Grace
charis
The unearned favour of God towards sinful people, which led Him to save us when we did not deserve it. Nobody can earn salvation; it comes through the loving kindness of God.
A short glossary
Key Words. Plain meaning.
The words you will hear at church, with the Bible passages behind them.
Sin
hamartia
To miss the mark: thoughts, actions and behaviour contrary to God's will. We are born with a sinful nature that rebels against God. Sin produces death, spiritual, physical and eternal, and holds people captive like a slave master.
Faith
pistis
Firm persuasion, conviction, reliance on Jesus Christ for salvation. It comes by hearing the word of God and it shows itself in obedience. Faith without works is dead.
Confession
homologeo
Literally, to say the same thing. Two things at once: agreeing with God's verdict that you are a sinner in need of His grace, and openly declaring that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Repentance
metanoia
A change of mind, heart and will that turns you from sin to God, driven by godly sorrow rather than mere regret. It includes recognising sin, confessing it, being sorry for it, deciding to forsake it, and putting right what can be put right.
Baptism
baptisma
To dip, plunge or immerse. Apostolic baptism is immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ, mixed with faith, for the forgiveness of sins. It is a burial with Christ.
Baptism of the Holy Spirit
The moment Jesus Christ Himself fills a believer with His Spirit, raising them to new life. Its initial sign in Acts is speaking in tongues, which is how the church knew the Spirit had been received. Its enduring evidence is the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, shown in a changed character and conduct.
Regeneration
paliggenesia
Literally "birth again": a new birth, a second beginning. God's impartation of new life to someone who was spiritually dead, through water baptism in Jesus' name and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
Justification
dikaiosis
A courtroom term: to be declared righteous, acquitted, in right standing with God. The opposite of condemned. Done freely by grace, paid for by Christ's blood, received by faith.
Sanctification
hagiasmos
To be made holy, set apart for God. Applied at the new birth through the blood of Jesus, and continued as a daily process by the Spirit until we are like Christ.
Holiness
hagios (holy), hagiosyne (holiness)
Set apart for God. Not a list of rules but what belonging to God looks like from the outside, growing from the fruit of the Spirit on the inside.
Adoption
huiothesia
Literally, to be placed as a son. When you are born again God places you in His family with the standing of a son: the name, the authority, and the inheritance. Sonship is a legal position, not a gender; every believer, male or female, is placed as a son and heir. Your Bible translates the word "children" to make that clear.
Inheritance
kleronomia
What an heir has a legal claim on. Believers are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ: everything that belongs to the Son belongs to them with Him. Part of it is enjoyed now (forgiveness, access, provision, the Spirit); the rest (a glorified body, the new creation, reigning with Him) is still to come.
Pledge (down payment)
arrabon
A deposit paid in advance as a guarantee that the full amount will follow. Paul uses the word for the Holy Spirit: God's first instalment on the inheritance, and His guarantee that the rest is coming.
Royal priesthood
basileion hierateuma
Peter's description of the church, taken from what God said to Israel at Sinai. Believers are both royal (heirs of the kingdom) and priests (people who offer worship to God, bring others to Him, and must be clean to serve). Royalty is a calling to be walked worthy of, not a status to be enjoyed.
Glorification
doxazo
The final stage of salvation, when the believer receives an immortal body like the Lord's at His coming. From the Greek doxa, glory: to be glorified is to be given a share in His.
Resurrection
anastasis
To stand up again. God will raise all people from the dead, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting judgement.
Eternal judgement
At the end of the age God judges everyone according to their deeds. Those who have refused Christ face the second death, the lake of fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels.
Transgression
parabasis
Stepping over a line you knew was there. Sin is missing the mark; transgression is deliberately crossing it. Paul says Adam's sin was a transgression: he had a clear command and chose against it.
Redemption
apolytrosis
The price paid to set a slave free. Christ's death is the price, and the freedom is yours. Redemption is what happened to you; justification is what it means in the courtroom.
Atonement
hilasterion
The covering or payment that removes sin. Jesus is Himself the atoning sacrifice: not just the one who offers it, but the offering.
Reconciliation
katallage
Enemies made friends. God was not reconciled to us; we were reconciled to Him. He did not change His mind about you; the cross changed your standing before Him.
Tongues
glossai
Speaking in a language you never learned, as the Holy Spirit gives the words. It is how the New Testament church recognised that someone had received the Spirit, and it continues today.