Search — Theology Explorer

biblical ethics abortion pro-life

Pro-life and pro-death penalty are not contradictory positions

Mike addresses pushback from his death penalty video, responding to the charge that being pro-life and pro-death penalty is inconsistent.

1 John 5:16-17 hermeneutics eisegesis salvation

Sin leading to death in 1 John 5:16-17 — interpretation depends on prior theology

Question about whether 1 John 5:16-17 implies one can lose salvation.

epistemology humility biblical scholarship

Epistemic humility in teaching: share conclusions only to the degree of confidence you actually possess

Question about how Mike knows when he has read enough secondary literature to teach a topic publicly.

Hebrews 1:1-2 1 Timothy 1:18 Revelation of John Hagar charismatic movement prophecy

Hebrews 1:1-2 does not prohibit God from speaking to individuals today

Question about whether God still speaks through a still small voice today, referencing Hebrews 1:2.

1 Corinthians 14:22-23 spiritual gifts tongues 1 Corinthians 14:22-23

1 Corinthians 14:22 — tongues are a sign for unbelievers only when interpreted; the apparent contradiction explained

Question about the apparent flip in 1 Corinthians 14:22-23 where tongues are a sign for unbelievers yet unbelievers will think speakers are mad.

Romans 11 Revelation 7:4 Jehovah's Witnesses tribulation futurism

Revelation 7:4 — the 144,000 are a literal future group of ethnic Jewish men

Question about what the 144,000 sealed in Revelation 7:4 means.

Romans 11 Abrahamic covenant Jewish people Romans 11

Modern Israel and biblical Israel are continuous, but God's promises do not make every Israeli action righteous

Question about how modern political Israel correlates to biblical promises for Israel.

Romans 10:1-4 John 5:46 Moses soteriology Messiah

Dual covenant theology is unbiblical; Jewish people need Jesus — Romans 10:1-4 and John 5:46

Final question about whether Jews can be saved without believing in Jesus through a special covenant.

salvation eternal life aliens and Christianity

A theological decision tree for highly intelligent alien life: the key first question is whether they are merely intelligent or also eternal beings.

Thought experiment on hypothetical intelligent alien life

Many Christian doubts about heaven and death are psychological rather than intellectual; manufactured skepticism exploits unthought-through questions to create irrational doubt.

Question: can someone know for sure that heaven is real?

faith apologetics doubt

2 Kings 6 spiritual warfare Elisha angelology

Angels do occasionally interact tangibly with creation; 2 Kings example of Elisha's servant needing eyes opened, and angelic armies that physically engaged enemies.

Do angels interact tangibly with creation?

Holy Spirit repentance revival

Revival is biblical; Mike defines it as significant corporate repentance and walking rightly with God, not primarily as an outpouring of spectacular spiritual gifts.

Question: is revival biblical?

Romans 14 Romans 14 conscience sanctification

An over-sensitive conscience may result from equating every guilty feeling with sin; Romans 14 and Mike's dedicated video on conscience address calibrating the conscience rightly.

Question about having an overly sensitive conscience

Judges 11 Holy Spirit Jephthah vows

Judges 11: Jephthah's vow - the Spirit being "upon" Jephthah means military enablement, not moral/ethical guidance; the Spirit did not sanction his vow or its fulfillment.

Question about Jephthah's vow and the Spirit being upon him

Hebrew Roots Movement Gentiles covenant theology

Jewish feasts were commanded for Jews in Israel, not universally for all people; Gentiles were never given the Mosaic law and are not obligated to keep the feasts.

Question: why don't Christians celebrate Jewish holidays?

Romans 14 Romans 14 eschatology Hebrew Roots Movement

A future millennial observance of feasts does not obligate Christians now; present-tense New Testament teaching (Romans 14) is the relevant authority for current practice.

Millennial feast observance and current Christian obligation

Mike Winger Hebrew Roots Movement Gentiles

Mike's Hebrew Roots Movement playlist covers Acts, Romans, and Jesus's own teaching on how the law applies to Gentiles - recommended for deeper study.

Resource recommendation on Jewish law and Gentile Christians

Genesis flood Genesis 6-9 hermeneutics Genesis flood Genesis 6-9

The flood narrative: "destroy all flesh" is a sweeping statement not meant to be woodenly literal - fish dying would be an example of over-literalism.

Question about fish surviving the flood if God said he would destroy all flesh

Genesis 1:28 Genesis 1:28 Be Fruitful and Multiply Dominion Mandate

Genesis 1:28 examined: The command covers having children, filling the earth, subduing it, and having dominion — a multi-part mandate given to Adam and Eve that Mike says applies broadly to all mankind.

Exegesis of Genesis 1:28 at the start of the session.

Genesis 1:28 Genesis 1:28 Hermeneutics Be Fruitful and Multiply

The command in Genesis 1 is a collective mandate for mankind as a whole, not a personal obligation on every individual — applying it to each person individually leads to absurd conclusions (e.g., condemning infertile people).

Interpretive principle applied to Genesis 1:28.

Matthew 19 — Eunuchs for the Kingdom 1 Corinthians 7:32-38 Paul Jesus Marriage and Childbearing

Jesus commends voluntary singleness (making oneself a eunuch for the kingdom) — therefore a blanket command for every person to have children cannot be right.

New Testament witness on the fruitful-and-multiply question.

Marriage and Childbearing Human Value / Imago Dei Selfishness

Much modern refusal to have children is simply selfishness — the 'life isn't worth living' excuse reflects a deficiently low view of human life, not genuine realism about hardship.

Pastoral diagnosis of childlessness by choice.

1 Corinthians 8-10 — Meat Offered to Idols Bethel Music Hillsong Elevation Worship

Refusing to sing Bethel/Hillsong/Elevation music is not legalism, but binding that refusal on others crosses into judgmentalism — this is a conscience matter analogous to Paul's 'meat sold in the marketplace' principle.

Q: Is it too legalistic to refuse to sing Bethel/Hillsong/Elevation music due to the doctrines of those churches?

Bill Johnson Discernment / Heresy Worship Music and Discernment

Bethel's primary export is false revival — fake gifts, prophecy, healings — mixed with genuine-sounding worship music that ranges from theologically neutral to theologically dangerous.

Mike's own view on Bethel, offered after establishing the meat-in-marketplace frame.

1 Samuel — Spirit on Saul Saul Holy Spirit Departure from Saul 1 Samuel — Spirit on Saul

The Holy Spirit's departure from Saul was not about salvation but about losing the anointing to be king — the Spirit empowered Saul for his royal office, and when he repeatedly rebelled it departed.

Q: Why did the Holy Spirit leave Saul and why did an evil spirit from the Lord enter him?

Romans 8:28 Romans 8:28 Divine Sovereignty and Evil God Uses Enemy Nations / Agents

Critical distinction: what God directly causes versus what he sovereignly allows and guides — God is not morally culpable for the actions of the enemies he permits; he works all things together for good.

Theological synthesis drawn from the Saul discussion.

Romans 9-11 Shmuley Boteach Anti-Semitism and the New Testament Romans 9-11

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's claim that the NT contains anti-Semitic propaganda and forged passages is theologically foolish — it substitutes his personal agenda for textual criticism and makes him the effective authority over Scripture.

Q: What do you think of Shmuley Boteach's claim that the NT has anti-Semitic propaganda Christians should reject as forgeries?

Acts of the Apostles Romans 9-11 Romans 1:16 — Jew First Acts of the Apostles Romans 9-11 Jewish Salvation / Two-Covenant Theology

The NT is pro-Jewish rather than anti-Semitic: Romans 9-11 teaches the future salvation of all Israel, the gospel goes to the Jew first, and Jesus and all the original apostles are Jewish.

Counter-argument to the anti-Semitism charge against the NT.

1 Corinthians 5:11 1 Corinthians 5:11 Church Discipline Fellowship vs. Outreach Mode

1 Corinthians 5:11 — not associating with a so-called 'brother' guilty of ongoing sin — targets life-pattern behavioral sins, not theological disagreement; the context is likely the communion/love-feast meal.

Q: How should 1 Corinthians 5:11 affect relationships with liberal Christian friends with unbiblical beliefs and practices?

Romans 10:1-4 Galatians — Law as Condemner Paul Romans 10:1-4 Jewish Salvation / Two-Covenant Theology

Romans 10:1-4 refutes the idea that Jews can be saved apart from Jesus: Paul's heart's desire is that his Jewish kinsmen be saved — meaning they currently are not — despite their genuine zeal for God.

Q: How do I respond to family who believe Jews will go to heaven even if not saved by Jesus?

Romans 1:16 — Jew First Galatians — Law as Condemner Jewish Salvation / Two-Covenant Theology Romans 1:16 — Jew First Galatians — Law as Condemner

Everything possible is theologically wrong with two-covenant theology (Jews saved by law, gentiles by Christ) — it is unloving to Jewish people because it withholds their own Savior from them.

Summary judgment on two-covenant soteriology.

Romans 8:28 Prayer Romans 8:28 Divine Sovereignty and Human Free Will

God's sovereign will and human free will coexist: God allows choices he does not desire; his overarching plan unfolds through, not in spite of, human free choices.

Q: How does God's will not infringe on free will? What is the point of praying if it is already in God's will?

Spiritual Gifts Calling and Gifting Teaching Gift

Mike's own primary gift is teaching, not worship leading — he did worship leading for years out of necessity but recognized it was not his strongest gift; leaning into actual gifts maximizes ministry impact.

Personal illustration of the spiritual-gifts-discernment principle.

Heresy Hunting / Online Critics Ministry Time Management Self-Defense vs. Service

When handling online 'heresy hunters' who badger a minister, evaluate whether you are responding from self-defense or from genuine capacity to help — then use time for maximum ministry impact.

Q: How do you handle online heresy hunters that badger you through email about your teaching?

Justin Martyr Polycarp Church Fathers

Church fathers have historical value — especially the earliest second-century writers — but should not be granted extra theological authority; they are windows into early church history, not infallible teachers.

Q: How much utility should we find in the church fathers? Should we view them with extra credibility?

Proof-texting Hermeneutics Church Fathers

Practical guidance on reading church fathers: read whole works from start to finish rather than isolated quotes — this prevents the proof-texting problem the same way it prevents biblical proof-texting.

How to read the church fathers responsibly.

Craig Blomberg Douglas Moo Brian Simmons

Passion Translation project update: Mike has hired multiple scholars to review the Passion Translation — Tremper Longman (Song of Songs, already published), Nijay Gupta (Galatians, days away), Darrell Bock, Douglas Moo, Craig Blomberg are upcoming.

Closing ministry update on the Passion Translation evaluation project.

Galatians Craig Blomberg Galatians New Perspective on Paul

Experimenting with interviews: open candid dialogue over polished preparation

2021 plans announcement

women in ministry complementarianism egalitarianism

Announcement: upcoming deep-dive study on women's roles and gender in the church

2021 ministry plans

Genesis 4 Hebrews 11:4 typology works-righteousness Genesis 4

Typological reading of Cain/Abel: works vs. faith — valid typology but not the cause of rejection

Analysis of Cain's offering rejection

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

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

Exodus David Moses Abraham

Q11: Most notable OT leader — Moses

Response to question on biblical leadership study

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

Acts 6:1 Peter Williams Acts 6:1 Jesus' languages

Evidence Jesus spoke Greek: Nazareth as Roman construction site, Greek inscription found there, multilingual Galilee

Continuing Q16 on Jesus speaking Greek