Are you tired of hearing the myth about separation of church and state? Are you tired of being told that America is not and never was a Christian nation? Do you want to have the information to stand up for the truth and fight back against this fundamental lie that’s invading our culture and education? Each week, host Jesse Cope will dive into quotes and excerpts from our great leaders and documents throughout our history showing how in President Woodrow Wilson’s words “America was born a Christian nation.” We have the truth on our side and together we can absolutely turn our nation around. Follow Jesse @jtcope4 on X for daily doses of the truth to help fight back. Subscribe to The American Soul and share the show with someone who needs to hear it. We're on a mission to spread the truth and get our nation back on the right track — and you can help us make this possible.
Righteousness is not a paycheck. That’s the tension we walk through as we read Romans 4 and ask a blunt question: are we trying to earn what God only gives? I talk through Paul’s logic about Abraham and David, where faith is counted as righteousness and forgiveness becomes real joy, not religious self-improvement. We also get practical about a common confusion in Christian life: baptism and good works matter, but they function as outward signs of inward faith, not the engine of salvation.
Then I share a story I heard recently from a first-generation American who came here legally from Mexico. It’s a reminder that the “right way” often involves sacrifice, patience, and deep gratitude, and it raises a bigger conversation about citizenship, assimilation, and what it means to love the country you’ve joined. The contrast between legal immigration and illegal immigration isn’t abstract when you hear it from someone who lived it.
From there we move into Titus 2 and the pressure Christians feel when they speak plainly about biblical roles for men and women in marriage and family. We also read Psalm 13 for anyone carrying anxiety, sorrow, or the feeling that enemies have the upper hand, and we end with a Medal of Honor story plus a quote from Werner von Braun that pushes back on the claim that science and God cannot fit together. If this encourages you, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it.
Romans 4. Starting with verse 4. When people work for their wages, when people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it. Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin. Wanted
to relay a little story to y'all in the place of our normal illegal and mass Muslim immigrant. Sometimes the best proof is the positive, not the negative, right? I had the blessing privilege, whatever you want to call it, of meeting with a young man within the last week or so who was a really first generation American. He was born in Mexico and his father came up to work, but legally not illegally. Green card, the whole nine yards, just like some of the Marines I had, just like some friends in college I had.
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He actually didn't like it very much when he came up here.
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It was a really interesting story. Uh, because he came up as a teenager, you know, had to leave his friends, etc. And his father got told by immigration services that if his kids didn't come up, they were gonna lose their green card. So he moved the whole family. Said, y'all are all coming up here. He was already up here working. And they stayed, and this young man has gone to college, gotten a degree, which is irrelevant whether they go to college or not, right? But the point is that he's worked, become a productive citizen, has a wife, a kid.
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But they did it the right way. They and they're an American now.
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They're not a Mexican American, right? They're just an American American. And the reason I tell you that, there's two. One all of the immigrants that I have talked to, without exception, whether it's first or second generation, who have come here legally or their parents have come here legally.
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They are not fans at all of the illegal immigrants. The mass Muslim immigrants. Without exception, in my experience. And you don't see the Mexican flag waving.
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You don't see the Somali flag waving. You don't see them celebrating those independence days. You see them celebrating July 4th. You see them celebrating the American flag.
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There's a huge difference.
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Most of the time. Most of the time, I'm sure not all of the time. Between the immigrants that come here legally and do it the right way. And those that don't. And it's just important to remember that it's important to see those little stories, talk about those stories when we get the chance to. 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. Sure to appreciate y'all joining me, giving me a little bit of your time and attention, a little piece of your day. I will try and use it wisely. For those of y'all who continue to tell others about the podcast, share it with others, write reviews for the American Soul Podcast and America's Christian Heritage Podcast, thank you. For those of y'all who have found the Countryside Book Series and checked it out, read those books, left reviews of those, shared it with others, thank you. Very grateful for that. And for those of y'all, most of all, who continue to pray for me and the podcast, the writing, my family, thank you. Very, very grateful for your prayers. Need them and want them.
Father, thank you for today. Thank you for you, Father, and your son Jesus Christ and your Holy Spirit. Thank you for the trials that you put in our life, Father. That strengthen our faith, that make us better servants to you and your son.
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Help us to remember that we're not alone, that it's not unique. That the followers of your son suffer. That your son suffered. Remind us, help us to remember that this life is not our home. This is not paradise. This is not heaven. We're passing through. And we're given the opportunity to serve you. Be with our leaders in the pulpit and in the state.
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Please bless them. Give them wisdom and courage and a strong faith.
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Help them to rule in fear of you, to lead in fear of you. Be with our military law enforcement firefighters, EMS.
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Keep them safe, keep their families safe. And guide my words here, Father, please, in your Son's name we pray. And please, Father, watch over those listening. Be with them, be with their families, bless their marriages, bless their children, bless their nation, wherever they are around the world, listening, and across America here, listening.
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Comfort those who are anxious, scared, fearful for whatever reason.
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And God, my words here, Father, please, in your Son's name we pray. Amen.
You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance. Likewise teach the older women to be reverent in the way that they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything, set them an example by doing what is good in your teaching. Show integrity, seriousness, and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. Folks, if you're if you're promoting roles of men and women according to Scripture, right? Like Titus 2 here, for example, you have nothing to be ashamed about. The people, especially those who claim to be Christian, that rebel against the roles and responsibilities of men and women, they have something to be ashamed about. Don't ever feel guilty or bad or belittled as much as you can control it. I know there's some really harsh people out there, when you're promoting God's roles and responsibilities for men and women.
Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about, but that was not God's way, for the scriptures tell us Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith. When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. But people are counted as righteous not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners. David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it. Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight? Yes, what a joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin. Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised Gentiles? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his faith, but how did this happen? Was he counted as righteous only after he was circumcised, or was it before he was circumcised? Clearly, God accepted Abraham before he was circumcised. Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous even before he was circumcised. Good thing here to remember about baptism, folks, right? And good works both. Those are outward indications of inward faith. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith. And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they have the same kind of faith Abraham had before he was circumcised. Again, you see, it's not the circumcision that saves, it's the faith. Right? It's not the good works that save. The good works are an indication of the faith which saves. The baptism is an indication of the faith which saves.
Psalm 13, one through six. O Lord, how long will you forget me forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God, restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don't let my enemies gloat, saying, We have defeated him. Don't let them rejoice at my downfall. But I trust in your unfailing love. I will rejoice because you because you have rescued me. I will sing to the Lord, because he is good to me. You see, even King David, folks, anguish, sorrow, feeling like his enemies had the upper hand.
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If you're struggling, remember that. Right? We all are struggling to one degree or another. We all have anguish, sorrow, heartache.
Proverbs 19, 15 through 16, lazy people sound sleeply. No, lazy people sleep soundly. There we go. But idleness leaves them hungry. Keep the commandments and keep your life. Despising them leads to death. Interesting when I read that verse 16 right there, the last part of it, despising them leads to death. Politically, in America, the left despises Muslims despise the commandments of God and Jesus Christ.
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Pretty easy to make the argument when you're talking about abortion, genocide over the past hundred and twenty years with both socialism, communism, Nazism, Fascism, and Islam. That those lead to death.
If you were looking for a family-friendly middle-grade read, if you would check out the Countryside series, there are um two books in the series so far. It's kind of like Narnia the Hobbit, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter. And if you enjoy them, if you'd leave a review online, uh that helps, especially the five-star reviews, help others to find them. I would be very grateful for that. Same thing with the podcast. If you feel like you're getting something out of it on a regular basis, if you would leave a review somewhere for that. The American Soul or America's Christian Heritage Podcast, that helps immensely. And I would be very grateful for that as well. And if you have five or ten dollars a month, you can donate to the podcast. That helps podcast, writing, etc. So thank you for any or all of those.
Medal of Honor for today. William J. Carson, rank was musician, U.S. Civil War, Echo Company, 1st Battalion, 15th U.S. Infantry, U.S. Army, September 19th, 1863, Chickamawaga, Georgia. Probably didn't say that right, I apologize. At a critical stage in the battle when the 14th Corps line lines were wavering and in disorder, he, on his own initiative, bugled to the colors amid the 18th U.S. Infantry who formed by him and held the enemy. Within a few minutes, he repeated his action amid the wavering 2nd Ohio Infantry. This bugling deceived the enemy who believed reinforcements had arrived, thus they delayed their attack. Accredited to North Greenfield, Highland County, Ohio, not awarded posthumously, presented January 27, 1894. Born August 10th, 1840, Washington County, Pennsylvania, died December 13, 1913, Indianapolis, Indiana. Buried Beach Grove Cemetery, MH4, Tac 14, Muniz, Indiana. William J. Carson.
I wanted to take a minute real quick. We're going to get into the historical heritage quote for today, but if you don't have them, I use these often, at least as a starting point or frame of reference, if nothing else. There's three books that I highly recommend if you're really interested in the ties between America and God and Jesus Christ as a nation. The American Patriots Bible, edited by Dr. Richard Lee, the Founders Bible, published by the Wall Builders Association, and America's God and Country Encyclopedia of Quotations by William J. Federer. Those all should be primary textbooks in every classroom across the country. If they were, if we had been teaching this, teaching them, we would not be at the crisis that we're at today in America. They should be primary as Fisher Ames, the man who actually worded the establishment clause that has been used to so much destruction over the last 80 years. Fisher Ames actually said the Bible should be the primary text, right? These books ought to be prime primary texts in every classroom and public school across the land.
Quote for today Werner von Braun, Director of NASA, father of the American Space Program, May of 1974. One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all. The better we understand the intricacies of the universe and all it harbors, the more reason we have found to marvel at the inherent design upon which it is based. To be forced to believe only one conclusion, that everything in the universe happened by chance would violate the very objectivity of science itself. What random process could produce the brains of a man or the system of the human eye? They, the evolutionists, challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun? They say they cannot visualize a designer. Well, can a physicist visualize an electron? What strange rationale makes some physicists accept the inconceivable electron is real while refusing to accept the reality of a designer on the ground that they cannot conceive him? It's a great quote, folks, when you're talking about people that try and use to say that science and God are incompatible. Right? It's also it also proves a lie that a lot of these people that claim to be scientists really are, because if they were, they wouldn't demand, force the belief of only one conclusion that all of this happened by chance, which if you know the odds of that, I remember reading a I can't remember the doctor's name, a book years ago, maybe out of MIT somewhere up in the Northeast, one of those colleges. And he was talking about the fact that the chance that we're here on Earth the way it is, is the same chance of a tornado going through a junkyard and ending up putting a fully functional Boeing 747 or some kind of aircraft together fueled and ready to fly. So impossible. Anyway, Werner von Braun, Father of the American Space Program, May 1974. Our
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 this day, 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. God bless your families, your marriages if you're married, your kids if you have them, 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.
