Glossary of Terminology

As with any group of people you join, the Christian family has some words and phrases that are used that you may not understand.  Below is a list of some of those words and phrases (this list will continue to be added to, so, keep checking back).

Fellowship: Depending on how this word is being used, it can refer to a particular church or it can refer to believers socializing with each other.

Grace: This word usually relates to how God views us. When someone is gracious toward someone else, they are usually forgiving and willing to downplay the faults of another.  This is true with God as He deals with us.  This is not to say that He turns a blind eye to our sin, but He chooses not to let our behavior keep Him from loving us and being a part of our lives.  Also, because He deals with our sins, He is being gracious toward us in that it is not good for us to continue in a destructive behavior because it will ultimately bring us harm, so, He intervenes, just as our earthly fathers will, and corrects us for our own good. 

Mercy: This refers to God not treating us the way we deserve to be treated.  We will often treat someone rudely if they treat us that way; however, God does not do that. 

Righteous: We are made righteous in God's sight by asking for and accepting God's forgiveness for our sins which we received by believing that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins. Think of it like this. You have committed a crime for which you are now standing before the judge. You are guilty and the punishment for your crime is the death sentence. The sentence is about to be handed down to you, but someone approaches the judge's bench and says that he wants to pay the penalty for your crime and let you go free. The judge then transfers the penalty to this person, the penalty is carried out (this innocent person was executed) and yet you have gone free - never to pay the penalty of your crime.  Because Jesus had never sinned, He did not have any sin of His own to pay for, therefore, He was able to pay the penalty for us all.  How many people do you know would do that for you?  Jesus did!  Hallelujah!  Jesus' righteous standing is transferred to you, therefore, this has nothing to do with how good you are, but how good Jesus is toward you.