Christian Theology III

sola fide

Latin for "faith only," the Lutheran, Reformation doctrine that the only way to be justified and receive God's grace is through faith, that is, by accepting Christ's merits on one's own behalf.

sola gratia

Latin for "grace only," the Lutheran, reformation doctrine that salvation is God's free gift accomplished by Christ's saving death and resurrection rather than by human action. Righteousness, or justification, comes by God's free gift of grace alone through faith. Roman Catholic doctrine, in contrast, insisted that God requires free human cooperation, although it is God alone who makes such cooperation possible.

ordo salutis

Latin, meaning "order of salvation," that is, the succession of events in God's salvific program. Although both the Catholic and Reformed traditions believe that salvation comes only through Christ, they diverge dramatically regarding the ordo salutis. The ordo salutis of the Reformed tradition includes such matters as effectual calling, regeneration, faith, justification, sanctification, and glorification. The Roman Catholic Church, in contrast, "dispenses grace" through the ordered sacraments of baptism and confirmation, the Eucharist, penance, either marriage or ordination, and the rite of healing, known in the past as extreme unction (the preparatory rite for death).

vicarious atonement

Literally, "in place of." Hence in that Jesus died "for us," that is, took on himself the consequences of human sin, theologians often speak of his sacrificial, substitutionary death as a vicarious atonement.

soteriology

Literally, "the study of salvation." This topic within the corpus of systematic theology deals with the work of the triune God in bringing creation, and especially humans, to enjoy the divine purpose for existence. More specifically, "objective" soteriology speaks of the life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ in relation to human salvation. In addition, "subjective" soteriology (the work of the Spirit in the application of Christ's salvation) deals with the process whereby individuals are brought to God's saving goals. Topics generally covered include election, calling, regeneration, faith, repentance, conversion, justification, sanctification, and glorification.

preterism

Literally, already. A preterist interpretation of the book of Revelation holds that the events it speaks of have already taken place. A few evangelicals hold to a broader preterist theology, believing that all end-times predictions were fulfilled in the first century.

propitiation

Literally, appeasement. In regard to atonement theory. Christ appeased God's wrath toward humanity, and as a result, God did not take out his wrath on humanity directly. An offering that turns away the wrath of God directed against sin. According to the NT, God has provided the offering that removes the divine wrath, for in love the Father sent the Son to be the propitiation (or atoning sacrifice) for human sin (1 Jn. 4:10).

pedobaptism (paedobaptism, infant baptism)

Literally, baptising children or infants. Paedobaptists believe that because children are part of the covenant community of God, they ought to bear the sign of the promise-baptism. The practice of baptizing infants or children who are deemed not old enough to verbalize faith in Christ. There are several conceptions of the significance of infant baptism. Some Christians view the act as effecting regeneration; others see it as the symbol of God's grace extended to the infant prior to personal response; others suggest that, like circumcision in the OT, infant baptism marks an infant as a member of the covenant community.

infralapsarian (sublapsarianism, infralapsarianism)

infra/sub : God 1st allowed the fall - then he elected people (supra - God 1st electd ppl to hell/heaven then allowed fall which would lead them there) Related to a debate among Calvinists over the intricacies of divine election, this position asserts that God's decree of election logically follows God's decree to allow the Fall of humankind into sin. That is, the decree of election is "sublapsarian" in contrast to "supralapsarian," which places this decree prior to the decree to allow the Fall. Consequently, sublapsarians view election as God's predetermined, willed response to the Fall.

satisfaction theory (of the atonement)

A medieval view that relied heavily on the metaphor of "debt and payment" or the reparation that is due someone after that person has been wronged. Because our sin is against God, the debt is infinite. Either we can repay this debt through eternal punishment, or God, who is infinite, can pay the debt on our behalf. The latter is what Christ did on the cross. This payment by God (the Son) to God (the Father) satisfied the infinite nature of the debt humans owed to God for sin. Originating with Anselm, an understanding of the work of Christ based on the metaphor of God as a Sovereign who, having been dishonored by sin, must receive satisfaction. Because through sin humans perpetrated the insult, only a human should provide such satisfaction, but the insult was so great that only God can do so. In that he is both God and man, Jesus Christ was able to provide the necessary satisfaction primarily through his obedient death.

Pelagianism

A movement based on the teachings of a fifth-century monk named Pelagius. As Augustine recounts it, Pelagius denied that the fall affects human nature and thus held that even in the fallen world humans possess the power on their own to life free from sin. Grace helps people live for God, but Pelagians deny that people are saved by grace alone. For this reason, evangelicals are in agreement that Pelagianism is an unbiblical belief system. The teaching of British monk Pelagius (c. 354-415), who supposedly declared that human effort and merit could bring about salvation without divine grace. Pelagius was vigorously opposed by the church father Augustine.

congregationalism

A system of church government that assumes that Christ's authority comes directly to the local congregation. As a result, decisions in matters of faith and practice arise primarily if not solely out of the local congregation's corporate reading of Scripture. Today most congregationalism is "democratic" in the sense that the will of the majority of the people in the congregation constitutes what the local church believes and practices, and determines who should serve as its leaders.

Donatism

During the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., a movement arising out of the initial teaching of Donatus sought to separate the "pure" church from the "apostate," or "fallen," church. The Donatists vigorously opposed Christian involvement in the military because the military was seen an instrument of the evil state. Donatists also urged that Christians be rebaptized if they had been baptized by a bishop who had cooperated with the pagan emperor. Augustine eventually refuted the Donatist arguments.

Eucharist

From the Greek word eucharisto (I give thanks), the term has been used in the Christian tradition to refer to one of the central rites of the church, namely, the ongoing commemoration of the last supper that Christ had with his disciples before his crucifixion or the commemoration of the crucifixion itself. As such, the Eucharist is a celebration of thanksgiving to God for the redemptive work of Christ. The term Eucharist (or Mass) has generally been used in Roman Catholic and Anglican tradition, while Protestant traditions generally prefer to speak of the celebration as the Lord's Supper, Communion, or "the breaking of bread."

ecumenism

From the Greek word oikoumene, "the entire inhabited earth." Ecumenism is the attempt to seek a worldwide unity and cooperation among all churches that confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Ecumenism recognizes the unfortunate effect of many schisms in church history, the most major being the division between Eastern and Western churches in 1054 and between Protestants and Roman Catholics during the Reformation in the sixteenth century. In the early twentieth century various international missionary conferences explored the need for Christian unity if world evangelization were to be accomplished. This gave birth to the modern ecumenical movement. Positively, the ecumenical movement reaffirmed the need for all branches of Christianity to see their common roots and to seek unity where possible. Negatively, the ecumenical movement has often focused on political ideology; consequently, sectors of the Christian church have been hesitant to join in ecumenical dialog.

consummation

Generally refers to either the completion of an era of God's working in history or the absolute completion of history (the final consummation). Most theologians see Christ's second coming as a definite act of consummation, whether that consummation entails the establishment of an earthly millennial kingdom (as in premillennialism) or the completion of history itself (as in postmillennialism and amillennialism).

prevenient grace

Grace that "goes before" any participation of a person in the process of salvation. Arminian Christians usually hold that God gives prevenient grace to everybody, thereby enabling them to choose freely to accept or reject the message of salvation. A designation of the priority of God's gracious initiative on behalf of humans. Hence the term refers to the gracious action of God, displayed in the person and work of Christ but present in the lives of human beings through the agency of the Holy Spirit, which precedes all human response to God's initiative. Calvinists view prevenient grace as that aspect of special grace by which God redeems, sanctifies, and glorifies the believer; hence, it is bestowed only on those whom God elects to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. For Wesley (and consequently for many Arminians) prevenient grace is the Holy Spirit's work in the hearts of all people, which gives them the freedom to say yes to the gospel; thus prevenient grace can be accepted or rejected, but justification cannot be achieved without it.

supralapsarian

A Calvinistic view of predestination that maintains that in the "logical order of divine decrees" God decreed the election of some persons and the reprobation of others before allowing the Fall of Adam. hence the decree of election is "supralapsarian." In supralapsarianism the emphasis is on God's predestination of uncreated and unfallen humans rather than on created and fallen humanity (sublapsarianism). Consequently the supralapsarian view leads to the idea of double predestination: God has chosen to glorify himself by predestining certain persons to eternal life and others to eternal condemnation.

apokatastasis

A Greek word loosely translated as "restoration." In the OT the Hebrew equivalent of the term referred to the return of Israel from exile (Jer. 16:15). In the NT apokatastasis speaks of a future time when God in Christ will restore all things in creation according to God's original intention. Some theologians have taken this to mean that at the end of history all humankind (and perhaps even Satan and his demons) will be saved. Generally, Christian theology has rejected the idea of a universal salvation.

koinonia

A Greek word meaning "fellowship," "communion," or "sharing together." The term refers to the community or fellowship of Christian believers participating together in the life of Christ as made possible by the Spirit. This foundational shared participation in turn indicates the basic characteristics of the Christians' life together as a community of disciples.

summum bonum

A Latin phrase referring to the "supreme good" from which all other good is derived. In medieval theology the human supreme good was depicted as the "beatific vision," the contemplation of the eternal essence of God.

ordinance

A command. Some see the Lord's Supper and baptism as ordinances, as opposed to sacraments, believing that their meaning lies in the simple fact that the people who engage in them are obeying God. Literally, an authoritative decree or law. Certain free-church groups (such as the Baptists) refer to baptism and the Lord's Supper as ordinances rather than sacraments. In so doing they highlight the voluntary nature of these rites as having been ordained (commanded) by Christ.

dispensationalism

A system of theology popularized mainly in twentieth-century North America, especially through the influence of the Scofield Reference Bible. The dispensationalism delineated by Scofield suggested that God works with humans in distinct ways (dispensations) through history; that God has a distinct plan for Israel over against the church; that the Bible, especially predictive prophecy, needs to be interpreted literally; that the church will be secretly raptured from earth seven years prior to Christ's second coming; and that Christ will rule with Israel during a literal thousand-year earthly reign. Contemporary, or progressive, dispensationalism remains thoroughly premillennial but rejects the ontological distinction between Israel and the church as two peoples of God, seeing them instead as two salvation-historical embodiments of a single people.

imputation

A transfer of benefit or harm from one individual to another. In theology imputation may be used negatively to refer to the transfer of the sin and guilt of Adam to the rest of humankind. Positively, imputation refers to the righteousness of Christ being transferred to those who believe on him for salvation.

monasticism

A way of life within the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions that emphasizes celibacy, life-in-community, poverty, common worship, silence, and contemplation. The monastic movement spawned monasteries as places in which monks could live and work together, generally as cloistered from the larger society.

semi-Pelagianism

A word that later came to be used to describe the doctrines proposed between A.D. 427 and 529 which theologically held a middle ground between Pelagius and Augustine. Semi-Pelagians maintain that faith begins independently of God's grace, although such grace is subsequently necessary for salvation, and that predestination is simply divine foreknowledge.

antinomianism

An ethical system that denies the binding nature of any supposedly absolute or external laws on individual behavior. Some antinomianists argue that Christians need not preach or practice the laws of the OT because Christ's merits have freed Christians from the law. Others, like the early Gnostics, teach that spiritual perfection comes about through the attainment of a special knowledge rather than by obedience to law. Generally, Christian theology has rejected antinomianism on the basis that although Christians are not saved through keeping the law, we still have a responsibility to live uprightly, that is, in obedience to God's law of love in service to one another (Gal. 5:13-14) as we walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16) who continually works to transform us into the image of Christ the Creator (Col. 3:1, 7-10).

millennialism

Arising from the Latin word for "thousand," the millennium refers to the thousand-year reign of Christ mentioned in Revelation 20:1-8. There are basically three understandings as to what this text teaches: premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. In contrast to amillennialists, who do not see the millennium as a specific period of history, both post- and premillennialists are technically millennialists in that both anticipate that the millennium will occur at some future time (or arrived in the recent past). Millennialism also goes by the term chiliasm, arising out of the biblical Greek word chilias, meaning "one thousand." In contemporary theology, chiliasm is often used in the narrower sense of referring to belief in the premillennial return of Christ.

charismatic

Charismatic literally means having to do with the charismata, or "gifts," of the Holy Spirit as delineated in several Pauline texts. In a general sense anyone who is part of the body of Christ, the church, and who exercises any gift of the Spirit may be said to be charismatic. However, in the mid-twentieth century a movement arose that emphasized the practice of the "sign" gifts (such as speaking in tongues, healing, and miracles) and an emphasis on the "baptism of the Spirit" as an experience subsequent to conversion. Although the charismatic movement began in a mainline Protestant context, it quickly became an interdenominational phenomenon affecting nearly all branches of Christianity, including Roman Catholicism and to a lesser extent Eastern Orthodoxy.

purgatory

In Catholic theology, the place of purification and maturation that one may need to enter after death before the perfected soul attains the "beatific vision"—that is, perfectly "seeing" and "knowing" the triune God. Protestants have generally rejected the concept as having no basis in Scripture and as denying the significance and finality of mortal life on earth.

amillennialism

In contrast to the literal understanding of the millennium as a future thousand-year epoch, this view of the end-times understands the millennium to be a symbolic reference to the present reign of Christ through the church. It has been argued that this position is the one most commonly held throughout church history. The belief that the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 do not represent a specific period of time between Christ's first and second comings. Many amillennialists believe instead that the millennium refers to the heavenly reign of Christ and the departed saints during the Church Age. Amillennialists usually understand Revelation 20 to mean that the return of Christ will occur at the end of history and that the church presently lives in the final era of history.

deification

In early non-Christian religions, the elevation of a human ruler to the status of deity. However, in Eastern Orthodox theology deification is used to characterize salvation, as suggested by 2 Pet. 1:2-4. Eastern Orthodoxy is careful to distinguish between the deification of the believer (as a "partaker" or "sharer" in the divine nature) and the deity of Christ (as actually being divine) as two qualitatively different categories.

penance

In the Catholic tradition, the sacrament of reconciliation by which the penitent person is reconciled to God and the church through the forgiveness of sin. Often such reconciliation comes after the penitent sinner performs some prescribed act as an indication of repentance.

simul iustus et peccator

Simul iustus et peccator is a way of identifying this double existence. It means, literally, "simultaneously just and sinner." The point is not that everyone's a little of each—that the line between good and evil runs through all people as the saying has it. "Just" and "sinner" are total rather than partial realities. The Christian, in him or herself, is totally a sinner while at the same time being, in Christ, totally righteous before God. In other words, Christians are fully human—real people with real problems and real pain. But Christians, at the same time they are sinners, are fully and savingly loved (Rom 5:6-10).

unconditional election

The Calvinist belief that God's selection of who will be saved is not dependent in any way on what humans do. The view (common among Calvinists) that election, understood as the predetermination of the destiny of human individuals, is based on God's sovereign, eternal decree rather than merely on divine foreknowledge of whether they will freely reject or accept salvation through Jesus Christ (as is generally taught by Arminians).

limited atonement

The Calvinist belief that Jesus died only for the elect. Sometimes called "particular redemption," the view that Jesus' death secured salvation for only a limited number of persons (the elect), in contrast to the idea that the work of the cross is intended for all humankind (as in "unlimited atonement"). This view resulted from the post-Reformation development of the doctrine of election in Calvinist circles. Proponents claim that because not everyone is saved, God could not have intended that Christ die for everyone.

irresistible grace

The Calvinist belief that a person whom God has chosen cannot resist the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her life in bringing him or her to a faith-filled saving relationship. A doctrine found in most Calvinistic theologies that teaches that the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of those whom God has chosen (the elect) such that they cannot, or at least will not, resist the saving grace God imparts. Most Calvinist theologians distinguish between God's general grace (given by God to all humans in the testimony of creation) and God's saving, effectual or efficacious grace (which is applied directly to the heart of persons such that they respond in faith and which is thereby irresistible).

priesthood of believers

The Reformation principle that declares that the privilege and freedom of all believing Christians is to stand before God in personal communion through Christ, directly receiving forgiveness without the necessary recourse to human intermediaries. As priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9), believers directly offer sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God and minister to the needs of others. Ordained pastors, in turn, are not different from other believers in spiritual status but only in function and appointment.

rapture

The act of Christ literally taking the church out of the world before he judges the world and then sets up his millennial kingdom. From the Latin rapio (caught up), the belief that the church will be caught up (Greek harpazo, 1 Thess. 4:17) and united with Christ at his second coming. One point of contention among theologians is the time of the rapture, especially in relation to the great tribulation period associated with the end of the age. The views regarding the related timing of these events lead to the designations pre-, mid-, and post-tribulationists for the views that the rapture occurs prior to, during, or at the end of the tribulation. Some theologians view the rapture as a biblical image referring to the church's greeting the returning Christ.

ecclesiology

The area of theological study concerned with understanding the church (derived from the Greek word ekklesia, "church"). Ecclesiology seeks to set forth the nature and function of the church. It also investigates issues such as the mission, ministry, and structure of the church, as well as its role in the overall plan of God.

postmillennialism

The belief that Christ will return after a thousand-year period of peace occurs on earth. The view that Christ's second coming will follow the millennium; that is, his return is postmillennial. Postmillennialists assert that the millennium will come by the spiritual and moral influence of Christian preaching and teaching in the world. This will result in increased conversions, a more important role of the church in the world, earthly prosperity, the resolution of social ills, and a general adoption of Christian values. Evil will diminish until the time of Christ's second coming, which will mark as well the resurrection of the dead and the last judgment.

premillennialism

The belief that Christ will return before inaugurating a thousand-year reign of peace on earth. The view that the millennium follows the return of Christ, which therefore makes his return "premillennial." In the teaching of some premillennialists the millennium will begin supernaturally and cataclysmically, preceded by signs of apostasy, worldwide preaching of the gospel, war, famine, earthquakes, the coming of the antichrist, and the great tribulation. Jesus will then return and rule on the earth with his saints for one thousand years, during which time peace will reign, the natural world will no longer be cursed and evil will be suppressed. After a final rebellion, God will crush evil forever; judge the resurrected, nonbelieving dead; and establish heaven and hell.

exclusivism

The belief that Jesus Christ is the only Savior for all humanity and that it is not possible to attain salvation apart from explicit knowledge of Jesus Christ. Any theory that argues that salvation is found only in and through Jesus christ to the exclusion of all other religions or beliefs. Exclusivism also generally argues that Christ must be believed upon and explicitly confessed in order for a person to qualify for salvation. As a consequence, exclusivists tend to reject the possibility of salvation for those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ.

inclusivism

The belief that Jesus is the only Savior for all humanity but that it is possible to attain salvation apart from explicit knowledge of him. One can be saved by expressing faith in God based on the general knowledge of him that is available to everyone. Thus, Jesus is ontologically but not epistemologically necessary for salvation. A theory of salvation that suggests that although God saves people only on the merits of Christ, not all who are saved have consciously known of Jesus or heard the gospel. God saves those who, although they have not heard of Jesus, nevertheless respond to the best of their knowledge to the revelation of God available to them. This view stands in contrast to both exclusivism, which suggests that God saves only those who consciously respond to the presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to pluralism, which sees saving value in non-Christian religions.

annihilationism

The belief that all the wicked will be judged by God and thrown into the lake of fire, where they will cease to exist. Some annihilationists suggest that this will occur instantaneously, while others believe that the unrighteous may experience a brief period of awareness. However, all annihilationists agree that no individual, however wicked, will suffer eternally a conscious existence in hell.

expiation

The belief that sin is canceled out by being covered over. For Christians, expiation suggests that Christ's death covers our sins. Biblical scholars debate whether the Greek terms deriving from hilaskomai should be translated as "propitiation," denoting the turning away from divine wrath, or, in contrast, as "expiation," denoting the sense of covering sins or canceling a debt. Hilaskomai is also sometimes translated simply as "mercy seat."

election

The common Christian belief that God elects who will be saved. This can be understood either corporately, as in the case of Israel and the church, and/or individually. Election also refers to the belief that God elected Christ to save humans, and those who are "in Christ" are thus saved. A biblical word used to speak of God's choosing of individuals or people to bring about God's good purposes. In general terms election can refer to God's choosing of persons for a type of service, while in a more particular sense election refers to God's choosing of persons to inherit salvation through Jesus Christ. The doctrine of election has been the subject of intense debate, particularly between Calvinist and Arminian theologians, since the Reformation era. Other theologians (e.g., Karl Barth) try to avoid the Calvinist-Arminian debate by suggesting that God's election is first and foremost an election of Christ rather than the election of individuals to salvation.

pneumatology

The division of Christian doctrine dealing with the Holy Spirit. The word arises from the Greek words pneuma (spirit) and logos (the teaching about). Pneumatology explores the person and work of the Spirit, especially the Spirit's involvement in human salvation.

magisterium

The prerogative of the church to proclaim and teach the good news about Jesus. In many church bodies the term refers more specifically to the group of persons, generally vocational theologians and church officials, who together possess the authority to determine the content of and to pass on to others the official doctrine, teachings and practices of the church. Magisterium is used in a more limited sense to refer to the authoritative teaching body within the Roman Catholic Church, consisting of the bishops under the authority of the pope. The bishops fulfill various kinds of "ordinary" magisterium in an ongoing manner. The "extraordinary" magisterium emerges when the bishops are assembled into a council or the pope proclaims some new dogma.

redemption

The process by which sinful humans are "bought back" from the bondage of sin into relationship with God through grace by the "payment" of Jesus' death. Redemption is one of the pictures or metaphors that the NT uses to give insight into God's gracious saving work in Jesus.

eschatology

The study of the "last things" or the end-times. Derived from the Greek term meaning "last," eschaton refers to the ultimate climax or end of history wherein Christ returns to earth to establish his eternal kingdom of righteousness and justice among all nations. Eschatology, then, is the theological study that seeks to understand the ultimate direction or purpose of history as it moves toward the future, both from an individual perspective (What happens when a person dies?) and from a corporate perspective (Where is history going, and how will it end?). In the twentieth century at least three basic forms of eschatology have developed. Consistent, or thoroughgoing, eschatology is the view that the teaching of Jesus and the apostles is thoroughly concerned with proclaiming the imminent end of history. Realized eschatology views the first coming of Jesus Christ itself as the full presence of the kingdom of God. Inaugurated eschatology sees the first coming of Christ as the beginning of the kingdom in the present, while acknowledging that the consummation or fulfillment of the kingdom of God is yet to come.

asceticism

The teaching that spirituality is attained through renunciation of physical pleasures and personal desires while concentrating on "spiritual" matters. Jesus himself advocated certain practices such as fasting (Mt. 9:15) or, for some perhaps, celibacy (Mt. 19:12) for the sake of the kingdom; yet some Christians have overemphasized the role of ascetic practice alone is insufficient as a means of escaping from sin (Col. 2:20-3). Unfortunately, asceticism often proceeds on the assumption that the physical body is evil and is ultimately the cause of sin—a wholly unbiblical concept.

nominalism

The theory of knowledge that denies the objective reality of universal principles, maintaining that "universals" are mere concepts with no reality apart from their existence in the mind of the individual. This theory is sometimes attributed to the medieval thinker William of Occam.

transubstantiation

The traditional Roman Catholic doctrine that the bread and wine are transformed into the physical body and blood of Christ during Mass. A term in Roman Catholic theology meaning "essential change," the belief that by the power of God at the consecration in the Mass, the bread and wine change substance into the actual substance of Jesus' body and blood, even though they seem to retain their natural characteristics.

ransom theory (of the atonement)

The view that through human sin people rightfully belong to, or come under, the authority of Satan and that to remedy this situation God offered his Son as a ransom in exchange for humankind. But because Jesus could not be kept in hell, he rose on the third day, thereby causing Satan to lose those he held captive. This theory was widely taught during the patristic era.

merit

Theologically, merit is a person's perceived right to be rewarded by God for works done on God's behalf. Although the Catholic tradition continues to uphold merit as a valid Christian category, the Reformers repudiated it, particularly in favor of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith.

consubstantiation

This is the moderating view of the Lord's Supper that sees the elements as more than merely symbolic (Anabaptist view) but not necessarily the literal physical flesh and blood of Christ (transubstantiation view). This view prefers to speak sacramentally of Christ's "real presence" in the Lord's Supper, an intensified presence that is more than what is assumed by sheer omnipotence. The theory of the Lord's Supper most closely associated with the Lutheran tradition. Martin Luther taught that the body and blood of the Lord is present "in, with and under" the actual bread and wine. This was in contrast to the Roman Catholic teaching of transubstantiation, which taught that the bread and wine were transformed into the real body and blood of Jesus upon their consecration by the presiding priest.

justification (justification by faith)

To be declared righteous. In classical Protestant theology, people are declared righteous by God when they place their trust in Jesus Christ. Sanctification-the process of growing into a holier lifestyle-is understood to arise on the basis of, and subsequent to, justification. A forensic (legal) term related to the idea of acquittal, justification refers to the divine act whereby God makes humans, who are sinful and therefore worthy of condemnation, acceptable before a God who is holy and righteous. More appropriately described as "justification by grace through faith," this key doctrine of the Reformation asserts that a sinner is justified (pardoned from the punishment and condemnation of sin) and brought into relationship with God by faith in God's grace alone.

sacrament (sacramentalism)

Traditionally understood as a means of grace. Something is sacramental when it is said to "bear the divine." Some evangelicals see the Lord's Supper and baptism as sacraments in that God uses them as a means of dispensing grace to those who participate in them. Terms used by many Christian traditions to refer to the sacred practices of the church. Augustine spoke of these acts as "the visible form of an invisible grace" or as a "sign of a sacred thing." Mysteriously, the sacraments are used by God to confirm divine promises to believers and are somehow the means by which the recipient enters into the truths they represent. The two primary sacraments are baptism and the Lord's Supper. The lesser sacraments in the Roman Catholic tradition include confirmation, penance, matrimony, ordination (orders), and extreme unction. Protestant theology emphasizes the need for faith in order for a sacrament to have meaning. Sacramentalism refers to any understanding of the Christian faith that places high value on the sacraments. More narrowly, sacramentalism can be a term used pejoratively of persons or church traditions that see the essence of Christianity as participation in the sacraments rather than as inner transformation and personal piety.

ex opere operato, ex opere operantis

Two Latin phrases employed particularly in reference to the debate over the effectiveness of the sacraments. Ex opere operato literally means "from the work done" and suggests that a sacrament is effective in fulfilling its purpose. This effectiveness is not dependent on the faith of the recipient of the grace that comes through the act. In addition, the concept may suggest that the sacrament is effective even if it is administered by a sinful person or perhaps even by a person who is not properly ordained by the church. Ex opere operantis literally means "from the work of the one doing the work" and suggests that the sacrament is effective only if administered rightly by a duly ordained priest or minister of the church.