Search — Theology Explorer

1 John 3:4 Law of Moses Torah Equivocation fallacy

1 John 3:4 — "sin is lawlessness" — Hebrew Roots argument: lawlessness = breaking Torah, therefore sin = breaking Torah, therefore obeying Torah is mandatory

Mike walks through the Hebrew Roots syllogism built on 1 John 3:4 in step-by-step form.

1 John 3:4 Equivocation fallacy 1 John 3:4 Anomia

Greek term anomia (lawlessness) does not exclusively mean violation of the Mosaic law — it has diverse NT usage

Mike makes a focused philological argument about the Greek word anomia.

1 John 2:6 Matthew 15:24 1 John 2:6 Matthew 15:24 Jesus's ministry to Israel

Walking as Jesus walked does not mean obeying the OT law — it could equally mean itinerant preaching only to Jews, or staying in Israel, which no one applies literally

Mike challenges the 119 Ministries use of 1 John 2:6 ("walk as he walked") by following the logic consistently.

Torah observance Hebrew Roots Movement Paul rejection

The Hebrew Roots Movement tends to involve a progressive radicalization through increasingly extreme positions

Mike describes what he observes as a typical trajectory for people who enter the Hebrew Roots Movement.

1 John 2 Torah observance Salvation by works Apostasy

119 Ministries contradicts itself: early they say Torah-keeping is not required for salvation; later they imply it is, calling non-observance "denying the faith"

Mike plays two clips from 119 Ministries showing an internal contradiction between their opening disclaimer and their later conclusion.

Bible translation recommendation: Mike favors ESV and NASB, and advises reading multiple translations when a passage turns on a single word

Q&A: questioner asks which Bible translation Mike recommends, especially given the Hebrew/Greek issues discussed.

ESV NASB NKJV

John 1:1 Revelation of God Logos Jesus as the Word Pre-existence of Christ

John 1 Logos — what it means for Jesus to be the Word: Jesus is God's self-revelation, not the Bible itself

Q&A: questioner asks Mike to elaborate biblically on what it means for Jesus to be the Word.

1 Corinthians 9 Paul Hebrew Roots Movement Pastoral counsel

"To the Jew I became a Jew" (1 Cor 9) — Paul's principle applied to engaging Hebrew Roots family members

Mike gives practical pastoral advice for relating to Hebrew Roots family without endorsing their views.

Acts 15 Acts 15 Hebrew Roots Movement 119 Ministries

Preview of next week: Acts 15 and Pauline passages; warning to Hebrew Roots adherents to separate from those who deny salvation by grace

Closing remarks and preview of future videos in the series.

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 spiritual gifts eschatology cessationism

Face-to-face with God as the referent of "the perfect" in 1 Corinthians 13

Mike elaborates on why "the perfect" refers to the eternal state, using the internal logic of 1 Corinthians 13.

faith in Christ Hebrew Roots Movement Law of Moses

Hebrew Roots Movement: Should Christians uphold the Law of Moses?

Q&A on whether Christians should uphold the Law as Jesus did, since he was sinless in following it.

1 John 2 baptism faith in Christ 1 John 2

Baptism does not secure salvation; it is an outward expression of inward faith

Q&A on whether post-baptism sin causes a loss of the security received at baptism.

1 Corinthians 7 calling 1 Corinthians 7 marriage

1 Corinthians 7: Singleness is better than marriage for kingdom service

Q&A on Christian celibacy and the Catholic Church sex scandal involving nuns.

Catholic Church mandatory celibacy priestly celibacy

Catholic Church mandatory celibacy for priests and nuns is unbiblical

Mike addresses the Catholic sex abuse scandal as it relates to mandatory celibacy.

worship vain worship non-believers in ministry

Non-believers in a worship band constitute vain worship

Q&A on whether it is okay for a non-believer to sing or play in a worship band.

New Testament generational curses deliverance ministry

Generational curses: Mike does not believe in them as commonly taught

Q&A on whether generational curses are biblical.

1 Timothy 3 Titus 1 elder bishop 1 Timothy 3

Husband of one wife (1 Timothy 3) refers to polygamy, not divorce

Q&A on the pastoral qualification "husband of one wife" in the pastoral epistles.

Mark unforgivable sin rejection of Christ blasphemy of the Holy Spirit

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit: not accidentally saying a wrong phrase

Q&A on the meaning of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

Luke 2:52 kenosis omnipotence omniscience

Luke 2:52 — Jesus grew in wisdom, demonstrating genuine human limitations on omniscience

Continuing answer on Mark 13:32 and Jesus's limited knowledge

Job Job suffering and theodicy Elihu

Job's friends argued he deserved his suffering; God rebuked them at the end

Viewer asking for help understanding Job's friends in the book of Job

resurrection Gospel of Mark Trinity in Mark

Planned Gospel of Mark series to cover theology, apologetics, and resurrection debates

Response to viewer question about where the Trinity is in Mark

Genesis Psalm 6 hermeneutics Genesis genre

Literal vs. plain-sense biblical interpretation: read as intended, not mechanically literal

Viewer asking how literally to read the Bible, especially Genesis and Old Testament

Islam resurrection apologetics

Why Christianity and not other religions: incompatible truth claims require choosing

Viewer asking how to respond to someone asking why they should believe Christianity and not another religion

Daniel 11 Jehovah's Witnesses Daniel 11 fulfilled prophecy

JW interpretation of Daniel 11 king of the north as Russia is old Cold War theology they borrowed

Viewer asking about JW teaching that the king of the north in Daniel 11 represents Russia

1 Corinthians 15 2 Peter 1 Corinthians 15 Greg Koukl glorification

Free will in heaven: believers will have genuine free will but no desire to sin

Viewer asking whether we will have free will in heaven

Mormonism evangelism Jehovah's Witnesses

Strategy for protecting college students from JWs and the Mother God cult (World Mission Society Church of God): inoculate, don't isolate

Viewer on a college campus encountering JWs and World Mission Society Church of God

Proverbs 2 Corinthians 6:14 marriage sanctification Proverbs

There is no single "the one" person to marry — biblical principles guide spouse selection, not divine designation

Viewer asking whether there is only one possible spouse and how that relates to free will

John 3:13 Moses divine authority Elijah

John 3:13 — "No one has ascended" does not necessarily contradict Elijah's translation

Viewer asking about John 3:13 and its apparent contradiction with Elijah ascending

Revelation 2 2 Corinthians 7 Ephesus repentance justification

Repentance functions in both justification and sanctification

Viewer asking whether repentance is part of justification or sanctification

Christian worldview abortion Christians and politics

Christians should engage in politics as salt and light; political views must be biblically tested

Viewer asking whether Christians should get involved in politics, referencing Martin Luther King Jr.

1 Timothy 5 Mosaic law New Covenant tithing

Tithing is an Old Testament concept; Christians are required to give but not mandated to a 10% figure

Viewer asking Mike to reconcile his teaching that the tithe is not required with the obligation to give

Bart Ehrman community tradition view telephone game analogy

Main conclusion from Papias: eyewitness guarantors refute the telephone-game model

Core argument against Ehrman's telephone-game analogy using Papias as evidence.

Matthew Mark Luke Richard Bauckham Matthew Mark

The timing of Gospel writing corresponds to the last generation of living eyewitnesses

Argument that the Gospels were intentionally written when eyewitnesses were dying out.

Richard Bauckham Gospel historicity Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

Bultmann's theory that names were added to Gospels over time — and why it fails

Engaging with the major opposing theory for why names appear in the Gospels.

Matthew 11:21-24 salvation mental disability and accountability Matthew 11:21-24

Q&A: Salvation of severely mentally handicapped people — accountability proportional to awareness

Q&A segment begins; first question about soteriological edge cases.

Richard Bauckham Jesus Seminar Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

Q&A: The historical-critical method — recommended response is Bauckham's Jesus and the Eyewitnesses

Q&A for a student in an early Christian philosophy course using the historical-critical method.

Bart Ehrman Gospel reliability harmonization

Bart Ehrman's argument that harmonizing the Gospels means writing a new Gospel — Mike's refutation

Q&A addressing Ehrman's specific anti-harmonization argument.

Hebrews 4:15 Christology impeccability of Christ peccability of Christ

Q&A: Can Jesus sin? Physically capable but character-incapable; peccability vs. impeccability debate

Q&A doctrinal question about the sinless nature of Christ.

1 Timothy 3 Titus 1 1 Timothy 3 husband of one wife Titus 1

Q&A: Titus and 1 Timothy pastoral qualifications — "husband of one wife" and "having children"

Q&A on elder/bishop/pastor qualifications in the Pastoral Epistles.

1 Corinthians 7:14 hermeneutics sanctification 1 Corinthians 7:14

Q&A: 1 Corinthians 7:14 — "sanctified" is a dictionary term, not a theological one; no automatic salvation for unbelieving spouse

Q&A on the meaning of sanctification language in Paul's marriage instruction.

Luke 2:2 fulfilled prophecy apologetics methodology circular reasoning objection

Q&A: Using the Bible to prove the Bible — not circular reasoning when done correctly

Q&A on the epistemological objection to using Scripture to validate Scripture.

1 John 2:16 Prosperity gospel Lust of the eyes Lust of the flesh

Prosperity gospel critique: misappropriates OT promises to Israel, ignores Jesus's teachings on suffering and cross-bearing.

Continuing the prosperity gospel discussion.

Matthew 6 Matthew 6 Seek first the kingdom Wealth and Christianity

Distinction between being wealthy and pursuing wealth; Matthew 6 "seek first the kingdom" as the proper framework.

Wrapping up the prosperity gospel question.

2 Corinthians 7 metanoia 2 Corinthians 7 Repentance

Metanoia definition: a complete change of thought, attitude, and behavior regarding sin and righteousness — not inherently grief.

Reading the lexical definition from Bible software.

Contextual reading Bible study methodology Hermeneutics

Bible study tip: spend more time reading the text itself before turning to commentaries.

Joey Fisher asks for study tips for going deeper in the Bible.

Apologetics Gospel reliability Argument from silence

Argument from silence is a poor historical method: uniqueness to one Gospel does not discredit the account.

Responding to the implicit skeptical argument behind the Matthew 27 question.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Sexual immorality 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Homosexuality

1 Corinthians 6:9 lists sins (including homosexual practice) that preclude inheriting the kingdom; false teaching on these sins subverts the gospel.

Leanne Waters asks whether those who teach homosexual relations are okay are rejecting the true Jesus and true gospel.

1 Corinthians 6:9 Greek lexicology Homosexuality arsenokoitai

Greek terms in 1 Corinthians 6:9 absolutely refer to homosexuality; attempts to claim otherwise are propaganda.

Addressing revisionist interpretations of 1 Corinthians 6:9.

1 Corinthians 6:9 1 Corinthians 6:9 Easy believism Gospel

Easy believism: allowing people to remain in lifestyle sin while claiming salvation is a false gospel.

Mike argues that teaching sexual sins are acceptable amounts to leading people to hell.