Bible Questions: What is...
Answers to some of basic questions of faith, theology and history.
Bible Questions: Newest
What is sanctification?
As a new believer, I was confused about sanctification. My rather simple understanding was sanctification means your “sin-meter” is going down.
Should Christians fast today?
My study of fasting in Scripture taught me two things. 1) If you want to fast as a religious ritual, do it from a heart that is expressing a genuine faith and sincere desire to know and love God; and 2) Don’t use fasting as a test to reject your fellow believers and/…
What is All Saint’s Day?
What is All Saint’s Day? All Saints’ Day is a time to celebrate heroes of the faith from scripture, as well as prominent figures in the early church.
Bible Questions: What is... (alphabetical)
How is the Old Testament organized?
In the Christian Bible, the Old Testament is divided into 4 main parts based on genre. Within each genre, books are organized by author, chronology and size.
January 23, 2020
Should Christians fast today?
My study of fasting in Scripture taught me two things. 1) If you want to fast as a religious ritual, do it from a heart that is expressing a genuine faith and sincere desire to know and love God; and 2) Don’t use fasting as a test to reject your fellow believers and/or impress other people.
November 15, 2022
Should women have authority in the church?
Should women teach and/or have authority in the church? Here are resources to help you understand the debate and answer that question.
January 2, 2020
What are spiritual gifts?
Contrary to the popular view, I understand spiritual gifts as roles and opportunities to serve, rather than supernaturally given talents. For example, if I have the “gift of teaching,” the gift is the opportunity to teach, not the talent to teach.
March 3, 2020
What are the Sacraments?
What are the Sacraments? What’s the difference between the Protestant view of Sacraments and the Roman Catholic view? Rome has 7 sacraments, while Protestants have 2.
November 16, 2020
What church positions are open to women?
This table shows the spectrum of church leadership roles available to women under the egalitarian and hard/soft complementarian views. Individual churches may vary in their practice.
January 9, 2020
What do expiation and propitiation mean?
When studying the atonement, you’re likely to run across two technical words: expiation and propitiation. These terms tend to appear in a text without explanation. But since they are not in the Bible and they don’t often come up in daily conversation, it can be difficult to remember what they mean.
November 9, 2021
What does it mean to fear God?
In biblical terms, the word “fear” does not usually focus on feelings of terror or fright. “Fear” is a motivating emotion. We use “fear” to determine what we will do in any given situation.
September 13, 2022
What does YAHWEH mean?
When God reveals Himself to Moses at the burning bush), He identifies Himself as “Yahweh” or “Jehovah”, which is often translated “I am who I Am.” What does that name mean?
March 1, 2021
What is a disciple?
The Greek word usually translated disciple simply means a student or one who learns. But it was a particular kind of student in Jesus’ day.
July 7, 2020
What is a hard complementarian?
The views regarding women in authority in the church can be generalized into 3 basic positions: hard complementarian (most restrictive), soft complementarian (less restrictive), and egalitarian (least restrictive). This is a summary of the hard complementarian position.
January 4, 2020
What is a soft complementarian?
The views regarding women in authority in the church can be generalized into 3 basic positions: hard complementarian (most restrictive), soft complementarian (less restrictive), and egalitarian (least restrictive). This is a summary of the soft complementarian position.
January 5, 2020
What is All Saint's Day?
What is All Saint’s Day? All Saints’ Day is a time to celebrate heroes of the faith from scripture, as well as prominent figures in the early church.
October 31, 2022
What is an apostle?
What makes an apostle of Jesus Christ an apostle? There are 4 qualifications.
February 20, 2020
What is an egalitarian?
The views regarding women in authority in the church can be generalized into 3 basic positions: hard complementarian (most restrictive), soft complementarian (less restrictive), and egalitarian (least restrictive). This is a summary of the egalitarian position.
January 3, 2020
What is Good Friday?
What is Good Friday? Learn what happened, why Christians call it “good,” what the Bible says about the crucifixion, and how to observe it with meaning.
April 10, 2020
What is hesed, God's lovingkindess?
What is hesed? The Hebrew word is important in the Old Testament. If hesed was a recipe, it would have three ingredients.
July 26, 2022
What is Lent?
What is Lent? Is it an official Christian holiday? Was it instituted in the Bible? What — if anything — is required of believers during Lent?
February 28, 2017
What is sanctification?
As a new believer, I was confused about sanctification. My rather simple understanding was sanctification means your “sin-meter” is going down.
April 11, 2023
What is the difference between "Son of God" and "Son of man"?
In Scripture, Jesus is called both “Son of God” and “Son of Man”. What’s the difference? We may assume one refers to his divinity and one to his humanity, but it’s not that simple. In this classic clip, RC Sproul explains the difference.
December 14, 2020
What is the Glory of God?
Discover the glory of God. In the Old Testament, the glory of God is His visible and active presence in the midst of His people.
February 20, 2014
What is the nature of faith?
Some see faith as a settled issue, something we no longer have to think about once we pray the sinners prayer. Others see faith as a journey with trials and troubles along the way. The goal is to grow and persevere. Which approach we take influences how we interpret the Bible. (I take the second approach.)
September 6, 2022
What is the Septuagint?
The Septuagint (often abbreviated LXX) is a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek in the 3rd century BC. The LXX was made for the Jewish community when Greek was the common language of the day, and for many Jews was their primary language.
February 22, 2021
What was the Canaanite religion?
“Canaanite” refers to the group of polytheistic people living in the historical region of Israel and Palestine at the time of the Old Testament. Canaanite mythology centered around three primary exploits of Baal.
November 10, 2020
When did the Exodus happen?
When it comes to biblical history, you can divide scholars into minimalists and maximalists. Minimalists believe almost nothing in the Old Testament is historically accurate. Maximalists believe the Old Testament is a reasonably accurate historical document. Among the maximalists, there are two main competing theories about the date of the Exodus: early and late.
October 19, 2020
Why is the New Testament in Greek?
Why was the New Testament written in Greek while the Old Testament was written in Hebrew?
January 10, 2019
Why we have 4 Gospels
A good teacher tailors her presentation to her audience. The same is true of the four New Testament gospels. Each gospel writer had a different audience in mind and tailored his presentation of the story to his audience.
September 24, 2014
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