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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Christianese - Quick Terms 1

Born Again: A biblical term (John 3:3-7) that references a person who has been given new life. It is predicated on the problem of Natural Man being "dead in sins" and, therefore, needing a spiritual birth. Someone once told me, "Born again? Yeah, I tried that ... it didn't work." It cannot not work, and you cannot "try it". This spiritual birth, this "born again" condition is mandatory for anyone who is a Christian. Without it ... you're not.

Christian: First used in Antioch (Acts 11:26), it means "follower of Christ". It does not mean "member of a church by that name or associated in some sense, no matter how remote, with what people think of as 'Christian'." Christian is not defined by whomever says they are any more than claiming to be a car makes me a car. It is simply a follower of Christ and any step away from following Christ is not "Christian". (Thus, something like the Crusades may have been perpetrated by people who labeled themselves as "Christian" was not Christian as it was incoherent with the idea of following Christ.)

Faith: Oo-oo! I got this one! It means believing in something that makes no sense!! Yeah, that's the common perception. It is neither the rational nor biblical perception. The biblical word means "to be convinced (by argument)". It includes evidence and argument, not opposing them. Rationally it says, "Based on the evidence this appears to be true and, given that, this other can be assumed to be true as well." That's faith. Beyond that, faith requires confidence. That is, not only must biblical faith be based on truth and agree to it, it must also lean on it. If I mentally assent that Christ died for my sins and don't place any confidence in it as my source of salvation, it isn't faith.

The Flesh: The term has a few biblical usages. It may simply mean the physical body. More often it is used to reference the sinful self. Normally when we use the term, we are using it to reference "the sinful self" in opposition to "the spirit" -- God's work within us.

Fruit: Borrowing from the field of husbandry, this term uses the imagery of trees bearing fruit to illustrate that we produce what we are. Filled with the Spirit, for instance, we will "bear fruit" that reflects the Spirit. It references the natural output of the heart. In the case of both the saved and the unsaved, "you shall know them by their fruits."

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