Prompting for Context: A Grace-Based Framework for Using AI in Biblical Study
Orientation
Many Christians approach AI chatbots without setting theological context, leading to unproductive sessions and confusion that can feel spiritually dangerous.
- AI lacks spiritual conviction and defaults to prevalent, often works-based, theological voices.
- Without clear boundaries, sessions can reinforce legalistic thinking and undermine the gospel.
- The frustration is not inherent to the technology, but to the lack of a deliberate, grace-centered starting point.
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-7)
— Galatians 1:6-7
Clarification
AI is a sophisticated database and tool for retrieving information, not a spiritual authority or sentient teacher.
- Theological 'drift' occurs because AI follows conversational cues and lacks inherent doctrinal alignment.
- The tool's value is unlocked by constraining it to a Pauline, grace-centered perspective from the outset.
- Its knowledge cutoff and limited memory require users to maintain focus and re-prompt to preserve context.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:12-13)
— 1 Corinthians 2:12-13
Structure
God designed the Bible as the first hypertext database, a unified revelation centered on Christ, meant to be queried and explored.
- The universe is designed by the Word (Christ) for conveying messages and processing information in context.
- The gospel itself provides our fundamental context, delivering us from a spirit of bondage into sonship.
- A disciplined, grace-based hermeneutic that centers Christ is the interpretive key to all Scripture.
That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3)
— Colossians 2:2-3
Weight-Bearing Prose
The core assertion is that grace-believing Christians must intentionally set theological context through precise prompting when engaging with AI. This is necessary because AI, as a neutral tool, processes language without the spiritual discernment inherent to Pauline, dispensational, grace-centered truth. Without this context, the tool defaults to and can reinforce theological drift toward Galatianism—the perversion of the gospel that mingles grace with works.
This practice is grounded in a view of God as the ‘information God’ who designed the Bible as a hypertext database for the information age. The interpretive key is Christ Himself—our righteousness, sanctification, redemption, reward, and life (1 Cor 1:30). Pauline categories are non-negotiable for this framework: positional truth, union with Christ in His death and resurrection, the Bema seat as a celebratory event for the Church, and reward as Christ Himself—the inheritance of the seed of David shared with us as joint-heirs by faith alone.
The counter-position, which must be named and avoided, is any approach that treats AI as a spiritual authority or fails to maintain doctrinal guardrails, thereby exposing the believer to systems that nullify grace through conditionality and works.
Integration
Your assurance and growth are anchored in Christ, not in your proficiency with technology. The gospel is your context, delivering you from a damaged conscience and the spirit of bondage into the joyful fellowship of crying, ‘Abba, Father.’ This tool, when used with intentionality, is meant to magnify the riches of Christ already revealed, not to become a source of anxiety or a measure of maturity.
There is no pressure to advance or a hierarchy of understanding to climb. Whether you are exploring deep typology or simply reaffirming the core of the gospel, your position in Christ is secure. He is your sanctification. He is your reward. Any use of AI is simply a means to see Him more clearly, within the safety of the grace that has already set you free. Rest here. The goal is not perfect prompting, but a clearer view of the perfect Savior.