Reformed Vocabulary

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used with permission
Dr. Cornelius Plantiga
Calvin Seminary

Terms

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Original Sin: The corruption and guilt that the human race has inherited from Adam and Eve. The doctrine of this tells us that sin is universal, that it keeps reproducing, and that it is extremely hard to get rid of.
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.
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.)
The Fall: The event in which our first parents disobeyed God and thus brought evil into the world.
Greatness of God: An attribute of God meaning that God is awesome. God's greatness is the power behind his goodness.
Shame: A sense of humiliation after sin. People who are going through this feel as if they
Infallibility of scripture: The quality of the Bible that means it wil not fail. By the Bible's 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 Kingdom of God: God's reign over His universal realm. Covenant, prophets, priests, human kings, and the church are all tools, or instruments, 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.
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 this by acting as our arbitrator or mediator between God and humanity.
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 intergrity (sometimes called a "world-and-life view" or :Kingdom vision".)
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.
Guilt: What we have when we brake God's law and deserve the law's penalty. This 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, this is called debt.
Sanctification: The lifelong conversion by which Christians becoome gradually holier--that is, more like Jesus Christ. This 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.
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.
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.
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.
Law of God: The statement of what God wants from us. This is a training guide for the new life of liberty.
Covenant Obligations: The duties God's people owe to God. The are especially obedience (because God is parent and King), trust (because God is Savior), and thanks (because God shows Grace).
Providence: The care God shows for all his creation. God preserves our world, rescues his people, works for good, and controls history. This lets us trust and thank God.
Atonement: The process by which Jesus Christ put right what sin put wrong. Christ
Confessions: Carefully organized, written statements of doctrine approved by the church.
God's Speaking: Gods communication to us. _______ in His word (including the Bible), and by His Son. _______ tells us that God is a personal, caring, and saving God. When God does this, we ought to respond.
Justification: Gods acceptance of unacceptable people. This includes the forgiving of our sins and the adding to us of Jesus' righteousness.
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.
Evil: The combination of sin and misery that we see in the world around us. This originated in the angel world but comes to us through the fall of Adam and Eve.
Faith: The bond to Christ from our side. This includes belief in the promises for God and trust in Jesus. Justification is received by this.
Sovereignty of God: The attribute of God which means that he is supreme and in control.
Doctrine: The church's teachings about God and our salvation, based on the Bible.
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. It all means ::being like Christ.
God's Word: What God says in his speaking. Some of what God says is written down in the Bible. That is why the Bible is sometimes called God's word. Everything important about God is "lived out" by his son, Jesus Christ. That is why he is sometimes called the word of God.
Misery: The pain and suffering that comes from sin; the fallout that comes from the fall. Among the fallen world's miseries are disorders, estrangement, and death.
Creation: The sovereign act of God by which He brought into being the whole universe from nothing. This shows God's sovereignty, goodness, greatness, and His image in us.
Grace: Loving kindness to a person in misery, especially when a person is miserable because of his or her own sin. This is then undeserved favor or kindness.
Circumcision: The Old Testament sign and seal of the covenant Grace.
Covenant: A solemn agreement or pact. In this, their are promises on one side and obligations on the other. They are usually singed or sealed, sometimes by strange acts
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.
Goodness of God: An attribute of God meaning that he satisfies the needs of all his creatures.
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.
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.
Estrangement: A disorder in which persons or things that ought to be friends become strangers instead; for example, when people are _______ from God, they see God not only as a loving father, but as an embarrassment or even as an enemy.
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. This is like dying and then being born again.

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