Reformed Vocabulary
Used with permission of Dr. Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., professor at Calvin Theological Seminary
Terms
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- 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.
- 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.
- Creation
- The sovereign act of God by which He brought into being the whole universe from nothing. Shows God's sovereignty, goodness, greatness, and His image in us.
- The Kingdom of God
- God's reign over His universal realm. Covenant, prophets, priests, human kings, and the church are all tools, or instruments, of this. Like a mustard seed, it starts out small but grows and grows. The things that people from here cherish and value--like humility, forgiveness, kindness--seem "Upside-down" to people who are not members of it.
- Doctrine
- The church's teachings about God and our salvation, based on the bible.
- Guilt
- What we have when we break God's law and deserve the laws penalty. Includes not only when 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.
- Confessions
- Carefully organized, written statements of doctrine approved by the church
- 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.
- Circumcision
- The Old Testament sign and seal of the covenant of Grace.
- Freedom
- The removal of the things that drag us 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.)
- Repentance
- The complete turning around of our lives. Is like dying and then being born again.
- Atonement
- The process by which Jesus Christ put right what sin put wrong. Christ's suffering and death are this, a making amends, for sin.
- Grace
- Loving kindness to a person in misery, especially when a person is miserable because of his or her own sin. Is then undeserved favor or kindness
- Reconciliation
- Restoring peace and harmony to estranged parties. Jesus Christ brings this by acting as arbitrator, or mediator between God and humanity.
- Goodness of God
- An attribute of God meaning that he satisfies the needs of all his creatures.
- Greatness of God
- An attribute of God meaning that God is awesome. this is the power behind his goodness
- Justification
- God's acceptance of unaccepable people. Includes the forgiving of our sins and the adding to us of Jesus' righteousness.
- God's Speaking
- Gods communication to us. God speaks in His word( including the Bible), and by His Son. Tells us that God is a personal, caring, and saving God. So when God speaks, we ought to respond.
- Image of God
- The likeness of God in human beings. We see this in us by our ruling over creation, by our fellowship with each other and by any right actions we do. Means being like Christ.
- Forgiveness of Sins
- The subtracting, or putting away, of sins so that they are no longer held against us. When God does this, we can be at peace with him.
- Incarnation
- The even in which the eternal Son of God took on human flesh, which we celebrate at Christmas.
- Satisfaction
- Giving someone what he has coming, so as to "fill up an empty place" in him. Through His death, Christ satisfies God's justice by obeying God perfectly, as we cannot, and by suffering the penalty for our disobedience.
- Law of God
- The statement of what God wants from us. This is a training guide for the new life of liberty.
- Shame
- A sense of humiliation after sin. People who are ashamed feel as if they'd like to crawl under something or have some covering hide them from view. The fall brings shame into the human race.
- Original Sin
- The corruption and guilt that the human race has inherited from Adam and Eve. The doctrine of _______ tells us that sin is universal, that it keeps reproducing, and that it is extremely hard to get rid of.
- Bible
- The book that contains the writings or scriptures that Christians recognize as the written word of God.
- Corruption
- The seeping or flooding power of sin. Sin seeps into every part of human life, staining and spoiling thoughts, words, deeds, feelings, and inclinations.
- Redemption
- To rescue someone by paying a ransom. Just as God redeemed Israel from the land of Egypt, so Jesus Christ redeems us from the slavery of sin and death by paying the ransom price of His lifeblood.
- Disorder
- The loss of harmony and right relation in the universe. This shows up in relations between God and humanity, between some humans and others, between humanity and nature, and even within individual human beings.
- 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.
- Sanctification
- The lifelong conversion by which Christians become gradually holier--that is, more like Jesus Christ. Is the solution to the problem of pollution. We want to live the life of holiness because of our desire for God, or gratitude to him, and our faith in him.
- Providence
- The care God shows for all his creation. God preserves our world, rescues his people, works for good, and controls history. Lets us trust and thank God
- Attributes of God
- God's characteristics or qualities; Why? Describing God's attributes helps us understand
- 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 world through his people.
- 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.
- Reformed
- to confess the common Christian faith with a special accent. In particular, it means to accent such things as the authority of scripture, the sovereignty of God, personal integrity in the life of holiness, and the need for a view of world integrity (sometimes called a "world-and-life view" or "Kingdom vision".)
- Faith
- The bond to Christ from our side. Includes belief in the promises fo God and trust in Jesus. Justification is recieved by this.
- 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 God shows Grace).
- Triune
- Being a triple and a unit at the same time. To say that God is this is to say that God is three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) but only one God. That is, God is a trinity.
- Infallibility of scripture
- The quality of the Bible that means it will not fail. By the Bible's unfailingness or ________ we mean it does not decieve us, make mistakes in presenting God's word, or fail to reach its goal of helping people get saved and then lead thankful lives.
- Sovereignty of God
- The attribute of God which means that he is supreme and in control.
- Covenant
- A solemn agreement or pact. In this there are always promises on one side and often obligations on the other. Are usually signed and sealed, sometimes by strange acts.
- Evil
- The combination of sin and misery that we see in the world around us. Originated in the angel world but comes to us through the fall of Adam and Eve.
- Misery
- The pain and suffering that come from sin; The fallout that comes from the fall. Among the fallen worlds miseries are disorders, estrangement, and death.