Guardians of Grace

Steve Lenart explores how the Holy Spirit enables believers to read and understand scripture, distinguishing spiritual sight and hearing from natural perception.Using passages from Mark, Matthew, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and Hebrews, the episode emphasizes abiding in Christ, receiving the Spirit’s wisdom and revelation, and training spiritual senses to discern flesh from spirit.

In this episode, Steve Lennart examines John the Baptist’s confrontation with the Pharisees at the Jordan, explaining key "terms of art" in the New Covenant—baptism, repentance, and being baptized with fire. Using passages from Matthew 3, John 3, 1 Corinthians 3, and Revelation, he shows how works done in human strength (the chaff) are burned up, while Spirit-led works (the wheat) are stored as heavenly treasure.Steve emphasizes that repentance means changing one’s mind about who is the source of good deeds, urging listeners to rely on the Holy Spirit so their deeds bear fruit and receive reward in God’s judicial system.

Host Steve Lennart examines John the Baptist's confrontation with the Pharisees in Matthew 3, highlighting that they came to be baptized and introducing the new covenant meanings behind repentance, baptism, and judgment.Referencing Hebrews 6, Romans 7, and Colossians 2, the episode explains key "terms of art"—dead works, the axe at the root, and the baptism of fire and the Spirit—to reveal how the new covenant's judicial system works.This episode begins a series that reframes familiar gospel passages by teaching the distinct language and legal framework of the new covenant.

Hosts Bill and Steve explore what it truly means to be a disciple: experiencing the truth of Christ—"the I Am"—so the Spirit can live through us. They contrast human effort and law-based righteousness with relying on God’s Spirit, showing how acknowledging Jesus in all our ways turns off sin and brings freedom, rest, and the power of resurrection life.

Steve Lennart walks through Romans 9–10 to reveal a fresh perspective on the new covenant: salvation from shame and daily disappointment rather than only eternal deliverance. He contrasts Israel’s attempt to earn righteousness by the law with the Gentiles’ reception of righteousness by faith, explaining how the Spirit in us fulfills the law’s righteous requirements and enables Christ-centered living.The episode emphasizes confessing Jesus as Lord, relying on the Spirit for transformed behavior, and giving Christ credit for the good in our lives so we won’t be ashamed. It points listeners to practical new-covenant living in family, community, and ministry.

Host Steve Lenart opens with gratitude and a personal testimony about his 2016 stroke and humility, emphasizing that the insights shared are from God through him, not from him alone.The episode recaps 1 John chapters 1–4, highlighting the central theme of fellowship with the Father and the Son, the difference between spirit and human nature, the new covenant, and the visible fruit of God’s love in believers.Steve admits he finds 1 John 5 challenging and prays for clarity, inviting listeners to receive revelation and discern how to fellowship in spirit rather than in the flesh.

This episode walks through 1 John and unveils its single life-changing message: learn to fellowship with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit, not human nature. It reassures listeners about assurance of salvation and explains how to discern when someone is manifesting the Spirit versus the flesh.Practical and encouraging, the talk urges listeners to abide in God, let His power work through them in daily life, choose healthy fellowship, and experience deeper joy and confidence in their Christian walk.

This episode is an overview of the book of James, explaining its central thesis: trials test for manifestations of the Holy Spirit, and those manifestations produce spiritual maturity and reward.It covers practical application — asking God for wisdom, being doers of the word, controlling the tongue, patience and prayer of faith, and turning others back to the truth — all framed as living under the new covenant where God works through us.

Host introduces the Guardians of Grace podcast, prays for a friend harmed by internet fraud, and shares a passionate study of the letter of James.The episode explains James’s central theme: tests reveal manifestations of the Spirit under the new covenant, where God’s work through us earns heavenly rewards while our self-made prideful deeds burn away.Key passages from 1 Corinthians, Colossians, and Revelation are used to illustrate Christ’s spiritual circumcision, the refining fire that consumes the flesh, and the call to patiently depend on God rather than human effort.

In this episode Steve explores the book of James, contrasting legalism with the new covenant of grace. He explains how the Spirit of God dwells in believers to produce righteous fruit, especially during trials, and why humility and dependence on God—not human effort—are essential.Listeners are encouraged to see everyday conflicts as tests that reveal either human nature or the Spirit, to submit to God’s power, and to manifest Christ through peaceful, Spirit-filled living.

In this episode Steve walks through James 2:13 onward, reframing "faith without works is dead" as "dormant" and explaining how daily trials test for manifestations of the Holy Spirit. He contrasts the inactive faith of Abraham with the immediate action of Rahab to show how true faith is activated by works.The episode emphasizes the new covenant: Christ’s Spirit living in us does what we cannot, and we are called to give God credit for the good that comes through us, storing up heavenly treasures by letting the Spirit manifest in our actions.

This episode explores James 1:22–25 alongside Romans 7–8, explaining the difference between being a forgetful hearer and an effectual doer. The host shows how the Spirit — not human effort — empowers true Christian living, setting believers free from the law of sin and producing perseverance and genuine fruit. Practical parallels to Jesus’ teachings and the New Covenant highlight why abiding in Christ is the way to spiritual victory.

In this episode Steve explains James chapter 1, teaching that trials are not random punishments but tests designed to reveal the Holy Spirits work in us. He contrasts the old-law performance mindset with the new-covenant reality: God puts His Spirit in believers so we can manifest love, patience, perseverance and other fruits during daily trials.Steve shows how humility, serving others, and relying on the Spirit (not human effort) leads to perseverance and eternal reward — the crown of life. The episode ties James to Paul and Jesus to clarify how new-covenant language reframes faith as visible spiritual manifestation.