| A guide to biblical terms and concepts |
As generally understood by the Churches of Christ |
As generally understood by evangelical Christianity |
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A Christian
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A person who has obeyed God's commands for salvation (i.e. hear, believe, repent, confess, be "water" baptized), and who tries to live and worship according to the teachings of the New Testament. |
A Christian is a sinner who is saved by grace through faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Good works now demonstrated in the life of the believer do not save, but are only the result of salvation. |
| Christian Baptism |
Obedience to "water" baptism is necessary because it is the means by which the believer receives the forgiveness of sins and thus salvation.
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When we come to trust in Jesus Christ, we are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ.
As new believers our desire is to be "water" baptized, which bears testimony to our true, actual or Holy Spirit baptism.
Thus "water" baptism is often viewed as a outward sign to an inward reality. |
| Church of Christ |
A religious movement that traditionally rejects (or minimizes) the doctrine of the Fall and the teaching that man has an inherent predisposition to sin and to do evil.
Believes that we can receive the redeeming work of Christ through our own positive response to the moral and religious requirements of the New Testament. |
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Evangelical Christianity
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Historically refers to Protestant (Christian) churches that believe:
a) In the supreme authority of Holy Scripture in doctrinal matters of the church.
b) Salvation of the believer is by placing faith in Jesus Christ. |
| Faith/ belief |
One of the "5 steps" of salvation; To accept as true the facts of the Christian faith; To believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. |
Trust, belief or conviction; To place trust or reliance upon; "Believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Acts 16:31 |
| The Fall of Man |
The Fall of man is the story of how sin was first introduced into the world through Adam and Eve.
Note: The Fall of Adam did not adversely affect man's moral and religious abilities to prevent him from obeying all the necessary requirements for salvation. |
Because of the Fall of Adam, man is inherently a sinner by nature and by choice and thus has a predisposition to sin and to do evil.
Since man lacks the moral power and ability to save himself by obedience to commands and laws, his only hope for salvation is to place faith and trust in the Savior. |
Forgiveness
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Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross and by obeying the moral and religious commands of the New Testament, we can now receive the forgiveness of sins.
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God forgives the believing sinner on the basis that, as our sin substitute, Jesus Christ experienced all of God's wrath and anger for us at the cross. In other words, God punished Jesus so He would not have to punish us. |
Justification
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To be made righteous.
"Just-as-if-we-had-never-sinned." |
To show or to be declared righteous.
Biblical justification is the process of how an unjust person is ultimately declared or deemed righteous in the sight of a perfect, and Holy God. |
Justification by faith
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A doctrine traditionally rejected by the Churches of Christ and understood to mean 'salvation by merely believing the facts of the Christian faith' or in other words, "easy believe-ism." |
Being released from the penalty of sin by believing Jesus Christ received in His body God's full wrath, anger and righteous indignation for OUR sin, and that God raised Him from the dead. |
| Purpose of works |
Believing or having faith is not in itself a sufficient condition for salvation.
A person must also cooperate and be obedient to the rest of the moral and religious requirements of the New Testament. |
Good works and obedience are only the practical result of the believer's new spiritual birth that occurs the moment a person places faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Thus good works do not save, but rather is only a practical result of new spiritual birth and salvation.
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| Regeneration |
Since the Churches of Christ traditionally does not believe in the dynamics of the Fall, it is difficult for them to understand the need for new spiritual birth and regeneration.
In other words, the natural man only needs to cooperate with the necessary moral and religious requirements of the New Testament in order to receive the forgiveness of sins and thus salvation. |
To be renewed, reborn or born again.
Living the Christian life is not simply a matter of us making our natural man become obedient to all the right moral and religious commands of the New Testament. Rather God gives NEW LIFE to ALL those who place faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, good works now shown in the life of the believer are only the result of their new spiritual birth and salvation. |
Repentance
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To sorrow for wrong doing, to seek forgiveness, to make resolution to not to repeat the offence.
"Self reformation" |
Repentance means a post-thought, after-thought, conversion, or a change of mind.
It literally means if you were going to do one thing and then changed your mind and did something else, then you will have repented.
Anyone who has stopped trusting in themselves and in their own moral and religious conduct and begins to trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, has repented and "changed their mind" about what they once believed.
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| Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ |
When our belief in God causes us to cooperate with all the necessary moral and religious commands of the New Testament, we will have been "saved by faith." |
It is YOU believing the promise that Jesus Christ came, died on the cross and received in His body ALL of God's wrath, anger and righteous indignation for YOUR sin, and that God raised Him from the dead. |