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All (110) Scripture Commentary (30) Theology (13) Mike Winger (67)
Mike Winger idea 2018-01-31

Canonical closure argument: the New Testament closes the canon — there is no room for a new book of scripture

Theological argument against the LDS claim to new scripture

Jeremiah 31 Mormonism Islam Book of Abraham
Mike Winger idea 2018-04-18

Reason 2: Future prophecy is extremely challenging — Revelation requires knowledge of the whole Old Testament

Second reason people are vulnerable to false predictions.

Revelation Isaiah Jeremiah hermeneutics Old Testament prophecy interpretation
Mike Winger idea 2018-04-11

Q&A: Why study the Bible if God writes his word on our hearts?

Viewer question citing the New Covenant promise (Jeremiah 31 / Hebrews 8): if God writes his word on our hearts, why do we need the Bible?

Jeremiah 31 Hebrews 8 Hebrews 4:12 Holy Spirit Jeremiah 31 Hebrews 8
Mike Winger idea 2018-08-22

When talking to someone deep in CoG, prioritize biblical arguments over external historical claims — pick a focused topic (like God the Mother), prepare for their expected responses, and meet them in Scripture

Q&A: Austin asks for a 5-10 minute conversation strategy for someone deeply invested in CoG.

Jeremiah apologetics Jeremiah evangelism strategy
Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

Jeremiah 7:24-26 — Israel 'did worse than their fathers,' a qualitative moral judgment, not merely a count of more sins.

Mike cites another Old Testament narrative statement about moral deterioration across generations to reinforce qualitative distinctions in sin.

Jeremiah 7:24-26 hierarchy of sin qualitative sin Old Testament narrative
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-01

Jim's claim about Christmas trees: first-century Romans practiced Christmas trees, first-century Christians adopted it, and the New Testament contains a specific passage telling them to stop — but they ignored it

Fifth major claim Mike refutes — biblical origin of Christmas trees

Jeremiah 10 church history apologetics Christmas trees
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-01

Refutation: the only text Jim could be referring to is Jeremiah 10, written 600 years before Jesus — it describes carving a tree into an idol, not decorating a Christmas tree, and has nothing to do with New Testament Christianity or Roman practices

Mike carefully exegetes Jeremiah 10:1–5 to show what the passage actually means

Jeremiah 10 Old Testament exegesis idolatry
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Introduction: Jeremiah 10 and the Christmas tree question

Mike launches a surprise Monday livestream to address a common question before Christmas

Jeremiah 10 Jeremiah 10 Christmas trees Anachronism in Bible interpretation
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Presenting the opposing argument: YouTube channel 'Truth Unedited' claims Jeremiah 10 is about Christmas trees

Mike shows a clip from a 275,000-view YouTube video that teaches Jeremiah 10 forbids Christmas trees

Jeremiah 10:2-4 Proof-texting Christmas trees Jeremiah 10:2-4
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Anachronism: the fundamental interpretive error in reading Jeremiah 10 as being about Christmas trees

Mike identifies the method error before examining the passage

Jeremiah 10 Hermeneutics Jeremiah 10 Anachronism
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:1-2 context: 'Don't learn the ways of the nations' is not a blanket prohibition

Reading the passage from the beginning

Jeremiah 10:1-2 Contextual interpretation Jeremiah 10:1-2 Ways of the nations
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:3-4: The craftsman detail rules out Christmas trees

Verse-by-verse examination of the passage

Jeremiah 10:3-4 Christmas trees Jeremiah 10:3-4 Idolatry
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:5: The passage explicitly calls the object an idol, not a tree

The passage self-identifies what it is describing

Jeremiah 10:5 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:5 Scarecrow analogy
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Psalm 115 as a parallel passage: idols have mouths but cannot speak

Connecting Jeremiah 10 to a closely parallel text

Jeremiah 10:5 Psalm 115:4-8 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:5 Psalm 115:4-8
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:6-9: The passage continues with explicit idol language, not tree language

Reading further in the passage to confirm the subject

Jeremiah 10:6-9 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:6-9 Pagan religion
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Jeremiah 10:10-15: The climax of the passage — idols vs. the living God

The passage reaches its theological conclusion

Jeremiah 10:10-15 Idolatry Jeremiah 10:10-15 Living God vs. false gods
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Isaiah 60:13 shows God using trees to beautify his sanctuary — trees are not inherently pagan symbols

Addressing the secondary worry: is having trees in a home spiritually problematic in any form?

Isaiah 60:13 Isaiah 60:13 Trees and sanctuary Pagan symbols
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Other misapplied passages: 'prostituted themselves under every green tree' is about idols under trees, not trees themselves

Preempting another common proof-text used to condemn Christmas trees

Proof-texting Anachronism Idolatry under green trees
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Christians are not obligated either to have or to avoid Christmas trees — liberty of conscience

Applying the correct conclusion from the exegesis

Christmas trees Liberty of conscience Judging fellow believers
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Online 'Christmas is pagan' content relies on unverifiable sources — zeal without knowledge

Addressing the broader ecosystem of anti-Christmas teaching online

Romans 10:2 Zeal without knowledge Judging fellow believers Romans 10:2
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Q&A: What does a Christmas tree have to do with Jesus? Brief history of Christmas tree origin

Addressing a viewer question about the theological meaning of Christmas trees

Martin Luther Christmas trees Christian tradition
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Symbolism is assigned by the person, not inherent to the object — trees have no intrinsic spiritual meaning

Responding to the question about what a tree symbolizes

Christmas trees Liberty of conscience Symbolism
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

What makes something a pagan custom vs. a neutral one: the test is whether it is meaningfully tied to worship of a false god

Q&A: viewer asks how to distinguish pagan customs from neutral ones

Idolatry Liberty of conscience Judging fellow believers
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-17

Closing: Check the context — the primary safeguard against Scripture misuse

Final exhortation before signing off

Jeremiah 10 Proof-texting Hermeneutics Jeremiah 10
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-19

Old Testament pattern: Israel claimed to believe God but rejected his prophets — same dynamic with Messiah

Mike draws an analogy from Israel's prophetic history

Jeremiah Jeremiah Israel Messiah
Mike Winger idea 2019-01-23

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

Jeremiah Jeremiah 1:5 Jeremiah hermeneutics pre-existence
Mike Winger idea 2019-02-13

Torah (law) vs. commandments: the words overlap but depend on context

Viewer asking how to differentiate between the law and the commandments

Psalm 119 Mosaic law Torah law vs. commandments
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Big picture point 3: The Law was always heading toward replacement—Jeremiah 31 predicts a New Covenant unlike the old

Third foundational contextual claim: the Law had a built-in expiration point

Jeremiah 31:31-34 Hebrews 8:13 New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31-34 Hebrews 8:13
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

The New Covenant is in Jesus's blood — Luke 22:20 at the Last Supper

Jesus himself inaugurating the New Covenant at Passover

Jeremiah 31 Luke 22:20 Lord's Supper Jeremiah 31 New Covenant
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

John 13:34 — Jesus gives a "new commandment" to love one another, which becomes the defining law of the New Covenant

The law of Christ defined

John 13:34 Jeremiah 31:33 New Covenant John 13:34 new commandment
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

The "law of Christ" in the New Covenant is the law of love — not the Mosaic Law written on the heart

Defining what Jeremiah 31's "law written on the heart" refers to

Galatians 6:2 Jeremiah 31:33 New Covenant Galatians 6:2 law written on the heart
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-16

Objection: Isaiah 53 is about Israel, not Jesus — and response

McLatchie addresses the modern rabbinic argument that Isaiah 53's Suffering Servant is a personification of the nation of Israel.

Isaiah 53 Isaiah 42 Isaiah 49 Isaiah 53 Suffering Servant messianic prophecy
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-13

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

Jeremiah 2:13 idolatry Jeremiah 2:13 fountain of living waters
Mike Winger idea 2019-07-03

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament: ra in Isaiah 45:7 denotes calamity, not moral evil

Additional lexical support from TWOT

Isaiah 45:7 Jeremiah 39:12 Amos 6:3 Isaiah 45:7 ra calamity vs moral evil
Mike Winger idea 2020-01-29

Jeremiah 28:9: the test of a true prophet is whether his words come to pass — an evidential approach to prophetic verification

Third OT narrative example of knowing vs. showing, this time about prophetic credentials

Jeremiah Jeremiah 28:9 Jeremiah prophecy miracles as evidence
Mike Winger idea 2020-08-28

Jeremiah 29:11 is often misapplied as a personal prosperity promise; properly applied, it points to eternal hope in the New Covenant

Question from Brandi about whether verses like Jeremiah 29:11, written to Israel, apply to Christians today.

Jeremiah 29:11 hermeneutics prosperity gospel Israel
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-11

Seeking God guarantees finding him, though not always in the expected way or with the expected results

Quick response to Cameron Powers asking if truly seeking God means he will show up.

Jeremiah 29:13 prayer faith seeking God
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-23

The Old Covenant is "eternal" in the sense that Christ fulfilled it — fulfillment, not destruction, transitions to the New Covenant

Question from Jason and Alana about how the Old Covenant can be everlasting yet superseded.

Jeremiah 31 Matthew 5:17 Galatians 3 Jeremiah 31 New Covenant fulfillment of the law
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-23

God's choices of Jacob, Abraham, Moses, prophets — not favoritism but purposive grace for non-salvific roles

Question from Ryder Ness, a "struggling Calvinist," about divine favoritism in biblical election.

Isaiah 6 Romans 9 Genesis 25 election Moses Abraham
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-15

The shorter Septuagint Jeremiah vs. the longer Hebrew Masoretic Jeremiah — reasons to trust the longer canonical form

Question from Leor about which version of Jeremiah is correct.

Jeremiah Peter Williams Jeremiah Old Testament canon
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-29

Preaching with a stutter: accept your limitations, resist performing, and trust God to use you or redirect you

Question from Hudson Hancock, who preaches with a stutter and finds it discouraging.

Jeremiah Exodus 4:10 Jeremiah 1:6 Paul Moses Jeremiah
Mike Winger idea 2020-12-04

God's posture toward the backslidden is always welcoming return — the prodigal son parable and Jeremiah's call to Israel demonstrate this.

Question from Ethan Zaragoza, who drifted from faith for 1.5 years and fears God is done with him.

Jeremiah Hebrews 4:16 Luke 15 Jeremiah Hebrews 4:16 Repentance
Mike Winger idea 2021-01-22

Political prophecies, false prophets in 2020, and the antichrist

Joe Burton asked whether the wave of false political prophecies might be setting up the antichrist to appear as a savior.

Deuteronomy 18:22 1 John 2:18 Jeremiah Johnson discernment prophetic accountability eschatology
Mike Winger idea 2021-04-23

Biblical self-worth holds extreme value (image of God) and extreme humility (sinfulness) in tension; neither arrogance nor false modesty is biblical.

Q13 from unnamed questioner: what is the biblical view of self-worth, asked in the context of a young ladies' group?

Jeremiah 17:9 (deceitful heart) 2 Corinthians 10:12 women's ministry humility human dignity
Mike Winger idea 2021-03-12

Are individuals made by God? Yes — through both direct soul creation and divine foreknowledge/providential design

Q16 from Mary Strickland: How do I know I personally was made by God if I was conceived out of sin through ordinary biology?

Jeremiah 1:5 Jeremiah 1:5 foreknowledge divine providence
Mike Winger idea 2020-06-19

Jeremiah 3 shows God divorced Israel — this disproves the Catholic position that divorce is ontologically impossible. But Mike's point is about divorce, NOT remarriage. God's response: reconciliation is offered but CONDITIONED on Israel's repentance (Jeremiah 3:13). God requires acknowledgment of guilt before restoration — not unconditional reunion.

Jeremiah 3 — God divorced Israel, conditional reconciliation

Jeremiah 3:13 Jeremiah 3:13 God divorced Israel Catholic annulment
Mike Winger idea 2020-08-31

Psalm 118 is the key text the crowd quotes — it prophesies the rejected cornerstone (Messiah rejected by Israel's leaders) whom God establishes anyway. Jesus quotes it about himself in Mark 12.

Detailed exposition of Psalm 118 and its messianic significance

Acts 7 Psalm 118 Psalm 118:22 typology typology Acts 7
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-12

A consistent OT pattern: it's the LEADERS of Israel who persecute God's messengers (Jezebel vs. Elijah, Saul vs. David, people of Ephraim vs. Gideon, King Jehoiakim vs. Jeremiah). The motive: wanting power, credit, and avoidance of suffering.

OT examples of leadership rejecting prophets and application to modern rejection of the gospel

Jeremiah 7:25-26 leadership accountability Jeremiah 7:25-26 leadership accountability
Mike Winger idea 2019-11-06

Isaiah 53:4-5 is the crux: "he was pierced FOR our transgressions, crushed FOR our iniquities; the chastisement that brought us peace was UPON HIM." The word "chastisement" is ALWAYS affliction from God in the prophets. Isaiah 53:10 confirms: "it was the will of the LORD to crush him."

Detailed exegesis of Isaiah 53:4-5 and 53:10 establishing PSA

Isaiah 53:4-5 Isaiah 53:10 Michael Brown Isaiah 53:4-5 penal substitutionary atonement
Mike Winger idea 2021-08-06

Is God the Branch, or the Vine?: A few times in the OT, Jesus is referred to as the Branch (Zechariah 3:8, 6: 12, Jeremiah 23:5). Why then is He referred to as the Vine and us the branches in John 15:5?

Q&A question: Is God the Branch, or the Vine?

Jeremiah John 15 Zechariah 3 Jeremiah Jesus John 15
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