Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 02014 The phrase “God hates the sin but loves the sinner” has become so familiar in Christian circles that most people assume it must be in the Bible somewhere. It is not. The reality the Bible presents is more complex, more demanding, and ultimately more searching than that popular summary allows. Getting this right…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 6044 Paul’s language of the “old man” and the “new man” appears at key points in his letters, and it is easy to read past it without understanding the weight of what he is actually saying. This is not motivational language about improving yourself or leaving bad habits behind. It is a description of…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 6018 Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians contains one of the most practically searching distinctions in the New Testament. Writing about the response of the Corinthian church to a previous letter of correction, he draws a line between two kinds of sorrow over sin that feel superficially similar but move in completely opposite directions….
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 60007 We live in a world of religious diversity. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and countless other faiths claim the allegiance of billions of people. In an age of tolerance and pluralism, many find it offensive to suggest that Christianity alone is true. Are not all religions essentially the same? Do they not all…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 60008 In a marketplace of competing worldviews and religions, what sets Christianity apart? Is it simply one option among many, differing from others only in cultural expressions and historical accidents? Or is there something fundamentally distinctive about the Christian faith? As we shall see, Christianity is unique in ways that no other religion can…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 3039 If salvation comes only through faith in Jesus, what about all those who lived before He came? Were Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets saved? If so, how? They never heard the name of Jesus. They never knew about the cross. How can the death of Jesus two thousand years ago have any…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 10017 Few verses in the New Testament have sparked more debate than Romans 11:26: “And in this way all Israel will be saved.” What did Paul mean by “all Israel”? Does this refer to every individual Jew throughout history? The Church? Only the elect among ethnic Israel? Or Israel as a nation at some…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 10018 In Romans 11:25, Paul speaks of a “partial hardening” upon Israel that will continue “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” This phrase—”the fullness of the Gentiles” (τὸ πλήρωμα τῶν ἐθνῶν, to plērōma tōn ethnōn)—has generated considerable discussion. What exactly does it mean? And how does it relate to God’s timetable…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 10019 The law God gave to Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai has puzzled Christians for centuries. If we’re saved by grace through faith, why did God give the law? Was it a failed experiment? A temporary measure until something better came along? Or did it serve specific divine purposes that remain relevant for…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 7081 This question goes right to the heart of how we understand God’s dealings with humanity throughout history. The relationship between law and grace is not one of contradiction but of progression and purpose. To understand this properly, we need to let Scripture speak for itself and trace how God has revealed His plan…