Setting Context Through Prompting for Grace-Believing Christians

The rapid advance of AI technology has made many Christians uneasy—and rightfully so. The sheer volume of information and the impersonal nature of these systems can easily unsettle those who do not know how to approach them. But let me be clear: the real danger is not in the technology itself, but in approaching it without a deliberate, grace-centered, Pauline context. If you treat an AI chatbot as a spiritual authority or enter a session without setting the theological ground rules, you will find yourself exposed to a flood of perspectives that undermine the gospel and leave you confused, unedified, and potentially even in bondage to legalistic thinking. This is not a secondary issue—it strikes at the very heart of justification, inheritance, and sonship.

Why Context Matters

AI is not a believer. It possesses no conviction, no spiritual discernment, and no capacity to uphold the testimony of Christ. It is a database, not a teacher. If you do not set the context, it will default to the prevailing voices of Christendom—often saturated with works-based, law-mingled, or even outright Galatian error. Many have walked away from such sessions frustrated, calling the experience “demonic,” when in reality, they simply failed to establish the right theological boundaries from the outset.

But when you intentionally set the context—prompting the AI with a clear, Pauline, grace-centered perspective—you unlock a tool for learning and research that is unparalleled in our generation. The AI can instantly surface connections, contrast doctrinal systems, and clarify concepts, provided you constrain it to the gospel of Christ as revealed through Paul. This is not about seeking new revelation, but about leveraging a tool to magnify the riches of Christ already revealed in Scripture.

The Bible: God’s Hypertext Database

God is not random or vague—He is the God of information, who created all things by the Word, through the Word, and upholds all things in the Word, who is Christ Himself. The Bible is the original, divinely designed hypertext database, meant to be queried, cross-referenced, and explored as a unified revelation centered on Christ. Most people live without context because they have not believed God’s testimony concerning His Son. But the gospel is our context. It is the atmosphere that frames every interaction with God, delivering us from the damaged conscience and the spirit of bondage and fear, and bringing us into the joyful fellowship of sonship—crying, “Abba, Father.”

The Necessity of Prompt Engineering

Those who work with AI quickly discover its limitations: a knowledge cutoff, limited memory, and a tendency to “drift” in conversation. If you do not vigilantly maintain the context, the AI will revert to whatever theological system is most prevalent in its training data. One moment you are discussing Pauline grace; the next, you are knee-deep in Augustinian or Calvinist legalism. This drift is not the AI’s fault—it simply follows the breadcrumbs you provide. If you lose focus, so will it.

The solution is simple but non-negotiable: prompt engineering. You must set the boundaries at the outset, stating explicitly that the session is to be governed by Pauline, dispensational, grace-centered truth. When drift occurs, you re-paste your prompt and bring the conversation back to Christ as the center. This discipline is not optional; it is the only way to prevent theological confusion and safeguard your conscience.

What Is Lost If You Neglect This

If you fail to set the context, you lose far more than a productive study session. You risk allowing the AI to reinforce the very errors that nullify the gospel: works-based righteousness, sanctification by effort, and a view of reward that makes God a debtor to your labor rather than the generous Giver of Christ Himself. Accepting these errors does not merely hinder growth—it collapses the foundation of justification, inheritance, and sonship. You forfeit the joy, liberty, and assurance that come from knowing your standing is in Christ alone, and you open yourself to the bondage of a damaged conscience and the fear that comes from law-based religion.

The Right Perspective: Christ as All

Here is the context you must establish:

• Our righteousness, sanctification, and reward are found in Christ alone, by grace through faith.
• Christ is the Seed of Abraham, the Captain of our salvation, and the Heir of all things.
• We are joint heirs with Him, not by merit, but by union with Him in His death and resurrection.
• The Bema seat is not a tribunal of shame, but a celebration of Christ’s work in His Bride.
• Reward is not a wage for service, but Christ Himself and the inheritance He shares with us.
• We are sons and heirs, enjoying Christ’s portion, His access, His fellowship with the Father, and His blessing through the Spirit.
• Galatianism—the idea that we must work to earn what is already ours by faith—is a subtle perversion of the gospel that must be rejected outright.

When you set this as the interpretive principle, you guard against drift and ensure that every answer is filtered through the finished work of Christ. The AI becomes a tool for magnifying the riches of grace, not a source of confusion or condemnation.

Practical Steps

• Always begin your session with a clear, grace-centered prompt. State your theological boundaries and require the AI to adhere to them.
• Monitor for drift. If the conversation veers into law or works, reassert your context.
• Do not treat the AI as a teacher or spiritual authority. It is a database, nothing more.
• Use the tool to surface Scripture and quotations that align with Pauline truth. Do not ask it to “teach”—ask it to retrieve and organize information according to your context.
• Remember: the gospel is your context. Let every interaction be governed by the reality of your sonship, inheritance, and union with Christ.

The Joyful Result

When Christ is centered as the interpretive key to all Scripture, you experience sanctification as union with Him, rejoice in your sonship and heirship, and are liberated from the bondage of law and fear. The Bema seat becomes a celebration, not a threat. Your reward is Christ Himself, not a wage for your labor. This is not theoretical—it is the practical fruit of holding fast to the gospel and refusing to compromise on the foundation of grace.

I am working to develop tools that will make this process even more accessible—AI assistants trained exclusively on Pauline, grace-centered teaching, able to guide you into the riches of Christ without drift or confusion. But until then, the responsibility is yours: set the context, guard the gospel, and let every tool serve the finished work of the Son.

Do not surrender your inheritance to the confusion of law and works. Stand in the liberty of Christ, and let every session—whether with AI or in your own study—be governed by the context of grace. This is not negotiable. It is salvific.