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What is salvation according to the Bible? If someone has “salvation”, that person is “saved”. But saved from what? Most Christians understand that Christ’s saving work and intercession for us on the cross saves us from God’s judgment because of our sin. All people have sinned and are tempted to hate God and our neighbor instead of obeying the greatest commandment, loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). Our sin se

God is clear from the beginning in Genesis that His image is both male and female, as Adam and Eve were made in God’s image. Why don’t we take Him at His Word? Clearly, God’s image is not 3 persons in 1, only male as the Trinity doctrine suggests. Are women less made in the image of God then men? If not, then why are they not equally represented in the Godhead? Some may respond by saying that God transcends gender – which is of course in part true given that God is Spirit –

This section demonstrates that God is inherently logical and that we should study theology using logic. Affirming that God is logical is essential for determining if God has told us that Jesus is God and God is 3 in 1. “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 1:18) God calls people to reason with Him. This shows that being reasonable is part of who God is, and He invites us to be reasonable and logical ourselves in how we converse with Him. “Teacher, which i

Helpful Background on Reincarnation 1. The definition of reincarnation is: the rebirth of “the aspect of an individual that persists after bodily death” (sometimes referred to as soul or spirit) in another body (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 2024). The Bible distinguishes between the soul and the spirit (Hebrews 4:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:23). The “soul” is who a person is, and it is that aspect that reincarnates if reincarnation is real. Adam, for example

The first instance of Jesus worship is in Matthew 2:2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” This was said by the Magi in their pursuit of finding Jesus, king of the Jews. This is the first of many instances in the New Testament of apparent Jesus worship (see also Matthew 2:8, 11, John 9, Matthew 14:26-33, Matthew 28:9, 17, Luke 24:52, John 9:38, Revelation 5). If Jesus isn’t God, why is he worshiped i

A. Introduction In this post, my goal is simply to show that reincarnation is possible biblically and that nowhere in Scripture is reincarnation stated as unbiblical . This does not, of course, prove that reincarnation is true. Again, I do not think one can make a theology of universal reincarnation from Scripture as God simply does not address it much. However, that does not mean universal reincarnation is not true as the Bible does not speak to everything in life that is

Introduction to "Scripture in Context" Hebrews 1:8 says that God the Father says about the Son, “ Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever…” Out of context, and only reading this verse from the Bible, the reader must conclude that Jesus is God. In John 17:3 Jesus prays to the Father, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God , and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” Out of context, and only reading this verse from the Bible, the reader must conc

Introduction What stops humans from being conformed fully to the image of Christ? One thing: our sin. To fully understand the biblical reality that all people will be images of the invisible God one day (addressed in section 5 of this blog), it is first vital to have a biblical understanding of sin. Additionally, to further understand who Jesus is and how God used reincarnation in his life (explained in future posts), it is vital to have a biblical understanding of sin. Wh

The Synoptic Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke I lump these gospels together in examining Jesus’ deity because of their many similarities, giving some of the same evidences against Jesus’ deity and raising similar questions regarding his potential deity. So: did Matthew, Mark, and Luke think that Jesus was God? Matthew 1. Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” If Jesus isn’t God, how can his name be “Imma

A. Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” If God meant He would send someone LIKE Elijah before the day of the Lord, why didn’t He say so? Why did He simply say He will send Elijah? If this is best to not interpret literally, why not? Maybe John the Baptist is literally Elijah. Further, if John the Baptist was not Elijah, did the Messiah really come in the person of Jesus? This verse is saying Elijah

This post examines the gospel of John, and Part 8 examines 1 John and Revelation. These books were all written by the same author: John, so consider all of them together in thinking about if John believed that Jesus was God. Many claim that John’s gospel, John, clearly shows that Jesus was God, more than any of the other gospels or books in the Bible. If John really believed Jesus was God, that belief would be consistent throughout the book of John, 1 John, and Revelation. J

A. Jesus preexisted his life on earth in Israel. Micah 5:2 “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Jesus is “from of old, from ancient days." He clearly existed before his birth in Bethlehem. John 1:29-30 “The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, w

The “Blue Letter Bible” by Don Stewart is very helpful in answering this question. The name “Holy Spirit” comes from two Greek words: “hagion”, which means holy, and “pneuma” which means “spirit.” The Holy Spirit has many names in the Bible, including “Spirit of God”, “Spirit of Jesus”, “Spirit of Christ, and “Spirit of Truth”. Jesus names the Holy Spirit as “Comforter” and “Helper” (Stewart, 2020). The Holy Spirit is a person, not simply an influence or force. This is demons

Is there biblical evidence that Jesus had any other past lives? A. Was Jesus God’s “only” son? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son , that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” “Only”, of course, means “exclusively” – the only one. How can this be true if God called others His “son” in Scripture? What made Jesus unique – the “only Son”? For example, in psalm 2:7 David says, “I will tell of the decree: the Lord s

1 John 1. 1 John 3:20 “…for whenever our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” Matthew 24:36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son , but the Father only.” If Jesus is God, why doesn’t he know everything, specifically when he will return? God does not lie. He says he knows everything. Jesus does not know everything, so this shows Jesus is not God. 2. 1 John 4:12 “No one has ever

Acts This book uniquely shows the beliefs of the early Church, how they presented the gospel, and what they believed was important. Acts is very helpful in determining what Luke, the author of the book, and his fellow Christians believed concerning Jesus’ deity. 1. Acts 2:22-41 “’Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God, with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know – thi

Introduction This post is a necessary prerequisite to understanding how the Bible describes Jesus' own salvation in 1 Timothy 2:13-15. As already shown, Jesus sinned as Adam, David, and Jesus. As already explained in section 1 part 12 of this blog, Jesus, as the great high priest, paid for his sin as Jesus and the sin of the world. However, as will be explained in detail in "Jesus, Saved by Grace, Part 2- Through Childbearing", Jesus did not pay for his sin as Adam and David

Just like every other person (see Is Jesus God? Part 12: Was Jesus always sinless or did he become sinless? ), Jesus sinned during his life, though he uniquely completely overcame sin and became sinless and perfect. As explained in previous posts, Jesus had past lives as Adam and David, and they sinned. How then, can Jesus be saved? Did Jesus save himself? Did he pay for his own past sin on the cross? The Bible is not silent on these questions and explicitly explains exactly

Paul’s Epistles 1. Romans 5:15-17 “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, dea

I. Introduction What will Christ be like when he returns? How will he return? Scripture gives certain clues regarding Christ’s return and what it will be like. I will explain fully in a future post that Christ in Matthew 19:28 potentially references reincarnation as the way he and his disciples would return to earth to establish his kingdom. Or will Christ literally come in the clouds (Revelation 1:7)? 1 John 3:2 says that when Christ appears, we will be like h