Follow Dr. Bing as he shares sermons, lectures, and his thoughts on a weekly basis. Charlie will cover various topics and give insights into his popular GraceNotes which can be found at his website gracelife.org.
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Sometimes--often--the world and life doesn't make sense. This is our perspective as those who live "under the sun," as Solomon puts it in Ecclesiastes. This introductory message from chapter 1 explains the viewpoint of Solomon which leaves him thinking that life looks meaningless, or is "vanity," in his words. Life leaves us puzzled by its endless cycles of life and death, seasons, and work, What do we do when we do not have the key to life? We trust the Lockmaker. The honest assessment of Ecclesiastes shares the feeling many of us have about the mysteries of life. Things may look meaningless
A proper understanding of what it means to be justified keeps the gospel clear and the believer assured of salvation. In this GraceNotes episode, Charlie talks about the word and its background. It is important to distinguish justification from sanctification to keep the gospel free from works and give full assurance of salvation. He discusses some erroneous views of justification including the Roman Catholic view, the initial/final justification view, and N. T. Wright's perspective. This is a critical doctrine in our understanding of the gospel and the basis of our sanctification.
People sometimes wonder how much faith they need to be saved. Did they believe hard enough? The Scriptures show different degrees of faith, but Jesus taught that the smallest amount was enough to move a mountain. This tells us that the object of faith is what saves us, not technically our faith. Faith is just the means that gives us access to the Savior. So faith is the instrument but Jesus Christ is the gournds of our salvation. A strong faith in an unworthy object will not save, but a weak faith in a worthy object will save. This message encourages us to look to Jesus and His work rather tha
This passage in 1 Corinthians 2:16-3:5 speaks of four kinds of people in this order: The spiritual person, the natural person, the carnal Christian, and the newborn Christian. It is God's desire for believers to be spiritual, meaning mature and discerning of God's truth. The key to becoming spiritual is the Holy Spirit: walking in the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit. This is what should be the normal Christian life. While the gospels emphasize the conditions for becoming a disciple, the epistles, while never using the word disciple, explain how Christians can become spiritual disciples
Jesus offered rest to those who come to Him (Matthew 11:28-30). This is a rest that comes from trusting in Him rather than the works of Law. In Hebrews 3:1-4:16, the author also speaks about rest. He is not talking about salvation but the reward in the coming Kingdom that faithful believers can enjoy. But the author of Hebrews seems to make rest something that can also be enjoyed today by faithful Christians as a foretaste of their future reward. This happens when the believer stops trying to earn God's favor by doing good works instead of trusting or resting in Christ's finished work. The exa
Dr. Bing examines Matthew 7 and 12 to show that "you will know them by their fruits" refers to teaching and words, not merely behavior. He explains repentance as a change of mind (metanoia), clarifies the nature of saving faith, and addresses common confusions about faith, works, and assurance. Topics include tests for false prophets, James on faith and works, Lordship Salvation debates, and practical pastoral concerns about legalism and assurance of salvation. More can be found at our website, gracelife.org.
Dr. Bing explains Free Grace theology: salvation is God’s free gift received by simple faith, distinguished from views that add works, sacraments, or lifelong proof to be saved. He contrasts Free Grace with Arminian and Calvinist perspectives, emphasizes assurance of salvation, and separates justification (A-truth) from sanctification and discipleship (B-truth). This can be found at our website, gracelife.org.
Those who preach a simple gospel of free grace are sometimes accused of preaching "easy-believism." Charlie shows how this is really a false accusation and provides a clear understanding of the difference between the ideas of "easy" and "simple." It is not easy to believe, but it is simple--just believe. Why would a God who loves everyone and wants all to be saved make salvation difficult? This episode reflects the content of GraceNotes no. 107.
Charlie speaks at the Free Grace Alliance conference about the nature of passion and how God-given purpose fuels wholehearted commitment. Using Acts 20:24 and examples from Scripture, he outlines four characteristics of a godly passion: it is bigger than your life, recognizes God’s unique calling, brings joy, and serves others. Drawing on personal stories—from writing books that combine hobbies with evangelism to teaching pastors overseas—and the call to action “Let’s roll,” he urges listeners to use their gifts to share the gospel of grace and help populate and prepare people for God’s kingdo
This episode focuses on GraceNotes number 79, titled Does John’s Gospel Demand Belief in Eternal Security for Salvation? It examines an important theological question: must a person believe in the doctrine of eternal security—the assurance that salvation, once received, cannot be lost—in order to be truly saved?While the Gospel of John strongly emphasizes eternal life as the result of believing in Jesus Christ, it never expresses the saving message as belief specifically in the permanence of that life. Rather, John presents salvation as faith in a person—Jesus, the Son of God—rather than in a
This episode focuses on a vital question about the Scriptures: What is the condition for eternal salvation according to the Gospel of John?John’s Gospel is unique in that it explicitly states its purpose — to lead readers to eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. From the opening declaration about Jesus who brings life and light to all people in chapter one to the complementary purpose statement in John 20:31, the message is consistent: eternal life is received by believing in Jesus as Savior.Throughout the Gospel, the verb believe plays a central role, appearing nearly a
What does it really mean to believe in Jesus Christ—and how simple is the faith that saves? The Bible tells us plainly, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” But for many, that raises important questions. Is saving faith something God gives only to some? Is it a work we perform? Or is faith simply our response to God’s promise? Welcome to another episode in our GraceNotes series on the Simply by Grace podcast and the GraceLife Ministries YouTube channel—short, focused Bible studies designed to clarify grace, the gospel, discipleship, and challenging passages of Scripture.
Dr. Charlie Bing returns to Point of Defense to explain the gospel, define "lordship salvation," and defend the free grace view. He clarifies what it means to believe, how repentance should be understood, and responds to common objections like "easy believism" and "make Jesus Lord."This episode offers a straightforward invitation to trust Jesus for the free gift of eternal life and practical guidance for listeners navigating church teaching and discipleship.
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 p
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 word
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 w
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
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
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 continu
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 d
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 w
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
