Search — Theology Explorer

Deuteronomy 25:4 Luke 10:7 1 Timothy 5:18 Deuteronomy 25:4 Luke 10:7 laborer deserves wages

1 Timothy 5:18 quotes Luke 10:7 alongside Deuteronomy 25:4 and calls both 'Scripture'

The author of 1 Timothy introduces two quotations with 'the Scripture says' — one from the OT and one from Luke 10:7 — implying canonical status for Gospel material in the first century.

Galatians 1 James (brother of Jesus) 2 Peter Galatians 1 Peter (Cephas) James (brother of Jesus)

Paul's apostolic authority confirmed by Peter and James; 2 Peter calls Paul's writings Scripture

Q&A: question about how Paul went from persecutor to authoritative apostle.

Isaiah 7:14 Isaiah 7-9 Matthew 1 virgin birth Isaiah 7:14 Old Testament fulfillment

Isaiah 7:14 — 'alma' means young maiden; the context of Isaiah 7-9 supports the virgin birth interpretation

Q&A: question about whether Isaiah 7:14 refers to a young woman or a virgin, and whether it was a sign to Ahaz.

Matthew 10:23 Acts 1:8 Second Coming eschatology Matthew 10:23

Matthew 10:23 — 'Son of Man comes' refers to Jesus's first coming during the disciples' mission trip, not the Second Coming

Q&A: question about a verse that appears to predict Jesus would return before the disciples finished preaching in Israel.

Galatians 4:4 Galatians 4:4 Jesus as Jewish born under the law

Galatians 4:4 'born under the law' consistently refers to Jews in Paul's usage

Q&A follow-up: clarification on whether 'born under the law' in Galatians 4:4 implies Jewish identity.

salvation repentance sanctification

Repentance restores relationship with God, not salvific status; analogy of marriage reconciliation

Q&A: question about whether believers must live sinlessly or must continually repent.

empty tomb resurrection of Jesus historical reliability

Empty tomb: majority scholarly agreement exists, but Mike doesn't know a compelling argument against it

Q&A: question about why the empty tomb is only majority (not unanimous) scholarly agreement.

Romans 14 James (brother of Jesus) Acts 21:17-26 circumcision Nazirite vow Romans 14

Acts 21:17-26 — Paul participates in a Nazirite vow to demonstrate continued Torah observance as a Jewish believer

Q&A: question about Paul's behavior in Acts 21 and what it tells us about his relationship to Torah.

Christian ethics sinlessness of Jesus Temple cleansing

Jesus overturning tables in the Temple — anger is not inherently sinful, but it creates temptation to sin

Q&A: question about whether Jesus's table-turning in the Temple constitutes sinful anger.

salvation Orthodox Judaism Ben Shapiro

Introduction: Ben Shapiro asks Bishop Robert Barron whether he will go to heaven

Mike introduces the premise — an Orthodox Jew asks a Catholic bishop about his eternal destiny

salvation Ben Shapiro 613 commandments

Ben Shapiro's actual question: he observes 613 commandments and does good in the world — does that earn him heaven?

Mike carefully scopes Ben's question to exclude 'those who have never heard the gospel'

John 5:45-47 revelation Moses parables Torah

John 5:45-47 — if you believed Moses you would believe me: encountering Jesus reveals whether one truly believed Moses

Mike addresses the logical question: what about Ben, who has heard of Jesus but rejected him?

Council of Trent Vatican II inclusivism

Q&A: When did inclusivism/relativism become prevalent in the Catholic Church? Vatican II was deliberately vague

Answering viewer question from Michael Cato

Mormonism Christology soteriology

Q&A: Core doctrines vs. peripheral doctrines — spiderweb illustration; Mormonism example

Answering viewer question from Jacob Inglot about when doctrine becomes heresy

1 Corinthians 11 1 Corinthians 11 Aristotle transubstantiation

Q&A: On communion — Mike agrees it is more than a symbol but rejects transubstantiation

Answering viewer question about 1 Corinthians and dying from receiving communion wrongly

Genesis 12:3 Abraham covenant Messiah

Q&A: Were Jews chosen as an ethnic or religious group? — ethnic bloodline with a missional purpose

Answering viewer question from T. Kua

Holy Spirit fruit of the Spirit faith

Q&A: What does it mean to believe? — Faith is a choice to trust, not a blind leap

Answering viewer question about the nature of faith vs. fruit

Romans 1 Romans 1:18-32 atheism conscience Romans 1

Q&A: Can atheists be saved? — Romans 1 and the hardening process of rejecting God

Answering viewer Sarah Beauchamp's question about Barron's statement that even atheists can be saved

Hebrews 11:1 hermeneutics faith Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 is a description of what faith looks like, not a definition of why or how we believe

Mike's core exegetical argument about the nature of Hebrews 11.

faith apologetics methodology sloppy thinking

Why Christians accept the bad definition: 'sloppy thinking' — illustrated by the peanut butter sandwich experiment

Mike explains how well-meaning Christians end up using imprecise language that harms their apologetic position.

Holy Spirit personal testimony apologetics methodology

Q&A: How to explain to non-believers that the Holy Spirit's presence is a reason for faith

Viewer question from Cam 94.

John 13:2 omnipotence Satan spiritual warfare

Q&A: Can Satan, as a non-omnipotent being, put thoughts into people's minds?

Viewer question from Joy Chintons.

John 3:36 obedience hermeneutics faith and works

Q&A: Connection between belief and obedience in John 3:36 — belief leads to obedience; lack of obedience implies lack of faith

Viewer question from Jacob Englet about John 3:36 and James 2:14-26.

James 2:14-26 faith James 2:14-26 faith and works

James 2:14-26 — faith without works is dead; Mike references his dedicated video on Catholic vs. Protestant interpretations

Part of Jacob Englet's question on faith and obedience.

Dr. Ragnar study Dr. Rosenfeld family instability

Q&A: Response to atheist videos on the Dr. Ragnar study and the lurking variable of family instability

Viewer question from Brian Stevens about a sociological study and atheist video responses.

hermeneutics biblical interpretation contextual reading

Q&A: How to know you have the proper interpretation of Scripture — hermeneutics and contextual reading

Viewer question from Eric Seagardia.

epistemology evidence apologetics methodology

Q&A: Distinction between 'evidence' and 'proof' — Mike is skeptical that they must be rigorously distinguished

Viewer question from Martin Gradwell.

Isaiah 53 Bible as historical document Isaiah 53 Pontius Pilate

Q&A: How to use the Bible as evidence with non-believers who don't accept it as God's word — the prophecy approach

Viewer question from Kate about apologetic method.

evidence-based faith faith trust

Closing summary: faith is simply trust; the reasons for faith are a separate discussion from the nature of faith itself

Mike's concluding definition and summary of the session.

Greg Koukl abortion human rights

The central question of abortion: 'What is it?' — using the analogy of a child asking 'Can I kill this?'

Mike's foundational framing of the entire abortion debate

reductio ad absurdum abortion human rights

Abraham Lincoln's anti-slavery argument applied analogously to abortion — differences do not justify denying rights

Historical parallel between pro-slavery arguments and pro-choice arguments about arbitrary distinctions

abortion zygote contraception

Contraception vs. abortion — the moral question is whether conception has already occurred

Q&A — question about whether normalizing contraception contributes to disregard for infant life

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) — moral issues around discarding or permanently freezing fertilized embryos

Q&A — question about IVF and its connection to killing unborn children

abortion zygote embryo

cultural engagement eschatology Christian ethics

Christian call to defend the fatherless — abortion as a moral mandate for Christians regardless of eschatological timeline

Q&A — question about whether abortion can be abolished given worsening culture as end times approach

abortion zygote contraception

Abortifacient birth control — if it kills a conceived zygote, it is abortion not contraception

Q&A — follow-up question about abortifacient forms of birth control

Ephesians Ephesians abortion heaven

Heaven and miscarriage — Scripture does not specify the state or 'age' of those who die before birth

Q&A — question about the state of aborted or miscarried children in heaven

abortion human rights pro-life argument

Rape exception — the child is not morally culpable for the father's crime; killing the child does not undo the evil

Q&A — question about whether abortion is acceptable in cases of rape

Jeremiah Jeremiah 1:5 Jeremiah hermeneutics pre-existence

Jeremiah 1:5 — 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you' refers to God's plan for Jeremiah, not pre-conception literal existence

Q&A — question about whether life begins even before conception, citing God's foreknowledge in Jeremiah 1:5

pro-life bioethics mother's life exception

Mother's life exception — ectopic pregnancy and similar cases are not 'abortion' by definition; they are pro-life decisions

Q&A — question about whether abortion is acceptable when the mother's life is at stake

consistency argument abortion SLED acronym

Overpopulation argument fails — if it justifies killing the unborn, it justifies killing anyone

Q&A — claim that overpopulation justifies abortion

1 John Leviticus 1 John typology biblical interpretation

Brief digression — 'the sin that leads to death' in 1 John and Leviticus typology are likely unrelated

Q&A — off-topic question about 1 John's 'sin that leads to death' and Leviticus typology

pro-life mother's life exception abortion definition

High-risk pregnancy (lupus) scenario — saving the mother is a pro-life position, not abortion by definition

Q&A — question about a mother with lupus whose life is endangered by pregnancy

Paul rejection 119 Ministries Rhetorical manipulation

119 Ministries asks "can truth become not-truth?" — Mike identifies this as a misleading question that conflates truthfulness with universal applicability

Mike quotes and critiques a rhetorical question 119 Ministries poses to destabilize the traditional Christian position.

John 15:10-12 Love command Commandments of Jesus Walking as Jesus walked

John 15: the commandment of Jesus is to love one another as he loved us — Mike applies this to the "walk as he walked" question

Mike reads John 15:12 as further confirmation that the commandment Jesus gives is love, not Torah-keeping.

Torah observance Gentile believers Sola fide

Torah-observant Christians who hold sola fide — Mike's gracious but firm assessment

Q&A question: what about Torah-observant believers who genuinely hold that salvation is by grace through faith alone?

1 Corinthians 3 Revelation 22:12-14 1 Corinthians 3 Revelation 22:12-14 Heavenly rewards

Revelation 22:12 — "repaying each one for what he has done" does not teach levels of heaven or works-based salvation

Q&A: questioner asks whether Revelation 22:12 implies different levels or places in heaven based on works.

Bible translation recommendation: Mike favors ESV and NASB, and advises reading multiple translations when a passage turns on a single word

Q&A: questioner asks which Bible translation Mike recommends, especially given the Hebrew/Greek issues discussed.

ESV NASB NKJV

Galatians 6:2 John 15:12 Greg Koukl Love command Context in interpretation

Galatians 6:2 — "the law of Christ" means bearing one another's burdens, which Mike identifies with love

Q&A: questioner asks about "the law of Christ" in Galatians 6:2.

Galatians 6 Tithing Giving (NT) Galatians 6

Tithing is not required for NT believers, but giving is — Mike outlines NT giving principles

Q&A: questioner asks whether tithing applies to NT believers.