A glossary of Christian terms

Christians have their own jargon and it is sometimes off-putting to non-Christians. Terms like sin, redemption, salvation and witnessing aren't clearly understood by non-Christians. Christians have a responsibility to evangelize but we can’t be effective if we are not understood. We need to be sure that we are clear when we talk about things that have to do with our faith. If you’re seeking answers about Christianity and don’t know the language yet, here’s a short glossary to help you get started.

Accountability – Most Christian denominations teach that we are to be accountable for our actions. We should also be accountable to a spiritual authority, usually our pastor. Accountability begins when a child is able to reason and discern right from wrong. Before that age, the child’s parents are accountable for his or her actions.

Blasphemy – Blasphemy is the act of swearing using God’s name, saying bad things about God, or doing disrespectful things against God. Blasphemy is a sin and in the Old Testament, it was punishable by stoning the blasphemer to death.

Confess – Confess is used in two major ways in the Bible. The first type of confession is the confession or admission of sin. The second kind of confession is the confession of faith. This is where the Christian declares his or her faith, usually publicly, or declares his or her faith as a part of witnessing.

Covenant – A covenant is an agreement or pact. It’s a contract of sorts. In the Bible, it refers to an agreement between God and man. The Old Testament Covenants included the rules that Jews lived by to stay in grace with God. In the New Testament, there is a new covenant; our salvation is now the acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

Disciple – Thought disciple is often used interchangeably with apostle, they are not the same thing. What confuses people is probably the fact the Jesus’ disciples were the first apostles. A disciple is a student and Christians are disciples or students of Christ.

Epistle – An epistle is a letter. Most of the New Testament is letters from apostles to churches in different areas and from apostle to apostle. The letters of Paul are called the Pauline Epistles.

Grace – Grace refers to God’s love and mercy towards us even though we are undeserving. We cannot earn His grace; it’s His gift to us when we accept the sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross.

Holy Spirit – Christian denominations teach that God is triune, or three beings in one. The Godhead is made up of God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is sometimes called the Holy Ghost. Some Christians describe the trinity as God as the Mind, Jesus as the Body and the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of God.

Lamb of God – Jesus refers to Himself as the Lamb of God several times in the New Testament. In Old Testament times, lambs were used as sacrifices and their blood washed away sins. Jesus came as the final sacrifice, taking the place of the lamb.

Lord’s Supper or Communion – The night of His arrest, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. This is known as the Last Supper. He offered them bread as a symbol of His flesh that would be sacrificed for us and wine as a symbol of the blood He would shed for us. When we take the sacrament of communion, we do it in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Patriarch – A patriarch is a father. When the Bible refers to patriarchs, it usually is referring to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who are considered the fathers of the Hebrew nation.

Pentecost – Pentecost is a Jewish feast day celebrated 50 days after Passover. It has significance to Christians because that first Pentecost after the crucifixion was when the Holy Spirit was sent to the Christians as the Comforter.

Pharisee – The Pharisees were a group of extremely devout Jews who were intent on obeying the Laws of Moses to the letter. Their error was in missing the spirit of the laws. Today when Christians talk about someone being like a Pharisee, they are talking about a person who is rigidly applying the Scripture to their lives and missing the spirit of love that Jesus wants us to have.

Reconcile – To reconcile is to restore a relationship. We are separated from God by our sin. When we accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins on the cross, we are reconciled with God. Reconciliation is an important part of Christian doctrine.

Redemption – Redemption refers to the work that Jesus did to redeem our souls. To redeem is to purchase for a price. The price paid for our redemption was Jesus’ life. We didn’t have to pay the price of our sin Jesus did it for us. He is called the Redeemer for this reason.

Remnant – Remnant refers to a small, leftover portion. It generally refers to the small group of Jews who remained faithful to God through the Old Testament times. In the Book of Revelation, it refers to those who become or remain faithful to God during the tribulation.

Repent – Repent means to turn away. When Christians talk about the need to repent from sin, they’re saying that we need to turn away from those things that we know offend God.

Resurrection – The resurrection of Christ is the foundation of Christianity. When Christ sacrificed Himself on the cross, He shed His blood for our sins. When He came back to life, He proved that He had conquered the penalty of sin, which is death.

Salvation – Salvation is the gift of eternal life that God offers us. In order to claim the gift, we accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for our sins. We ask Jesus to wash away our sins so that we can come before God blameless. The price of sin is eternal death but the gift of salvation is eternal life. By taking the penalty for all our sins, Jesus can offer us the gift of salvation.

Sin – Sin means to miss the mark. Sin is what separates us from God; it’s those things we do that we know are wrong but do them anyway. Our goal as Christians is to strive to eliminate sin from our lives; to hit the mark every time and do those things that please and honor God.

Witness – A witness tells what he or she has seen. When Christians talk about witnessing, we mean that we are to tell people what we have seen Christ do in our lives. Witnessing is one of the fundamental responsibilities of a Christian.

For more help, consult a good study Bible with a concordance and dictionary. A helpful study Bible is the “Life Application Study Bible” published by Tyndale. An excellent companion reference is “What the Bible is All About” by Dr. Henrietta C. Mears, published by Gospel Light.