Search — Theology Explorer

judges Deuteronomy 17 judges Deuteronomy 17 Levitical priests

Deuteronomy 17 describes the role of judge: deciding hard cases involving homicide, legal rights, and assault — with Levitical priests assisting.

Defining the judge's role from Deuteronomy 17

Deborah Levitical priests judicial authority

Deborah functioned as a supreme-court type judge handling hard cases — this is public, magisterial authority, not private counseling.

Affirming the public nature of Deborah's authority

Deborah Levites Aimee Byrd

Aimee Byrd claims Deborah was 'the word of God to Israel' since they couldn't access Scripture — Mike says this is false; the Levites taught the law throughout the land.

Rebutting Byrd's claim about Deborah

eldership priesthood pagan priestesses

Introduction to the priesthood topic: women were priests in other pagan cultures but forbidden in Israel under the Law.

Transitioning to the priesthood discussion

1 Corinthians 15 Romans 5 typology priesthood 1 Corinthians 15

Priests were teachers of the law, determined cleanness, mediated between people and God, bore the sins of the people — typologically pointing to Christ.

Functions of the priesthood and typological significance

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 biblical authority 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 women's silence in church

Introduction of 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 as a highly controversial passage

Mike reads the passage and acknowledges modern readers will find it offensive, but states his main concern is understanding what it actually means in context.

appeal to the law law and Christian behavior Andy Stanley

Style Argument 4: Paul would never appeal to the law to endorse church discipline -- rebutted

Mike addresses the claim that Paul's reference to 'the law' in verse 34 is un-Pauline.

1 Corinthians 9:8-11 Deuteronomy 25:4 1 Corinthians 9:8-11 Deuteronomy 25:4 ministerial support

Paul appeals to the law in 1 Corinthians 9:8-11 as a direct counterexample

Mike provides a clear example of Paul using the OT law to establish principles for Christian behavior.

1 Corinthians 14:36 quotation-refutation view 1 Corinthians 14:36 e/eta (disjunctive particle)

Greek hinge point: The disjunctive particle 'e' (eta) in verse 36

Mike examines the Greek word translated 'what' or 'or' in verse 36 that carries the entire weight of the refutation argument.

quotation-refutation view Pauline refutation style

Paul never addresses the specific content he allegedly refutes

Mike highlights that if Paul is refuting verses 34-35, he never actually addresses any of the specific claims.

Romans 3:28-29 e/eta (disjunctive particle) Romans 3:28-29 rhetorical reinforcement

The disjunctive particle 'e' reinforces rather than refutes what precedes it, shown from Romans 3:28-29

Mike demonstrates how the Greek particle functions using Romans 3:28-29 as an example.

Genesis 2 1 Corinthians 11:8-10 Genesis 2 Gordon Fee Pauline style

Pauline style argument for the refutation view: three points that fail

Mike addresses three ways proponents claim Paul would not have said what is in verses 34-35.

Genesis 2 1 Corinthians 11:8-10 creation order Genesis 2 appeal to the law

Paul already cited the relevant OT passages in 1 Corinthians 11

Mike explains why Paul does not quote a specific OT verse when saying 'as the law also says' in 14:34.

the law Roman law Jewish oral law

What does 'the law' mean in 1 Corinthians 14:34?

Mike addresses the debate over what 'the law' refers to: Roman law, Jewish law, local custom, or the Old Testament.

1 Corinthians 14:21 Isaiah 28:11-12 John 12:34 1 Corinthians 14:21 Isaiah 28:11-12 John 12:34

Paul uses 'the law' to refer to all of scripture, not just the Pentateuch

Mike argues that 'law' in Paul's usage can mean the Old Testament generally, citing 1 Corinthians 14:21.

John 15:25 Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 law as scripture John 15:25 Psalm 35:19

Jesus also uses 'law' to refer to Psalms, not just the Pentateuch

Mike provides additional evidence that 'the law' was used broadly in the NT.

1 Corinthians 11 creation order submission 1 Corinthians 11

Education View Hinge 3: Why is submission an issue if it is about education?

Mike identifies the fatal disconnect between the education view and Paul's mention of submission.

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

Jesus' use of Sabbath examples to push back against over-application

Mike draws a parallel between Jesus pushing back on Pharisees' Sabbath rules and gender role over-application.

John 7:23 Matthew 12 John 7:23 Matthew 12 Sabbath healing

Mike Winger idea 2024-03-01

Encouragement to women pastors who have changed their minds

Mike directly addresses women currently in pastoral roles who now agree with his conclusions.

2 Kings 22-23 women pastors Philip Payne King Josiah

Mike Winger idea 2023-11-22

Paul's emphasis on the humanity/birth of Jesus supports a childbearing reference

Mike shows that Paul does emphasize the Incarnation and birth of Christ in his theology.

Galatians 4:4 Incarnation Galatians 4:4 born of a woman

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-21

Orthodox Jews — who observe the law far more strictly than JWs — permit blood transfusions and even organize blood drives, refuting the JW interpretation.

Mike uses Orthodox Jewish practice as an authoritative comparative example to undermine the Watchtower's reading of the OT blood laws.

blood transfusion eating blood prohibition Mosaic law applicability

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-21

Summary of the biblical argument: blood transfusions are not eating blood; even if eating blood were prohibited, transfusions would be exempt; in Christ there is no food-purity prohibition at all; and even if there were, saving life overrides it.

Mike synthesizes the full biblical case before opening to Q&A.

blood transfusion Christian freedom greater good principle

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Protestant counter using Romans 3:28 and Romans 4 — Abraham justified by faith, not works

Presenting the Protestant response to James 2:24

Romans 3:28 Romans 4 justification by faith Abraham Romans 3:28

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Degrees of sin — some sins are worse than others; the Law has different consequences; Jesus said some will suffer greater judgment

Within the Q&A on murder and saving faith

Matthew degrees of sin Mosaic Law judgment

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Q&A: Romans 4:16 — is it about saving faith? Is Abraham a prototype for saving faith?

Viewer asks Mike's view on Romans 4:16

Romans 4:16 justification by faith Abraham saving faith

Mike Winger idea 2018-03-21

Catholic apologetic response: the amulets were 'lucky charms' not idolatrous — Jimmy Akin's baseball sock analogy

Catholic attempt to neutralize the mortal sin problem in 2 Maccabees

eisegesis Catholic Answers idolatry

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-22

Christians are not under the Mosaic law — Sabbath observance is a liberty, not a requirement for salvation

Mike's rebuttal to Kim's Sabbath-as-salvation teaching.

Romans 14:5 Colossians 2:16-17 Sabbath law vs. grace Romans 14:5

Mike Winger idea 2018-08-16

Romans 2 and conscience: Gentiles do by nature what the law requires, showing the work of the law written on their hearts — grounds their accountability in certain knowledge, not probability

Sye's argument from Romans 2 for the certainty of moral knowledge in all people

Romans 2 Romans 2 accountability general revelation

Exodus 22 sin Old Testament law penalty

Old Testament law assigns different penalties to different sins, which itself demonstrates that God does not treat all sin the same.

Mike begins his Old Testament survey by pointing to the differentiated penal codes in the Mosaic law.

Hebrews 2:2 hermeneutics Old Testament law hierarchy of sin

Hebrews 2:2 confirms that Old Testament punishments were morally just retributions, not merely symbolic — validating the OT penal code as a genuine moral revelation.

Mike anticipates a possible objection that the OT law was purely symbolic and therefore its differentiated penalties do not reveal moral truths about sin.

1 Kings 16:25 hierarchy of sin 1 Kings 16:25 Omri

1 Kings 16:25 — Omri 'did more evil than all who were before him,' implying qualitative, not merely quantitative, differences in wickedness.

Mike moves from the law to narrative descriptions of individuals to show that Scripture uses qualitative language about degrees of evil.

Hebrews 10:28-29 hierarchy of sin Hebrews 10:28-29 rejection of gospel

Hebrews 10:28-29 — Rejecting the gospel of Christ deserves a worse punishment than violating the Mosaic law, establishing a clear hierarchy between sins.

Mike examines a key New Testament passage that explicitly compares the severity of two different categories of sin.

James 2:10 James 2:11 Romans 3:23 hermeneutics exegesis James 2:10

James 2:10 does not teach that all sins are identical; it teaches that breaking any one point of the law makes a person a law-breaker before the same Lawgiver — a relational, not equivalence, statement.

Mike addresses the primary proof-text used to argue all sin is the same and offers an exegesis that resolves the apparent tension.

Mike Winger idea 2018-12-12

Luke 16:16–17 and Matthew 5:17–18 show Jesus's own high view of Scripture — he came to fulfill, not edit, the law

Winger marshals Jesus's direct statements about the permanence and authority of Scripture to counter Zahnd's 'Jesus edits the Bible' method.

Matthew-5-17 Luke-16-17 Mark-12-36 law apologetics Jesus

Galatians 4:4 Galatians 4:4 incarnation Paul the Apostle

Galatians 4:4 — Paul affirms Jesus was a human being born of a woman, born under the Law (i.e., Jewish)

First in a series of scriptures Mike walks through to show what Paul knew about the historical Jesus.

Romans 15:8 Romans 15:8 circumcision Jesus as Jewish

Romans 15:8 — Christ as servant of the circumcised fulfilling OT promises

Paired with Galatians 4:4 to further establish Jesus's Jewish identity and Messianic role.

Galatians 4:4 Galatians 4:4 Jesus as Jewish born under the law

Galatians 4:4 'born under the law' consistently refers to Jews in Paul's usage

Q&A follow-up: clarification on whether 'born under the law' in Galatians 4:4 implies Jewish identity.

Romans 14 James (brother of Jesus) Acts 21:17-26 circumcision Nazirite vow Romans 14

Acts 21:17-26 — Paul participates in a Nazirite vow to demonstrate continued Torah observance as a Jewish believer

Q&A: question about Paul's behavior in Acts 21 and what it tells us about his relationship to Torah.

salvation conscience grace

Bishop Barron's answer: Vatican II teaches a person can be saved outside explicit Christian faith through conscience or sincere law-keeping

Mike quotes and plays a clip of Barron's response to Ben

Acts 26:4-6 Paul salvation sincerity

Paul before his conversion: a counterexample to Barron's 'sincere conscience' argument

Mike uses Paul's pre-conversion biography as a test case

Philippians 3:4-9 Paul righteousness Philippians 3:4-9

Philippians 3:4-9 — Paul counts his pre-conversion Jewish credentials as 'rubbish' compared to knowing Christ

Mike reads Philippians 3 as a direct biblical answer to Ben's argument

Romans 3:19-20 justification law Romans 3:19-20

Romans 3:19-20 — the law's purpose is to reveal sin and stop boasting, not to justify

Mike states the biblical theology of the law's function

Galatians 2:15-16 Paul justification works of the law

Galatians 2:15-16 — even Jewish believers know that justification is by faith in Christ, not works of the law

Mike adds Galatians to the scriptural case

Matthew 5:27-28 Sermon on the Mount law Matthew 5:27-28

Sermon on the Mount: Jesus internalizes the law — lust equals adultery in the heart

Mike illustrates why outward law-keeping is not sufficient

Romans 10:4 faith righteousness law

Romans 10:4 — Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes

The climax of the Romans 10 argument

Robert Barron grace plus works Catholic soteriology

Critique of Barron's theology: grace plus law — the Catholic soteriological framework

Mike synthesizes his critique of Barron's position