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Ascension - Forty days after Jesus' resurrection from the dead He ascended to heaven
(Acts 1:9-11) where He was seated at the right hand of His Father.
Commandment/Ten Commandments/Law - God's law - The law of God is anything and everything
that God requires of man. It is summarized in the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy
5:6-21.
Eternal life - Eternal life is both quality and length of life. As to its length, all
people will be raised from the dead to live forever, either in heaven or in hell. When the Bible speaks of
eternal life in the qualitative sense, it means sharing the excellence of God's own life on a creaturely
level (II Peter 1:2-4, Colossians 3:3-4, Galatians 2:19-20).
Glory of God - The glory of God is the manifestation of all of His attributes. He is
perfectly holy, righteous, just, good, wise, eternal, immortal, unchanging, almighty, all knowing, and
equally present everywhere at the same time.
Gospel - The word gospel comes from a Greek word evangel, which means 'good news.'
Holiness of God - God's holiness is first and foremost the distinction between Himself
and everything He has created. God alone is eternal, independent, self-sustaining and self-derived. Secondly,
the word holiness means sinless, and only God is sinless (Romans 3:23, 8:18-22, Job 15:15).
Infinite God-Man - Truly God and truly man - Jesus is one person with two distinct but
united natures. He is at once both perfectly and truly God and at the same time perfectly and truly man, yet
without sin (John 1:1-2, 14).
Justification - Justification is God forgiving sinners and declaring them to be righteous
(Romans 4:25-5:1). The promise of the gospel is that God justifies the
ungodly (Romans 4:5-6).
Kingdom of God - The kingdom of God is central to the entire Bible. At its heart is the
reigning and ruling of Jesus Christ over all of heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18, Psalm 2). He is not merely the king of the Jews, but is the
King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 17:14, 19:16, I Timothy 6:15, Daniel 2:37).
Meritorious Work - Throughout all of Christendom there is one thing that has never been
debated or contested and that is the necessity of good or meritorious works to get to heaven. The question is
not, 'Do we need good works to be saved?' The question is, 'By whose good works are we saved, ours or
Christ's?'
Reconcile/Reconciliation - The Bible teaches that because of our sins, we are not merely
separated from God but are at enmity with Him. We may or may not be aware of this hostility but it is there
nonetheless. The beauty of God's love is that while we were sinners Christ died for our sins to remove the
enmity between God and us (Romans 5:1-11).
Redemption/Redeemed - The Bible equates sin with slavery. In fact, Jesus says 'everyone
who commits sin is the slave of sin' (John 8:34). This slave/sin motif runs throughout the Bible in both Old and
New Testaments. The biblical words 'redemption' and 'redeemed' come out of the slave market vocabulary.
Redemption is the price paid to purchase a slave. The 'redeemed' were the slaves who had been purchased.
Jesus' death is the redemption price paid to free us out of the slave market of our own sin and the curse of
God's law (Galatians 3:13, I Peter 1:18).
Repent/repentance - Biblical repentance is first a change of mind, a change in how we
think about God, sin and ourselves. Part of our salvation is a new nature, heart and mind that 'joyfully
concur' with God and His law (Romans 7:22, Hebrews 8:10). We no longer view God's commands negatively or as a burden,
but they become the very desire of our heart (I John 5:2-5).
Resurrection - Resurrection is being raised from the dead. Jesus died hanging on a cross
to redeem us from the curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13). His resurrection from the dead three days later is proof
that He is the Son of God, and that He has defeated the power of sin and death (I Corinthians 15:51-58, Romans 1:4).
Righteousness - Righteousness is the moral perfection of God that is the standard of what
is right. God's righteousness is expressed in the Ten Commandments. To perfectly keep God's commands is to
act righteously.
Salvation - The prophet Jonah declared, 'Salvation is from the Lord' (Jonah 2:9). We are saved first from God's holy wrath (Ephesians 2:3, I Thessalonians 1:10). Secondly, we are saved from our sins (Matthew 1:21). We receive salvation from God as a gracious gift and
promise.
Savior - Christ became sin on our behalf in order that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 5:25-27, Colossians 1:21-22). He is our Savior, the only who can save us from the
guilt, power and presence of sin (Matthew 1:21). We contribute nothing to our salvation.
Sin/Transgression - The meaning of the word 'sin' is 'missing the mark.' The mark or
'bull's eye' is God's righteousness. The meaning of 'transgression' is 'cross the line.' We transgress when
we cross the line of righteous conduct established in God's law.
Sin/Sins - The Bible makes a distinction between 'sin' as an abstract principle and
'sins' as specific acts of sinning. When the Bible uses the word 'sin' or 'sinful' it is often describing the
corruption of the human nature that occurred as a result of the rebellion of our first parents Adam and Eve
(I John 1:8). When the Bible uses the word 'sins' it is often
expressing specific acts that transgress God's holy law.
Substitutionary Death - Jesus is called the 'Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world' (John 1:29). In the Old Testament lambs and other animals were sacrificed
and their blood was used to cover the sins of the Israelites, who deserved death for sinning against God.
These sacrificial animals were foreshadowing the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who died in the place of sinners
and shed His own blood to satisfy the penalty for our sins against God (Isaiah 53:5-6).
Wages of sin - The wages of sin is the consequence of disobeying God. Just as a worker
receives 'wages' for working, so a sinner is paid for sinning. The wages of sin is eternal death, forever
separated from God's love and blessing, and experiencing His judgment and holy wrath for all eternity
(II Thessalonians 1:8-9, Matthew 25:46, Luke 13:27-28).
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