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Glossary of terms
Baptism: A ceremony that uses water to show that an individual has faith in Jesus and that they are a member of the church.
Christ (or Messiah): The Son of God, Jesus, who came to earth to die for us so that we could be forgiven for disobeying God. The only way we can be saved.
Christian: Someone who has recoginsed their own sin and has realised that only through faith in Jesus Christ can they be forgiven and be at peace with God.
Church: All people worldwide that believe in Jesus as their Saviour and join together in groups to form local churches.
Communion: see Lord's Supper.
Evangelical: Believing that the Bible is the word of God and that biblical teaching and evangelism are vital.
Evangelism: The process of telling people about their need to have Jesus as their Saviour in the hope that they will turn to him.
Faith:"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 (NIV). It is not a vain belief, it is a sure and certain knowledge of something that there is no visible or physical proof of.
Gospel: The word 'Gospel' means "good news". The good news is that Jesus came to earth, died and rose again so that we could be forgiven for all the times when we disobey God.
Grace:Grace is getting what we don't deserve, so God shows us grace when he blesses us despite our sins meaning we deserve nothing but His anger.
Lord's Supper: The ceremony using bread and wine initiated by Jesus before his crucifixion through which he instructed believers to remember what he had done to bring them salvation.
Mercy: Gods mercy is shown when he does not deal with us as our sins deserve.
Messiah: see Christ.
Missionary: A christian who undertakes a special project to go and tell others about Jesus and about their need of him as their Saviour.
Redeem: Literally "buying back". As someone can pay a ransom for the freedom of a hostage, so God buys us back from slavery to sin. He pays for our freedom by offering Jesus in our place.
Righteous: Being made right in God's sight so that we can be accepted by him and not separated from him because of our sins. Jesus was naturally righteous, but we can only be so through faith in him. God then credits his righteousness to us.
Salvation: The process of being saved from eternity in hell to the glorious riches and blessings of life in heaven.
Scripture: The writings of the Bible that were inspired by God the Holy Spirit through human authors.
Sin: Doing what God forbids, or not doing what God commands. Sin is the reason why we all need forgiveness and why if we are not fogiven, we fall below the standars required by God and face an eternity of punishment.
Sinners: Since all men and women have disobeyed God, all are sinners and therefore cannot meet God's required standard for holy living. Therefore we all face his wrath unless our sins are forgiven.
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OEFC is affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.
Copyright © and Oadby Evangelical Free Church, 2006.
URL: http://www.oefc.org.uk/glossary.html
