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Vocabulary
74 Words
Incarnation
The incarnation refers to the time when God (who is Spirit) became a man. This occurred when Jesus (God the Son) was conceived by God the Father by means of God the Holy Spirit (see: "Trinity") in Mary’s womb.
Imputed Righteousness
All of us are sinners by nature. None of us can be righteous (or good) on our own. But when we receive Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, He gives us the gift of His Righteousness. So God sees us as righteous, even though it is really not our righteousness, it is the Righteousness of Christ. This is called “imputed righteousness” because He “imputed” or “assigned” it to us. Christ's righteousness, imputed to us, has to everything to do with our justification .
Imparted Righteousness
The Bible teaches that after we trust Christ, we are to live obediently (righteously). However, God knows that we cannot do this in our own power and ability. Therefore He enables us to live like we should by “imparting” His righteousness to us. This imparted righteousness has nothing to do with our justification but everything to do with our sanctification.
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God. He is the third person of the Trinity. As God, He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. He comes to live inside us when we repent of our sin and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. (See: "Indwelling of the Holy Spirit") He gives us direction and wisdom for making life's decisions as we learn to listen to His voice.
Holiness
The word “holiness” translates a Greek word that means “to be separate or set apart.” All Christians are holy, in the sense that God has set us all apart for His purposes and for His glory. Of course, God himself is holy. He is totally set apart from all creation because He is Perfect, He is Spirit, and He is Eternal. The words “holy” and “sanctified” come from the same Greek word.
Heresy
Heresy refers to such serious errors in what people believe that the people who believe those things cannot really be Christians. For example, it is heresy to believe that Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit is not truly God. It is heresy to believe that there is some other way (for example, our own good works) to be saved from our sins other than faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is heresy to believe that Jesus did not really die for our sins, or that He did not rise from the dead.
Hell
The Bible teaches that those who refuse God's offer of Eternal Life through the Lord Jesus Christ will go to an awful place called hell. The Bible teaches that it was prepared for Satan and his angels. But those who choose to be on Satan's side and who reject Christ will go there as well. The Bible describes this place with words such as these: "outer darkness," "flame," "furnace of fire," "unquenchable fire," and "fire and brimstone." It is obviously a place of unspeakable horror. But the wonderful news is that God has provided a way for us to stay out of hell. When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, He gives to us the gift of eternal life.
Heaven
The Bible teaches that heaven is a wonderful place that exists in the spirit world. We cannot see it or experience it with our senses. It is the place where God and His Holy angels dwell. It is a place where continual, never-ending worship of God takes place. When Christians die, their spirits go there to await the resurrection.
Grace
Grace is a gift that is given without our deserving it. The Bible teaches that all of us have sinned and deserve death and hell and that there is no way we can fix that problem on our own. But God offers us His Grace. He gives us the gifts of forgiveness, righteousness, eternal life, peace, joy, the privilege of being part of His family, and many other wonderful things, even though we could never deserve these things.
Gospel
“Gospel” literally means “good news.” It refers to the good news that Jesus Christ, God the Son, became a man like us. He lived a perfect and sinless life. He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He rose again and lives forever. He will forgive our sin and give us eternal life when we repent of our sin and put our faith in Him.
Glorification
Salvation has three aspects: Justification, Sanctification, and Glorification. Glorification will certainly one day take place for all Christians, but we do not experience it while we still live in these bodies of flesh and blood. When Jesus returns, all Christians will be given brand new bodies that will be wonderful and eternal. These bodies are called “glorified” bodies. It is at that moment that “glorification” takes place.
Fundamentalist
The word “fundamentalist” has several meanings. Usually most people use it to refer to people of any denomination who believe that the Bible is the Word of God, completely true in all of it’s parts and totally without error. Some Christians, who do believe the Bible is God’s Word and without error, prefer not to be called fundamentalists because they think the word means the same as “legalists” to many people.
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