Is the world really a neutral place?

Many assume people come into the world as a blank slate — spiritually neutral free agents who reason their way to good or evil. In this study of John 15, Dr. Toby Holt shows why that assumption is a myth. In the Upper Room, Jesus prepares His disciples like a general on the eve of D-Day: "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18). The world hates what is different, and the Christian is, by nature, different — not of the world. That is why the gospel offends even when the Messenger is the kindest man who ever lived.

Dr. Holt presses the apologetic point: the hostility to Christ is not a shortage of evidence but a condition of the heart. "The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God... nor can he know them" (1 Corinthians 2:14); apart from Christ we are "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). No one is neutral. That is both a sobering diagnosis and a hopeful one — because the same God who regenerates a heart of stone into a heart of flesh can change any rebel, and He often uses ordinary Christians who are willing to raise His banner.

Questions this study answers:

1. Why does the world hate Jesus and His followers? Because they are different. Christ was hated "without a cause," and His people share His reproach — not because of evidence, but because the world is at enmity with God.

2. Are people born spiritually neutral? No. Scripture says the natural man cannot receive the things of God and that we are born dead in sin. Neutrality is a cultural myth, not a biblical truth.

3. If no one is neutral, is there any hope for change? Yes. God regenerates rebels, turning hearts of stone into hearts of flesh — and He calls His people to carry the gospel into a hostile world as His chosen instruments.

"If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you." — John 15:18 (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 apologetics and defending the Christian faith. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.

Can an honest skeptic really come to faith?

He did not believe — in his mind, there was no way Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. In this study of John 1:45-51, Dr. Toby Holt walks through the moment Nathanael, told about Jesus, scoffs, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" But when Nathanael meets Jesus, everything changes. Christ tells him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you" — a knowledge no ordinary man could have — and the skeptic's doubt collapses into confession: "Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

For anyone wrestling with doubt, or trying to reach someone who is, Dr. Holt shows that Christ does not despise the honest skeptic. He meets Nathanael's skepticism not with a rebuke but with self-disclosure, and He calls doubters as readily as disciples. Faith here is not the abandonment of the mind but the mind confronted by the person of Christ.

Questions this study answers:

1. Was it wrong for Nathanael to be skeptical? Jesus did not condemn his doubt. Nathanael's question — "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" — was met with evidence, and honest doubt gave way to worship.

2. What convinced Nathanael that Jesus was the Messiah? Christ's supernatural knowledge of him "under the fig tree." Confronted with a knowledge only God could have, the skeptic confessed Jesus as the Son of God and King of Israel.

3. How does Christ deal with doubters today? The same way — He meets sincere questions with Himself. Faith is not the death of reason but reason brought face to face with the risen Christ.

"Nathanael answered and said to Him, 'Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!'" — John 1:49 (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 apologetics and defending 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 Gospel is not toothless.

The Gospel is not weak or defenseless.

As Spurgeon said – it is like a ‘lion.’

What do you do with a lion?

You set it loose.

In today’s text, we’ll see an example of this from Acts 17.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What opposition did Paul and the apostles face?

B) What was the true (spiritual) source of that opposition?

C) What effect does the good news have upon a fallen world?

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt

Goliath was a monster.

This man was a giant, a beast; the Devil’s own proxy.

But God had His own champion.

He sent a shepherd from Bethlehem to crush the monster’s head.

Does that remind you of anybody else?

In today’s study of 1 Samuel 17, we’ll see the Gospel in OT clothing.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) In what ways was Goliath a proxy for the serpent?

B) What other types or shadows are in this chapter?

C) How do Gen. 3, Rev. 13, and 1 Samuel 17 connect?

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt

You can take this to the bank:

As a Christian, your future is brighter than you can imagine.

But for now?

For now, we face hardships and heartache.

For now, we live in ‘this present darkness.’

That’s the tension of the Christian life, isn’t it?

We live in the ‘already,’ but the ‘not yet.’

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) Why does all of nature ‘groan?’ What is the cause?

B) How can we be sure of a brighter tomorrow?

C) How do we find strength to endure to the end?

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt

Is worship difficult for you?

For many people, it is.

For many, it seems difficult or unnatural.

Now, why would ‘worship’ be difficult?

Well, we’re not used to glorifying someone other than ourselves.

So, how do we fix this?

It begins with the study of God himself.

It begins with an appreciation of His character.

The more we understand God, the more natural worship becomes.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What sort of worship was taking place in 2 Chronicles 7?

B) What happened the moment the Temple was dedicated?

C) How can we grow in our love and commitment to worship?

Speaker: Dr. Toby B. Holt

The Bible is full of promises.

Some were made by God, and some were made by men.

Man’s promises are notoriously flimsy (and often broken).

Conversely, the promises of God are iron clad.

In today’s study, we’ll consider one of those promises up close.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What does the term ‘covenant’ mean?

B) What promise did God make to Israel after the Exodus?

C) What promises has He made to you and I as believers?

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt

God looks after His children.

There are so many examples of this.

Manna from heaven.

Water from rock.

In today’s text, God will use ravens to bring Elijah food.

Then, He will then use Elijah to bring a widow hope.

The God who provided for them will look after you.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What is the context of 1 Kings 17?

B) Why was Elijah hiding from Ahab and Jezebel?

C) What can we learn from the Widow of Zarephath?

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt

God doesn’t need us to do anything.

However, He invites us to do a great deal!

Specifically He gives us jobs of great importance.

How then should we respond?

That will be the focus of today’s study in Matthew 10.

Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What is the harvest field, and who are the laborers?

B) Why did Christ tell His apostles not to rely on their provisions?

C) What jobs and responsibilities do you and I have this year?

Speaker: Dr. Toby B. Holt

Elisha was bald. Very bald.

In 2 Kings 2, the youth noticed – and mocked him for it.

How did Elisha respond?

Well, not in a way that you might expect.

He cursed the youth – and two bears came out to maul them.

So, what’s the deal with that? For some, it seems like an overreaction.

Other Questions That We’ll Answer:

A) What was so sinful about the youth’s actions?

B) Why was Elisha justified in the response?

C) What do these events tell us about God?

Speaker: Rev. Dr. Toby Holt