Responses to questions from readers to Koinonia Bible Studies.
I recently received a text question, “I read a blog post concerning the question, ‘What does the Bible say about how we should give to help the person who will not help themselves? Am I enabling them to continue their lifestyle?’” This is surely one of many examples of “where the rubber meets the road”…
A brother from Kenya asked a deeply practical – but intensely theological question: “How does a person become filled with the Holy Spirit?” Let’s try to understand what being filled with the Spirit means, and let’s examine Scripture to discover how to obtain it. We will tackle this challenging question because You Asked for It….
A brother posted greetings this morning and writes, “Please help to answer the following question: What is faith?” What a powerful question that involves so many things! Faith is a word that we use almost every day, but perhaps we use it in so many settings that it can lose a little of its impact….
One of the most difficult concepts in Scripture is introduced and developed in the beginning verses of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Understanding the word “predestine” creates a challenge. The passage (Ephesians 1: 4-12 NIV) tells us that God chose us from before the creation of the world, and that He predestined (προορίσας, PRO-OR-IH-SAS) us…
A person asked last night about a particular verse in the fifth chapter of John. Does John 5:14 teach that physical ailments come because of our sin and unfaithfulness? Is this the correct interpretation? Let’s first look at the verse and then establish something of an immediate context and a broader, biblical context in which…
A question came wondering if there could be a sin so evil and heinous that it would be an unforgivable sin? Would God consider it impossible to forgive? This deep and thoughtful question haunted people through the centuries. The wonders and implications of the quandary continue to echo into our culture and settings today. “Is…
The other day, I received an email asking for some clarification on the meaning and teaching of one of Jesus’ parables about new wine skins. Let’s take a look at the letter, then we will discuss Jesus’ general usage of parables, the context and setting of the particular parable, and a look at its application…
It really was just a matter of time. People often make a correlation between pain and punishment. Yesterday I received an email posing a question related to the coronavirus. Today I received a related question. The first article addressed the issue, “Is the coronavirus a punishment found in the ‘seven seals’ mentioned in Revelation?” Today’s…
The rat-at-tats sound more ominous each time the footage is replayed on television. The sound makes pain flood the soul. A lone gunman opened fire into a crowd gathered for a country music concert in Las Vegas late at night on Sunday October 1st. Since that time authorities have confirmed 59 deaths and over 500…