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If you are not familiar with Christian terms, it can get really confusing. All these
terms - what do they mean? Are these Christians just trying to show off, using these terms
that don't mean anything to anybody but them? No. :-) Just as there are terms which
apply to other faiths which don't apply to Protestants, so the reverse is also true. No
one really sits down and explains it all to you. If you want to know, you have got to get
down and study. Well, I hope to make it a little bit easier.
Some terms you already know, like eternal, everlasting. These mean the same whatever
religion you're talking about. They mean forever and ever. But what about the others? For
your understanding and the Lord's glory, I present these to you. Please feel free to look
'em up and expand on the beginning of knowledge you glean here.
Remember, there are so many more words I could include, but I don't intend this to be
all inclusive. I hope to cover those things which one might hear in a normal study, or
even in conversation, so you and your friend will be on the same page, so to speak, as you
talk about spiritual matters.
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parishioners vs. church family - Since I've gotten some funny looks
when I mistakenly used the term parishioners at my Baptist church, I thought I would
explain that my in my former church the members of a particular church are known as
parishioners. This is because the different locations are divided up into what is called
parishes. Each church has its own territory to service. In the Baptist church, we talk
about the church family - this indicates the members of this church, and even further as
the church extends beyond just one locale. It doesn't matter where you live, you can go to
whatever church you want. You don't have to belong to a certain parish or live in a
certain county or city. I'm not saying either is right or wrong, just different. So don't
be hitting that newly converted church member who slips and uses the wrong terminology. The
definitions below are as I understand them from the born again Christian perspective. I
welcome comments and suggestions and even criticisms. :-)
abomination - as an adjective, unlawful, as a noun
object of disgust or hated thing
abyss - deep pit
baptism - symbolic washing. John baptized Jesus by immersing Him in the Jordan river.
We baptize by immersion to follow His example. In being immersed, we are symbolically
washing away and making clean. We are not saved by baptism but through faith . We are
baptized only after we accept God's precious gift of salvation. (In some other religions,
the view and meaning of baptism may be different)
Christ (Greek) - Messiah (Hebrew) - anointed one. This is the one the Jews were waiting
for God to send. There are over 100 prophecies about the Messiah in the Bible. Jesus
fulfills ALL of them. He IS the Messiah, the Christ.
covet - crave, desire, long for, desire earnestly
faith - belief, trust. You can have faith in many things, such as faith that the chair
you are sitting in will not break while you're in it. In relation to spiritual matters
,however, faith indicates a trust in God, His grace, His love, His Word. That means
believing what He says is true.
grace - bestow please, delight, cause favorable regard. The best
definition I ever heard is "God's Riches At Christ's Expense". I believe this is
an Evangelism Explosion memorization tool though I've not taken the course. What this is
saying is that God blesses us with riches - eternal life in heaven - which we have not
earned and do not deserve. It is by grace - His benevolence - but through Christ's
efforts. Because Christ died and cleansed us of sin, we can enjoy the eternal bliss of
heaven. This happens by grace, not by works (good things we do like giving to charity,
helping the poor, going to church services).
incarnate - imbodied in flesh, made flesh
iniquity - wickedness, lawlessness, to do wrong, unrighteousness, sin
justified - declare innocent. God declares me, a guilty sinner, not guilty because of
Jesus' death on the cross.
Levites - priests, descendant of Levi, son of Jacob; charged with the care of the
sanctuary
Lord - This word is used in different ways in the Bible. In some Bibles, the word is
typed in all capital letters to signify that it is speaking of God. There are many Old
Testament Hebrew words which are translated Lord (Yahweh, Adonai for example). In the New
Testament, different Greek words are translated as Lord (Kyrios referring to either God
the Father or God the Son, Jesus; Despotes, referring to the Father are just two
examples). The word "Lord" can also mean master, ruler and can be used when
speaking of human masters.
only begotten - one and only. Jesus is the sole (one and only)
representative of the Being and Character of God
prophecy - proclamation, declaration of what cannot be known by natural means, speaking
forth of the mind and counsel of God
prophesy - to speak God's word to the people, to give a prophecy
prophet or prophetess - a true prophet is a speaker for God, who usually predicts or
proclaims something; a false prophet does not speak for God; the term prophetess may be a
female prophet or may be a companion or follower of a prophet
propitiation - atonement, to appease, a covering. This is like making up for something.
In this case, Jesus made up for our sins by His death on the cross. He atoned for them. He
became the atonement, or propitiation, in our place. He covered all our sins for all time.
Once for all. One death for all sins. Hard one.
redemption - also means deliverance (to redeem means to buy back, a redeemer is one who
buys back - in this case, Jesus bought back for us paradise, eternal life in heaven)
remission - dismissal, release, to send away (remit). Only God can release us from our
sins and grant us forgiveness
repentance - true sorrow, being truly sorry, changing your mind
about doing wrong and truly wanting to leave the wrong-doing behind and become righteous.
Essentially, true repentance would include agreeing with God that I have done something
wrong and asking for forgiveness.
revelation - divine disclosure, uncovering. A revelation is something that is revealed.
In this case, it is talking about something that God reveals.
righteous - virtuous, moral, just, without prejudice. In other words, doing what God
wants me to do.
Sabbath - cease, desist,. The observation of a day of rest on the seventh day of the
week is a sign between God and His earthly people, based upon the fact that after the six
days of creative operations He rested.
salvation - deliverance (to deliver means to rescue or save - in this case, from the
punishment for our sins)
saved - deliver, rescue (a Savior is one who saves - Jesus saved us from the punishment
of our sins and eternity in hell)
scribe - a man of letters, a teacher of the law, occupied
themselves with the Law - teaching, developing and copying the sacred writing, copier,
writer. Used to describe those who copied the Scriptures, and also those who wrote down
important things, such as Paul's letters, which he dictated.
unrighteous - not conforming to right, evil, wicked. The opposite of righteous.
worldly - pertaining to this world, of the physical world, not the spiritual world
zealous - enthusiastic, to seek or desire eagerly
Hell, Hades and Sheol are all given the meaning of "place of the dead" in my
NAS Bible. While this is okay, there's more to the story. I used the study tools at Crosswalk http://www.crosswalk.com
to give the explanation below. Remember that I am not the ultimate authority on the
definitions of any of these terms. I am just researching and coming to my own conclusions.
You should do your own research and see if it agrees with mine. When doing so remember
that you are reading in your Bible the translation, which may be "hell" whether
the original word was Sheol, Gehenna or Hades. Give it a second look.
References used:
Jack Van Impe's Dictionary of Prophecy Terms
Nave's Topical Bible
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary
Sheol (Old Testament) and Hades (New Testament) seem to be the same. Translated
"realm of the dead" or "unseen state". Jack Van Impe's book says Hades
is the "place where souls and spirits of all humans went until the cross". Some
translations use Sheol as pit, lowest pit, or grave.
It consists of two area or divisions
1) for the righteous (believers, blessed), giving comfort, called Paradise
2) for the unrighteous (unbelievers) or wicked, for suffering
At His resurrection, Christ descended into Hades and brought the righteous out of
"Paradise" and into heaven to be with Him
The wicked, on the other hand, are not coming out until Judgment Day when they will be
thrown into Gehenna, the Lake of Fire
Gehenna (N.T.) - translated hell, final abode for the lost souls, Lake of Fire.
Jack Van Impe's dictionary said there would be "degrees of suffering" depending
on the number of times one rejected Christ. The "lake that burns with fire and
brimstone" was prepared for the devil and the angels that followed him.
For more information on any of these words or topics, go to Crosswalk and use the Bible study tools there or write
me and I'll help if I can.
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05/27/2007
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