Search — Theology Explorer

discipleship evangelism church mission

The church must maintain evangelism as its primary posture toward unbelievers; community service without gospel proclamation is insufficient

Response to question about churches focusing solely on community service vs. discipleship and evangelism

apologetics methodology research method primary sources

Footnotes are the most reliable method for tracking primary sources and objective evidence in apologetics research

Response to question about finding primary sources in a sea of biased online content

John 8 Mary Magdalene textual criticism John 8

John 8 (woman caught in adultery) has significant textual critical issues; there is no good case for identifying her as Mary Magdalene; the absence of the man reflects a real double standard

Response to question about the woman caught in adultery

John 20:17 Mary Magdalene John 20:17 Thomas

John 20:17 — 'Do not cling to me' means do not grasp or hold on, not 'do not touch'; the Greek haptomai connotes holding on, explaining why Jesus also allowed Thomas to touch him later

Response to question about why Jesus would not let Mary touch him but later allowed Thomas to touch him

N.T. Wright Pauline theology New Perspective on Paul

N.T. Wright's New Perspective on Paul: Winger is mildly opposed but has not read enough Wright to engage substantively

Response to question about N.T. Wright's view on Paul's epistles

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Summary of Matthew 5 exegesis: Law fulfilled (completed), not abolished; accomplished in totality, not stripped piece by piece; not relaxed but done

Winger's three-point summary of Matthew 5:17-19

Matthew 5:17-19 abolish vs. fulfill pleroo Matthew 5:17-19

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Q&A: The Christian's primary cultural identity is the culture of Christ—follow Christ absolutely, adapt to culture in neutral matters

Pastoral guidance on Christianity and cultural identity

1 Corinthians 9 Christian liberty 1 Corinthians 9 Christian and culture

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Closing: Next week will cover the Hebrew Roots interpretation of Acts, especially Acts 10 and Acts 15

Series summary and next steps

Acts 10 Acts 15 Acts 10 Acts 15 Hebrew Roots movement

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-16

Empty tomb evidence — women as primary witnesses

McLatchie presents the role of women as primary witnesses to the empty tomb as evidence for its historicity.

Mary Magdalene empty tomb criterion of embarrassment

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-16

Irreconcilable variation in empty tomb accounts — evidence for independence

McLatchie presents apparent discrepancies between Gospel accounts of the empty tomb as evidence for their independence.

Mark 16:1 Matthew 28:1 Luke 24:10 empty tomb Jonathan McLatchie historicity of the Gospels

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-16

Undesigned coincidence within Luke: women from Galilee thread through Luke 8, 23, and 24

McLatchie presents an intra-Gospel undesigned coincidence within Luke demonstrating the authentic, non-fabricated character of the resurrection narrative.

Luke 8:2-3 Luke 24:10 Luke 23:55 Luke 8:2-3 Mary Magdalene Joanna

Torah observance Jewish believers early church

Church grows to ~5,000 in Acts 3-4, still entirely Jewish or proselyte. The default assumption is: continue doing what you were already doing regarding the law.

Summary observation from Acts 3-4

Acts 9:31 Jewish believers early church Acts 9:31

Acts 9:31 summary: the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria is at peace and growing -- still entirely Jewish in composition

Survey of Acts 9:31, state of the early church

argument from silence Torah observance Jewish believers

Key principle: those already observing the law simply continued; there was no teaching to stop -- and no teaching to start for those who were not observing it

Summary principle from Acts 1-9

Acts 10 hermeneutics Acts 10 Gentile inclusion

Neither extreme interpretation of Acts 10 is correct: neither 'all food is now clean for everyone' nor 'all food is still unclean' -- the vision primarily establishes Gentile access to the gospel

Balanced interpretation of Acts 10 vision

salvation by grace Law of Moses dietary laws

The gospel alone makes Gentiles clean -- the law was not a prerequisite for salvation, and Acts 10-11 establishes this clearly

Summary argument from Acts 10-11

Matthew 5 Matthew 28 argument from silence Great Commission Matthew 5

Challenge to Hebrew Roots movement: if Matthew 5 and 28 teach Torah for all, why does Acts never once tell Gentiles to obey the law? The silence disproves the interpretation.

Summary challenge to Hebrew Roots reading of Acts

Torah observance Jewish believers fulfillment theology

Summary: Gentiles who get saved in Acts never receive Torah instructions; Jews are never asked to stop. Both groups are united by Jesus, not by the law.

Summary of Acts survey to this point

Acts 21 Torah observance Acts 21 Jewish believers

Three conclusions from Acts 21: (1) Jews may continue obeying the law (beware Pharisaical additions); (2) Gentiles still have only the four commands; (3) Jewish believers in Jerusalem years later are still Torah-observant -- and that is fine.

Summary of Acts 21 analysis

Acts (book) Torah observance Law of Moses Acts (book)

Final summary of Acts survey: (1) prior law observers continued; (2) non-law observers continued not following it; (3) obedience to law is not required for salvation OR sanctification; (4) the question is what fulfillment means, not abolishment

Concluding summary of the entire Acts survey

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

Summary of the four-part Hebrew Roots series: Parts 1–3 recap

Series overview for new viewers

Matthew 5 Acts circumcision Matthew 5 Acts

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

Main conclusion: the phrase "under the law" refutes Torah observance as a Christian obligation

Winger's summary conclusion for the episode

Hebrew Roots Movement Law of Moses Old Testament application

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-05

What is the law of Christ? It is walking in love — the heart of the law as Jesus summarized it

Q&A: Josh Kretchmer asks about the law of Christ

Sermon on the Mount walking in the Spirit law of Christ

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-30

Summary: multiple scriptures confirm universal extent, non-universal application; rejecting limited atonement does not require leaving Calvinism

Winger wraps up his scriptural case and notes that rejecting limited atonement does not require rejecting Calvinism wholesale.

Calvinism limited atonement TULIP

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

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

James (brother of Jesus) Josephus multiple attestation James (brother of Jesus)

Multiple independent attestation from Paul, Matthew, John (special L), and Josephus — the strongest form of historical evidence — confirms Jesus's brothers including James

Summary of multiple attestation for Jesus's brothers

Paul bodily resurrection resurrection appearances

Summary: Paul taught physical/bodily resurrection; hallucination theory fails; Paul was not grieving Jesus's death — he was glad Jesus was dead before his conversion

Concluding the section on Paul's resurrection belief

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 is the primary cessationist proof-text in the cessationism vs. continuationism debate.

Introduction to the episode. Winger frames the central question: does 1 Cor 13:10-12 teach that tongues, prophecy, and knowledge ceased after the apostolic era?

1 Corinthians 13:10-12 cessationism continuationism spiritual gifts

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Cessationist Interpretation 2 (Masters Seminary): prophecy and knowledge = inscripturated revelation; massive time gap between vv. 11 and 12; "the perfect" = the church brought to maturity by the Bible.

Summary of the three key concepts in the Masters Seminary article that underpin its cessationist reading of 1 Cor 13.

1 Corinthians 13:8-12 cessationism canon of Scripture to teleion

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Main point of 1 Cor 13: love, not gifts, is the permanent priority; pursuit of love must exceed pursuit of spiritual gifts.

Winger concludes the exegesis by restating Paul's actual primary argument.

1 Corinthians 13:13 spiritual gifts love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-03

Summary conclusion: God is source of goodness; evil is real by contrast but need not be created; God allows and will solve evil

Mike wraps up the theological teaching before Q&A

theodicy free will evil as privation

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-24

Hebrews intercession summary: Christ intercedes for whoever draws near, not a closed list of predetermined elect

Mike's final summary on the intercession argument.

Hebrews 7:25 election unlimited atonement intercession

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

God's wrath is meant to drive people to Jesus

Mike provides a brief summary application before moving to the consequences of denying wrath.

repentance salvation God's wrath

apologetics universalism exclusivity of Christ

Six pluralist slogans to be addressed: the primary claim and five derivative phrases

Winger outlines the structure of the talk

Hebrews 9:27 universalism final judgment religious pluralism

Logical analysis of "all roads lead to God": three possible meanings, two incoherent

Winger begins systematic dismantling of the primary slogan

religious pluralism logic and argumentation self-refuting argument

The logical stalemate: if someone claims to agree with all religions simultaneously, they cannot agree with you

Brief comedic summary of the comparative religion discussion

Holy Spirit atonement grace

Conclusion: Jesus is the only way because he alone paid the full price for sin; Christianity makes real sense of human suffering

Final summary and invitation