What Is the Mark of the Beast? (Revelation 13)
We must be willing to suffer, to give our all for Christ, to persevere until the end in order to obtain the final reward.
Tough Passages
37 results found
What Does It Mean That Women Should “Remain Quiet” in Church? (1 Timothy 2)
“Quietly” does not mean that women are never to utter a word when the church gathers for worship.
Why Did God Command Hosea to Marry a Prostitute? (Hosea 1 & 3)
What is God teaching us about his faithfulness in the story of Hosea and Gomer?
What Does It Mean that God Hated Esau? (Malachi 1)
Because God's love was unmerited, it is unchanging. From before their ancestor’s birth, God has loved Israel.
Who Is the Man of Lawlessness? (2 Thessalonians 2)
The man of lawlessness seeks to make himself the central person of worship, beyond any other religious objects or personages in his day.
What Is the Millennium? (Revelation 20)
Christians have disagreed over the details of this passage for nearly two thousand years.
What Does It Mean that Women Are to Submit to Their Husbands? (Ephesians 5)
What does it mean that husbands are the head of their wives and that they should love them as Christ loved the church?
Does God Want Everyone to Be Saved? (1 Timothy 2)
God’s people are not merely praying for God to give them a peaceful and quiet life. They are praying that all people might experience salvation through Christ.
What Are the Seventy Weeks of Daniel? (Daniel 9)
The events detailed in Daniel 9 are fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. He is the coming king.
Can Christians Lose Their Salvation? (Hebrews 6)
We must respond to the terrifying possibility of irreversible apostasy and the comforting evidence of God’s heart-transforming, love-producing grace
What Does It Mean that Women Will Be Saved through Childbearing? (1 Timothy 2)
The interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:15 has been an item of great debate among commentators.
Does Baptism Save? (1 Peter 3)
God uses the water of baptism to save us—only in that it links us to Christ and his victory and promises.
What Is the Rapture? (1 Thessalonians 4)
What does it mean for living believers to be “caught up together with them in the clouds” and to “meet the Lord in the air?"
What Does It Mean that We’re “Justified By Works”? (James 2)
Faith without works is dead. Genuine faith always produces righteous deeds. But are we saved by them?
Will the Unsaved Suffer Eternal Judgment? (2 Thessalonians 1)
Salvation comes by grace through faith to believers, who consequently display their faith as they continue to trust in Jesus, heedless of suffering and persecution in this life.
Did Jesus Descend to Hell? (Ephesians 4)
God is the Divine Warrior who ascends to his throne after defeating his enemies. Here, Christ is the victorious conqueror who ascends to his throne in heaven after defeating the spiritual forces.
What Does It Mean that Samuel Was Brought Up from the Dead? (1 Samuel 28)
When Saul can no longer consult the prophet, Samuel, he uses a medium to communicate with him from the dead.
What Are the Tongues of Fire? (Acts 2)
Apostolic witness, signs and wonders, and regeneration—are all entirely the doing of the Spirit. How the Spirit is working and what he is bringing about depends on the context.
Is There a Difference between Pastors and Elders? (1 Timothy 3)
Besides having good character, what qualifications must one meet in order to oversee others in the church?
Does God Single Out the Sin of Homosexuality? (Romans 1)
While in recent years same-sex relations have been glamorized in some sectors of society, Jesus confirmed that God’s will for marriage has always been lifelong heterosexual monogamy.
Will Unbelievers Be Annihilated or Suffer Eternally? (Revelation 14)
The reality of a believer's faith will reveal itself in observable and concrete ways—those who endure follow God in obedience.
What Does It Mean That God Chose Us before the Foundation of the World? (Ephesians 1)
God’s choice of his people is related to their being predestined to be a part of his family, but predestination is not an end in itself.
Can Christians Know the Timing of Christ’s Second Coming? (1 Thessalonians 5)
Many wish to know when Jesus will return to establish his kingdom fully. Even the disciples asked this very question .
Was King Saul Possessed by Demons? (1 Samuel 19)
Was Saul a prophet or was he possessed by a demon? Learn more about 1 Samuel 19 with commentary from the ESV Expository Commentary Series.
What Does It Mean to Be Judged according to Your Works? (Revelation 20 and 21)
All the dead, whether powerful or poor, stand before God’s throne to be assessed by him.
Why Was Satan Allowed to Torment Job? (Job 1)
What is curious is that God is impressed not by Satan’s extraordinary abilities but rather by Job’s character.
What Does It Mean That Christ Is the Firstborn of All Creation? (Colossians 1)
What does it mean for Christ to be preeminent, before all things, and holding all things together? Explore the commentary on five verses of Colossians 1.
Does the Bible Condone Slavery? (Philemon 1)
Paul addresses a delicate matter in his epistle to the leader of a Colossian church.
What Does It Mean That an Elder Must Be the Husband of One Wife? (1 Timothy 3)
One’s gifting is certainly a consideration (“able to teach”), but it is not the whole, or even the main thing, that Paul is looking for in an overseer.
What Does It Mean That King David’s Son Would Build a House for God? (2 Samuel 7)
The Lord is undoubtedly favorably disposed to David, but this does not warrant a blanket endorsement of all that David proposes. It is the Lord’s right to decide when and by whom a temple for him should be built.