Search — Theology Explorer

Isaiah 41:23 Lamentations 3:38-39 divine judgment ra calamity vs moral evil

Isaiah 41:23 and Lamentations 3:38-39 corroborate that God bringing evil/bad = calamity, not moral evil

Supporting passages examined to reinforce the interpretation of Isaiah 45:7

Job John 9:1-3 spiritual warfare Job problem of evil

Three biblical causes of natural evil: divine judgment, spiritual warfare, and the greater good

Mike surveys biblical reasons for calamitous suffering

theodicy free will evil as privation

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

1 John 5:16-17 repentance apostasy 1 John 5:16-17

Q&A: Sin unto death in 1 John 5 — physical death (unrepentant sin) or spiritual death (apostasy)

Audience question about 1 John 5:16-17

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-17

Q&A: Canaanite genocide — was it genocide, and does God have the right to kill?

Question from Texas Tech asking how to justify God commanding the killing of Canaanites, which skeptics call genocide.

theodicy apologetics divine judgment

Psalm 119 Psalm 119 God's wrath human sin

God never sins in His anger; the danger is our sin provoking it

Mike shifts the frame from God's nature to humanity's accountability.

2 Peter 3:9 repentance divine patience 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 — God delays judgment because He desires all to repent

Mike uses 2 Peter to explain the delay between God's wrath and its execution.

Ezekiel 33:11 repentance Ezekiel 33:11 God's wrath

Ezekiel 33:11 — God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked

Mike demonstrates Old Testament consistency on God's wrath and mercy.

Exodus 20:5-6 God's wrath divine holiness divine mercy

Exodus 20:5-6 — God's jealousy is analogous to His wrath: proper, not sinful

Mike extends the argument to God's jealousy as a parallel form of righteous emotion.

repentance salvation God's wrath

God's wrath is meant to drive people to Jesus

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

God's wrath divine holiness theological error

Consequence 3 of denying wrath: undermines divine holiness

Mike connects wrath to the doctrine of divine holiness.

salvation propitiation God's wrath

Consequence 4 of denying wrath: hollows out the meaning of the cross

Mike connects wrath to soteriology and the atonement.

God's love divine judgment God's wrath

Critique of depersonalizing wrath: 'God hates sin but not sinners' is biblically insufficient

Mike critiques a popular pastoral slogan often used to soften the doctrine of wrath.

Romans 5:8 God's wrath human sin divine holiness

Three reasons people struggle with God's wrath: false dichotomy, wounded past, inflated view of human goodness

Mike diagnoses the pastoral and psychological sources of resistance to the doctrine of divine wrath.

Revelation 19 repentance eschatology divine judgment

Revelation 19 — the saints praise God for His judgment; wrath is recognized as good

Mike uses the eschatological vision of Revelation 19 as the ultimate vindication of God's wrath.

James 3:1 divine judgment James 3:1 pastoral accountability

Q&A: Pastors held to higher accountability — James 3:1

Viewer asks why saved pastors who lead people astray face greater judgment.

Ephesians 1-3 in Christ salvation Ephesians 1-3

Positional 'in Christ' removes believers from the domain of God's wrath

Mike clarifies how believers relate to divine wrath in light of the question about prosperity gospel preachers.

eschatology God's love divine judgment

Q&A: Does God's love have a time limit — does it turn to hatred at death for the damned?

Viewer asks whether God's love for the unrepentant ceases at death and becomes everlasting hatred.

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

Hebrews 9:27 gospel proclamation final judgment exclusivity of Christ

Third meaning: all roads lead to God in judgment — this is true and sober

The one coherent interpretation of the slogan

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

Matthew 11:21-22 repentance Calvinism soteriology

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

Viewer question from James Giorgio

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-31

Q&A: Age of accountability is not a fixed age but individualized — God knows each person's capacity

Winger briefly addresses the age of accountability question from the live chat.

infant salvation divine judgment age of accountability

Mike Winger idea 2020-01-29

God's severe OT judgments are iconic examples of how extreme sin is, not normative patterns; wrath is mostly being delayed

Q&A: explaining the apparent harshness of divine judgment in the OT vs. NT

Romans 1-2 Joshua 7 divine judgment Romans 1-2 wrath of God

Mike Winger idea 2020-08-28

Proverbs 16:4 is a text that theological grids are read INTO, not a proof text for either Calvinist determinism or open theism

Question from Tobias about whether Proverbs 16:4 suggests God predestined the wicked for condemnation.

Proverbs 16:4 hermeneutics Molinism middle knowledge

Mike Winger idea 2020-09-18

Should two Christians who fornicated marry? — Consider it, but do not treat marriage as a required patch on the sin

Question from Spazzy Jazzy about rectifying fornication through marriage.

Exodus 22:16-17 Deuteronomy 22 marriage repentance fornication

1 John 4:7-16 propitiation assurance of salvation 1 John 4:7-16

1 John 4 on love and assurance: knowing and believing God's love is the foundation for freedom from fear about the afterlife

Q&A from Taste Remains about anxiety regarding the afterlife and assurance of salvation

1 John 4:17-18 atonement assurance of salvation fear of judgment

1 John 4:17-18 — perfect love casts out fear; God's love applied to judgment produces confidence

Continuing the 1 John 4 reading and application

1 John 3:19-20 assurance of salvation fear of judgment 1 John 3:19-20

1 John 3:19-20 — God is greater than our condemning heart and knows everything

Additional passage addressing the fear and self-condemnation of the questioner