the love of God. Even many believers in Christ have doubts about God's love for them. The Bible defines or identifies God as One who *is* love. The world is filled with people who want to know what love is through personal experience. It begins with God.
Love can be considered the most po...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 15 mins
Many of us were indoctrinated with "popular and mainstream" church sermons which included many things straight out of the Bible ... but the Kool-Aid we were drinking left us thirsting for more. Works-based ideologies and concepts that suggest our eternity is going to be secured based upon what we do after coming to faith and getting saved will leave even the most dedicated of doers in a place of uncertainty and despair.
For those ...
Mark as Played
July 17, 2025 • 19 mins
Hollow religion tends to focus more on our actions—good or bad—instead of the work of Jesus and the blood He shed. Even the most passionate of grace people may end up sliding down a slippery slope of diet legalism if they take their eyes off of the prize ... while contradicting themselves about the gospel and the New Covenant, established and guaranteed by God. It often occurs through a misinterpretation of a few Bible verses ... c...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
Latino USA is the longest-running news and culture radio program in the U.S. centering Latino stories, hosted by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Maria Hinojosa Every week, the Peabody winning team brings you revealing, in-depth stories about what’s in the hearts and minds of Latinos and their impact on the world. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Latino USA and all our podcasts. www.futuromediagroup.org/joinplus