Thirdmill: Recent Episodes
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Thirdmill's mission is to equip church leaders in their own lands and languages by creating a multimedia seminary curriculum and distributing it throughout the world for free.
Although some theologians treat the Ten Commandments as if they were just another portion of the Mosaic law, the Bible indicates that the Ten Commandments have a special primacy over Scripture’s other commandments.
When theologians speak of God’s simplicity, they have in mind that God’s essence is not a composite; it’s not divided.
When we say that Scripture is “clear,” we don’t mean that everything in the Bible is easy to understand, or that everything in the Bible is stated plainly and directly. Instead, we mean that the Bible is not obscure. It’s not filled with hidden meanings that can only be discovered through mysterious means, or through special spiritual gifting, or by those who hold special offices in the church.
The Bible consistently speaks of God’s own personal goodness as the absolute standard by which all ethical issues are to be evaluated. God’s law is right and good because it comes from God, who himself is right and good. Because he is righteous, everything he does and everything he expresses — including his laws for us — manifests his goodness.
All four gospels are unified by the theme of the kingdom of God. But the Gospel of Matthew is the only book in the Bible that uses the phrase “kingdom of heaven.”
It’s generally obvious to most people that actions can properly be considered right and wrong. The Bible teaches Christians to conform every aspect of our lives and beings to God's moral standards. So, Christian ethics must address not only behavior, but also emotions, orientations, predilections, inclinations, preferences, thoughts, imaginations, beliefs, and even our very natures.
To introduce our approach to the proper standard, we’ll touch on three aspects of God’s revelation.
All good works must be done with the proper goal in mind. If our works are to please God, immediate goals like caring for our families, honoring our parents, going to church, and the like, must be part of a bigger picture.
“Imputation” simply means “assignment” or “reckoning.” But when we speak about the imputation of our sin to Jesus on the cross, we’re referring to the act in which God assigned the guilt of sinners to the person of Jesus.
Jesus performed more miracles than any other prophet in Israel’s history. The New Testament mentions at least 35 specific miracles, and the Gospel of John indicates that he performed innumerable miracles beyond these.
When Christians talk about God creating the world, our minds normally go to the person of God the Father. But Scripture teaches that the Son was at the Father’s side during creation, and that the Father created the world by or through him.
The Son’s motive for redeeming sinners was complex and can be described in a variety of ways. But one of the most well-known words Scripture uses to describe the Son’s motive in redemption is “love” — love for God, love for creation and love for human beings.
When Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized, John objected because Jesus was already righteous. But Jesus responded by saying that it wasn’t enough for him to be personally sinless; he also had to fulfill all the necessary righteous works that had been appointed to him.
For centuries, objectivism has greatly influenced the interpretation of the Bible. Scholars have believed that they can interpret Scripture impartially, and that they can know its meaning with relative certainty.
Interpreting the Bible is like having a dialog with the most authoritative figure we can imagine, God himself. It’s a dialog because it involves a type of conversational “give and take” between readers and the Scriptures. On the reader’s side of the dialog, we all come to the Bible with many questions, preconceptions, cultural backgrounds, and personal experiences. And each of these things influences what we understand from the Bible. On Scripture’s side of the dialog, God continually speaks to us through his Word, sometimes confirming what we believe, sometimes correcting it.
Subjectivism has influenced both critical biblical studies and evangelical biblical studies. In general, we can say that subjectivists recognize that human beings and the world, and especially matters of faith, are often too complex to be discerned by scientific rationalism.
Examines the structure and content of Acts by looking at the ways Luke organized his material, and at the message he intended to teach.
Investigates the author, historical setting, and the theological background of the book of Acts.
Explores the three major concepts that Luke addressed as he unfolded the unhindered spread of the gospel of God's kingdom in the days of the early church.
Like images of false gods and of kings in the ancient Near East, images of the true God are intended to reflect his character wherever they appear. And God’s character is utterly pure, holy and righteous.
Many Christians tend to think of Abraham merely as an example of faith and trust in God. This is an important theme in Abraham’s life, and it is highlighted in several New Testament passages. But we must never overlook the fact that God commanded Abraham to be obedient, to give him his loyal service.
Humanity was so central to God’s kingdom purposes, that our rebellion brought a curse on the entire universe. We’ve constantly rebelled against God’s will, so that his kingdom on earth has failed to display his perfect glory as its benevolent King and Creator.
The visible church includes everyone who is regularly part of the gathered church, regardless of the condition of their hearts. There are several different ways people can be counted as part of the visible church.
Systematicians have to establish theological facts, and to do this they often use theological propositions.
Paul faced a serious challenge to his longstanding belief when Jesus came but didn't bring creation to its climactic end as Israel had expected. How did Paul come to his understanding of eschatology?
Surveys the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the community at Qumran, and explores how these artifacts have helped confirm the stability of the Bible’s text.
Produced in partnership with Museum of the Bible.
Reflects on the impact of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (known in Judaism as the Torah and in Christianity as the Pentateuch), and considers the influence of the Masoretic text on the Bible’s transmission and translation.
Series produced in partnership with Museum of the Bible.
Explores a fragment of John’s gospel, known as P39, and looks at how the innovation of the codex changed the way the Bible was studied and shared.
Produced in partnership with Museum of the Bible.
Discusses the influence of the Psalms, and investigates how the Greek translation of the Old Testament, known as the Septuagint, helped the Bible to spread throughout the world.
Produced in partnership with Museum of the Bible.
Considers the impact of Jerome’s translation of the Scriptures into Latin.
Produced in partnership with Museum of the Bible.
In a world where there were many false prophets, it was very important for Israelites to be able to distinguish true prophets of God from false prophets. For this reason, the Old Testament laid out several qualifications for true prophets of God.
The Apostles’ Creed mentions the divinity of Jesus in these words: “I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.” Christians have always intended words like “Christ,” “Son of God,” and “Lord” to indicate Jesus’ divinity.
Throughout history, a distinction has consistently been drawn between reliable historians and unreliable historians, between reliable sources and unreliable sources. The question for us is: Did the authors of the four gospels write reliable or unreliable records of Jesus’ life?
In many respects, the greatest strength of a life orientation in theology is that it enables us to fulfill important biblical values.
The Bible shows us that to be wise is to ponder what is true and to formulate sets of coherent beliefs out of those rational enquiries. In this video we examine the pros and cons of academics approaches to theology.
Christians began to adopt the term “theology” not long after the time of the New Testament, and it’s become a regular term in our Christian vocabulary today. Of course, throughout the millennia, we’ve understood what it means in different ways.
Part four of our topic video series: Views on the Millennium.
Thirdmill does not endorse any particular view on the Millennium.
Part three of our topic video series: Views on the Millennium
Thirdmill does not endorse any particular view on the Millennium.
Join us for part one of our topic video series Views on the Millennium. In today's video we'll be answering the question 'What Is Historic Premillennialism?'
Thirdmill does not endorse any particular view on the Millennium.
Part two of our topic video series: Views on the Millennium.
Thirdmill does not endorse any particular view on the Millennium.
Investigates the existential perspective on ethics by looking at the ways our motives and intentions affect the morality of our decisions.
Focuses on how a proper understanding of situations can help us understand God's revelation.
Explore the proper standards for ethical decisions by investigating the divine authorship and the attributes of Scripture.
Identifies the major components of the ethical situation we encounter in the modern world, and to explain how each component bears on the ethical decisions we must make.
Establish a definition of Christian ethics, examine the threefold criteria of good works and present a biblical threefold process for making ethical decisions.
Explores the existential perspective by looking at the relationship between goodness and our being, focusing on how goodness relates to who we are.
Examine the different ways the various parts and aspects of Scripture communicate God's norms to us.
Focuses on the overarching goal that God has laid before us, namely, the success and triumph of his kingdom as it spreads from heaven to cover the whole earth.
If there's one portion of the Old Testament that troubles most modern Christians more than any other, it has to be the chapters of the book of Joshua that describe Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land. We wonder how the loving, merciful God we know in Christ could have tolerated Israel’s attempt to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan.
God appointed Adam and Eve to rule over creation on his behalf. And he commanded them to increase the human race in order to spread its rule over the whole earth. This was humanity’s royal obligation.
“Hermeneutics” is a common word in theological and biblical studies, but we don’t use it often in our daily lives. What does it really mean?
From our modern standards, we expect trustworthy historical accounts to be comprehensive, precise and objective. However, Old Testament authors often wrote according to their didactic purposes, and not by our modern sensibilities.
There are times in history when God acts and speaks more dramatically than at other times. And as a result, revelation in biblical history rises and falls, even as it moves forward toward its final destiny.
We’ll consider the basic idea of God by looking at what theologians often call the “singularity” of God, the fact that the God of the Bible is the one and only true God.
The Bible is long, and memorizing all of God's instructions for his people is difficult. This is why teachers in the Bible sought to find which of God's Biblical instructions should be prioritized.
As a work of divine grace, forgiveness involves all three persons of the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Because prophecy was fundamentally a tool God used to motivate his people to obey his covenant, it was also fundamentally conditional. In other words, the prophecies about Israel’s restoration were conditioned upon Israel’s repentance and renewed covenant obedience.
God established feasts to give Israel regular ways to enjoy the blessings of his presence, and the gospel of John made clear how Jesus fulfilled the significance of these feasts.
When we look at Scripture, it quickly becomes clear that the Bible often speaks of God revealing himself in his actions as well as words. Both word and act revelation are important for us to understand what God teaches us.
We can be confident that what Old Testament poets told their readers about the past, present and future was true. But they often described history in ways that were something other than straightforward. And for this reason, to know what poets actually intended to communicate about objective historical facts, we have to understand the literary conventions of Old Testament poetry.
Many religions and philosophies teach that the material universe is amoral, that is, neither good nor evil. Others actually say that the world is evil. Is creation inherently good?
Although the Bible was written for us, it is not written directly to us. What are the significant similarities and differences between the church in Acts and the contemporary church?
Three main guides help reveal the significance of a text in Scripture: the writer of the text, the document itself, and the original audience for whom the text was written. In order for us to interpret the Bible responsibly, it’s very important for us to understand each of these guides.
We often think of the activities of Angels and Demons in terms of our personal, individual lives, but Scripture occasionally talks about spiritual battles.
From time to time, evangelicals use the expression sensus plenior, meaning the “full sense” of Scripture. How do we define the "full value" of a Biblical text?
More than any other person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is active in our lives, making sure that we receive forgiveness, and joy, and goodness, and strength, and peace, and all the other blessings of salvation.
The first thing Scripture says about humanity is that we’re the image and likeness of God. This is one of the primary ways God thinks about the human race.
The story of Jesus’ temptation is a familiar one. The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the desert where he fasted for forty days before being tempted by Satan. But even in his physically weakened state, Jesus remained spiritually and mentally powerful. This experience caused him to grow in compassion and understanding for us as we suffer and struggle with temptation in our own lives.
Different theological traditions have different beliefs about the nature and extent of God’s plans. Some believe that God’s eternal plan includes every detail of history. Others believe that God has fixed certain things and not others. But we all agree that what Christ accomplished is central to God’s plan — that God ordained salvation in him, and that Christ won’t fail.
The terminology “new covenant” comes from the prophet Jeremiah, who predicted that God would grant a covenant of final renewal to Israel and Judah after Israel’s exile in the last days.
What are the three traditional marks of the church and how can they help Christians know which churches they should embrace?
Just as the Garden of Eden was a precursor of the tabernacle and temple, Adam and Eve were precursors of the priests that ministered in those sacred buildings. What are our priestly obligations as Christians?
What events does Scripture mention as precursors to Christ's return? Watch this topic video to hear a discussion on the three most prominent precursors to Christ's return.
How did some early Christians diminish the significance of Christ’s first coming? What is the true significance of the Christian good news?
The Bible mentions at least three sources of constant joy that believers will find in their redemption. And perhaps the greatest of these is the fact that we will have full communion with God.
What does diachronic development mean? What is a typological connection? How have these devices been used to explain Biblical stories now and in the past?
How did the Biblical writers mediate between two worlds? How did Moses connect the lives of the history he was telling to the lives of his contemporary audience?
What are the present, intermediate, and final human states? What is the 'general resurrection'? Were our bodies created to die?
The early Christian church had suffered in many ways. But how were believers to understand the significance of their suffering?
When you think of God's law, do you think of blessing? Joy? Listen to Dr. John Frame teach how and why God's law is for our joy.
Death is the greatest tragedy that human beings experience, and the worst manifestation of sin in this world. But the good news is that God’s anointed Christ conquered death for all of us.
Christians believe Christ will return to earth. Why is this important and even necessary? Find out in this video with Dr. Matt Friedeman of Wesley Biblical Seminary and Dr. Guy Waters of Reformed Theological Seminary.
What are the differences between common, covenant and saving grace? This video explores the types of grace and the Holy Spirit's role in applying them.
Exegesis vs. Eisegesis . . . what is our goal with hermeneutics? This video unpacks these terms and their goal.
Have you ever heard the term "existential revelation?" Dr. John Frame discusses general, special and existential revelation.
How to keep the first commandment? To scratch the surface, we have to look at orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathos.
Is the law contrary to the Gospel? In what ways, if any, are Christians 'under' the law? Listen as Dr. John Frame unpacks these questions.
What factors should we consider when discussing Scripture's original meaning? Why is it important to think about the original context of Scripture?
What do we mean when we talk about God's glory as a goal of ethics? What are the "components" of his glory?
The Great Reversals of Salvation . . . aka "The least, the last, and the lost are going to become the first, the most, and the found in the kingdom of God." - Dr. Ben Witherington of Asbury Seminary.
The external reversals often give us hope, while the internal ones can sometimes be challenging -- LOVE strangers and enemies, lend without expecting anything in return.
In this video, learn more about how the reversals of the Gospel both bring blessings and call us to God's kingdom standards.
How does the Bible talk about us as whole people? The Bible uses a wide variety of words to describe our various aspects - body, flesh, spirit, soul, mind, etc.
Can non-Christians do good works? In this video, Dr. John Frame discussing the nuanced answer to this complex ethical issue.
God designed this world to be a place where he could dwell with his creatures. But Adam and Eve’s sin alienated them from God; their fellowship with him was broken. How does humanity experience separation from God?
What does the word "session" mean in theological terms? What are the facets of Jesus' role in his heavenly session?
What is the relationship between God's sovereignty and human responsibility? Listen as Dr. John Frame unpacks this question in this brief video!
Do the Gospels contradict each other? This video teaches about a few of the most significant kinds of apparent difficulties: chronology, omission, different events, and different speeches.
There can be a lot of misunderstanding (and harm done) in regard to the Bible & our emotions, especially when it comes to making biblical decisions. Listen to Dr. John Frame describe the role of emotions in applying God’s word in our modern lives.
The Bible teaches us about three topics related to discipleship: love for neighbor, love for God, and prayer. How do these teachings allow us to train and disciple others?
What does it mean that the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of Scripture? Watch this video to find out what inspiration does (and doesn’t) mean.
What does it mean to fear God? Modern people tend to associate the word fear with things that intend to harm us. Is that the posture God wants from Christians? Dr. John Frame discusses what it really means for Christians to fear God.
Is the Bible silent on some topics? Dr. John Frame discusses "adiaphora" and how it relates to the sufficiency of Scripture.
What do we mean when we say that the Holy Spirit is a person (as opposed to some kind of interpersonal force)?
The word “miracle” gets thrown around a lot these days, yes? But what is a miracle, really, and how do we talk about other ways in which God works in the world?
Have you ever seen Christians break fellowship over secondary issues?
Yes, errors in the church are dangerous when critical beliefs are at stake. But which beliefs are essential and which are secondary? Find out how the Apostles’ Creed can help us promote unity within the Church in this brief video.
How can the Bible inspire and energize us as followers of Christ? And how can we, in turn, inspire and energize our fellow believers?
Outside of Christ there is no salvation. How can this and other warnings from the book of Hebrews encourage us as Christians to persevere and not turn back?
What does the Bible mean when it refers to 'the Church'? Who does the church belong to? And how should that impact a Christian's relationship with Christ?
Examines Paul's response to the heretical teachings that introduced the veneration of lesser spiritual beings into Christian worship.
Examines Paul's letter of hope and encouragement for the times of persecution and distress he and the Philippians faced.
Surveys the circumstances that gave rise to Paul's letters to the Colossians, Philemon, the Ephesians and the Philippians.
Examines how Paul designed Ephesians to teach Christians how to build, maintain and thrive in God's kingdom.
Explores how the central theme of the kingdom of God runs through the entire book of Revelation and unites all its various teachings.
Explores the literary composition of Revelation and explains the significance of its outline and major arguments.
Explains how Revelation's context and setting can help us understand its original meaning and apply its message to our own lives in the modern world.
Explores the background of Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, the content of Galatians and Paul's central theological outlooks.
Explores the background to Paul's letters to the Corinthians, examines the structure and content of First and Second Corinthians, and reveals his eschatology.
Explores Paul's theology, how his beliefs related to his ministry as well as his central theological outlooks.
Investigates the background to Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, examines the structure and content of First and Second Thessalonians, and reveals his eschatology.
This lesson speaks of the divinity of Jesus Christ, looking at things like the nature of his divinity, and his relationship to the other members of the Trinity. It looks at his humanity, and discusses the relationship between his divine and human natures. And it talks about his work both during and after his earthly ministry.
This lesson looks at the divine sanction of the church, and at the facts that the church is holy, catholic or universal, and a communion.
This lesson talks about the Holy Spirit's divinity, his full membership in the Godhead. It considers his personhood, noting that the Holy Spirit is a true person and not simply a divine force. And it explores the work that the Holy Spirit did in the past, and that he continues to do today.
This discussion of salvation addresses the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the nature of everlasting life.
This lesson addresses the basic idea of God, looking at some general things the Bible teaches about his existence and nature. It focuses on the phrase "Father Almighty," paying attention to some distinctive qualities of the first person of the Trinity. And it explores the Father's role as the Maker, or creator, of everything that exists.
This lesson looks at the Apostles' Creed as a summary of the articles or doctrines that must be affirmed by all those who would call themselves "Christian." It speaks of the history of the Creed, provides an overview of its statements, and focuses on the importance of its doctrines for today.
Investigates the importance of the Old Testament, exploring the distance between the Old Testament and our day, the relevance of the Old Testament, and application of the Old Testament.
Explores how the Old Testament canon presents specific guidance by examining the Old Testament as mirror, window and picture.
Explores a proper understanding of the Bible's theology of the Kingdom of God by providing the most comprehensive outlook on the Old Testament.
Explores how God governed his kingdom through a series of covenants that he established in Old Testament history.
Introduces the book of Samuel, including why and under what circumstances the book was written and how it applies to Christians today.
Follows David’s kingship from his earlier years to his death and reveals the ongoing blessings offered to Israel through the righteous rule of David’s house.
Examines Samuel’s role in Israel’s prelude to kingship and Saul’s failed kingship before the establishment of David as Israel’s king.
Summarizes the outlooks on theological authority in the Medieval Roman Catholic Church, the early Protestant church and in contemporary Protestantism.
Explores typical definitions, and describes and evaluates the perspectives of these definitions.
Defines what Christian theology is, explores the theological traditions that gave shape to Christian theology, and outlines the basic tenets of Reformed theology.
Explores what the Scriptures teach about revelation, the dynamics of understanding revelation, and how to develop confidence in theological conclusions.
Introduces the background of the prophet Hosea and his book, and provides an overview of the book’s content and structure.
Focuses on how Hosea designed his book to impart wisdom to God’s ancient people and explores the revelations that Hosea included in each major division of his book.
Introduces the book of Joshua, including what the book of Joshua meant for ancient Israel and what it means for us today.
Addresses the original audience’s challenges associated with warfare by drawing attention to Israel’s extensive victory over the land of Canaan.
Explores how Joshua called the people of Israel to live together as heirs of the Promised Land.
Reveals the significance of Israel’s call to be faithful to the terms of their covenant with God.
Looks at how God's plan for history leads to the ultimate goal of completing his kingdom.
Explores what the Bible says about Christ’s “second coming” and its relationship to events that lead to the end of the age.
Focuses on the last events of history that will finally end this age and fully consummate the age to come.
Explores what human beings were like when God first created us and placed us in the Garden of Eden.
Focuses on the gracious covenant relationship God established with humanity after our fall into sin.
Examines what the Bible says about human sin, and especially its negative effects on humanity.