Religious Definitions
K through R

Keys to the Kingdom:

the authority, right, and duty given by Jesus to his church (all believers) to forgive the sins of the penitent and to refuse to forgive the sins of the impenitent (Matthew 16:19, Matthew 18:15-20, John 20:22-23).

Lent:

Lent is the season of repentance and preparation beginning on Ash Wednesday, forty days before Easter (excluding Sundays). The term seems to be derived from the German word "Lenz" (the spring season).

legalism:

using the law in an attempt to accomplish what only the gospel can, calling things sinful when God has not, or using the gospel as a club to coerce a certain type of behavior. The law reveals sin (Romans 3:20) and sin's punishment (Romans 6:23), but only the gospel can change hearts (Romans 1:16, Ephesians 2:4-5) and produce God-pleasing behavior (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

liberalism:

a theological movement originating in the 19th century which tries to accommodate the message of Christianity to the claims of modern science, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. Liberals deny the inerrancy and infallibility of the Scriptures, and see the primary purpose of the church as improving social conditions on earth rather than saving souls for eternity.

liturgy:

Liturgy is a form or manner for conducting a public worship service; in a broader sense it denotes the whole system of formal worship including the seasons of the church year and various rites and ceremonies. Lutheran liturgical worship generally includes Scripture readings, sermon, prayers, hymns, antiphons, responses, and the administration of the sacraments.

Major Prophets:

those Old Testament prophets who wrote longer books of the Bible. Five books are included in the major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

marriage:

God instituted and gave marriage not only to the church, but to human beings in general. For instance, we recognize the legitimacy of civil marriage. In addition, God has attached no promise of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation to marriage.

martyr:

one who suffers death for testifying to his beliefs and refusing to renounce his religion. Stephen is the first Christian martyr mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 6,7).

matins:

a service of praise conducted early in the morning. The early Christians held a devotional service around midnight that extended into the early morning hours. The name matins became attached to this first service of the day. The Lutheran Hymnal and Christian Worship include an order of matins.

Maundy:

seems to have come from the Latin "mandatum" which means command. This may be taken from Jesus' words on the night he was betrayed, "A new commandment I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34). It may also come from Jesus words in the institution of Holy Communion on that evening, "Do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24-25).

means of grace:

the gospel in God's Word and the sacraments. They are the vehicles the Holy Spirit uses to create or strengthen saving faith. Some deny the necessity of the means of grace for conversion. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit does not work faith apart from the gospel (read Romans 10:13-18).

mercy:

the compassion and love of God for us sinners that moved him not to count our sins against us, but to count them against his Son Jesus who was put to death as our Substitute. God demonstrates his mercy by forgiving our sins and withholding from us the punishment we deserve.

Messiah (Christ):

the anointed one. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil to set them apart for service to God in the Old Testament. God also promised to send a special anointed one to serve people. The New Testament reveals Jesus as the fulfillment of God's promise-our great prophet, priest, and king who came to save us.

Messianic Jew:

A name used by some people of Jewish background who have come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world.

Methuselah:

a pre-flood patriarch and ancestor of Noah. Methuselah lived to be 967 years old, the greatest age recorded in the Scriptures (Genesis 5:25-29).

millennialism:

in its broad sense millennialism is an umbrella term used to cover a variety of beliefs concerning a future reign of Christ. In its narrow sense millennialism is synonymous with premillennialism, the belief that Jesus will return to this earth to set up a visible, political kingdom and reign for 1,000 years.

Minor Prophets:

those Old Testament prophets who wrote shorter books of the Bible. The last 12 books of the Old Testament (Hosea through Malachi) are included in the minor prophets.

moralizing:

Moralizing is any attempt to teach people to be good and do good without the motivation of the gospel. Only the gospel can change the heart and move people to do those things which are God pleasing (Romans 1:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Romans 14:23b).

New Age Movement:

a spiritual movement which unites a variety of ideas and practices around a world view that sees everything as god (pantheism) and everything as one (monism). New Agers believe that an individual can tap into unlimited powers by focusing his attention on himself and recognizing the divine within.

new self:

the new life the Holy Spirit creates in a person at conversion. This new self trusts in Jesus for salvation, brings forth good works, and struggles against the old Adam or sinful nature.

nihilism:

a teaching that denies all traditional values and any objective ground of truth or morality. Our Savior, however, declares, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31,32).

offense:

a word or action which causes another person to stumble in the faith or to continue in sin or error.

old Adam:

the sinful nature that every person has inherited from his parents since Adam's fall into sin. This sinful nature remains in us even after conversion and produces sin in our lives. When we die we will be transformed, freed forever from our old Adam and the consequences of sin.

Pelagianism:

the belief that human beings have the ability to save themselves apart from God's grace and the work of Christ. The teaching is named for Pelagius, a British monk who traveled in the Mediterranean world around AD 400. Pelagianism was opposed by Augustine and condemned by the Council of Ephesus (AD 431).

Pentecostalism:

a movement originating in early 20th century America which emphasizes the so-called Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the consequent charismatic gifts of speaking in tongues, faith-healing, and prophesying. Pentecostal denominations comprise perhaps the fastest growing branch of religion in the world today. (see Charismatic movement)

petition:

a request. The Lord's Prayer contains seven requests or petitions. God wants us to bring all of our requests to him in prayer. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6).

Pharisee:

a Jewish sect that developed in the centuries following the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity. The Pharisees were particularly concerned about the legal observance of Jewish religious rituals, but they were often more concerned with forms and outward observance than with the proper attitude of the heart. Jesus condemned them because of their hypocrisy and work righteousness (Matthew 23:13-38).

Plead:

plead for mercy
Plead means to ask for fervently, to beg. To plead for mercy is to ask for compassion or kindness or forgiveness. It implies that the person asking must depend on the other person for the help sought (is at that person's "mercy").

Pietism:

a movement that began among German Lutherans in the late 17th century as a reaction to a perceived spiritual deadness in the state church. Pietism tends to emphasize sanctification rather than justification, deeds rather than creeds, and subjective, human, religious experience rather than the objective truths of God's Word.

postmillennialism:

the teaching that the Christian Church some time in the future will experience a long, indefinite period of unsurpassed peace, prosperity, and success before Jesus returns on Judgment Day.

postmodernism:

a societal shift in attitude beginning in the mid to late 20th century away from the "Enlightenment" reliance on human reason and scientific proof and acceptance of objective truth to a belief that truth is relative and determined by the community to which one belongs and by that community's experience and feelings.

predestination (election):

God's determination in eternity of whom he was going to save (Ephesians 1:3-6). God did not choose some because they were better than others, but because of his grace according to his own purpose (2 Timothy 1:9). God, however, didn't predestine anyone to damnation. If someone is lost it is that person's own fault (Matthew 23:37).

premillenialism:

the false teaching that Jesus will return before Judgment Day to set up a visible, political kingdom and reign for 1,000 years on earth.

Preterist:

one who maintains that all of the prophecies in the book of Revelation have been fulfilled in the past or were being fulfilled when the book was written.

Protestant:

A broad term usually used to describe those churches which trace their origin in some way back to the 16th century Reformation. Although the term was first applied to the evangelical or Lutheran rulers who protested the decisions of the Second Diet of Speyer in 1529, it has today become such a broad, vague term that many Lutherans prefer not to use it to describe themselves.

purgatory:

In Roman Catholic theology, purgatory is the place where those who die in grace, but are still "imperfectly purified", undergo purification to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven. Purgatory has no basis in Scripture and contradicts the scriptural assurance of full and free forgiveness through the redemptive work of our Savior.

rapture:

a snatching up of believers from earth to be with Jesus forever (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Some believe that Jesus will return to "rapture" believers before judgment day. The Bible, however, teaches that believers who are still alive will be "raptured" after the dead are raised on judgment day. Compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 with Hebrews 9:28, John 11:24, John 5:28-29, and John 6:39.

Rationalism:

a movement beginning in the 17th and 18th centuries that exalts human reason. Rationalists tend to be distrustful of authority and tradition and believe that truth can be found only through reason, observation, and experiments. They exalt human reason above the Bible. The Scriptures, however, teach that God's Word is truth (John 17:17) and that we are to make our every thought obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) and his Word.

real presence:

the scriptural teaching that in the Lord's Supper Christ's true body and blood are actually present with the bread and the wine. As the Bible declares, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving . . . a participation in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread . . . a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16)

redemption:

Jesus' work of buying us back. He paid what we owed to God by living a perfect life in our place and suffering the punishment that we deserved for our sins. "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7).

regeneration:

Regeneration is a synonym for conversion. It is the act in which the Holy Spirit creates new life or faith in a person who by nature is spiritually dead. Those who have been converted or regenerated by the Holy Spirit through the means of grace are born again (John 3:3-6, 1 Peter 1:23).

relativism:

The false idea that there is no such thing as absolute truth, but that truth depends on one's background and point of view; relativism rejects the objective nature of the truth of God's Word, dismisses the concept of moral absolutes, and ultimately opposes the biblical teaching that there is no salvation apart from faith in Jesus.

religion:

The worship of a supreme being or supernatural beings or supernatural power based on a system of teachings and beliefs; true religion is the worship of the Triune God, trusting in him for forgiveness of sins and salvation, as he has revealed himself and his plan of salvation in the Holy Scriptures.

remission of sins:

forgiveness of sins. God does not count our sins against us because he counted them against Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:19-2l). Jesus redeemed us from the punishment we deserved for our sin by being punished in our place (Isaiah 53). Our sins are therefore remitted or forgiven.

repentance:

a change of mind. True repentance involves both sincere sorrow for sin and trust in Jesus for forgiveness. A Christian's entire life is one of repentance. Impenitence is unbelief.

representation:

the false teaching that the bread and wine in Communion merely symbolize Christ's body and blood. Most Protestant denominations teach representation. The Bible teaches that Jesus' true body and blood are actually present with the bread and the wine in the Lord's Supper.

righteousness:

is the essential perfection of God. The righteousness of the law is the perfect obedience which God's law demands. The righteousness revealed in the gospel is the righteousness won by the perfect obedience and innocent suffering and death of our Savior. God credits this righteousness to us and we receive it by faith (Romans 1:17, Romans 3:21-24).