Wednesday in the Word

what the Bible means and how we know

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You are here: Home / Collections / What is…?

What is…?

September 14, 2020 By Krisan Marotta

What is... | WednesdayintheWord.com

Answers to some of basic questions of faith, theology and history.


What does YAHWEH mean?

March 1, 2021

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?

Continue Reading What does YAHWEH mean?

What is the Septuagint?

February 22, 2021

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.

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New Testament Canon: Why these books?

December 15, 2020

Scholars have attacked Christianity by claiming that Christians don’t know which books should belong to the New Testament canon and which ones shouldn’t. If we don’t know the answer to why these 27 books, then we do have a problem. But it’s not the Achilles heel of Christian faith that critics claim it is. We Christians do have an answer.

Continue Reading New Testament Canon: Why these books?

What is the difference between “Son of God” and “Son of man”?

December 14, 2020

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.

Continue Reading What is the difference between “Son of God” and “Son of man”?

What are the Sacraments?

November 16, 2020

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.

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What was the Canaanite religion?

November 10, 2020

“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.

Continue Reading What was the Canaanite religion?

When did the Exodus happen?

October 19, 2020

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.

Continue Reading When did the Exodus happen?

What is Theology?

September 22, 2020

“One is sometimes (not often) glad not to be a great theologian; one might so easily mistake it for being a good Christian.” – C.S. Lewis

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What is a disciple?

July 7, 2020

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.

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What is an apostle?

February 20, 2020

What makes an apostle of Jesus Christ an apostle? There are 4 qualifications.

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How is the Old Testament organized?

January 23, 2020

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.

Continue Reading How is the Old Testament organized?

What is a soft complementarian?

January 5, 2020

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.

Continue Reading What is a soft complementarian?

What is a hard complementarian?

January 4, 2020

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.

Continue Reading What is a hard complementarian?

What is an egalitarian?

January 3, 2020

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.

Continue Reading What is an egalitarian?

Why is the New Testament in Greek?

January 10, 2019

Why was the New Testament written in Greek while the Old Testament was written in Hebrew?

Continue Reading Why is the New Testament in Greek?

04 What is hope and what good is it?

July 11, 2018

The “so what” of being justified by faith is now we have a reason to boast. Paul explains the 3 things we boast about in Romans 5:1-11. The first is hope.

Continue Reading 04 What is hope and what good is it?

03 What is saving faith and why is it so important?

July 4, 2018

Saving faith is the permanent, ongoing trust in God that one day He will free me completely from all the consequences and effects of sin because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Saving faith itself is a gift from God and it involves 4 things.

Continue Reading 03 What is saving faith and why is it so important?

02 What is justification and why do I need it?

June 27, 2018

There are 2 consequences to our sin: 1) We experience death and futility. 2) Our rebellion is wrong and we now owe a debt to justice that must be paid. Justification is the payment of that debt.

Continue Reading 02 What is justification and why do I need it?

01 What is life & death and why should I care?

June 20, 2018

Understanding the gospel means we must understand the problem that the gospel solves. While the word gospel means “good news,” understanding the gospel begins with bad news: death.

Continue Reading 01 What is life & death and why should I care?

What is the Gospel?

June 18, 2018

A friend once asked me if I was on an airplane that was about to crash and had only a couple minutes to use my cell phone to call my family, what would I say? What would I tell them if I knew this would be our last conversation on earth? At first my mind when blank, but then the answer seemed obvious: Hang on to your faith. But to understand why saving faith is that important, you have to really understand the gospel.

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What is Lent?

February 28, 2017

What is Lent? Is it an official Christian holiday? Was it instituted in the Bible? What — if anything — is required of believers during Lent?

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05 Jeremiah 17:1-11 What is wrong with me?

October 19, 2016

What do you do when you sin repeatedly? What do you do when you see something about yourself that you decide to change, you give it your best effort, and you don’t change? What’s wrong with us? Jeremiah gives 3 metaphors to explain the problem of our hearts.

Continue Reading 05 Jeremiah 17:1-11 What is wrong with me?

04 Jeremiah 7:1-15 What is wrong with religion?

October 12, 2016

Religion should make a difference in our lives. By “religion,” I mean the set of outward behavior, practices, ethics and rituals that we do or avoid doing to mark ourselves as believers. Believing in God means we ought to love and value what God loves and values, and therefore we ought not to be nicer to each other. Yet, religion doesn’t seem to solve all the problems we think it ought to solve. What is wrong with religion? Why doesn’t it make more difference?

Continue Reading 04 Jeremiah 7:1-15 What is wrong with religion?

What is worship?

January 5, 2015

If you think that worship equals singing, A Taste of Heaven: Worship in the Light of Eternity by RC Sproul is a must-read book for you.

Continue Reading What is worship?

Why we have 4 Gospels

September 24, 2014

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.

Continue Reading Why we have 4 Gospels

What is the Glory of God?

February 20, 2014

When Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that believers are “growing into a holy temple in the Lord” and “being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit”, he’s drawing on rich Old Testament history.

Continue Reading What is the Glory of God?

What is the Word of Life?

September 18, 2013

Is the gospel message of the Word of Life, a “pie in the sky” other worldly gospel? Suppose I give a starving person enough food to eat to this week and next week she starves. Have I failed?

Continue Reading What is the Word of Life?

What is Tithing?

April 22, 2013

Is the tithe still applicable today? Does God really care how we spend our money? Can I wait until I can give cheerfully? Ken Elzinga answers these questions.

Continue Reading What is Tithing?

Rembrandt: The Adoration of the Shepherds

What is there to celebrate about Christmas?

December 24, 2011

What is there to celebrate about Christmas? I’d like to answer that question by looking at one of my favorite Christmas stories: Job. The hope that sustained Job sitting on that ash heap, scraping at his boils, is the knowledge that he had a Redeemer who was born on Christmas day.

Continue Reading What is there to celebrate about Christmas?


Series: Bible Study 101

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What is…?

Who is…?

Introduction to…

Background & History

Top photo by Austin Mabe on Unsplash

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Related posts:

  1. What is an egalitarian?
  2. What is a hard complementarian?
  3. What is a soft complementarian?
  4. What church positions are open to women?
  5. January 2020 Reflections

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