Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 05008 The doctrine of total depravity is one of the most misunderstood in the whole of Christian theology. The popular caricature holds that it means every unregenerate person is maximally wicked, incapable of any moral perception, and entirely indifferent to everything spiritual. Scripture does not teach that. What it teaches is more precise and…
Reading Time: 5 minutesQuestion 3007 This question gets to the heart of what kind of humanity Jesus possessed. When Adam fell, sin entered the human race, and every descendant of Adam has inherited what we call a “sin nature”—that inward corruption and inclination toward evil that affects every part of our being. If Jesus was truly human, did…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 4004 Ephesians 4:30 contains a command that is both sobering and, on reflection, remarkable: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” That the Spirit of God can be grieved is not a peripheral observation. It tells us something important about who the Spirit…
Reading Time: 6 minutesQuestion 7079 Isaiah 53:5 declares, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” This verse, particularly the phrase about healing through Christ’s wounds (often rendered “by his stripes we are healed”), is frequently quoted…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 6000 Hamartiology is the theological study of sin. The term comes from the Greek word ἁμαρτία (hamartia), meaning “sin” or “missing the mark,” combined with λόγος (logos), meaning “word” or “study.” It examines what sin is, where it came from, how it affects us, and why understanding it matters for the Gospel. What is…