Growing up most parents tell their kids that God hears every prayer. When it comes to prayers, you seemingly just “throw” one out there and the “Big Guy upstairs” will put it on the list. Like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, the one-liner that God hears every prayer is a lie found nowhere in the Bible. In fact, there are over a dozen examples of people and prayers that God completely ignores.

Ecclesiology is the study of the church and deals with all aspects of the church including its purpose, structure, ordinances, and more. While some aspects of ecclesiology do not directly impact salvation, the way we honor God’s instructions as His church could make all the difference in the world — and in eternity.

Hamartiology is the theological study of sin and it comes from the New Testament Greek word hamartia which means to “miss the mark.” This is where we get the idea that sin is “missing the mark” of God’s standard (Romans 3:23) and the truth that without a solution for our sin we are damned to eternity in hell.

In its theological sense, justification is a forensic, or purely legal, term. It describes what God declares about the believer, not what He does to change the believer. Justification is about your position as a believer. You will still sin, but you are justified.

Sanctification is being set apart and made holy. It is both immediate when we believe the gospel, and ongoing as we are convicted of our sin, confess our sin, and are cleansed of sin. To be sanctified is to be set part for sacredness.

Illumination is what happens when you learn spiritual truths that suddenly make sense and move you to action. Just like a bright light that lights up a dark room when turned on, illumination is when the light bulb goes on in your mind after reading a passage of Scripture or listening to the Word of God be preached.

What is soteriology? In this forth installment of the Theology Terms Explained blog series, Costi Hinn defines one of the most important understandings of the Christian faith.

Greek word for “repent” is metanoia and it means “a change of mind.” Repentance is not just regret for being caught in sin or having to suffer consequences from your own sin, repentance is a change of mind about your decisions and the sin those decisions led to.

Hermeneutics is the practice and discipline of interpreting the Bible. It is incredibly important to have good (or “sound”) hermeneutics so that you can hear from God accurately through the Bible.

Legalism treats moral behaviors and obedience to God’s Law as to how you achieve salvation. This leads to a primary emphasis on behavior modification and rarely focuses on heart transformation.

People who are antinomian believe that there is no need to obey the Law of God because we are under grace. Antinomianism is the extreme opposite of works-based salvation (which insists that obeying God’s Law is what saves you).

I want to give you a framework for conversations about gender. We can often get flustered or reactive in conversations about LGBTQ issues so it’s important to have some calm, clear, and biblical thoughts. This equips Christians to engage people who may hold different views with more intentionality, more love, and more truth.

When the trials of life unexpectedly come knocking at your door, the last thing you may be thinking about is joy. Yet, the Bible repeatedly calls us to have joy in life’s most turbulent times (James 1:2-3). How in the world is this possible? Is it realistic that a Christian can still smile, pray, rejoice, and serve when the weight of the world is squeezing the last drops of joy from their heart? 

It’s 30 minutes before the guests arrive. Dishes are piled high in the sink from the meal you just spent 3 hours preparing. You give your husband a glance that pleads for his assistance, but he misses the cue. Your son walks through the door and gives you a hug while gently insinuating that you don’t smell guest-worthy. You rush to take a quick shower and throw on some clothes only to find the kids have destroyed the house that you just spent hours cleaning.

Let’s not be surprised. The world is a dark place, and attacks on Christianity by our culture are in abundant supply. A quick scroll through your social media feed or a fifteen-minute segment of the evening news will prove that. While some might say, “It’s worse than ever!” we must admit that somewhere in the world it’s always been like this. Jesus put it this way when preparing His own disciples for His departure: “In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).

The constant drumbeat of media, radio, podcasts, and social media can pump a steady diet of negativity and brokenness into our minds each day. Compound that with our own pain, sickness, and suffering and it is easy to understand why so many people experience the feeling of hopelessness on a daily or weekly basis. But for the Christian, don’t forget who gets the last word! 

I’ll never forget the moment when Pastor Matt burst through my office saying, “Greg, we’ve got to go! There’s an active shooter down the street at our local grocery store.”

The first question I asked was, “Are they detained?” To which he responded, “Don’t know. Let’s go serve our city!”

This is one of the most pressing questions when it comes to healing, and it must be answered by using the Scriptures. Opinions and abuses abound, so the only way to address this question is to cement ourselves in the truth of God’s unchanging Word.

Unfortunately, many Christians are uninterested and uneducated in utilizing video to reach their friends and family with the gospel. This is a tragedy given all of the unbelievers who are using social media to plunge this generation into darkness. On the other side of the spectrum, there is another error that is easy to fall into it. Social media is designed to create an addiction to attention, so Christians must be on guard not to use social media for their own glory.

In many ways, the internet has become the Buckaroo Buffet of information. News sites and social media feeds serve us a bottomless smorgasbord of information. But at this restaurant, the waiters are paying attention. Algorithms note what holds our attention and are all too happy to heap more of it onto our plates.