ONE OF THE BIGGEST OBSTACLES that beginner Bible readers encounter is the Bible's specialized vocabulary. Thanks to the improvements of various modern translations (in both Catholic and Portestant versions) "thee" and "thou" are words that you don't have to deal with anymore, but you still run into "redemption"or "repentance" from time to time. They aren't exactly everyday words for most folks.

In the interest of making the Bible more readable and better understood, we'd like to offer you a very short vocaublary list of Bible words you will occasionally encounter in the New Testament but may not know the meaning of.

SIN

Although almost everyone understands that sin is doing something wrong, there is often confusion about exactly how to determine if something is wrong. Sin in the Bible is simply disobeying God, doing things He has said we should not do, or not doing things He said we should do. God is the unchanging standard of right and wrong, and when we choose to disobey Him, we are wrong and we have sinned. (See 1 John 5:17)

SALVATION

This words comes from the word "save" and is the condition of being saved or rescued. In order to best understand this word as it is used in the Bible, it is important to first understand that people who have sinned (that includes every adult -- Romans 3:23) are hurting themselves and others and heading for absolutely certain spiritual death (Hell). What God has tried to do for us through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection is rescue us from both a life of sin and the consequences of sin (Hell). (See Acts 4:12).

REDEMPTION

This word means to "buy back". In ancient times it was not uncommon for a person to be so poor that he might have to sell himself, his farm, or even his family in order to survive. It was God's law in Israel that if someone was so poor that he must sell his farm, family, or himself, the nearest relative must buy back (redeem) the farm, family, or relative. In the New Testament, redemption begins with the understanding that everyone who has sinned has "sold" themselves as slaves to sin. We are slaves to whoever we obey -- Satan or God. Jesus buys back those who want to stop being a slave to sin with the very high price of His own life; thus, we can be redeemed. (See 1 Peter 1:18,19).

HOLY

"Holy" is the opposite of worldly. Its root goes back to being different or separated from ordinary things. God, for instance, is holy (different from the world). Things that are holy have been set apart from common or ordinary use and are to be used only by God. It usually carries the meaning or pure or special, too. (See Revelation 4:8).

SANCTIFICATION

This word simply means to make something holy (see the definition above). It is often used in contexts in which sins (which make us unholy) are forgiven, or in which someone's moral and spiritual life is being made better and better. (Romans 6:22)

BAPTISM

There are several different definitions that have been given to baptism by various churches, but the Biblical one is often little known. "Baptism" is an English version of a Greek word (baptizo -- baptizo) which meant to submerge something in water, to put something underwater. When you see it in the Bible it usually refers to putting someone completely underwater. Examples of this meaning can be found in Acts 8:38 and Romans 6:3,4. There are different baptisms mentioned in the New Testament: John's baptism to show repentance (see this definition below), baptism of the Holy Spirit (which only happened to the 12 apostles and one Gentile family in the book of Acts), and (most often Christian baptism for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).

INIQUITY

This word is another word for sin, but it carries with it the special meaning of evil deeds that people do without conscience, as if there were no law. (See James 3:6).

TRESPASS

We all understand that "no trespassing" on a sign means that someone has set boundaries or limits that they do not want us to cross over. In a similar way, God sets boundaries of right and wrong (His law), and when we cross them, we have trespasssed His law.

TRANSGRESSION

"Transgression" is another word for sin. It is also a word that first sees God's law as a boundary or a limit, and then sees sin as a person crossing the boundary. (See Hebrews 2:2).

HOPE

We usually think of hope as something that we may wish for, but which we know may or may not happen. Hope in the New Testament, however, doesn't have this "if-y" quality. Instead, it is best defined as a "confident expectation", something that you are certain will happen -- it just hasn't happened, yet. Ordinary hopes may disappoint us, but the hope spoken of in the Bible doesn't disappoint.

SAINT

Anyone who had been forgiven of sin and was trying to live a good, Christian life was called a saint in the New Testament. It was not until many centuries later that men changed the definition of the word to mean an elite group of almost superhuman Christians. Unlike the common definition of saint today, the Bible defines "saint" as anyone who is saved. The word in the original language simply means a "holy one". (See 1 Corinthians 1:2)

REPENTANCE

Repentance means to change your mind about how you are living or what you believe. It includes a change or heart, and it is essential in order to receive forgiveness of our sins.

In order to understand the Bible clearly, it is very important that we clearly understand its words. We hope that this brief word list has been some help by taking a little of the mystery out of some of those "stained glass" words that often leave folks in a little confusion.

The New Testament was written in the language of the common man of the first century with who had much less formal education than most of us. Why should anyone today, then, insist on leaving the Bible to the "experts", especially now that we have better Bible vocabulary than we had just few minutes ago. Read the Bible for yourself; you may find out that it is much easier than you thought.

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