Search — Theology Explorer

Romans Romans exegesis Law of Moses

The unqualified "the law" appears 35+ times in Romans before 6:14 and always refers to the Law of Moses

Argument from Pauline usage in Romans

Galatians 3:23 Law of Moses under the law Galatians 3:23

Galatians 3:23 — before faith we were held captive "under the law," referring to the Law of Moses for Jews

Surveying Pauline uses — fourth instance

Galatians 3:25 faith in Christ Law of Moses under the law

Galatians 3:25 — we are no longer under the guardian (the law)

Surveying Pauline uses — fifth instance

false teaching 119 Ministries charitable interpretation

Are Hebrew Roots teachers false teachers? Winger extends charity, attributing error to wrong assumptions not bad faith

Q&A: question about false teaching

Galatians 1 sola fide Galatians 1 119 Ministries

Is 119 Ministries preaching another gospel? Winger says no, after their clarification on salvation by grace through faith alone

Q&A: Castellanos asks if 119 Ministries teaches another gospel

Acts circumcision Acts Jewish believers

Jewish believers who come to faith in Jesus should expect to continue being very Jewish

Q&A: Rachel asks about present-day Jews and circumcision/law observance

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-30

Colossians 1:20 — 'all things' reconciled through the blood of the cross supports universal extent

Winger turns to Colossians 1:20 as a secondary passage confirming the universal extent of the atonement.

Colossians 1:20 Colossians 1:16-17 Colossians 1:21-23 reconciliation extent of atonement application of atonement

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-30

'Those who receive' in Romans 5:17 conditions justification on reception; Romans 10:13 confirms call-response salvation

Winger highlights the word 'receive' in Romans 5:17 as the hinge that prevents universal atonement from collapsing into universalism.

Romans 5:17 Romans 10:13 faith free will application of atonement

Mike Winger idea 2019-05-30

Q&A: Difference between backsliding and falling away (Hebrews 6:4) — backsliding is spiritual decline, falling away is apostasy

Viewer Q&A on the distinction between backsliding and falling away.

Hebrews 6:4 Hebrews 6:4 apostasy backsliding

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

Galatians 3:24 justification by faith Galatians 3:24 purpose of the law

Galatians 3:24: The law is a tutor to lead us to Christ

The law's teleological purpose

textual criticism Bible translation Steven Anderson

Anderson is King James Only — his church's statement of faith lists KJV without error as first article

Other theological problems with Anderson beyond homosexuality teaching

repentance false gospel Steven Anderson

Anderson teaches that preaching repentance is a false gospel

Another major doctrinal error of Anderson

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-19

Objection that scholars affirm historicity only because they signed faith statements is refuted by citing atheist/agnostic scholars who agree

Responding to the claim that Christian bias explains scholarly consensus on historicity

James Crossley John Dominic Crossan scholarly consensus Bart Ehrman historicity of Jesus

Mike Winger idea 2019-06-26

Main point of 1 Cor 13: love, not gifts, is the permanent priority; pursuit of love must exceed pursuit of spiritual gifts.

Winger concludes the exegesis by restating Paul's actual primary argument.

1 Corinthians 13:13 spiritual gifts love 1 Corinthians 13:13

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-03

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

Pastoral application regarding suffering and theodicy

theodicy suffering faith

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-17

Analogy: Paul would be doing online ministry today

Winger reflects on the scale and nature of online ministry as a modern equivalent to reaching the marketplace of ideas.

marketplace of ideas evangelism Paul the Apostle online ministry

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-17

Q&A: How to share the gospel with a dying family member who may not be saved

Question from someone whose family member appears to be unsaved and is likely dying soon.

evangelism gospel death and dying

Mike Winger idea 2019-07-17

Closing exhortation: Be the tortoise, not the hare

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

repentance perseverance faithfulness

Trinity faith unlimited atonement

Response to Trinitarian harmony #2: the Father can have complexity in his desires — saving all who believe

Mike offers a positive alternative to the Calvinist Trinitarian harmony construct.

faith unlimited atonement extent vs. application

Extent vs. application: atonement intended for all, applied to those who believe

Mike's synthesis of the Father's intent in the atonement.

Romans 8:29-32 Romans (book) hermeneutics union with Christ Romans 8:29-32

Romans 8 is about benefits to those in Christ, not an exclusive statement limiting the atonement's extent

Contextual argument about what Romans 8 is actually teaching.

Romans 10:9-13 faith unlimited atonement genuine offer of salvation

Romans 10:9-13 — the emphasis of Romans is on faith, not on limiting who Christ died for

Mike applies the theological logic of Romans to the limited atonement debate.

James White Hebrews 7:25 James White unlimited atonement intercession

Objection 3 answered: intercession is available to all who draw near, not limited to a fixed elect group

Mike addresses the intercession objection using Hebrews 7:25.

James White Hebrews 7:25 James White faith divine sovereignty

Salvation conditioned on faith is not a limitation on God's power but God's sovereign choice of conditions

Mike responds to White's charge that non-Calvinism makes God dependent on human cooperation.

Ephesians 2:8-9 Ephesians 2:11-13 Ephesians 2:8-9 faith atonement

Ephesians 2:11-13 reinforces: benefits of Christ's blood applied at the moment of belief, not at the cross

Further use of Ephesians 2 to argue for the extent/application distinction.

John Owen faith universalism unlimited atonement

John Owen's trilemma answered: extent and application are distinct; the trilemma conflates them

Mike's direct rebuttal to John Owen's trilemma / false dilemma.

Ephesians 2:1-3 faith limited atonement trilemma

Owen's trilemma implies the elect were forgiven before they believed — which Ephesians 2 contradicts

Secondary refutation of the trilemma from Ephesians 2.

faith imputation unlimited atonement

Christ's work is not applied until belief; payment and application are two distinct moments

Positive resolution to the double payment problem.

atonement Calvinism unlimited atonement

Application of atonement through faith is not a "secondary act of atonement"

Mike responds to the Calvinist rhetorical slogan that non-Calvinism requires a second atonement act.

Mike Winger idea 2019-08-07

Q&A: Did Jesus perform miracles as God or purely as a human in right relationship with God?

Viewer raises a Christological claim used to support charismatic miracle theology.

Bill Johnson miracles Christology

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Justin Martyr (2nd century) explicitly describes two beams on the cross

Justin Martyr, one of the earliest Christian apologists, writing in the second century, describes Christ's cross as having two beams — ruling out the single-stake theory.

apologetics crucifixion cross

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

The real Watchtower error: denying the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, not just the shape of the cross

Winger argues that the cross-shape dispute, while useful in exposing Watchtower unreliability, is secondary to the far more serious Watchtower error: they deny that Jesus's death on the cross was sufficient to pay for sin.

Ephesians 2:8-9 John 19:30 justification by faith atonement Ephesians 2:8-9

Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Upcoming content: critique of The Physics of Heaven (Bethel/Bill Johnson-connected book)

Winger previews his next Tuesday topic: a critique of The Physics of Heaven, a book promoted by Bethel Church, Bill Johnson, and Jesus Culture. He has read it without advance reviews and found the content disturbing.

Bill Johnson Bethel Church Jesus Culture

atonement imago Dei incarnation

Christian worldview distinctives: personal God, imago Dei, sin, grace, salvation by faith

Comparison of Christianity's core claims against other religions

Revelation Islam salvation by works comparative religion

Islam's fundamental claims: closer to Christianity but built as a rejection of it — different God, no grace, no cross

Comparative religion analysis of Islam vs. Christianity

Trinity Holy Spirit apologetics

Q&A: Are people who deny the Trinity but believe in salvation by grace through faith saved?

Viewer question from Devin Nicely

salvation gospel Catholicism

Q&A: Is it wise to tell someone their deceased Catholic loved one is in heaven?

Viewer question from Hannah Elizabeth

Romans 6:3-4 repentance faith death and resurrection of Christ

Baptism represents identification with the death and resurrection of Christ — Romans 6:3-4

Part 1: establishing what baptism means before asking who should receive it.

Matthew 28:18-20 Great Commission discipleship baptism

Matthew 28:18-20 — baptism follows discipleship/belief, not precedes it

Winger examines the Great Commission to establish the pattern for baptism in the NT.

Acts 2:40-41 faith infant baptism believers baptism

Acts 2:40-41 — only those who received the word were baptized, implying cognizant response

Further analysis of Acts 2 to show baptism requires comprehension and reception of the gospel.

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.

Acts 16:31-34 faith infant baptism household baptism

Acts 16:31-34: Philippian jailer's household — all heard the word, believed, and rejoiced, excluding passive infants

Exegesis of the Philippian jailer conversion and household baptism.

John 4:53 Acts 18:8 Philippians 4:22 faith infant baptism John 4:53

Three additional passages show "household" belief language does not imply infants: John 4:53, Acts 18:8, Philippians 4:22

Winger broadens the argument to show that household believing/greeting language consistently excludes passive infants.

Circumcision-baptism parallel breaks down on multiple fronts: faith requirement, compulsion, and gender exclusivity

Winger extends the critique of the circumcision-baptism parallel by pressing its internal inconsistencies.

Lydia faith baptism

John MacArthur Luke 18:15-16 John MacArthur infant baptism Luke 18:15-16

Part 4: Luke 18:15-16 — "Let the children come" has nothing to do with baptism

Winger addresses a verse sometimes used to support infant baptism.

Galatians 2:21 Ephesians 2 salvation grace works

Q&A: Adding baptism as a requirement for salvation nullifies grace — Galatians 2:21 parallel

Winger responds to a question about whether requiring baptism for salvation amounts to nullifying grace.

faith baptism believers baptism

Q&A: Minimum age for baptism is not fixed — the NT criterion is belief, which varies by individual

A viewer asks what minimum age Winger would set for baptism.

Romans James 2 Galatians Romans James 2 justification

Q&A: James 2 and the relationship between works and faith — a different question from Galatians/Romans

A viewer asks about the distinction between works in Paul versus James.