58 results
The term "grace" occurs about 155 times in the New Testament. The word relates to the Greek term chairo, meaning "to rejoice," and grace itself comes to mean favor, gratification, or gratitude -- depending on the context. The New Testament emphasizes that salvation is the result of God's grace (E...
The Greek word eirene ("peace") may derive from an original term meaning, "to weave together." This is a very significant Bible word. (a) There is a peace to be sought with God. Sin has separated man from his Creator (Isa. 59:1-2), so that rebellious man has become an enemy to God (Rom. 5:10; Jas...
The noun "baptism" and the corresponding verb "baptize" come directly from Greek into English with only slight spelling changes. The word literally denotes to immerse, dip, or submerge. When used metaphorically, it suggests being overwhelmed. It takes several senses in the New Testament, dependin...
The word "soul" is used in several senses in the Bible. (a) It may signify an individual person (Ezek. 18:20). (b) It may be employed of mere biological life (Gen. 1:30). (c) It can have to do with that eternal aspect of man that is in the very image of God (Mt. 10:28). "Spirit" may be used in di...
This is the title of a sovereign who exercises regal authority over a certain territory. The term is used in the following senses in Scripture. (a) Jehovah God is king over the entire earth (1 Sam. 12:12; Mt. 22:7; 1 Tim. 6:16). (b) The title is sometimes used of the political rule of certain ear...
More than a dozen words are used in the Greek N.T. to represent various aspects of "sin" (e.g., bad, evil, transgression, iniquity, trespass, godless, unrighteous, etc.). The most frequently employed word is hamartia (173 times), which provides the picture of "missing the mark." The word is used ...
A priest is one who offers sacrifice and ministers in services pertaining thereto (cf. Heb. 5:1). This term implies recognition of sin and the need for atonement, in some fashion or another. (a) The term is used of pagan priests who sacrificed to false gods (Acts 14:13). (b) In the earliest age o...
Two principal Greek words are employed in the N.T. to represent the idea of "fighting" and "war." Polemeo (18 times) means to "fight" or "make war." Strateuomai (7 times) is to "carry out a military engagement, to be a soldier." "War" is used in both literal and figurative senses in the Scripture...
The Bible clearly teaches that at the time of Christ's return, all the dead will be raised from their graves. In the Patriarchal age, Job seems to allude to the hope of the resurrection (Job 19:25-26). Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead (Heb. 11:19). Moses, speaking on beha...
Expediency is sometimes defined as the method by which a determined goal is achieved, regardless of the moral consequences. This is not the biblical concept of expediency. In Bible parlance, a method can be expedient only if it is lawful. In other words, if there is a generic authority for a prac...
The expression "Great Commission" is commonly used to refer to a special directive Christ gave in a post-resurrection appearance before he ascended back into heaven. The "commission" is found in three complementary forms (Mt 28:18-20; Mk. 16:15-16; Lk. 24:47-27). A harmony of its elements reveals...
While the term "unity" is rare in the English Bible (Psa. 133:1; Eph. 4:3; 4:13), the idea prevails profusely in a variety of contexts. (a) Unity is that oneness that obtains perfectly among the members of the divine Godhead -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These holy Persons are "one" (Dt. 6:4; ...
Justification may be defined as the divine process by which God acquits the sinner and reckons him as righteous. The noun dikaiosis ("justification") is used but twice in the N.T. (Rom. 4:25; 5:18). The verb dikaioo is employed thirty-nine times in the N.T., and it describes the result of the pro...
Homosexual activity is sexual intimacy between two persons of the same gender. This form of sexual conduct is uniformly condemned in the Bible. (a) It stands outside the divinely prescribed realm of authorized sexual gratification, i.e., the marriage union (Gen. 2:24; Mt. 19:4; 1 Cor. 7:2), and i...
The verb "reconcile" (Grk. katallasso) basically suggests a "change." In an ethical or religious sense, it denotes a change between parties who have been estranged. It may refer to human associations, or man's relationship to his Creator. (a) In human relationships that are breached, the fault ma...
Contrary to the denominational claim that infants are born in sin, the Bible teaches otherwise. • Children do not inherit evil from their parents (Ezekiel 18:20). • The practice of sin begins in "youth" (Genesis 9:21), not at birth. • Both Jesus and Paul used little children as models to emulate ...
The term "sovereign" denotes the right that God has to rule the Universe. Note that the word "reign" is contained within "sovereign." Jehovah has this "right" because he is the Creator, and therefore the Owner, of everything that has been made (Psa. 24:1; Mt. 20:15). Does not the potter have a "r...
The doctrine of hereditary total depravity is also known as "original sin" in Roman Catholicism. This concept asserts that all children come into the world with both the effects and guilt of Adam's original sin. By "heredity," therefore, they are totally (completely) depraved (evil). Proponents o...
During his earthly ministry, Jesus promised that, following his death and ascension back to heaven, he would "come again" eventually (Jn. 14:3; cf. Mt. 24:37ff; 25:31ff). When he left the earth, angels vowed he would return again (Acts 1:10-11). The doctrine of the second coming was steadfastly p...
"Materialism" is commonly used in two different senses. (a) Philosophical materialism is the idea that nothing exists except that which is material in nature (i.e., composed of matter). There is, therefore, no spiritual Being known as "God" (Jn. 4:24). Moreover, man, according to this view, does ...