Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 8044 Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 2:11 that “we are not ignorant of his designs” carries the implication that there is something to know — that Satan does not operate randomly but follows recognisable patterns that careful attention to Scripture can identify. The word translated “designs” or “devices” in various versions is the Greek…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 8032 The question sounds almost mundane, but the biblical answer reveals something important about the structure of the unseen world and the scope of demonic activity. Demons do not occupy a single location; Scripture describes them operating across different spheres, with different conditions applying to different categories of these beings. The Heavenly Realms Paul’s…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 8034 Reports of disturbing physical manifestations attributed to demonic presence have circulated throughout church history and continue into the present, ranging from objects moving to visible apparitions. Understanding what Scripture actually says about demons and physical form requires distinguishing carefully between what angels can do, what demons appear to do, and what the biblical…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 7104 This is perhaps the most important question anyone can ask. Christianity is not primarily about following a set of rules or joining an institution. It is about knowing a person, Jesus Christ, and being known by Him. The good news is that a personal relationship with Jesus is available to everyone who wants…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 009112 Paul uses the word “mystery” in a very specific and technical sense that differs from its ordinary usage. When we speak of mysteries today, we typically mean something puzzling or unknown. Paul’s use of the Greek musterion means something different: not a riddle to be solved by clever reasoning, but a divine secret…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 09113 There is a version of Protestant Christianity that treats Bible interpretation as an entirely private affair between the individual believer and the text, with no mediating role for community, history, or accountability. This sits uneasily with what Scripture actually teaches about the body of Christ, the distribution of gifts for the building up…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 7088 The question points to something that genuinely puzzles thoughtful believers. If all sins are forgiven at conversion, why does John write in 1 John 1:9 that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins”? Who is the “we” in that verse if not believers? And if…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 7089 “Born again” is perhaps the most widely used and widely misunderstood phrase in the Christian vocabulary. It has been reduced to a cultural label, adopted as a denominational identifier, and stripped by popular usage of almost all its theological content. Which is unfortunate, because what Jesus actually said to Nicodemus in John 3…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 09014 Baptismal regeneration is the teaching that the act of water baptism itself conveys saving grace and is necessary for the forgiveness of sins and the new birth. It is held in various forms by the Roman Catholic Church, some Lutheran traditions, the Churches of Christ, and significant strands of Anglican theology. It touches…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion Q04014 Few questions in Pneumatology generate more confusion or more heat. The baptism of the Holy Spirit has been claimed as the defining subsequent experience of the Christian life by some traditions, treated with suspicion by others, and misunderstood by many who hold it as central to their spirituality. What Scripture actually teaches is…