Basic Elements of Christianity
G l o s s a r y
Rev. 0409
aristocratic: Of an aristocracy. Aristocracy can be defined as government by the best individuals or small privileged class; a government in which power is vested in a minority consisting of those felt to be best qualified, or a state with such a government; a governing body or upper class, usually made up of an hereditary nobility; or the aggregate of those felt to be superior.
attribute(s): an inherent characteristic
automatic universal salvation: The erroneous teaching that all people are automatically redeemed and have been made worthy of Eternal Life. However, the Holy Bible is clear that while salvation is offered to all, each individual has to make their own true commitment to Christ in order to inherit Eternal Life.
Body of Christ: This is another term for the group of those truly committed to Christ that make up His Church. See 1 Co. 12:27.
discernment: From Strong's, "1.) to test, examine, prove, scrutinise (to see whether a thing is genuine or not), as metals 2) to recognise as genuine after examination, to approve, deem worthy"
doctrine: Teaching(s). For example, some denominations or fellowships teach (have the doctrine) that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the Church today, while others have the doctrine that this is not so.
eternal: In reference to God, timeless, having no beginning or ending. In reference to any part of God's creation, including humans, having no ending. In reference to angels and men, most times in Biblical studies the term "infinite" is preferred.
evangelism: The spreading (proclamation) of the Good News of the salvation offered to all mankind in Christ.
extrabiblical / extra-biblical: Pertaining to information or content outside the Bible. Note: never write, "extra biblical," which would infer to some mindst more books to the Holy Bible that are not in the Holy Bible. As you know, all the books that are to be in the Holy Bible are presently in most Protestant Bibles.
Gideon Bible(s): Throughout the world there is an organization of business Christian men whose main purpose is to put, without charge, the Holy Bible in the hands of as many people and in as many locations as possible. A Gideon Bible is not a specific translation, but Bibles produced by or for the Gideons for placement.
Gospel: Good news. Glad tidings.
heart(s): Unless the context of Scripture would indicate the physical heart, this speaks of the center of our being and not the physical organ that pumps blood. In some cases "heart" may mean the same thing as "spirit."
holiness, holy: pure, sacred
infinite: Though this word is interchangeable with "eternal," it can also mean having a beginning point but having no ending. For this course we shall take this latter definition.
law: 1. The law for the Jews given by the Holy Spirit through Moses, or 2. principle as used in the sense of "the law of aerodynamics," "law of bouyancy," "law of gravity."
pagan: Unless otherwise noted, useage of this word in this study shall mean "non-Christian," and includes all those who do not have true faith in Christ and not any one specific group that might call themselves, or be called, pagan.
Pentecostal: Taken from the day of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the those in the upper room, this term when applied to person(s) speaks of the expression of the Holy Spirit through person by speaking in tongues. Most Pentecostals not only speak in tongues, but also believe the gifts and operations of the Holy Spirit should be the normal experience for each Christian. In reference to people, and though the term might be part of a denominational name, Pencostal is not a denomination but a movement.
Protestant Reformation: In brief, after a number of years the Church was corrupted by politics and idolatry. Roman Catholic Church (RCC) came into being. in part, because of its trust in human works and not the finished work of Christ for the means of salvation and its forsaking of the Holy Bible, it was easily plagued by greed and immorality in addition to the previous mentioned problems. However, there has always been a remnant that remained true to God through Christ and held to the Holy Bible, whenever they could get a copy of it, as the supreme rule. During the Middle Ages, in the midst of this discontent with the RCC, a Roman Catholic priest, Martin Luther, after reading the Holy Bible and by having the Truth witnessed to him by men like John Staupitz, was miracously changed by God. Concerned about certain non-Biblical practices by the RCC, he wrote down 95 theses about them and nailed them October 31, 1517, to the church door at Wittenberg. This was not a malicious act. Church doors acted as a place to put notices. He had placed the document on the door as a request for discussion among scholars on the issues. Instead, God took that act as an opportunity to open the eyes of the people so they might turn to Him through Christ alone. If you have opportunity, you will be amazed by reading the powerful story of Martin Luther in, Here I Stand, by Roland H. Bainton.
revival (true revival): True revival is a sovereign move of God upon His people bringing them into correction and a deeper dedication to Him. True revival is often, if not always, preceded by God's people seeking the face of God (His evaluation of us and His grace toward us for correction) privately and/or corporately.
saint: For the Hebrew (Old Testament), saint essentially means (among other things) pious toward God, godly, and can also mean the object of divine favor. In Greek (New Testament) among other things it means exciting reverence, venerable, sacred, pure. While at any given point, in and of himself no Christian is absolutely pure, those in Christ are declared to be saints. However, we must, by the power of Christ, work toward perfection.
salvation: Salvation means to be saved, rescued. In committing to Christ, one is saved from their own sin nature, future sinning, and eternal damnation.
sin: From the Greek, to miss the mark. Each time we fail to do what God wants us to do we sin.
spiritual realm: The area, though often unseen, of spiritual things, such as, but not limited to, the human spirit, angels, demons, the Godhead
spiritual warfare: Spiritual warfare may be described as what we read in Eph. 6:10-12, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." Please read Eph. 6:10-18 for important details in this facet of your Christian walk.
subsist: to have existence
transliterate(d): To represent or spell in the characters of another alphabet. To transliterate does NOT mean to translate.
walk, walking in Christ: Letting Christ live through us daily in all of our thoughts, motives, actions, and every facet of our life. Living in, through, by and with Christ.
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© 2010 Peter P. Macinta, all rights reserved