Search — Theology Explorer

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

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

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

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

Lee Strobel Mike Licona University of Pretoria

Guest introduction: Dr. Mike Licona, historical Jesus scholar with PhD from University of Pretoria

Guest credentials and background

scholarly consensus Jesus mythicism historicity of Jesus

Maurice Casey (agnostic) concludes mythicist arguments are completely spurious, put forward by incompetent and unqualified people

Quoting another non-Christian scholar on mythicism

1 Corinthians James (brother of Jesus) Paul 1 Corinthians James (brother of Jesus)

Paul as historical witness: he knew Jesus's brother James, persecuted the church, and lived in the same region and time as Jesus

Discussing Paul's evidence for the historical Jesus

Jesus mythicism historicity of Jesus early Christianity

The rapid genesis and spread of the Christian movement is hard to explain if Jesus were fictional and not within living memory

Sociological argument for historical Jesus

Apollonius of Tyana Jesus mythicism historicity of Jesus

Mythicists must composite multiple figures (Dionysus, Horus, Asclepius, Apollonius, Hercules) to approximate Jesus — historians reject this method

Exposing the composite methodology of Jesus-myth parallels

1 Corinthians 13:12 James 1:4 James 1:17 cessationism face to face with God 1 Corinthians 13:12

Rebuttal of Interpretation 1: teleios is a broad word with many non-Scripture referents, and the mirror image in James functions differently than in 1 Cor 13.

Winger raises two problems with equating "the perfect" with the completed Bible.

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

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 13:12 cessationism face to face with God 1 Corinthians 13:12

The Masters Seminary article: verse 12 is acknowledged to be about seeing Christ face-to-face, but a 1,000-year time gap is inserted between vv. 11 and 12 to salvage the cessationist reading.

Winger quotes the article directly to show how the author handles the face-to-face language.

1 Corinthians 13:9-10 apostolic authority prophecy inscripturation

Verse-by-verse: vv. 9-10 — Paul includes himself in "we know in part," undermining the inscripturation reading; even apostolic knowledge is partial, not completable by writing.

Key exegetical point: the first-person plural "we" in v. 9 includes Paul and the other apostles, not just ordinary charismatics.

1 Corinthians 15 cessationism 1 Corinthians 15 eschatology

1 Corinthians 15 confirms: "the perfect" is the resurrection state — imperishable bodies, the last trumpet, being changed — not the completion of the Bible.

Winger appeals to 1 Cor 15 (same letter, shortly after ch. 13) as the definitive referent for "when the perfect comes."

biblical authority apologetics discernment

Warning against seeking comfort in progressive or unorthodox theology as a false catharsis; such teachers typically demonize biblical Christianity to wedge in their reinterpretations.

Q&A response about walking with a friend questioning traditional beliefs, specifically mentioning Greg Boyd.

biblical authority cessationism continuationism

Views on gifts are often driven more by experience than Scripture; the exegetical case against cessationism from 1 Cor 13 is strong but trajectory arguments for cessationism are weak.

Q&A — viewer asks whether people's positions on sign gifts are experience-based more than Scripture-based.

Christian response to suffering: trust God's sovereign goodness despite not knowing the outcome

Pastoral application regarding suffering and theodicy

theodicy suffering faith

Euthyphro dilemma Socrates Euthyphro

Euthyphro dilemma introduced: is something good because God wills it, or does God will it because it's good?

Mike introduces a classical philosophical challenge to theistic ethics

Proverbs Job Proverbs 16:33 Proverbs free will Job

Q&A: Proverbs 16:33 and divine sovereignty — layered sovereignty model, not hard determinism

Audience question about whether God meticulously controls all things

Psalms Proverbs biblical hermeneutics Psalms Proverbs

Q&A: How to determine what is literal vs. metaphorical in the Bible — genre and context

Audience question about biblical hermeneutics

biblical teaching verse-by-verse teaching ministry strategy

2015 turning point: Sunday evening service and weekly video strategy

In June 2015, Winger's senior pastor offered him the freedom to teach an adult Sunday evening service, which catalyzed a new approach to his YouTube ministry.

discipleship youth ministry ministry transition

Burnout and shedding responsibilities: Transitioning out of youth ministry

The combination of youth pastoring, online ministry, and other church roles became physically unsustainable.

Psalm 22 Luke 21 eschatology preterism Psalm 22

Q&A: Luke 21 and preterism — is it fulfilled prophecy?

Question from a self-identified preterist asking why Winger does not see Luke 21 as fulfilled prophecy.

repentance perseverance faithfulness

Closing exhortation: Be the tortoise, not the hare

Winger closes with a personal reflection and encouragement about long-term faithfulness.

Scripture authority unlimited atonement universal atonement

Mike's overall conviction: Scripture clearly teaches Jesus died for everyone

Before diving into objections, Mike states his position and epistemic posture.

Calvinism theological method Scripture authority

Scripture should trump philosophical reasoning; most limited atonement arguments are not exegetical

Mike's meta-level argument about the structure of Calvinist argumentation for limited atonement.

1 John 3:1 1 John 3:13 hermeneutics limited atonement kosmos

1 John 3:1 and 3:13 — "world" in the same letter refers to those who do not know God

Mike surveys other uses of kosmos in 1 John to establish the author's usage.

James White hermeneutics James White Scripture authority

Closing: Scripture texts for unlimited atonement still stand; Calvinist trump concepts do not override them

Mike's final assessment of the debate.

James White James White Christian fellowship Calvinism

Calvinism is not a fellowship-breaking issue; call for brotherly engagement

Closing exhortation on tone and Christian unity.

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Consequence 1 of denying wrath: contradicts clear biblical testimony

Mike lists the theological consequences of removing wrath from one's doctrine of God.

biblical authority God's wrath theological error

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Q&A: Why doesn't the death penalty for homosexuality apply today? — Old Testament law and Christ

Viewer asks why the Old Testament death penalty for various sins does not apply under the new covenant.

new covenant progressive revelation the cross

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Atheists (Dan Barker) also use the cross-vs-stake argument to discredit Christianity

Beyond JWs, some atheists promote the idea that Jesus did not die on a cross. Winger specifically names Dan Barker, known in online atheist circles as an authority on New Testament Greek, who argues Christians are wrong about even the basic shape of the cross.

apologetics Dan Barker atheism

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Epistle of Barnabas (early 2nd century) depicts the cross as a capital-T shape

The Epistle of Barnabas, written in the early second century (within ~100 years of Jesus's death), represents the cross of Christ using the capital letter T, implying a crossbeam.

Moses typology crucifixion

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11 — literal or metaphorical?

A viewer asks about 1 Corinthians 11 and head coverings. Winger gives his current tentative view without claiming certainty.

1 Corinthians 11 head coverings 1 Corinthians 11 authority

Matthew 5:27-28 Matthew 5:21-22 lust inner life total depravity

Jesus raises the moral standard inward: lust as adultery, hatred as murder — God judges the inner person

Scriptural grounding for total depravity / the inadequacy of external goodness

salvation Calvinism Arminianism

Q&A: If someone prayed to receive Christ but later turns away from Christianity, do they go to hell?

Viewer question from BC Our Life

Matthew 11:21-22 repentance Calvinism soteriology

Q&A: Does Matthew 11:21-22 (Tyre and Sidon) challenge Calvinism?

Viewer question from James Giorgio

John 14:6 hermeneutics John 14:6 universalism

Q&A: Marcus Borg as an example of a scholarly universalist with weak arguments

Viewer question from Bobby Miller about scholarly defenders of universalism

faith baptism infant baptism

Baptism is always a response to faith in the NT — the consistent universal pattern

Winger synthesizes part 1: the uniform NT pattern is hear the gospel → believe → be baptized.

biblical inspiration infant baptism believers baptism

Conclusion on household baptisms: infant baptism has no examples or instructions in the NT; household passages fall short

Winger summarizes his findings from Part 2 before moving to the circumcision argument.

Mark 7:8 biblical authority church history tradition

Part 5: Church history arguments for infant baptism should not override Scripture

Winger addresses the appeal to church tradition as evidence for infant baptism.

Mark 7:8 biblical authority church tradition theological method

Sola Scriptura: tradition must be tested by Scripture, not used to trump it

Winger articulates his methodological principle for handling church tradition claims.

Living Waters apologetic methodology Emilio Ramos

Background: Winger recently debated Pastor Emilio Ramos on apologetic methodology at Living Waters

Personal context explaining why the topic is fresh, and why the episode was created on short notice

epistemology demythologization warrant

The German student scenario: a Christian surrounded by hostile scholarship still has warrant through the Spirit

Thought experiment to test the view's robustness in adverse intellectual environments

Mormonism Book of Mormon epistemology

The Mormon burning-in-the-bosom claim does not undermine the Christian's witness of the Spirit

Responding to the classic objection that the Spirit's witness is unreliable because others claim the same for false religions

Galatians evangelism Galatians Ray Comfort

Ray Comfort's law-first gospel presentation is thoroughly biblical, though not required to be mechanical

Q&A: evaluation of Ray Comfort's evangelistic methodology

presuppositionalism apologetic methodology parable of the sower

The parable of the sower is about receptivity to the Word, not apologetic methodology

Q&A: whether the parable of the sower supports presuppositionalism over other methods

Michael Heiser Old Testament theology divine council

Michael Heiser's divine council work is valuable but Winger has reservations about core claims

Q&A: brief evaluation of Michael Heiser's scholarship