Please accept my apologies for using words that you may not be familiar with. It’s often hard for Christians to phrase things simply, because we are so used to biblical spiel, that it flows out naturally. This can leave others thinking, “Who?” “My what?” “I don’t understand all this religious mumbo-jumbo!” So, here’s a glossary of the ‘Lord-lingo’ that’s been scattered throughout this book:
Saviour.
Jesus has been given many names by God. Lord, Messiah. Jehovah. Immanuel, Christ and more. Jesus is referred to as the Saviour because he saved us from our sins and saved us from Hell by dying for us on a wooden cross. He rose back to life again 3 days later. No other worshipped ‘deity’ has done that, nor are they able to.
The cross.
This was the most barbaric punishment in his day. It is now a symbol of victory for Christians because Jesus decided to go through with the torture to save us. Jesus was nailed to a piece of wood in the shape of a cross and hung up, left to die a very painful death.
Save. Saved. Salvation. Saved from our sins.
This refers to the ‘escape route’ given to us by Jesus when died on the cross. People who are saved, are saved from God’s eternal punishment for their sins. Salvation is the process of Jesus dying in our place, because he was innocent dying for us, the guilty.
Sin.
Sin is living a life independently of reliance on God. It is refusing to accept his free gift of salvation by continuing to live a life that is governed by our own desires and the influence of the devil. It is doing anything that God lovingly advises us to not do, because he knows it is not good for us in the long run. It is not just moral badness like murder, rape and stealing, but anything that comes from an impure heart and a mind set on rebellion against his laws, such as:
Gossiping, spreading rumours, mockery, disrespect, looking down on people, lacking integrity, haughtiness, gluttony, uncontrolled anger, selfishness, being cantankerous, disloyalty, obsessive vanity, being sycophantic, disbelieving God’s promises, disobeying God’s guidelines, rebellion towards authority figures, arrogance.
God is holy and cannot tolerate sin and it has to be punished. But God is not an angry master looking down on us with a rod in his hand – he is also Love Personified and wants us to be reconciled to him. Our nature (mankind) is to sin because we were born with the nature to do things that displease him. But God loved us so much that he sent us his son Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin, so that we could have the peace in knowing that we will spend an eternity with God when our spirits leave this earth, rather than in a place of torment.
Punishment.
If someone was facing a long-term prison sentence for murdering your child or pet, would you be okay if the judge changed his mind and let him off with a small fine? We are all guilty of breaking God’s rules and causing him sorrow. We can never match up to his standards, that is why we are called sinners and that is why we deserve to pay the penalty for our wrong doings, no matter how nice we think we are.
Repentance.
This is being so truly sorry for our sin that we make the decision to completely turn- around from the way we were going, to walk in the other direction, relying on the help of Jesus to keep going. It is recognising that the state we are in is going to lead to destruction. It’s like thinking we are okay while heading towards a deep crocodile pit, then realising we have deceived ourselves into thinking we were walking towards a shallow ditch of hamsters. A wise person will turn around and run the other way.
Hell.
Imagine being in agony and the intensity of it never subsiding? Imagine you couldn’t even faint to forget the pain? Imagine a darkness so dark, screams so loud, loneliness so intense, fear so frightening, but there was no way out? Like a nightmare you could never wake up from. That is Hell, but God did not make that dammed place for you. It’s for the Devil, but if you chose to continue going his way, you will end up residing there with him. It is a place where God is not present, so there is only evil. No matter how bad this world can be, God is still in our midst, creating light and beauty and miracles of life and peace and hope. Hell is devoid of anything good.
The Devil, demons, enemy of your soul, Satan.
The Bible never describes him as a red creature with horns, forked tail and pitchfork. Nor does it say he has a scary face. On the contrary, before the Devil was kicked out of God’s realm for being too proud, he was very close to God and therefore one of the most beautiful beings. He was responsible for leading worship to God and musical instruments were part of his body. He knew how beautiful he was and over-stepped the mark by trying to take God’s place. For his vanity, pride and arrogance, he was banished from Heaven forever and he took a few angels with him who are now referred to as demons because they are his stupid little cohorts. The Devil knows that if he comes to you and says, “Here, take this, do this, say this, because I want it to make you addicted, obsessed, ruin your relationships and cause you to feel so bad about yourself you will never go to God for forgiveness.” you would resist. But he is a great deceiver and temps you with what looks good. And for a while, it seems like it is. Like a lion who closes his eyes pretending to be asleep while he is really planning to eat you alive, the Devil will try to appear harmless and cute. He is not. He hates you and wants you take you with him to Hell.
Eternal life, eternity.
This refers to a real spiritual existence after the death of our earthly bodies. It is instantaneous as soon as we die. There is no floating around in space or waiting in a place until you have decided where you want to be. As soon as you die, your destiny will be determined by ‘what you did with the truth about Jesus’ while on earth. There are no second chances once you are dead.
