Search — Theology Explorer

Hebrews 7:7 spiritual authority Levitical priesthood Abraham

Pronouncing a blessing on others: Hebrews 7:7 and mutual blessing in the body of Christ

Andrej asked whether saying "I bless you" to someone implies a hierarchical superiority that is inappropriate between equals.

Isaiah 9:6 John 14:16 Trinity Christology incarnation

Isaiah 9:6 — "Everlasting Father" as a title for Jesus: representational fullness of God

Leslie Johnson asked why Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus "Everlasting Father" if he is not the Father within Trinitarian theology.

Deuteronomy 18:22 1 John 2:18 Jeremiah Johnson discernment prophetic accountability eschatology

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.

evangelism repentance personal holiness

Ministry in strip clubs: evangelism principles and personal holiness

Carmen described joining a ministry that goes into strip clubs to spend time with women there and received family backlash.

discernment false teaching church discipline

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young: channeled content, demonic origin, pastoral danger

Rachel joined a church prayer group using the devotional Jesus Calling and found concerning content.

Galatians 1:8-9 2 Corinthians 11:4 Jude 3 sola scriptura Galatians 1:8-9 Kenneth Copeland

Another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4): prioritizing doctrine over teachers

Chip Ludick asked why Paul warned the Corinthians about "another Jesus" in 2 Corinthians 11:4 and how it applies today in light of John 17:3.

James White Trinity baptism church history

Oneness Pentecostalism and baptism: standing firm on Trinitarian faith with grace

Reagen Bechtold's family are Oneness Pentecostals who wanted him/her to be re-baptized in their formula after already being baptized in a Trinitarian church.

1 Samuel 28 Leviticus 19:31 Deuteronomy 18:11 Samuel Catholicism afterlife

Ghosts, the witch of Endor, and demonic impersonation of the dead

Lindsay Kelso asked whether the Bible supports ghosts, and whether those who claim to see them are actually encountering demons.

eschatology Christian witness kingdom of God

Closing exhortation: Christians bring hope to the world, not from the world

Closing remarks at the end of the 20 Questions livestream.

salvation resurrection cremation

Cremation does not threaten resurrection or salvation

Anonymous questioner facing financial hardship asks if cremation prevents resurrection or constitutes sin. A nearby pastor told the questioner that cremation is pagan and only burial is biblical.

Genesis 3 Genesis 3 resurrection cremation

Dust-to-dust theology supports cremation being theologically neutral

Mike grounds the cremation discussion in Genesis and the nature of death as returning to dust.

Daniel 3 resurrection fire cremation

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: death by fire carries no threat to eternal future

Mike uses Daniel as a typological support that fire or destruction of the body does not threaten resurrection.

Luke 23 Leviticus Luke 23 Leviticus burial

Burial symbolism matters even though cremation is permissible

Mike affirms cremation is acceptable but argues for the value of burial symbolism and honoring the dead.

James 1:17 1 John 1:5 prayer incarnation James 1:17

Visualizing God in prayer — dangers of anthropomorphism, suggestion to visualize light

Marty Moxie asks how to see God when praying since the mind naturally wants to picture a person.

Proverbs 8 1 Corinthians 1 typology Holy Spirit Christology

Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 — typological connection to Christ, not the Holy Spirit

Steven Rivers asks whether Lady Wisdom in Proverbs 8 could be the Holy Spirit and whether Hebrew/Greek pronouns clarify the gender.

Romans 11:25-32 eschatology Messianic Jews prophetic fulfillment

Romans 11:25-32 — partial hardening of Israel, fullness of the Gentiles, and end-times caution

Trevor T asks about Romans 11:25-32 and whether the rising number of Messianic Jews in Israel signals prophetic fulfillment.

evangelism Trinity apologetics

New Christians' obligation to evangelize and defend faith — know your limits

Stephanie, a new Christian and former LDS member, is being actively challenged by LDS family and friends on the Trinity and other doctrines. She asks whether new Christians are obligated to defend and evangelize.

incarnation omniscience William Lane Craig

God's timelessness and sequential thought — divine omniscience outside time

Jason and Alana ask how a timeless God could have sequential thoughts, especially the decision to create time.

Mormonism biblical inerrancy Trinity

Non-negotiable Christian doctrines — essentials vs. secondary issues

DJ Diner asks what doctrines Christians should plant their flag on and never back down from.

Matthew 18 Ephesians 5:8-14 Matthew 18 church discipline restoration

Exposing works of darkness (Ephesians 5:8-14) — when to involve church vs. police

Michael Francisco has a family member claiming to be Christian who sells food with vulgar messages and is supplying alcohol to minors through her business.

Luke 23:43 1 Peter 3:19 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 intermediate state Luke 23:43 Hades

Paradise in Paul's vision, the thief on the cross, and Lazarus — same place?

David's Kinion Memoirs asks whether paradise in Paul's third-heaven vision, Jesus's promise to the thief, and the Lazarus/Abraham account are the same place.

John 3:16 Psalm 5:5 Proverbs 6:16-19 God's love God's wrath John 3:16

How can God love the world and also hate sinners? Psalm 5:5 and Proverbs 6:16-19

Fly Serve Disciples asks how God can love the whole world (John 3:16) while Psalm 5:5 says God hates evildoers.

marriage encouragement discipleship

Wife more spiritually mature than husband — encouragement over competition

Lil Mik Nick asks for advice when a wife is more spiritually mature than her husband who has admitted it.

Galatians 2:20 Ephesians 1 in Christ Galatians 2:20 Ephesians 1

Unconfessed sin at death — positional vs. conditional righteousness; in Christ theology

Popham asks if a born-again Christian who dies suddenly with an unconfessed momentary sin (not a lifestyle) goes to hell.

Revelation 21 millennium eschatology second coming

Where are we judged — earth, heaven, or in between? Eschatological timeline

Damon Brook asks where humans are located during the final judgment.

Matthew 27:52-53 Lazarus crucifixion Matthew 27:52-53

Saints rising from tombs after the crucifixion (Matthew 27) — who were they?

James and Lindsey ask about the people coming out of tombs after Jesus's resurrection in Matthew 27 — did they continue living or ascend?

repentance pride spiritual warfare

Getting close to God and overcoming demonic oppression — prerequisites and warnings

Professor of Everything asks for advice on getting close to God and overcoming demons and oppression.

Matthew 10 calling missions Matthew 10

Knowing God's will for major decisions — acting without certainty

Simply Put asks how to know if God is guiding him and his wife to move to remote Alaska for missions.

Matthew 10:23 Matthew 10 Mark 6 eschatology Matthew 10:23 Son of Man

Matthew 10:23 — 'before the Son of Man comes' refers to Christ's first-coming arrival, not the Second Coming

Kelly Book asks about Matthew 10:23 and why Mark's parallel account does not include the phrase 'before the Son of Man comes.'

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Proverbs 16:5 repentance pride grace

Covert narcissism and Proverbs 16:5 — misunderstanding grace; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Giant Mushroom Tree is being diagnosed with covert narcissistic personality disorder and fears Proverbs 16:5 means they are unsavable.

1 Corinthians 10:13 Psalm 34:18 Psalm 51:17 repentance sanctification 1 Corinthians 10:13

Hardened heart and repentance — how to break callousness and return to closeness with God

Final question: someone says their heart has become hard through continued rebellion, they no longer feel sorry, and they miss living close to Christ.

Christian living discipleship biblical thinking

Introduction: learning to think biblically transforms every area of life

Opening of Friday live stream Q&A session

Luke 16:1-13 hermeneutics biblical interpretation Luke 16:1-13

Strange or odd passages in Scripture deserve careful attention

Introducing the Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13)

Luke 16:1-13 parable interpretation Luke 16:1-13 Parable of the Dishonest Manager

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager: Jesus uses a bad actor to illustrate one positive quality — shrewd urgency about the future

Reading and explaining Luke 16:1-13

Luke 16:9 parable interpretation gospel proclamation stewardship

Luke 16:9 — "make friends by means of unrighteous wealth" may refer parabolically to using all earthly resources for gospel proclamation

Interpreting the command to "make friends by means of unrighteous wealth" so they receive you into eternal dwellings

Galatians 2:10 1 Corinthians 1:26-28 early church care for the poor church responsibility

Western churches may not give adequate attention to caring for the poor

Discussing the almsgiving interpretation of Luke 16:9

Luke 16:10-13 stewardship Luke 16:10-13 money and wealth

Luke 16:10-13 reframes the parable: the master is money itself — be a faithful steward so God controls you, not money

Reading Luke 16:10-13 as commentary on the parable

eschatology rapture abomination of desolation

Anxiety about eschatology (pre/mid/post-trib) is unnecessary — Christians are called to live ready for a full lifetime of service

Responding to a question about hoping Jesus does not return until after the questioner has died, due to eschatological anxiety

hermeneutics covenant claiming biblical promises

Claiming all biblical promises because "God is no respecter of persons" is invalid reasoning

Responding to the claim that Christians can claim all biblical promises because God is no respecter of persons or because they are grafted into Israel

Romans 11 hermeneutics Abrahamic covenant Romans 11

Being grafted into Israel does not give Christians the right to claim every promise made to Israel, especially negative or law-based promises

The second half of the question about claiming Israel's promises via grafting-in

straw man argument apologetics atheism

Confirmation bias accusations are themselves prone to confirmation bias; fear of confirmation bias is not sufficient reason to disbelieve something

Responding to a young Christian worried that his theism might be confirmation bias given that most atheistic arguments seem like straw men and ad hominem

confirmation bias knowledge epistemology

Changing one's mind is not required for intellectual validity; core epistemic beliefs are foundational and need no further justification

Continuing the apologetics discussion about confirmation bias

apologetics biblical inspiration fulfilled prophecy

Christianity has a mountain of evidential support — fulfilled prophecy, unity of Scripture, historical verification

Closing the apologetics discussion by pointing to positive evidence for Christianity

obedience sexual purity Christian relationships

A new believer should lovingly but firmly set sexual boundaries with a girlfriend, even at the risk of losing the relationship

Responding to a 3-month-old believer whose girlfriend is hesitant to abstain from sex

Romans 8:29-30 election Calvinism free will

Romans 8:29-30 — the Golden Chain of Redemption: foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified; Calvinist and non-Calvinist interpretations

Brief overview of the golden chain; Mike declines a full treatment and refers to his Romans series

Romans 9 Romans 9:22-23 Romans 9 predestination God's sovereignty

God does not create people destined for hell; the verb tense in Romans 9 distinguishes God's active preparation of the saved from passive endurance of the lost

Responding to the difficulty of reconciling God's glory with creating people He knows will end up in hell

middle knowledge free will divine sovereignty

Molinism helps explain how divine sovereignty and human free will operate together

Expanding the discussion about God creating people He knows will reject Him

justice divine judgment holiness of God

God's glory is displayed in just judgment of sin, like a good judge rightly sentencing the guilty

Responding to the question of how God's glory comes from judging unbelievers

hermeneutics apologetics biblical contradictions objection

People disagreeing about Scripture does not make Scripture contradictory — this argument has no force

Responding to the objection that different schools of thought (eschatology, Calvinism) supported by Scripture prove Scripture is contradictory