May 15th, 2016

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HardWords

Sunday, May 15th, 2016

Every once in a while we come in contact with a word or words which stump us-both in our daily speech and in the Bible. I find myself occasionally checking Webster’s online dictionary or my Roget’s Thesaurus to hunt up a meaning of a word or a synonym to help make more sense.

It is those hard-to-sometimes-understand Bible words which often trip people up. It is one of the reasons people give for not reading the Bible or definitely for not understanding it. In today’s message, I spoke about adoption. I also introduced some other hard-to-understand/grasp words often found in the Bible. This is certainly not exhaustive but just five random words:

Regeneration– when a spiritually dead person is made alive in the power of God.

Justification– when God declares a sinner righteous because of the blood of Christ shed on the cross.

Sanctification– the act of being set aside for a specific purpose.

Redemption– the act of being bought back. It is the act of being set free. (Think slaves bought on the auction block and then given their freedom).

Propitiation– the work of Christ in purchasing our salvation. I John uses this term to describe Him as our Advocate.

I know there are more. Part of being a pastor is also being a teacher. I confess I’m not much of an evangelist, but I do love to teach the folks what I am learning.

So…here’s your question: have any of those words given you pause? Is there another word or two which will raise your eyebrows in thought? I’d like to hear it.