Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0032 It is one of the great tragedies of the modern church that the study of God—which is what the word “theology” means—has become associated with dusty books, academic jargon, and irrelevant speculation. How did we get to the point where knowing God is considered boring? How did understanding the Creator of the universe…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 0033 The question itself is encouraging. Anyone asking how to develop an appetite for doctrine already possesses something precious—the recognition that such an appetite is desirable. Not everyone reaches that point. Many Christians coast through their lives on spiritual junk food, never realising they are malnourished. The fact that you want to grow in…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0031 The comparison between doctrine and an immune system is remarkably apt, and Scripture itself uses similar language. Just as our physical bodies possess an intricate defence system designed to recognise, resist, and destroy harmful invaders, so sound doctrine operates within the believer’s soul to identify error, resist deception, and preserve spiritual health. Paul…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0017 This question gets to the very heart of how the Christian life actually works. There’s a connection between what we believe and how we live, and understanding that connection transforms how we approach both theology and ethics. Scripture never separates doctrine from practice—they’re two sides of the same coin. The Biblical Pattern: Indicative…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 0019 This is one of those questions that’s painful to ask but necessary. Walk into many churches and you’ll find people who’ve been Christians for twenty, thirty, even forty years—and yet they couldn’t explain basic doctrine, don’t read their Bibles regularly, and are easily swept along by whatever teaching sounds appealing. The rebuke in…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0018 The letter to the Hebrews contains one of the New Testament’s most direct discussions of spiritual maturity, and it comes with a sharp rebuke that still stings today. The author isn’t gentle about it—he tells his readers they ought to be teachers by now but instead need someone to teach them the basics…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 0023 Anyone who has spent time reading Paul’s letters will notice a consistent pattern. Take Romans: the first eleven chapters are dense theological exposition—the righteousness of God, justification by faith, the place of Israel, the sovereignty of God in salvation. Then chapter 12 begins: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 0039 This question reflects a misunderstanding that some sincere Christians hold; the idea that because we have the indwelling Spirit, we can bypass careful study and simply rely on direct spiritual insight. It sounds humble and spiritual, but it actually contradicts what Scripture itself teaches. The Spirit-Led Life and the Word Yes, every believer…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 04010 Galatians 5:22-23 lists what many Christians have memorised as the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The question of whether every believer possesses all of these, or whether they are distributed differently among different people, touches on the nature of spiritual growth and the relationship…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 4003 Christians sometimes speak of being filled with the Spirit as though it were an elusive spiritual state achieved only by the most devoted believers, or conversely, as though it is synonymous with emotional intensity in worship. Neither captures what the New Testament is actually talking about. The idea of Spirit-filling is important, biblical,…