Reformed Vocab
reference
used with permission
Dr. Cornelius Plantinga
Calvin Seminary
used with permission
Dr. Cornelius Plantinga
Calvin Seminary
Terms
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- Infallibility of Scripture
- The quality of the Bible that means it will not fail. By the Bib;es unfailingness or infallibility we mean it does not deceive us, make mistakes in presenting God's word, or fail to reach its goal of helping people get saved and then lead thankful lives.
- The Tragedy of the Fall
- The fact that the fall happens not to unimportant creatures (whose fall wouldn't matter so much) but to people made in God's image. The fall is also tragic because it includes trickery, foolishness, pride and disastrous results.
- Misery
- The pain and suffering that come from sin; the fallout that comes from the Fall. Among the fallen world's miseries are disorders, estrangement, and death.
- Justification
- Gods acceptance of unacceptable people. Justification includes the forgiving of our sins and the adding to us of Jesus' righteousness.
- The Kingdom of God
- God's reign over his universal realm. Covenant, prophets, priests, human kings, and the church are all tools, or intruments, of the Kingdom of God. Like a mustard seed, the Kingdom starts out small but grows and grows. The things that Kingdom people cherish and value--like humility, forgiveness, kindness--seem "Upside-down" to people who are not members of the kingdom.
- Redemption
- To rescue someone by paying a ransom. Just as God redeemed Israel from the land of Egypt, so Jesus Christ redeems us form the slavery of sin and death by paying the ransom price of his lifeblood.
- Covenant
- a solemn agreement or pact. in a covenant their are promises on one side and obligations on the other. covenants are usually singed or sealed, sometimes by strange acts
- Circumcision
- the Old testament sign and seal of the Covenant of grace, The Old Testament sign and seal of the covenant of Grace
- Covenant Obligations
- The duties God's people owe to God. These are especially obedience (because god is parent and King), trust (because God is Savior), and thanks (because od shows Grace).
- Inspiration of Scripture
- The process by which God "breathed" into the biblical writers what He wanted them to write. God moved, influenced, and inspired them by the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit now inspires us to receive and believe in the Bible.
- Providence
- The care God shows for all hsi creation. He preserves our world, resucues his people, works for good, and controls history.
- Reformed
- To be reformed is to confess the common Christian faith
- Image of God
- The likeness of God in human beings. We see the image of God in us by ruling over creation, by our fellowship in each other and by any right actions we do. The image of God means being like Christ.
- Creation
- The sovereign act of god by which He brought into being the whole universe from nothing. Creation shows God's sovereignty, goodness, greatness, and his image in us.
- Incarnation
- the event in which the eternal son of god took on human flesh, which we celebrate at Christmas
- Reconciliation
- Restoring peace and harmony to estranged parties. Jesus Christ brings peace and reconciliation by acting as our arbitrator or mediator between God and humanity.
- Bible
- The book that contains the writings or scriptures that Christians recognize as the written word of God
- Repentance
- The complete turning around our lives. Repentance is like dying and then being born again.
- Estrangement
- A disorder in which persons or things that ought to be friends become strangers instead; for example, when people are estranged from God, they see God not only as a loving father, but as an embarrassment or even as an enemy.
- Confessions
- Carefully organized, written statements of doctrine approved by the church.
- Law of God
- The statement of what God wants from us. The law of God is a training guide for the new life of liberty.
- Faith
- The bond to Christ from our side. Faith includes belief in the promises of God and trust in Jesus. Justification is received by faith.
- Greatness of God
- An attribute of God meaning that God is awesome. God's greatness is the power behind his goodness.
- The Fall
- The event in which our first parents disobey God and thus brought evil into the world.
- Triune
- Being a triple and a unit at the same time. To say that God is triune is to say that God is three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) but only one God. That is, God is a trinity.
- Atonement
- The process by which Jesus Christ put right what sin put wrong
- Forgiveness of Sins
- The subtracting, or putting away, of sins so that they are no longer held against us. When God forgives our sins, we can be at peace with Him.
- Covenant Promises
- God's Promises in the covenant of Grace is that he will love his people, protect them, and help them. God also promises to bless the whole worl though his people.
- God's Word
- What God says in his speaking. Some of what Gods says is written down in the Bible. That is why the bible is sometimes called Gods word.Everything important about God is lived out by His Son Jesus Christ. That is why he is sometimes called the word of God.
- Original Sin
- The corruption and guilt that the human race has inherited from Adam and Eve. The doctrine of original sin tells us that sins is universal, that it keeps reproduscing, and that it is extremely hard to get rid of.
- God's Speaking
- Gods communication to us. God speaks in His word( including the Bible), and by His Son. God's speaking tells us that God is a personal, caring, and saving God. So when God speaks, we ought to respond.
- Disorder
- A loss of harmony and right relation in the universe. Disorder shows up in relations between God and humanity.
- Sanctification
- The lifelong conversion by which Christians become gradually holier that is more like Jesus Christ. Sanctification is the solution to the problem of pollution. We want to live the like of holiness because of our desire for God, or gratitude to him, and our faith in him.
- Freedom
- The removal of the things that drag is down and the opening up to joyful life in God. (Because if we are not slaves to him, we will be slaves to something else.)
- Shame
- A sense of humiliation after sin, People who are ashamed feel as it they'd like to crawl under something or have some covering hid them from view. The fall brings shame into the human race.
- Guilt
- What we have when we break God's law and deserve the law's penalty. Guilt includes not only what we have when we do wrong, it also includes what we have when we fail to do right. When we fail to do right, guilt is called debt.
- Sovereignty of God
- The attribute of God which means that he is supreme and in control.
- Corruption
- The seeping or flooding power of sin. Sin seeps into every part of human life, straining and spoiling thoughts, words, deeds, feelings, and inclinations.
- Authority of Scripture
- The power of the Bible to influence our believing and acting. Because the Bible is our authority, it can even give commands that we must obey. The Bible is authoritative because God is its author and because only in the Bible do we find Jesus Christ, our rescuer.
- Grace
- Loving kindness to a person in misery, especially when a person ismiserable because of his or her own sin. Grace is then undeserved favor or kindness.
- Evil
- The combination of sin and misery that we see in the world around us. Evil orginated in the angel world but comes to us through the fall os Adam and Eve
- Goodness of God
- An attribute of God meaning that he satisfies the needs of all his creatures
- Doctrine
- the church teachings about God our salvation, based on the Bible.