Theology

Theology

Theology - studying God as He is revealed in Scripture.

  1. Feb 18

    The Already and Not Yet

    If you belong to Christ, why is life still so hard? In this study of Romans 8, Dr. Toby Holt opens the tension in which every believer lives: the kingdom of God has already come in Christ, yet it is not yet consummated. Our salvation is real and secure, but its full glory is still future. In the meantime, all creation "groans" under the curse, and Christians groan along with it, eagerly awaiting the redemption of the body. Dr. Holt draws out the comfort of this "already, but not yet." Our present sufferings are genuine, yet they are "not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Between Christ's first and second comings we live by hope, sustained by the Holy Spirit, who is the firstfruits of the glory to come and who Himself intercedes for us. The "not yet" does not cancel the "already" — it guarantees it. Questions this study answers: 1. What does it mean to live in the "already and not yet"? Christ's death and resurrection have already inaugurated the kingdom, but it will not be fully realized until He returns. Believers live in the overlap of the two ages. 2. Why does all of creation groan? Because it was subjected to futility through the fall, and it now awaits liberation from corruption when the children of God are revealed and glorified. 3. How do we find strength to endure to the end? By the Holy Spirit, who indwells us, intercedes for us, and stands as God's pledge that the glory yet to come is certain. "For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body." — Romans 8:22-23 (NKJV) Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

    The Already and Not Yet
  2. 09/22/2025

    The Second Coming

    What did Jesus mean when He said one disciple would remain "till I come"? In this study, Dr. Toby Holt concludes the Gospel of John by examining Jesus' enigmatic word to Peter about the apostle John: "If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?" A rumor spread that John would never die. Dr. Holt untangles the passage, showing what Jesus did and did not promise, and how the earliest Christians understood His return. He distinguishes Christ's final, bodily second coming from His coming in judgment against Jerusalem in AD 70, and lets John's own epilogue frame the certainty of Christ's return. The point presses on every hearer: the question is not merely what our parents or grandparents believed, but whether we ourselves believe — and whether that belief is shaping our choices in light of His coming. Questions this study answers: 1. Did Jesus promise that the apostle John would never die? No. He only said, "If I will that he remain," and John himself records that the resulting rumor misunderstood His words; Jesus made no such promise. 2. What happened in AD 70, and how does it relate to this passage? Jerusalem and its temple fell under God's judgment — a "coming" of Christ in judgment anticipated in the New Testament, distinct from His final, visible return. 3. How does John's Gospel conclude? With an epilogue affirming the truthfulness of his eyewitness testimony and pointing every reader to ongoing faith in the risen and returning Christ. "Jesus said to him, 'If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.'" — John 21:22 (NKJV) Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

    The Second Coming
  3. 04/14/2025

    Union with Christ

    What does it actually mean to "abide" in Christ? In this study of John 15, Dr. Toby Holt takes up Jesus' image of the vine and the branches. A branch severed from the vine is dead and fruitless; joined to the vine, it lives and bears fruit. So it is with the believer — our spiritual life and every bit of our fruitfulness depend entirely on a living union with Christ. To "abide," Dr. Holt explains, is not a mystical feeling but a real, sustained dependence: remaining in Christ through His Word, prayer, and faith, drawing life from Him as a branch draws sap from the vine. He presses the searching truth that we are "exactly as close to God as we want to be," calling hearers not to keep Christ at arm's length but to remain in Him. Questions this study answers: 1. What is the vine-and-branch imagery teaching? That the believer has no spiritual life and can bear no fruit apart from an ongoing, living union with Christ. 2. What does it mean to "abide" in Christ? To remain in vital dependence on Him — through His Word, prayer, and faith — as the constant source of our life and strength. 3. Can we bear fruit on our own? No. Jesus says plainly, "Without Me you can do nothing." All genuine fruit flows out of union with Him. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." — John 15:5 (NKJV) Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

    Union with Christ
  4. 04/01/2025

    The Indwelling Spirit

    Who is the Holy Spirit, and what does He do in you? In this study of John 14, Dr. Toby Holt turns to the promise Jesus gave His fearful disciples on the night of the Last Supper: that He would send "another Helper" to abide with them forever. Dr. Holt insists that the Spirit is not an impersonal cosmic force but a divine Person — a Helper, Advocate, and Intercessor sent to dwell within God's people. He unfolds why Christ said it was to the disciples' advantage that He go away, so that the Spirit might come, and what the Spirit's indwelling means for believers today: comfort, teaching, assurance, and power. Between the intercession of the Son and the indwelling of the Spirit, the believer is upheld by the triune God. Questions this study answers: 1. Is the Holy Spirit a force or a Person? A Person. Jesus calls Him "another Helper," the Spirit of truth, who teaches, comforts, convicts, and dwells with believers. 2. Why was it better for the disciples that Jesus depart? So that the Spirit would be sent to indwell them permanently, applying the presence and work of Christ within them. 3. What does the Spirit's indwelling do for us? He abides with us forever, assures us of God's love, leads us into truth, and empowers us to face whatever we must. "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth... for He dwells with you and will be in you." — John 14:16-17 (NKJV) Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

    The Indwelling Spirit
  5. 12/02/2024

    Regeneration

    Why did Jesus tell a religious leader he had to be "born again"? In this study of John 3, Dr. Toby Holt considers Nicodemus, a respected teacher of Israel who came to Jesus by night and was told, to his confusion, "You must be born again." Dr. Holt unfolds the doctrine of regeneration: fallen man enters the world with corrupt "default settings" — a nature of the flesh that cannot receive the things of God. The new birth, therefore, is not self-improvement but a sovereign work of God's Spirit — being born from above. No one climbs to God by his own effort; the only "ladder" is the Son, given because "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Regeneration precedes and produces faith, and it is indispensable to salvation. Questions this study answers: 1. What does "born again" mean? It refers to regeneration — a spiritual rebirth worked by the Holy Spirit — not a physical birth or a self-generated moral change. 2. Why must we be born again? Because by nature we are dead in sin and cannot see or enter the kingdom of God apart from this new birth from above. 3. Who accomplishes the new birth? God does, by His Spirit. It is a gift of grace received through faith in Christ, never a work we achieve for ourselves. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" — John 3:6-7 (NKJV) Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio. Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on systematic theology and the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

    Regeneration
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Theology - studying God as He is revealed in Scripture.

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