Search — Theology Explorer

Luke 9:54-56 James and John Steven Anderson Luke 9:54-56 spirit of Christ vs. spirit of destruction

Luke 9:54-56: Jesus rebukes disciples who want to call down fire to destroy enemies

Biblical response to Anderson's death-wish for homosexuals

Matthew 9:11-13 Hosea 6:6 Matthew 9:11-13 tax collectors and sinners compassion over sacrifice

Matthew 9:11-13: Jesus eats with tax collectors and sinners — his heart is toward sinners

Jesus's posture of reaching toward sinners rather than destroying them

Ezekiel 18:23 repentance Ezekiel 18:23 God's heart toward sinners

Ezekiel 18:23: God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked

God's heart from the Old Testament itself

2 Peter 3:9 repentance 2 Peter 3:9 God's patience

2 Peter 3:9: God is patient, not wishing any to perish but all to come to repentance

God's eschatological patience reveals his salvific desire

Leviticus 1 Timothy 1:8 hermeneutics Leviticus Steven Anderson

Anderson misuses the Old Testament law by applying it selectively to one group

Critique of Anderson's theological method

Galatians 4:21 Galatians 4:21 Steven Anderson law and gospel

Galatians 4:21: Those who want to be under the law do not understand the law

Paul's argument against misapplying the law

Romans 3:19-23 knowledge of sin Romans 3:19-23 purpose of the law

Romans 3:19-23: The purpose of the law is to close every mouth and make all the world accountable

The true purpose of the OT law

Romans 3:21-24 justification by faith grace righteousness of God

Romans 3:21-24: The law leads to Christ — righteousness through faith for all who believe

The law's positive function: pointing to Christ

Matthew 5 Matthew 5 Sermon on the Mount universal sinfulness

Jesus in Matthew 5 intensifies the law — lust equals adultery in the heart, hate equals murder

Jesus's Sermon on the Mount expands the scope of sin

Luke 13 judgment hypocrisy universal sinfulness

Luke 13: Jesus refutes the idea that some sinners deserve judgment while others are better

Jesus on universal deserving of judgment

Galatians 3:24 justification by faith Galatians 3:24 purpose of the law

Galatians 3:24: The law is a tutor to lead us to Christ

The law's teleological purpose

theocracy kingdom of God Steven Anderson

The OT law is not a blueprint for running governments or establishing theocracies

Correct application of OT law to civic life

gospel God's love universal sinfulness

The Christian message holds two truths together: all have sin AND God loves and saves

Proper gospel balance

Isaiah 53:6 messianic prophecy substitutionary atonement Isaiah 53:6

Isaiah 53:6: The Lord caused the iniquity of all to fall on Jesus

Substitutionary atonement as the solution the law points to

2 Corinthians 5:21 imputed righteousness 2 Corinthians 5:21 substitutionary atonement

2 Corinthians 5:21: God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf

Substitutionary atonement — the great exchange

gospel substitutionary atonement Steven Anderson

The gospel reframes Anderson's death-button: the button falls on Jesus, not on us

Applying substitutionary atonement to Anderson's rhetoric

God's love sin Steven Anderson

Two truths the world and Anderson each reject: all sin is terrible; yet God loves and saves

Symmetry of error between secular culture and Anderson

John 10:10 John 10:10 abundant life Jesus's mission

John 10:10: Jesus came that they may have life and have it abundantly

Response to Anderson's "put a bullet in your head" advice

Matthew 11:28 John 3:16-17 salvation Jesus's mission Matthew 11:28

Matthew 11:28 and John 3:16-17: Jesus's actual advice — come to me; God sent Son to save not judge

What Jesus would actually say to sinners

John 12 salvation Steven Anderson homosexuality

Anderson claims homosexuals cannot be saved; cites John 12 which is irrelevant

Analysis of Anderson's third clip on salvation

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 salvation justification 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Such were some of you — homosexuals and all manner of sinners were washed, sanctified, justified

Direct scriptural refutation that homosexuals cannot be saved

1 Timothy 1 Timothy false teaching gospel

Anderson's compromised gospel: sounds biblical in some clips but denies gospel in others

Assessing the full picture of Anderson's teaching

biblical worldview universal sinfulness secular worldview

Worldview gap: secular view — people are generally good and deserve heaven; biblical view — the opposite

Explaining why gospel sounds offensive to secular ears

sin identity vs. behavior homosexuality

Identity vs. behavior: biblical view calls homosexuality a behavioral issue, not core identity

Explaining the communication breakdown between Christians and LGBTQ+ individuals

repentance homosexuality universal sinfulness

The Christian message is not targeting homosexuality but all behavior against God

Clarifying that Christian ethics are universally applied, not targeted

Jeremiah 2:13 idolatry Jeremiah 2:13 fountain of living waters

Jeremiah 2:13: Two evils — forsaking the fountain of living waters and digging broken cisterns

The nature of all sin: turning from God toward inadequate substitutes

textual criticism Bible translation Steven Anderson

Anderson is King James Only — his church's statement of faith lists KJV without error as first article

Other theological problems with Anderson beyond homosexuality teaching

repentance false gospel Steven Anderson

Anderson teaches that preaching repentance is a false gospel

Another major doctrinal error of Anderson

James White James White Michael Brown Steven Anderson

Prominent Christians have already refuted Anderson for years — James White, Michael Brown, Apologia Studios

Situating the critique in the broader Christian community

Romans 10:2 discernment zeal without knowledge Romans 10:2

Advice to Anderson followers: recognize the problems and apply a filter

Pastoral counsel to people in Anderson's orbit

media discernment Steven Anderson platform and influence

Advice to everyone else: unsubscribe, stop watching, starve Anderson's platform

Practical counsel on engaging (or not) with Anderson's content

Steven Anderson deplatforming religious freedom

On deplatforming: Mike is ambivalent; prefers targeting donors over removing freedoms

Response to calls to remove Anderson from PayPal and online platforms

John the son of Zebedee Peter Gospel of John Gospel of Mark

The Gospels (especially Mark and John) contain eyewitness testimony, serving as evidence for a historical Jesus

The Gospels as historical sources

Richard Carrier Tacitus Jesus mythicism

Richard Carrier's claim that all extra-biblical sources simply copy Gospel accounts is refuted by Tacitus's late date and hostile stance

Refuting Carrier's hypothesis that non-Christian sources merely echo the Gospels

Paul Jesus mythicism historicity of Jesus

The dying and rising gods parallel argument fails because Paul and non-Christian sources still have to be explained independently of the Gospels

Initial response to the Greco-Roman dying/rising gods parallel argument

Paul Richard Carrier Jesus mythicism

Richard Carrier's claim that Paul only describes a Jesus in outer space, never on earth

Presenting a key mythicist argument from Richard Carrier about Paul

scholarly consensus historicity of Jesus Jesus's miracles

Audience question: "Consensus holds Jesus existed but was not the Christ of the Gospels" — Licona: that is not a consensus position

Audience Q&A — addressing the claimed scholarly consensus against Gospel accounts

Plutarch Mike Licona historical methodology

Licona's book Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? required classicist review to avoid errors in Plutarch material — illustrating disciplinary boundaries

Personal example of the importance of disciplinary specialization

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Winger's own position: open but not normative — he agrees with cessationists on apostleship and a likely reduction of healing gifts, but rejects full cessationism.

Having refuted the cessationist use of 1 Cor 13, Winger clarifies his own nuanced view to avoid being read as a rampant charismatic.

apostolic office cessationism continuationism

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-17

Q&A: How to share the gospel with a dying family member who may not be saved

Question from someone whose family member appears to be unsaved and is likely dying soon.

evangelism gospel death and dying

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-24

Many are called but few are chosen; preaching the gospel to all implies a genuine offer for all

Mike uses the Great Commission and related teaching to argue against limited atonement's pastoral coherence.

Matthew 22:14 Mark 16:15 Great Commission gospel proclamation limited atonement

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

God's wrath and love coexist; stripping either distorts the gospel

Mike addresses the theological error of removing wrath from God's character.

God's love God's wrath penal substitutionary atonement

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Positional 'in Christ' removes believers from the domain of God's wrath

Mike clarifies how believers relate to divine wrath in light of the question about prosperity gospel preachers.

Ephesians 1-3 in Christ salvation Ephesians 1-3

crucifixion stauros Douglas's New Bible Dictionary

Full quote from Douglas's New Bible Dictionary supports a traditional cross, not a stake

When the full entry from Douglas's New Bible Dictionary is read, it describes three historical types of crosses and leans toward the traditional lowercase-T cross for Jesus's crucifixion.

Matthew 27 John 19 crucifixion cross Matthew 27

Gospel evidence: titulus (sign above head) requires a lowercase-T cross, not a stake

Two of the four Gospels record that a sign (the titulus) was placed above Jesus's head on the cross, naming his charge. This detail is evidence for a lowercase-T shaped cross rather than a torture stake.

John 19:19 New World Translation cross torture stake

Q&A: Does the Watchtower's New World Translation include a sign above Jesus's head on the stake?

A viewer asks whether the New World Translation includes the Gospel detail of a sign above Jesus's head, since that detail would complicate the torture-stake theory.