John 5:24 And The Case For Assurance

Eternal life is not a distant finish line, it’s a present reality that reshapes everything. We start with John 5:24 and sit with Jesus’ plain promise: hearing his message and believing means we pass from death into life and do not live under condemnation. From that foundation, we pray for you and your family, for pastors and priests across the land, and for leaders to rule with wisdom and fear of God. 

We then press into what that promise demands from us. We reflect on a theme C.S. Lewis raises in The Problem of Pain: God offers far more than last-minute “fire insurance.” Yes, mercy is real even at the end, but faith in Jesus Christ is meant to produce courage, humility, and a willingness to speak the gospel without shame. Along the way, we say the quiet part out loud: no denomination, title, or religious celebrity saves. Jesus Christ alone saves, and that truth should clarify what we trust and what we share. 

Scripture keeps driving the episode forward, from Psalm 106’s warning about forgetting God’s kindness to Proverbs 14’s practical wisdom about jealousy, peace, and honoring God by helping the poor. We also tell sobering real-world stories and a Medal of Honor account that highlights duty under extreme pressure, then close with an old interview that calls journalists and citizens back to truth, integrity, and trust in God. 

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Transcript

Scripture And A Grim Headline

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John five starting with verse twenty four. I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins. But they have already passed from death into life. May 12th, 2026, Flathead County, Montana. Fifteen-year-old girl was raped by Walter Jesus Traviso Soto, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela. Remember these stories, folks, when people in your life who vote for and support the left or Islam. Just remember these stories. This is illegal immigration and the stories that we read later on. That is mainstream Islam.

Welcome And Opening Prayer

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Hey folks, this is Jesse Cope, back with another episode of the American Soul Podcast. Hope y'all are doing well wherever y'all are, whatever part of the day you're in. I sure do appreciate you joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention. I will try and use it wisely. For those of y'all who continue to pray for me and for the podcast, thank you very much. Very grateful for your prayers. For those of y'all who continue to support the podcast, thank you as well. Definitely. The prayers, especially. Excuse me. Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for your love and your mercy, your grace and your forgiveness of sins through the merit of your son Jesus Christ. Thank you for rain on a tin roof. Thank you for those who listen to the podcast, Father, and share it. Please be with them, be with their families, surround them with your angels. Protect them from evil of any kind. Be with our pastors and our priests across the land. Give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith. Be with their families, protect them. Give them the words you want them to speak. Help all of us as followers of your Son to boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. To not be ashamed in any degree of your son Jesus Christ. To love you with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, Father, to love our neighbors as ourselves. Be with those who are addicted to one thing or the other. Help us, Father, to break the chains of slavery and sin by trusting in you and your son Jesus Christ. To know that because we have faith in your Son Jesus Christ, you remove our sins from us as far as the East is from the West. Help us to share that good news with others, that hope and that promise. Be with our leaders in the state here, President, Vice President, Admirals, Generals, Senators, Representatives, and those around the world where people are listening. Help them to rule in fear of you, Father, to lead in fear of you. And help us to support and encourage them. And guide my words here, Father, please, in your son's name we pray. Amen.

Marriage Verse From Song Of Solomon

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Marriage verse for today. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing. Each has its twin, and none of them is missing. Your temples behind your veil are like the halves of a pomegranate. Sixty queens there may be, and eighty concubines and burgons beyond number, but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the only daughter of her mother, the favorite of the one who bore her. The young woman saw her and called her blessed. The queens and the concubines praised her.

John 5 And Assurance Of Salvation

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John 5, starting with verse 24. I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. We already have eternal life, folks. We're already in it. Because of Jesus Christ, our faith, believing in God who sent his Son Jesus Christ. And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed, it's here now, when the dead will hear my voice, the voice of the Son of God, and those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone, because he is the Son of Man. Don't be so surprised. Indeed, the time is coming when all the dead in their graves will hear the voice of God's Son, and they will rise again. Those who have done good will rise to experience eternal life, and those who have continued in evil will rise to experience judgment. I can do nothing on my own. I judge as God tells me, therefore my judgment is just, because I carry out the will of the one who sent me, not my own will. I want to share something with you real quick about verse 29 here. Those who have done good rise to eternal life, those who have continued in evil rise to experience judgment. I was reading through C.S. Lewis's The Problem of Pain, and he talked about this briefly in one of the recent chapters that, you know, there's so much more that God has for us than just, as our pastor calls it, fire insurance, just getting out of hell. But he takes us, even if that's all we look for, folks. Even if that's all we grasp at the end of our lives is that fire insurance, that turning to Christ so that we will avoid hell, avoid that fear and that damnation. God in his grace and mercy still accepts us. And and that that ought to be enough, folks. It ought to terrify us that anyone is gonna wake up one day to experience eternal judgment with no chance of parole. I'm I'm not going to. Not because I have such a strong faith or because I'm so good, but just because of Jesus Christ alone, all of my trust is in him. All of it, every single ounce of it. It's certainly not in myself, uh not in my amazing faith or actions, just because of Jesus Christ. And we ought to share that with others. If I were to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid, but someone else is also testifying about me. And I assure you that everything he says about me is true. In fact, you sent investigators to listen to John the Baptist, and his testimony about me was true. Of course, I have no need of human witnesses, but I say these things so you might be saved. John was like a burning and shining lamp, and you were excited for a while about his message. But I have a greater witness than John. My teachings and my miracles, the Father gave me these works to accomplish, and they prove that he sent me. And the Father who sent me has testified about me himself. You have never s heard his voice or seen him face to face, and you do not have his message in your hearts because you do not believe me, the one he sent to you. You search the scriptures because you think they give you eternal life, but the scriptures point to me, yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. Your approval means nothing to me because I know you don't have God's love within you, for I have come to you in my Father's name, and you have rejected me. Yet if others come in their own name, you gladly welcome them. No wonder you can't believe. For you gladly honor each other, but you don't care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God. Yet it isn't I who will accuse you before the Father, Moses will accuse you. Yes, Moses in whom you put your hopes. If you really believed Moses, you would believe me because he wrote about me. But since you don't believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say? Folks, no denomination is going to save you. No Mary, not Joseph, not the disciples, not the thief on the cross, not any pope or pastor or priest or cardinal or bishop, not the Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic or Baptist or Methodist or Church of Christ or anything else. The only thing that saves us is Jesus Christ alone.

Psalm 106 And Remembering Mercy

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Psalm 106, 1 through 12. Praise the Lord, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord? Who can praise him? Who can ever praise him enough? There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right. Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people, come near and rescue me, let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones. Let me rejoice in the joy of your people, let me praise you with those who are your heritage. Like our ancestors, we have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly. Our ancestors in Egypt were not impressed by the Lord's miraculous deeds. They soon forgot his many acts of kindness to them, instead they rebelled against him at the Red Sea. Even so he saved them to defend the honor of his name and to demonstrate his mighty power. He commanded the Red Sea to dry up, he led Israel across the sea as if it were a desert. So he rescued them from their enemies and redeemed them from their foes. Then the water returned and covered their enemies, not one of them survived. Then his people believed his promises. Then they sang his praise.

Proverbs On Peace And The Poor

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Proverbs 14, 30 through 31 A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body. Jealousy is like cancer in the bones. Those who oppress the poor insult their maker, but helping the poor honors him. We honor God when we help the poor. And a peaceful heart, like a peaceful house, leads to a healthy body, healthy marriage. There's a lot there in marriage, folks.

Book Recommendation And Reviews Request

SPEAKER_00 11:35

All right, Countryside, The Book of the Wise, if you get a chance, or just the Countryside series. This is the first book in the series. It's kind of like Narnia, The Hobbit, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Fablehaven. If you get a chance, you get a chance to check it out if you would, if you enjoy it, if you'd leave a review online somewhere, Amazon, Barnes and Noble. There's hardback, paperback, ebook, whatever you like reading. And those reviews help a great deal. Same thing with the podcast. The reviews help immensely, help others to discover the podcast. And the five or ten dollars a month helps us kind of keep the writing going and the podcast going. So thank you. This is from uh Christine, five-star Amazon review. Great read. Received this book in exchange for an honest review. I can honestly say I enjoyed this book, and it will be a book I read again. I enjoyed the characters and the story. Very kind review from Christine on Amazon.

Honor Killing Story And Modern Shame

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January 2025, Pakistan. This was a US resident. Hira Onwar. Fourteen-year-old Pakistani American, American girl from New York was lured to Pakistan and shot dead by her father and uncle in an honor killing over TikTok videos her parents deemed immodest.

Medal Of Honor Courage Under Fire

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Herbert Hoover Burr, Medal of Honor for today, Staff Sergeant, rank at the time of action, PFC, World War II, Charlie Company, 41st Tank Battalion, 11th Armored Division, U.S. Army, March 19th, 1945. Dormischell, Germany. He displayed conspicuous gallantry during action when the tank in which he was the bow gunner was hit by an enemy rocket, which severely wounded the platoon sergeant and forced the remainder of the crew to abandon the vehicle. Deafened but otherwise unhurt, Staff Sergeant Burr immediately climbed into the driver's seat and continued on the mission of entering the town to reconnoitre road conditions. As he rounded a turn, he encountered an 88-millimeter anti-tank gun at point-blank range. Realizing that he had no crew, no one to man the tank's guns, he heroically chose to disregard his personal safety in a direct charge on the German weapon. At considerable speed, he headed straight for the loaded gun, which was fully manned by enemy troops who had only to pull the lanyard to send a shell into his vehicle. So unexpected and daring was his assault that he was able to drive his tank completely over the gun, demolishing it and causing its crew to flee in confusion. He then skillfully sideswiped a large truck, overturned it, and wheeling his lumbering vehicle returned to his company. When medical personnel who had been summoned to treat the wounded sergeant could not locate him, the valiant soldier ran through a hill of sniper fire to direct them to his stricken comrade. The bold, fearless determination of Staff Sergeant Burr, his skill and courageous devotion to duty resulted in the completion of his mission in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Accredited to Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri, not awarded posthumously, presented August 23, 1945, by President Harry S. Truman at the White House. Born September 13, 1920, St. Joseph, Buchanan County, Missouri, died February 8, 1990, Bolivar, Missouri. Buried Mount Washington Cemetery, MH3TAC 13, Independence, Missouri. Herbert Hoover Burr. Wanted to read an interview with a journalist from 1800s, if I can find it.

Integrity Lessons From A Journalist

SPEAKER_00 15:42

I had it earlier, and of course, there it is. William Bross. This is out of America's Guiding Country Encyclopedia of Quotations by William J. Federer. Great book. I know it's also in the American Patriots Bible if you have that, and I'm sure you can find it online multiple places. This was editor of the Chicago Tribune, and this was an interview with him. Three questions. What maxims have had a strong influence on your life and helped you to success? And his answer, the proverbs of Solomon and other scriptures, they were quoted a thousand times by my honored father, and caused an effort to do my duty each day under a constant sense of obligation to my Savior and fellow man. What do you consider essential elements of success for a young man entering upon such a profession as yours, journalism? Remember that. Sterling, unflinching integrity in all matters, public and private. Let everyone do his whole duty both to God and man. Let him follow earnestly the teachings of Scriptures and eskew infidelity in all its forms. Man, if we had journalists like that today. What, in your observation, have been the chief causes of the numerous failures in the life of business and professional men? Want of integrity, careless of the truth, reckless in thought and expression, lack of trust in God, and a disregard of his teachings, of the teachings of his holy word, bad company, and bad morals in any of their many phases. Read Proverbs, folks, you know, one proverb for every day of the month, 31, right? Teach the scriptures to our children. Have integrity in all matters at all times. Trust God. Stay away from bad company and bad morals. William Bross, again, he was the editor of the Chicago Tribune. That was an interview with him. If, if we need some men like that today, folks. Our

The Lord’s Prayer And Blessing

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Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us the stay our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not to temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen. God bless y'all, folks. God bless your families, your marriages if you're married. God bless your nation, wherever you are around the world listening. God bless America. We'll talk to you all again real soon, folks. Looking forward to it.