Search — Theology Explorer

Revelation 6:10 afterlife state of the dead Revelation 6:10

Revelation: saints in heaven concerned for earthly events, asking "how long, Lord?"

Continuing discussion on dead's awareness of earth

James 1:14-15 sanctification sin temptation

Q5: Do Christians sin every second? Distinguishing temptation from sin

Response to question about frequency of sin in the Christian life

Galatians 6:1 sin habitual sin humility

Galatians 6: distinction between living in sin vs. occasional sin

Continuing Q5 on Christian sin frequency

spiritual authority Jehovah's Witnesses baptism

Q6 (wrong week): Advice for someone leaving a cult (JW) and finding a church; overcoming spiritual abuse

Response to question about choosing a church after leaving JW (note: Mike realized partway through this was from a previous week's questions)

Mark 11:22-25 Daniel 1 Kings 8 prayer temple indwelling Holy Spirit

Q7: Daniel prayed without a temple — praying toward the temple as access to God (OT parallel to praying in Jesus' name)

Response to question about Mark 11:22-25 and temple-based prayer

1 Corinthians 6:19 prayer temple indwelling Holy Spirit

Believers as the temple — the astonishing access to God available through Christ

Continuation of Q7; reflection on prayer and access to God

Matthew Vines biblical authority apologetics homosexuality

Diagnosing the root belief driving a gay-identifying Christian friend — four possible positions

Continuing Q8 — strategy for engaging friend

Hebrews 12:2 Holy Spirit blasphemy of the Holy Spirit anxiety

Q13: Anxiety about salvation and blasphemy of the Holy Spirit — prayer and resource recommendation

Response to viewer ("Spazzy Jazzy") anxious about salvation and blasphemy of Holy Spirit

Proverbs 3:5 Trinity epistemology faith and reason

Q14: "Don't lean on your own understanding" (Prov 3:5) — using understanding vs. leaning on it

Response to question about how to know truth when you can't trust your own understanding or tradition

election soteriology God's love

Q15: Does God love us unconditionally? Love requires some conditionality; relational nature of love

Response to multi-part question about God's unconditional love

1 Corinthians 11:10 Ephesians 5:22-25 headship submission marriage

Q19: 1 Corinthians 11:10 and Ephesians 5:23 — no biblical grounds for a husband disciplining his wife

Response to question about whether husbands have authority to discipline wives based on headship texts

Matthew 25:41 Revelation 20:10 metaphor eschatology fire

Q20: Is hell a literal place of fire and gnashing of teeth, or metaphorical? Open question, research project planned

Response to question about the nature of hell

Christian worldview kingdom of God eternal security

God is good and His promises remain — our eternal kingdom is incorruptible and preserved in Christ

Opening encouragement at the start of the Q&A, framed against social and political polarization in early 2021

discipleship kingdom of God Christian political engagement

Christians risk confusing Christ's kingdom with contemporary political events, as did the first disciples

Transition from opening encouragement into a warning about political entrenchment

John 18:36 Christian fellowship kingdom of God Christian political engagement

Political disagreement should not fracture Christian fellowship; the kingdom of Christ is not of this world

Question from Mariano Rogers about reaching a fellow believer deceived by mainstream media regarding conservative politics

John 18:36 Peter kingdom of God Christian political engagement

Christians should not use political grievances as justification for storming government or causing violence

Closing thought on political question, referencing the January 6, 2021 Capitol events contextually

Psalm 37:4 hermeneutics prosperity gospel covetousness

Psalm 37:4 is misused in Word of Faith teaching as a blank-check promise to receive material desires

Question from Lungil Zandi about how to read Psalm 37:4 without falling into a Word of Faith trap

Psalm 37 contextual interpretation eschatology prosperity gospel

Psalm 37 in context is an encouragement to the righteous who are NOT experiencing abundance, not a promise of material wealth

Contextual reading of Psalm 37 to correct the Word of Faith misuse

Hebrews 11:31 Joshua 2 faith Rahab Christian ethics

Rahab's deception of those seeking the spies is commended in Hebrews 11, suggesting not all deception is sinful

Biblical case study on deception and the ethics of intelligence work

vocation Christian ethics moral accountability

Moral limits apply in every job; a Christian working in intelligence may face a moment requiring resignation

Concluding thought on Christians in intelligence work

self-sacrifice marriage love

Love in marriage means giving yourself to your spouse regardless of desire — selfless love, not feeling-dependent love

Practical application of 1 Corinthians 7 to the questioner's situation

marriage lust pornography

Lust toward others outside marriage diminishes desire for your spouse — exclusivity of sexual attention is essential

Second issue addressed in the marriage/intimacy question — possible causes of diminished desire

Desire is nice but not required for loving action in marriage

Closing thought on the marriage/intimacy question

marriage love covenant

idolatry government early church

A prayer opening Congress in the name of the Hindu god Brahma is blasphemy — but the appropriate Christian response is not rebellion

Question from Gorilla Christianity about a US Congress session opened in the name of Brahma

Philippians 3:13-14 calling Paul discouragement

The feeling of "not being there yet" in Christian growth is healthy when it motivates pressing on rather than giving up

Question from Derry Draws about how to grow spiritually when the fire feels gone

1 Peter 3:1 submission 1 Peter 3:1 marriage

The claim that a wife's submission will cause her husband to repent is not biblical — each person is accountable for their own behavior

Rebuttal of a specific style of marriage counseling

1 Peter 3:1 submission Sarah Abraham

1 Peter 3:1 says a wife's godly conduct MAY win her husband — not that it WILL — preserving his moral agency

Careful reading of 1 Peter 3:1 regarding wives with unbelieving or disobedient husbands

Abraham salvation universalism

Those who lived before Christ or never heard the gospel can still be saved — through faith in the true God, ultimately through Christ

Question from Telly Kaler about how people who lived before Jesus will be judged

Prayer to Mary and the glorification of Mary in the rosary are the primary theological problems for an ex-Catholic

Question from Calm 23 — an ex-Catholic still doing the daily rosary, seeking a replacement devotional

Mary prayer Catholicism

Hebrews 4:15 Hebrews 2:17 Jesus temptation incarnation

Hebrews 2:17 — "made like his brothers in every respect" does not imply Jesus had a sinful nature or that humans are born innocent

Question from Troy Mulberry about Hebrews 2:17 and human nature at birth

Romans 14:23 Romans 14:23 conscience faith

Romans 14:23 — "whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" — was not addressing all-encompassing anxiety about every decision

Question from Mr/Miss Spazzy Jazzy about a weak conscience producing doubt about everything basic

Romans 14:23 Romans 14:23 conscience faith

A hyper-sensitive conscience projects fear onto others and paralyzes daily life — the solution is more faith, not more scrutiny

Continuing response to the overly-scrupulous conscience question

Romans 14 Romans 14 Christian liberty conscience

Church attendance decisions during COVID are a matter of conscience — Christians should not cause division over this

Question from Israel Garcia about whether Christians are obligated to attend church during the pandemic

Judges Judges 20 Judges suffering divine providence

Judges 20 — Israel's early defeats against Benjamin were not deception by God but a means of bringing them to their knees

Question from Jason and Alana about why God apparently deceived Israel by telling them to fight before giving them victory

Judges Judges typology Samson

Judges is a book designed to show total human depravity — God is the only hero; even the deliverers fail

Broader theological point drawn from the Judges 20 discussion

Mark 8:24 Jesus Mark 8:24 healing

The blind man in Mark who saw "men like trees walking" knew what trees were despite being blind — blind people have extensive non-visual knowledge

Question from Angela about how a man born blind could know what trees look like (Mark 8:24)

Matthew 27:45 Matthew 27:51 historical reliability crucifixion extra-biblical evidence

There is extra-biblical evidence (possibly Tacitus) for the darkness at the crucifixion

Question from Lior about extra-biblical evidence for the earthquake and darkness at the crucifixion

Christian liberty conscience civil government

Christians are not free to disobey government laws simply because they seem pointless — but there is a threshold of oppression where resistance becomes legitimate

Question from Jared's Story about UK COVID laws and Christian obligation to comply

Baptizing children should not be delayed based purely on age — genuine faith at any age is sufficient

Question from April B about baptizing her 8-year-old who has made a genuine profession of faith

baptism salvation faith

perspective Christian worldview kingdom of God

The Hobbit analogy: getting into the Word is like climbing above the fog to regain vision and direction

Transition into the bonus questions — encouragement for the viewers

2 Corinthians 2 baptism grace re-baptism

Re-baptism is not prescribed in Scripture but can be appropriate when the original baptism lacked genuine understanding

Question from Andrew Green about whether re-baptisms are biblical

Ephesians 4:30 Ephesians 4:31 Trinity Holy Spirit Ephesians 4:30

The Holy Spirit specifically is said to grieve because He is the unifying presence dwelling within believers — our division grieves Him most directly

Question from Sandra about why Ephesians 4:30 says the Holy Spirit grieves but not the Father or Son

Ephesians 4:31 Matthew 7:3-5 Holy Spirit self-examination bitterness

Bitterness, clamor, and slander toward political opponents grieve the Spirit — Christians must deal with their own carnality first

Application of Ephesians 4:30-31 to the current political/cultural climate

1 Timothy 2:5 1 Timothy 2:5 Temple theology Ark of the Covenant

The temple's empty space at the center of worship is the model for where all prayer and worship must be directed — God alone, with no mediating object

Continued answer on icons/images, drawing on the temple design.

Prayer Idolatry Catholic devotional practices

Catholic saint icons carry a superstitious protection function incompatible with biblical worship

Practical application of the icons question to Catholic devotional objects.

Acts 2 Acts 2 Tongues / glossolalia Day of Pentecost

Acts 2 tongues were real human foreign languages — each person heard in their own native language, not a single universal language

Question from Joel Holberg about whether the apostles in Acts 2 spoke a language everyone understood or each spoke a different foreign language.

Acts 2 Romans 1:16 Acts 2 Romans 1:16 Pentecost as missionary event

Pentecost was a divine missionary strategy — God gathered diaspora Jews to Jerusalem so the gospel could radiate back to every nation

Continued Acts 2 discussion on why the miracle happened when and where it did.

Acts 2:13 Tongues / glossolalia Acts 2:13 Drunk in the Spirit

"Drunk in the Spirit" is not supported by Acts 2 — the mockers said they were drunk because they couldn't understand the foreign languages

Bonus note during Acts 2 discussion on the misuse of Acts 2:13 to justify charismatic "drunk in the Spirit" practices.

1 Corinthians 14 2 Timothy 1:6 1 Corinthians 14 Elijah Spiritual gifts

Though gifts cannot be taught, believers can grow in their expression and use of already-given gifts

Nuanced development of the spiritual gifts question.