Words That Are in the Bible
While the average person may be familiar with many “religious” words that are not in the Bible, what do they know about words that are actually in the Bible? This might make a good test for everyone—not only to test familiarity with the words themselves—but also what they mean.
Sin
Most people have heard the word, but they do not pay careful attention to it. Possibly they may associate it with doing something wrong, but they are not overly concerned about it. Furthermore, it might necessitate saying that a person is sorry for what he has done, but probably that would be the extent of it. While sin may be no big deal so far as man is concerned, it is to God, who is holy. Sin not only transgresses His Divine law, it separates us from our Creator. He cannot simply say, “I didn’t see that,” since (of course) He did. He cannot just wave His hand and say, “I’ll just disregard that evil action and the evil intention of the heart that prompted it.”
Actions matter! Thoughts matter. Most of the time, actions do not have serious consequences, but someone driving a car needs to only be distracted for a second or two, and it could easily result in an accident in which someone is killed. An individual’s entire life could change as the result of not paying attention to the road for just two seconds! But somehow many people conclude that the consequences of sin are nothing to be concerned about, yet all need to be reminded of a few facts in that regard.
1. Man is not the best judge of what the penalty for sin ought to be. To be honest, we are the one on trial here and therefore can have no say in the verdict. Naturally, we would want to go easy on ourselves.
2. God is the One Who has been sinned against; He therefore must be the One to determine the punishment. But He is just; so man never needs to fear the appropriateness of the sentence.
3. God is the only One Who can define sin, since He is all-knowing and understands concepts that we do not. Sin is a spiritual concept, in which the will of a holy God is violated. Only He has the wisdom to know the depth of the iniquity we have committed and the appropriate response we should make to it.
4. Sin is devastating enough to separate man from his holy Creator and keep us out of heaven. Unless God had revealed this fact to us, no one would probably have ever thought of it.
5. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Unless something happens to remove sin from us, human beings would be eternally separated from God.
6. Sin is worse than we thought. In order to be saved from its ultimate consequence, God had to send Jesus to die on the cross in our place! Sin may seem like an insignificant thing to us, but it required the life of the only Innocent Man Who ever lived to pay the price for sin that we owed. Our love of sin and disregard of the concept does not change the results of it or God’s requirements for its remedy.
7. We are not automatically saved by what Jesus did. God only applies the blood of Jesus to our sins if we meet certain criteria; otherwise we remain lost.
Salvation
Sin now considered, the next Biblical word under review is salvation. There is no other name under Heaven by which anyone can be saved—other than Jesus (Acts 4:12). Many have heard the word salvation, but they do not necessarily know that they absolutely need it. It may be a vague concept; in the back of their minds they may be saying, “I know that I need to be saved,” but if someone questioned them, “Saved from what?” they might be a little befuddled.
The fact is that everyone needs to be saved from the consequences of sin. Jesus is the Savior Who made that possible. But for the one who does not think sin is anything much to worry about, there will be no appreciation or need for Jesus to save. In other words, if a person does not understand the need for Jesus to die for his sins, why would he count salvation as something to really devote his attention to? If a person were hit by a car and were unable to free himself from the wreckage, he would be grateful for a savior who could pull him away from being trapped inside and from the danger of an explosion.
Sin has people trapped, but Jesus can set them free. He is the only One Who can do so. Salvation is so important that those who have been saved are warned not to neglect the great salvation they have received (Heb. 2:3).
Truth
If Pilate mocked the concept of truth in the first century, many college professors are following in his footsteps today. Those who believe in truth are thought to be backwards country bumpkins, ignorant fundamentalists, or Neanderthals (who don’t believe in evolution). But the intelligentsia, once they have finished their name-calling ad hominem attacks, might ask themselves, “If truth does not exist, then what are we living by?” The answer is that, as those in the days of the Judges, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (21:25). If truth does not exist, then there is no standard of right and wrong; truth degenerates into being only what anyone thinks or feels.
Is this the kind of society people want? Do they not want the truth that red means stop and green means go? Would they prefer chaos at intersections because truth is such an antiquated concept? Would men like those who build highways to give up such fuddy-duddy truth systems as mathematics and just let bridge-builders do whatever feels right to them? No, and no one wants a teller recording $200 less than the amount given them because they are in a whimsical mood.
Truth matters with respect to sin and salvation. The Bible defines both and states precisely what must be done in order to obtain forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the Author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him. Salvation does not come through osmosis, wishful thinking, or pleading, “Jesus, save me now.” A serious inquirer should read the Book of Acts very carefully to determine what is necessary in order to be saved. Only those who seek truth (John 8:31-32) and love truth (2 Thess. 2:10) can come to a knowledge of what to do to be saved.
Repentance
Another Biblical word that many either do not know (or else ignore) is repentance. John the Baptizer was not just some wild-eyed maniac telling people that they needed to repent (like those today who are calling for people to repent because the world is ending soon). It is the case that people need to repent whether or not the world ends on this Tuesday (and those predicting it are just guessing).
Repentance is a link between sin and salvation. As Peter told those on Pentecost, “Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins…” (Acts 2:38). Repentance is not a word most people enjoy hearing because it means giving up the sins that they love. While it is true that one religion in particular has people confess their sins, after which they can go out the same evening and do it again, it is also true that this is not the Biblical concept of repentance.
Genuine repentance involves a change of heart, a change of affection, and a change of life. If, for example, a man became drunk last Saturday, it will do him no good to “confess” that fact while intending to go out this Saturday and do the same thing. Instead he realizes that drunkenness is a sin—one that separated him from God and put him in need of salvation. If he has obeyed the gospel and become a Christian, he realizes these facts and does not want to transgress God’s will all over again, putting himself in need of forgiveness again.
Therefore, he says, “I must give up sin.” He may still desire what he did in the past, but he realizes that such behavior is wrong, and he needs to commit himself to doing what he right. God defines what sin is; each individual must give it up—quit participating in it. Those who fail to repent shall all perish (Luke 13:3, 5). Only genuine repentance will bring about salvation.
Holy
This word appears frequently in the Scriptures, but most people probably associate it with God, not themselves. God is without sin, as was Jesus, but most people recognize that this word cannot be used to describe themselves. If they have been reading the Scriptures, then they know how God has defined sin, and they know they are guilty of it. However, when the soul that desires salvation repents and is baptized, the blood of Christ washes him of his sins, which makes him clean and holy. He has been sanctified (made holy) because the blood of Jesus washed or cleansed him of all his sins. He is also justified and no longer stands condemned before God (1 Cor. 6:11).
What about from that point on? Coming in contact with the blood of Christ in baptism is a marvelous thing. If the Christian walks in the light (rather than in darkness, as he once did), “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses” him from all sins he now commits. But he must confess them to God and strive to avoid them, as befits repentance (1 John 1:9).
A true child of God knows that he cannot simply say, “Thanks for salvation, Lord. I will appreciate it as I go about my life, doing what I used to do and living the way I please.” He knows that Jesus did not die on the cross so that he could ignore the Word of God and give himself over to constant entertainment. There is a certain kind of life he must now live (Matt. 5:13-16), and he must be zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14, cf. Eph. 2:10; Titus 3:8, 14; 1 Peter 2:5, 9). His aim should be to be holy and to be used by God to bring others to the salvation he enjoys.
Church
Everybody knows this word, but few know what it means. People think of a building or some money-grubbing institution. They might think of a group that has built a hospital or operates a food kitchen. Many seek to benefit financially from a church although they have never given anything to one. Many also seek various services, but they do not contribute to the well-being of the church.
The church (according to the New Testament) consists of people, not building materials. They are those who have repented of their sins and been washed from them. They have been saved and added to the body of Christ (Acts 2:41, 47). They are the temple of God, the bride of Christ, the church, brethren, members of the kingdom, soldiers of Christ, saints (meaning “holy ones”). They have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light.
All of these words are tied together and found in the Bible, which is God’s communication to the world for all time (2 Peter 1:3; Jude 4). They are words that everyone should pay close attention to—instead of the ones that were made up by men and do not appear in the Scriptures. These are words of life.