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All (34) Mike Winger (34)
Mike Winger idea 2022-11-11

Numbers 5:18 (apokalupto) is a different word from what Paul uses

Mike addresses another piece of evidence from hair-up proponents.

Numbers 5:18 Philip Payne apokalupto Numbers 5:18
Mike Winger idea 2018-02-14

Revelation 2:22-23 — Jesus threatens to cast a false teacher into a sick bed and kill her followers: direct scriptural refutation of Johnson's 'God cannot give sickness' claim

Mike cites a key New Testament text to disprove Johnson's theology from within the very Jesus-focused framework Johnson uses

Revelation 2:22-23 Bill Johnson healing theology Revelation 2:22-23
Mike Winger idea 2018-01-24

Q&A (off-topic): Divorced woman who was cheated on and physically abused asks if remarrying would be adultery after her ex-husband has now married his fifth wife.

Viewer question from 'Truth Watch' about remarriage after divorce involving infidelity and abuse.

1 Corinthians 7 1 Corinthians 7 divorce and remarriage adultery
Mike Winger idea 2018-03-14

Q&A: can someone have saving faith yet commit murder? — Mike argues sin is not binary; Jesus elevated even hatred and lust to the level of murder and adultery

Viewer question about faith, repentance, and serious sin

Matthew 5 repentance sanctification salvation and sin
Mike Winger idea 2018-04-11

Q&A: The pericope adulterae (John 7:53–8:11, woman caught in adultery) was likely not in the original Gospel of John

Viewer asks about the scholarly conclusion that the 'cast the first stone' story is a later addition.

John 7-8 textual criticism manuscript variants pericope adulterae
Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

Old Testament law assigns different penalties to different sins, which itself demonstrates that God does not treat all sin the same.

Mike begins his Old Testament survey by pointing to the differentiated penal codes in the Mosaic law.

Exodus 22 sin Old Testament law penalty
Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

Deuteronomy 25 provides a catch-all principle: punishment is to be 'in proportion to the offense,' explicitly grounding proportional justice in God's law.

Mike examines a general sentencing passage in Deuteronomy to show that the proportionality principle is not limited to specific crimes but is a foundational legal principle.

Deuteronomy 25 sin Old Testament law hierarchy of sin
Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

James 2:10 does not teach that all sins are identical; it teaches that breaking any one point of the law makes a person a law-breaker before the same Lawgiver — a relational, not equivalence, statement.

Mike addresses the primary proof-text used to argue all sin is the same and offers an exegesis that resolves the apparent tension.

James 2:10 James 2:11 Romans 3:23 hermeneutics exegesis James 2:10
Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

No sin is trivially small because every sin is a personal offense against a holy God — the error is in using 'not all sin is the same' as a license to minimize some sins.

Mike offers the first pastoral guard against misusing the hierarchy-of-sin principle.

sin holiness Christian living
Mike Winger idea 2018-10-17

Matthew 5:27 — Lusting in the heart is adultery in the heart, but it is not the same act as physical adultery; using 'all sin is the same' to justify the full act is logically incoherent.

Mike examines Jesus' teaching on lust to show how the 'all sin is the same' doctrine can be weaponized to rationalize escalating sin.

Matthew 5:27-28 adultery Christian living hierarchy of sin
Mike Winger idea 2018-12-19

Sermon on the Mount: Jesus internalizes the law — lust equals adultery in the heart

Mike illustrates why outward law-keeping is not sufficient

Matthew 5:27-28 Sermon on the Mount law Matthew 5:27-28
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-08

John 8 (woman caught in adultery) has significant textual critical issues; there is no good case for identifying her as Mary Magdalene; the absence of the man reflects a real double standard

Response to question about the woman caught in adultery

John 8 Mary Magdalene textual criticism John 8
Mike Winger idea 2019-05-15

Matthew 5:20-48 shows Jesus intensifying the Law (anger=murder, lust=adultery) to reveal how far short everyone falls

Winger's reading of the antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5:20-48 Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:20-48 antitheses
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-13

Romans 3:19-23: The purpose of the law is to close every mouth and make all the world accountable

The true purpose of the OT law

Romans 3:19-23 knowledge of sin Romans 3:19-23 purpose of the law
Mike Winger idea 2019-06-13

Jesus in Matthew 5 intensifies the law — lust equals adultery in the heart, hate equals murder

Jesus's Sermon on the Mount expands the scope of sin

Matthew 5 Matthew 5 Sermon on the Mount universal sinfulness
Mike Winger idea 2019-09-04

Q&A: Polygamy is inherently sinful; one-flesh marriage precludes a second wife by definition

A viewer asks how to demonstrate that polygamy is sinful for Christians. Winger argues from the nature of marriage itself and from both Testaments.

1 Timothy 3:2 Genesis 2:24 Titus 1:6 1 Timothy 3:2 Genesis 2:24 Titus 1:6
Mike Winger idea 2019-10-02

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 5:27-28 Matthew 5:21-22 lust inner life total depravity
Mike Winger idea 2020-09-04

1 John 5:16-17: sin leading to death likely refers to physical death, not Catholic mortal/venial sin distinction

Q from Sarah Nordberg about the meaning of sin leading to death vs. sin not leading to death in 1 John 5:16-17.

1 John 5:16-17 atonement repentance mortal sin
Mike Winger idea 2020-10-23

Numbers 5 — the Bitter Water trial does not describe an abortion; the NIV translation is mistaken on this point

Question from Dakota Ballard about pro-choice advocates using Numbers 5:27 to support abortion.

Numbers 5:27 Numbers 5 NIV abortion divine judgment
Mike Winger idea 2021-03-26

Mark 7:14-19 — Jesus declares all foods clean by distinguishing ceremonial uncleanness from moral defilement; the Levitical purity laws were pedagogical, not moral.

Tabitha Littman asks why Jesus seems appalled that Jews believed touching/eating certain things made them unclean given God instituted those laws in Leviticus.

Acts 15 Leviticus 11 Mark 7:14-19 Acts 15 Pharisees Leviticus 11
Mike Winger idea 2021-03-19

Deuteronomy 22 rape law — two scenarios and the woman's protection

Listener Christy Courts' friend claims Deuteronomy 22 shows flawed teaching. Mike defends the passage.

Deuteronomy 22:23-27 Mosaic law Deuteronomy 22:23-27 Rape law
Mike Winger idea 2020-02-12

Q&A: John 8:1-11 (woman caught in adultery) is very likely a true story/memory of Jesus but probably not originally part of John's Gospel. It appears in different locations in manuscripts. Most translations bracket it.

Q&A — John 8:1-11 textual criticism

Mark 16:9-20 John 8:1-11 textual criticism textual criticism Mark 16:9-20
Mike Winger idea 2020-04-15

Jesus taught monogamy. Matthew 19:9 and Mark 10:11-12: divorcing and marrying another = adultery, which wouldn't make sense if polygamy were permitted. 1 Timothy 3:2, 3:12, Titus 1:6: elders/deacons must be husband of one wife — referring to polygamy prohibition. 1 Corinthians 7:2-4: each man his own wife, each woman her own husband — mutual sexual exclusivity eliminates polygamy.

Jesus taught monogamy — against polygamy

1 Timothy 3:2 Matthew 19:9 Mark 10:11-12 1 Timothy 3:2 polygamy polygamy
Mike Winger idea 2020-04-29

Mike shifts to a loose upload schedule — fewer but higher-quality videos. He's been rushing 2-3 videos/week to satisfy the YouTube algorithm, sometimes at the cost of thorough preparation. New approach: study topics fully, publish when ready. Current deep study: marriage, divorce, and remarriage — a topic where getting it wrong harms real lives.

Content strategy shift — quality over quantity

divorce and remarriage content strategy quality over quantity
Mike Winger idea 2020-06-19

Leviticus 20:10 objection: if adultery = death, how can it be grounds for divorce (the person would be dead)? Four responses: (1) The death penalty wasn't practiced after 30 AD under Roman rule — John 18:31: "it is not lawful for us to put anyone to death." (2) The Mishnah has rules for divorced adulteresses (can't marry their lover) — proving they weren't killed. (3) Adultery was hard to prove (requires 2+ witnesses). (4) Jesus uses porneia (broader than adultery) to include lesser sexual offenses.

Adultery death penalty objection — four rebuttals

Leviticus 20:10 John 18:31 Deuteronomy 24 Leviticus 20:10 John 18:31 Mishnah Yevamot 2:8
Mike Winger idea 2020-11-02

Objections answered: (1) Jesus's "turn the other cheek" refutes personal vengeance, not governmental justice; (2) David's pardon is a divine exception, not a rule; (3) John 8 (woman in adultery) was a mob, not a court — and the passage is textually questionable.

Responding to objections against the death penalty

John 8 woman adultery Matthew 5 eye for eye death penalty John 8 woman adultery Matthew 5 eye for eye
Mike Winger idea 2021-05-14

Psalm 51:16-17 ("God does not delight in sacrifice") is situational to David after murdering Uriah — he can't just offer a bull and fix things. The only thing he can offer is a broken spirit. It's not a blanket rejection of the sacrificial system.

Q6: Does Psalm 51 mean God doesn't want sacrifices?

Psalm 51 David repentance Brian Zahnd
Mike Winger idea 2021-05-14

Fight sin at its earliest stage — Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount that the beginning state of sin (lust, anger) is already where you've lost the fight. Draw personal boundaries far from the sin, not close.

Q9: How to fight the temptation to lust?

Matthew 5 Matthew Jesus Matthew 5 Matthew
Mike Winger idea 2021-06-25

Did God Promote Adultery in Genesis?: In Genesis 38:7-10, Someone was commanded to lay with his brother’s wife and impregnate her. He didn’t impregnate her, and the Lord struck him down. Is God promoting adultery?

Q&A question: Did God Promote Adultery in Genesis?

Genesis marriage Genesis
Mike Winger idea 2021-07-23

About the Woman Caught in Adultery Passage: It's said that the story from John 7: 53 to 8: 11 isn't found in the earlier manuscripts. It's one of my favorite pictures of God's grace. What do you think about how we should deal with this?

Q&A question: About the Woman Caught in Adultery Passage

John 7 John 7
Mike Winger idea 2022-12-09

Advice for a Tough Marital Situation: If my wife committed adultery against me and a child resulted from the affair, am I bound to care for the child? Why or why not, and how would I go about handling the situation after finding out?

Q&A question: Advice for a Tough Marital Situation

marriage
Mike Winger idea 2023-04-21

Understanding a Difficult Passage: I'm struggling to interpret Judges 19:2, 25 on why the concubine suffered abuse. Some have said God was punishing her for adultery. How do I understand this without reading into the text?

Q&A question: Understanding a Difficult Passage

Judges 19 Judges 19
Mike Winger idea 2024-09-20

Was David Conceived in Adultery?: In Psalm 51:5, David says that in sin his mother conceived him. Is he saying that he has been in sin since his conception, or that his mother was in sin when she conceived him? Was David born in adultery?

Q&A question: Was David Conceived in Adultery?

Psalm 51 David Psalm 51
Mike Winger idea 2024-10-18

Exodus: Conjugal Rights vs. Adultery?: Exodus 21: 10 says a man married to multiple women shouldn't deny them conjugal rights. Isn't each instance of intimacy in that situation adultery against one wife?

Q&A question: Exodus: Conjugal Rights vs. Adultery?

Exodus 21 marriage Exodus 21