Podcast
You’ll Be Known By Your Fruits
“As the sunlight of Your Presence shines upon me, it nourishes me so I can produce fruit in Your Kingdom.” – Jesus Listens, October 31 There’s no greater compliment than receiving a positive remark about my children, especially if I was not present for the incident that spawned the remark. To me, how one’s children turn out—the good, the bad, and the ugly—is the overriding indication of how one parents. Matthew tells us, “You will know them by their fruits” (7:16, NKJV). Like trees bearing life-giving fruit, raising compassionate, faith-filled humans takes the right rootstock (that’s you, Mom and Dad), the right amount of time (it’s a marathon, not a sprint), and the right consistency (small daily actions). Wary of giving parental advice I’m wary of giving anything resembling pa...
By Grace are you Saved Through Faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)
I firmly believe that the Bible teaches that we receive eternal life by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. But is that what Paul is teaching in Ephesians 2:8-9 when he writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”? Though many Christians think so, I do not. This study of Ephesians 2:8-9 will explain what I think Paul is really talking about in these verses. Before we get to that, I want to address a question from a reader about whether it is sinful or not for Christians to engage in New Age practices. Question from a Reader about New Age Practices I feel like a lot of Christians are against things like manifesting, meditation, and positive affirmations. I do believe Jes...
What is Salvation in Ephesians 2:5-7?
As we continue our study of Ephesians, this study considers Ephesians 2:5-7 and the meaning of the word “salvation.” We see that a misunderstanding of the word “salvation” leads to a misunderstanding of the entire chapter of Ephesians 2. But when we properly understand what “salvation” means in context, we can then better understanding the whole of Ephesians 2. Before we look at that text, however, we answer a question from a reader about something I taught from Matthew 13 and the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. Before we get to that, however, I hope you took advantage of my offer to get some free Bitcoin and Dogecoin a few weeks ago. At the time, Bitcoin was at $32,000 and Dogecoin was at $0.19. Today, Bitcoin is at $46,500, up 45%, and Dogecoin is currently at $0.32, up 68%. I am not...
What Paul prayed for … and what I pray for you (Ephesians 1:15-19)
Ephesians 1:15-19 contains a list of things that Paul prays for. Seeing this helps us know what we can pray for as well. In fact, I do pray for these exact things, not only for myself, but also for everyone who reads my writings or listens to my teachings. So join me in this study of Ephesians 1:15-19 to discover what I pray for you! Before we get to that, however, we answer a question from a reader about what is going on in life and whether or not he will ever bear fruit again for the kingdom. Question about Bearing Fruit Hi Jeremy, been a believer for 12 years now. I’m 40 years old. For the first 4 years I walked with the Lord, God gave me a ministry and people were just drawn to me and were getting saved. Then I fell into grievous sin, drunkenness, and fornication (not to do with my min...
What is the Sealing of the Spirit? (Ephesians 1:13-14)
What is the sealing of the Holy Spirit? What does it do, how is it received, and how can you know that you have been sealed by the Holy Spirit? These are the questions we answer in this study of Ephesians 1:13-14. But first, let us consider a question from a listener about Calvinism and the fear of changing theological beliefs. Does Changing My Beliefs Make Me an Apostate? I have been reading your posts about Calvinism with much interest. For a while now I think I don’t believe it to be true. I have to say, the church we are members of is not very heavy on this, they never or rarely use the TULIP lingo I have been raised in a classic reformed, heavily legalistic family. I have always been afraid of not being chosen. What if I thought I believed in Jesus but just kidded myself? It hampers m...
Sealing of the Spirit vs. Filling with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
What is the sealing of the Holy Spirit? What is the filling of the Holy Spirit? How are they different? These are the questions we will answer in this study of Ephesians 1:13. We will also look at a question from a listener about why I changed by beliefs about hell. A Letter from a Listener What prompted you to reject the traditional view of eternal conscious torment widely held by Conservative Christianity? I grew up believing in the traditional view of hell, which is that unregenerate people go to a place of eternal conscious torment where they suffer and burn and scream in agony for all eternity. I attended a Bible College and a Seminary that taught this view as well. The first step in rejecting this view was in realizing that Jesus fully reveals God to us. Jesus said, “If you’ve seen m...
You are in Heavenly Places RIGHT NOW (Ephesians 1:3)
Does God forgive suicide? Spoiler alert: YES! And what is Paul referring to in Ephesians 1:3 when he writes about heavenly places? Is that heaven or something else? These are a few of the questions that get addressed in this episode of the Redeeming God Podcast. Will God Forgive Suicide? I received a tragic email from a reader recently. Here is what she wrote: My brother recently took his own life due to depression. The last sentence of his letter that he left behind, he stated that he hopes to see us in God’s kingdom if it is in God’s will. As I’m reflecting back, my brother believes in God and believes in Heaven. He knows that what he is doing isn’t the right way to escape his emotions, but he’s going to do it anyways. While at the same time, he’s hoping that God will have mercy on his s...
Who is a saint? YOU are! (Ephesians 1:1)
I am returning to verse-by-verse studies through books of the Bible. We begin in this podcast episode with Ephesians 1:1. The episode also contains a brief discussion of the humanitarian crisis at our southern border, and also a question from a reader about how to understand the violence of God in various biblical passages. Listen to the podcast for these two sections. Here are some brief notes on what I explain from Ephesians 1:1 The text says this: Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:1) The author of the letter, of course, is Paul. First, he is an apostle of Christ Jesus. An apostle is one who is sent by God with a message to those who have not yet heard the good news. It should be noted that there are ...
The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Does NOT Endorse Capitalism
In this podcast episode, we will discuss GameStop, answer a reader question about pornography and masturbation, and take a look at the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 to show why this parable does NOT endorse capitalism. Someone was Right: The System is Rigged If you haven’t heard about what happened in the stock market this week with GameStop, AMC Theaters, Nokia, and a few other stocks, then you probably are listening to fake news. In this podcast, I briefly explain what happened, and why this reveals that those in charge do NOT have your best interest at heart, and really only care about the rich and powerful, despite what they say with their words. As “someone” on Twitter repeatedly said over the last four years, “The System is Rigged” against us. It might be time as a...
The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24-30)
In this podcast episode, we look at what to expect from a Biden/Harris administration, how to know you have not committed the unforgivable sin, and a parable from Jesus that speaks to both issues (The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matthew 13:24-30). Predictions for Biden/Harris Administration I always find it interesting that when people who hate President Trump hear about his accomplishments, they say things like “Yeah, but he made a lewd comment about women fifteen years ago!” or “Yeah, but he called racists ‘very fine people’!” These sorts of rebuttals are laughable. Take the “very fine people” comment. If you actually go look at what he said, Trump totally condemned the white supremacists and neo-Nazis in the Charlottesville crowd that day, but said that apart from them, there ...
The Parable of the Four Soils Explained (Matthew 13:1-23)
What is the meaning of the Parable of the Four Soils in Matthew 13:1-23, and why did speak in Parables? These are the main questions we answer in this podcast study. But before we address these questions, we first consider the following two topics: A few words about the impeachment of President Trump (for a second time) and him being censored by social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube A letter from a reader about Calvinism In the letter from a reader, she writes about a study on Acts and my series on Calvinism. Here they are: The Parable of the Four Soils Explained Here are some studies you may want to also consider: Here is a transcript of what I taught today (This is an excerpt from my Gospel Dictionary lesson on the Kingdom of God): Matthew 13 begins with the Parable ...
God is Not Just
I’m back! 2020 was a rough year, and 2021 will likely be difficult as well, but I am going to try to get back into blogging and podcasting. In this first episode of 2021, I explain the new format for my podcast, and discuss three things: My thoughts on the response of some Christian pastors and authors on the January 6, 2021 election protest in Washington DC Mailbag: How to know you have eternal life and did not commit the unforgivable sin. Why God is not just, the Bible does not talk about justice, and how we can respond to injustice. Is God a God of love AND justice? Nope. On the topic of justice, here is a brief summary of what I say in the podcast, and also what I will be teaching in my soon-to-be-released Gospel Dictionary lesson on justice: “Justice” is not in the Bible. Indeed, the ...
