Search — Theology Explorer

Hebrews 1:1-2 1 Timothy 1:18 Revelation of John Hagar charismatic movement prophecy

Hebrews 1:1-2 does not prohibit God from speaking to individuals today

Question about whether God still speaks through a still small voice today, referencing Hebrews 1:2.

personal testimony divine calling ministry

Mike's personal testimony: a burden from God that led to his YouTube ministry

Mike illustrates genuine individual divine communication with personal experience.

1 Corinthians 14:22-23 spiritual gifts tongues 1 Corinthians 14:22-23

1 Corinthians 14:22 — tongues are a sign for unbelievers only when interpreted; the apparent contradiction explained

Question about the apparent flip in 1 Corinthians 14:22-23 where tongues are a sign for unbelievers yet unbelievers will think speakers are mad.

evangelism prayer witnessing

Evangelizing resistant family members: heart attitude must precede strategy

Question from someone whose parents think religion is stupid and who fears being judged for sharing their faith.

anachronism church history sola scriptura

Early church creeds: authoritative insofar as they reflect Scripture, not equal to Scripture; beware anachronism

Question about the Athanasian Creed and whether it is biblical, specifically the implication that one must believe in the Trinity to be saved.

Acts 2 Psalm 51:11 John 14:17 David Acts 2 Abraham

Old Testament believers were saved but lacked the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit

Question about whether Old Testament believers were born again and could be called children of God.

Romans 11 Abrahamic covenant Jewish people Romans 11

Modern Israel and biblical Israel are continuous, but God's promises do not make every Israeli action righteous

Question about how modern political Israel correlates to biblical promises for Israel.

Romans 10:1-4 John 5:46 Moses soteriology Messiah

Dual covenant theology is unbiblical; Jewish people need Jesus — Romans 10:1-4 and John 5:46

Final question about whether Jews can be saved without believing in Jesus through a special covenant.

apologetics aliens and Christianity

Would aliens disprove Christianity? The real question is not whether aliens exist but what Christian belief would be lost if they did.

Opening topic of the 20 Questions livestream

Trinity justification by faith apologetics

Aliens would not disprove any core Christian doctrine: God's existence, the Trinity, Christ's death and resurrection, justification by grace through faith, or the future resurrection.

Working through whether alien discovery threatens Christian beliefs

Romans 8 atonement Romans 8 new creation

Christ's death and resurrection is a cosmic, universe-wide victory - not limited to earth; Romans 8 ties all creation's redemption to Adam's sin and Christ's work.

The scope of Christ's atonement

Ezekiel Ezekiel demonology apologetics

UFO sightings: the Christian worldview has a third explanatory option beyond aliens or government - angelic/demonic activity.

UFO sightings and Christian worldview

demonology UFOs Hugh Ross

Hugh Ross on the difficulties of space travel make alien visits to earth implausible; demonic activity is a more probable explanation for credible UFO sightings.

Physical plausibility of alien visits vs. demonic activity

1 Corinthians 7:12-14 apostolic authority marriage 1 Corinthians 7:12-14

1 Corinthians 7:12-14 - Paul says "not the Lord" meaning he gives apostolic instruction without a direct quote from Jesus; believers married to unbelievers should not divorce.

Question about 1 Corinthians 7:14 and sanctification of unbelieving spouse

1 Corinthians 7:14 semantic range marriage sanctification

"Sanctified" in 1 Corinthians 7:14 does not mean saved; it describes the practical, behavioral influence a believing spouse has on an unbelieving one and on the children.

Meaning of "sanctification" in 1 Corinthians 7:14

Many Christian doubts about heaven and death are psychological rather than intellectual; manufactured skepticism exploits unthought-through questions to create irrational doubt.

Question: can someone know for sure that heaven is real?

faith apologetics doubt

Abraham faith fulfilled prophecy

Biblical faith is not groundless belief but trust based on revelation and evidence; the response to psychological doubt is to exercise trust grounded in good reasons.

How to respond to psychological doubt

Hebrews 13:2 hermeneutics angelology Hebrews 13:2

Entertaining angels unawares is a super-rare event in Scripture; the main application of Hebrews 13:2 is the importance of showing kindness to strangers, not predicting frequency of angelic visits.

Application of Hebrews 13:2

2 Kings 6 spiritual warfare Elisha angelology

Angels do occasionally interact tangibly with creation; 2 Kings example of Elisha's servant needing eyes opened, and angelic armies that physically engaged enemies.

Do angels interact tangibly with creation?

James White Isaiah 9:6 Trinity James White Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah 9:6 calls Jesus "Everlasting Father" - Mike cannot recall his full answer but recommends James White's The Forgotten Trinity and Got Questions for responses to Oneness Pentecostal use of the verse.

Question about Isaiah 9:6 and Oneness Pentecostalism

Romans 14 Romans 14 conscience sanctification

An over-sensitive conscience may result from equating every guilty feeling with sin; Romans 14 and Mike's dedicated video on conscience address calibrating the conscience rightly.

Question about having an overly sensitive conscience

Ephesians 1-3 Hebrews 4 Ephesians 1:4 conscience grace forgiveness

Ephesians 1-3 as the foundation for resting in total forgiveness; believers are holy and without blame before God in love (Ephesians 1:4) and have bold access to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4).

Pastoral counsel on conscience and assurance of forgiveness

Judges hermeneutics Judges typology

The book of Judges follows a downward trajectory of increasingly flawed deliverers (Gideon → Jephthah → Samson) to show Israel's depravity and create expectation for the true Deliverer - Jesus.

Theological purpose of the book of Judges

Lee Strobel evangelism J. Warner Wallace

Discipling a believing-but-disengaged parent: focus on the will problem; build bridges through his interests rather than direct confrontation.

Question about discipling an unengaged believing father

hermeneutics discernment commentaries

For new Christians evaluating commentaries: trust your Bible more than commentators; blueletterbible.org is recommended as a generally reliable free resource.

Question from a new Christian about evaluating Bible teachers and commentaries

cessationism Holy Spirit tongues

Mike identifies as charismatic (gifts active today, cessationism rejected) but not hyper-charismatic; he opposes fabricating gifts and "Acts 2.0" theology.

Question clarifying what Mike means by calling himself charismatic

White lies are a moral compromise; giving oneself permission for them breeds untrustworthiness. Better alternatives: honest deflection ("I don't want to talk about it") or full honesty.

Question: are white lies okay to spare a spouse's feelings?

marriage ethics lying

Matthew 19 — Eunuchs for the Kingdom 1 Corinthians 7:32-38 Paul Jesus Marriage and Childbearing

Jesus commends voluntary singleness (making oneself a eunuch for the kingdom) — therefore a blanket command for every person to have children cannot be right.

New Testament witness on the fruitful-and-multiply question.

Matthew 24 — Woe to Nursing Mothers Marriage and Childbearing Contraception Abortion

There may be seasons — such as extreme hardship — where a married couple may avoid pregnancy; but this is entirely distinct from abortion (murder) or any contraception that kills a conceived human being.

Discussing contextual exceptions to the general childbearing mandate.

Calvary Chapel Jehovah's Witnesses Church Selection

Advice to a former JW: Do not transfer the JW 'true church' mentality to a new denomination — move from following an institutional governing body to following Christ, and seek genuine (not perfect) Christians.

Q: Former JW, not properly baptized — how to choose a church and who should baptize me? Afraid of being misled.

1 Corinthians 5:11 1 Corinthians 5:11 Church Discipline Fellowship vs. Outreach Mode

1 Corinthians 5:11 — not associating with a so-called 'brother' guilty of ongoing sin — targets life-pattern behavioral sins, not theological disagreement; the context is likely the communion/love-feast meal.

Q: How should 1 Corinthians 5:11 affect relationships with liberal Christian friends with unbiblical beliefs and practices?

1 Corinthians 5:11 Evangelism 1 Corinthians 5:11 Church Discipline

When someone professing faith lives as an unbeliever, the individual Christian's posture should shift from fellowship mode to outreach mode — still loving and gracious but with different relational goals.

Application of 1 Corinthians 5:11 to personal relationships with professing but lifestyle-unbelieving friends.

Evangelism Discipleship Church Mission / Ecclesiology

The role of the church's Sunday service is primarily discipleship with contextual outreach emphasis — the degree depends on the season and makeup of the congregation; discipleship always happens, outreach emphasis is more variable.

Q: Should the church be focused on reaching unbelievers or teaching believers who then go out and evangelize?

Evangelism Church Mission / Ecclesiology Personal Witness

Personal evangelism by individual believers throughout the week is more effective than Sunday-service-only outreach — placing the entire evangelism burden on the pastor is both ineffective and inappropriate.

Continued discussion of church role and outreach strategy.

Doubt and Faith Mental Health and Christianity Humility

Psychological doubts where reason does not help require humility — admitting one is being irrational — rather than demanding emotional confirmation before believing; this applies to faith and to mental illness alike.

Q: What are the steps to take while dealing with psychological doubts where no amount of reason will help you feel better?

Prayer Doubt and Faith Trust in God vs. Feelings

In times of psychological doubt, stop requiring emotional confirmation from Bible reading, worship, and prayer — treat spiritual disciplines as objectively worth doing regardless of how they feel.

Practical strategies for overcoming psychological/emotional doubt.

Seventh-day Adventism Cults and False Religions

Mike leans toward classifying the Seventh-day Adventist church as a cult and plans a full dedicated video on the SDA topic in the coming year.

Q: Do you think the SDA is a cult?

Romans 10:1-4 Galatians — Law as Condemner Paul Romans 10:1-4 Jewish Salvation / Two-Covenant Theology

Romans 10:1-4 refutes the idea that Jews can be saved apart from Jesus: Paul's heart's desire is that his Jewish kinsmen be saved — meaning they currently are not — despite their genuine zeal for God.

Q: How do I respond to family who believe Jews will go to heaven even if not saved by Jesus?

Eschatology Amillennialism Premillennialism

Mike is pre-millennial and futurist: he believes in a literal seven-year tribulation and a thousand-year reign of Christ; he does not believe amillennialism is biblical but has not done deep recent study on eschatology.

Q: Do you believe amillennialism is biblical, and what arguments do you have for and against it?

Spiritual Gifts Ministry and Disability Calling and Gifting

A person with Asperger's who fears public speaking should identify what they are actually gifted at and build ministry around those strengths rather than forcing it through their weakness.

Q: I suffer from Asperger's syndrome and have fear of crowds and public speaking — is my fear a valid reason not to spread God's word?

discipleship biblical thinking

Goal: teach people to think biblically, not just memorize answers

Ministry philosophy discussion

Galatians 6:1 sin habitual sin humility

Galatians 6: distinction between living in sin vs. occasional sin

Continuing Q5 on Christian sin frequency

Mark 11:22-25 Daniel 1 Kings 8 prayer temple indwelling Holy Spirit

Q7: Daniel prayed without a temple — praying toward the temple as access to God (OT parallel to praying in Jesus' name)

Response to question about Mark 11:22-25 and temple-based prayer

1 Corinthians 6:19 prayer temple indwelling Holy Spirit

Believers as the temple — the astonishing access to God available through Christ

Continuation of Q7; reflection on prayer and access to God

evangelism love and truth homosexuality

Q8: Pastoral advice for engaging a friend who has pursued a gay lifestyle — understanding before fixing

Response to viewer whose Christian friend came out as gay

Matthew Vines biblical authority apologetics homosexuality

Diagnosing the root belief driving a gay-identifying Christian friend — four possible positions

Continuing Q8 — strategy for engaging friend

1 Corinthians 7 Matthew 19 1 Corinthians 7 marriage singleness

Q9: Is it sinful to not want to marry? Singleness is a gift, not inferior to marriage

Response to viewer asking about call to singleness

Philippians 4:8 Brian Simmons prosperity gospel Philippians 4:8

Q10: Dangers of treating positivity/negativity as moral categories — New Age/New Thought origins

Response to question about "happy church" culture where positivity = moral good

hermeneutics eschatology epistemology

Q12: Fear of studying theology — not studying is not safer; intellectual humility in study

Response to viewer afraid of making mistakes when studying eschatology