abba—The Aramaic word for father used by Jesus to speak of his own intimate relationship with God.
Abraham—The first Hebrew patriarch.
allegory—A means of presenting or interpreting a story by focusing on hidden or symbolic meanings rather than the literal meaning.
antinominism—The false teaching that since faith alone is necessary for salvation, one is free from the moral obligations of the law.
apostles—Men chosen by Jesus as his official messengers.
ascension—Act of going to heaven in bodily form from earthly life.
atonement—Meaning reconciliation, was associated with sacrificial offerings to remove the effects of sin, and in the New Testament refers specifically to the reconciliation between God and humanity effected by the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
baptism—The immersion or dipping of a believer in water symbolizing the complete renewal and change in the believer's life and testifying to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the way of salvation.
Berea—City in Macedonia to which Paul escaped after the Jews of Thessalonica rioted.
body of Christ—The church, the unity in Christ of diverse Christians.
covenant—God's agreement to complete the salvation of sinners based on Christ's saving work.
day of the Lord—God's time of decisive intervention in history.
Diana (Artemis)—Roman (Greek) goddess of the moon; daughter of Zeus; cared for nature; mother goddess; fertility goddess; identified with Ephesus (see Acts 19:28).
docetism—A heretical belief which taught that God did not take on human flesh in the form of Jesus and that Jesus only seemed to have a physical body.
elect—Those whom God has chosen to follow him and obey his commandments.
faith—A response which takes God at his word and acts upon it. Faith provides assurance of things we can only hope for and a certainty about things we cannot see.
Galatia—Geographical name derived from Gaul because its inhabitants were Celts or Galli.
Gentiles—People who are not part of God's chosen family at birth and thus can be considered “pagans.”
gnosticism—A view fully developed after A.D. 100 that emphasized salvation through a secret knowledge and a dualistic worldview with equal powers of good and evil.
grace—Undeserved acceptance and love received from another, especially the characteristic attitude of God in providing salvation for sinners.
Herodians—An aristocratic Jewish group who favored the policies of Herod Antipas and thus supported the Roman government.
incarnation—God becoming human; the union of divinity and humanity in Jesus of Nazareth, qualifying him to be the agent of God's saving plan for humanity.
Jerusalem—Capital city of Israel in the Old Testament; religious center of Judaism in the New Testament; also name of the heavenly city John describes in Revelation (New Jerusalem)
Jerusalem Council—The meeting at which the apostles and elders of Jerusalem defended the right of Paul and Barnabas to preach the gospel to the Gentiles without forcing converts to obey the Jewish law.
justification—The act/event by which God credits a sinner who has faith as being right with him through the blood of Jesus (Rom. 3:21,26; 4:18,25; 5:10,21; 1 Pet. 3:18).
Law—The revelation of the will of God in the Old Testament and to the later elaboration of the law referred to as the “traditions of the elders” in the New Testament.
Mercy—A personal characteristic of care for the needs of others. The biblical concept of mercy always involves help to those who are in need or distress.
Moses—The leader that God used to bring the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
Essenes—Members of a Jewish sect that existed in Palestine during the time of Christ. Not mentioned in the New Testament, they were ascetics who practiced community of goods, generally shunned marriage, refrained from attending Temple worship, and attached great importance to the study of the Scriptures.
orthodoxy—Holding right beliefs as opposed to heretical beliefs.
pagans—Those who worship a god or gods other than the living God to whom the Bible witnesses.
paraclete—Greek word of Helper and Counselor as promised by Jesus; looking to the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Paul—An important apostle chosen by Jesus after his resurrection; wrote thirteen New Testament epistles (letters).
Pharisees—The largest and most influential religious political party during New Testament times.
redeem—To release something or someone by paying a price.
resurrection—The doctrine, event, and act of persons being brought from death to unending life at the close of the age.
righteousness—The actions and positive results of a sound relationship within a local community; the right relationship created by God between himself and a person of faith.
Sadducees—A religious group which formed during the period between the Testaments when the Maccabees ruled Judah.
salvation—The experience of life as a believer in Christ; being rescued from condemnation on the judgment day because of Christ's sacrifice and one's trust in him.
sin—Actions by which humans rebel against God, miss his purpose for their life, and surrender to the power of evil rather than to God.
zealots—Militant radicals who act with great zeal for a cause. The term came to designate a particular segment of the Jewish population who continually tried to overthrow foreign oppression, especially the Roman rule in Palestine.