Part Five:  Words and phrases Christians use that will likely sound foreign to non-Christians—and suggested translations.

 Last week’s blog gave examples of the kinds of words and phrases that may sound strange and ambiguous to non-Christians visiting a church for the first time. But how about when we try to explain our faith outside the doors of the church? In this week’s blog, I list Christian terminology with suggested alternative translations (in the adjacent parenthesis) that carry the same meanings but will be more understandable to non-Christians – or you can use them to explain what the Christian terminology below mean.

•  “Fellowship” (Getting together with other Christians)
• “Faith” (Trusting God)
• “Spiritual warfare” (Our struggles against sinful thoughts and temptations)
• “Praise music” (Worshiping God through song)
• “Judged” (How God deals fairly with unbelievers)
• “Saved” (From what? Explain)
• “Hell” (Eternal separation from God)
• “Binding Satan” (Praying for God to protect us from the evil forces in the world)
• “God spoke to me” (Explain how)
• “Indwelt by the Holy Spirit” (God’s Spirit, living in the hearts of Christians, empowering us to live lives pleasing to God and to resist sin)
• “Baptized by the Holy Spirit” (When we first believe, the Spirit of God empowers Christians to resist sin and to serve Him)
• “Father” (Use “God” unless unbeliever is familiar with the concept of Trinity)
• “Son of God” (Use “Jesus” unless unbeliever understands the concept of Trinity)
• “Gifts” (The strengths and talents God gives us to serve Him in particular ways)
• “Rapture” (Believers alive when Jesus returns are taken directly to Heaven without physical death)
• “Born again” (When we become a Christian by receiving Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, Jesus takes charge of our life, and we receive a new, eternal nature that God empowers for obedience and faith)
• “Resurrection” (Unbelievers need to understand that Christians will receive a physical body and not a spiritual, immaterial body. Be sure the unbeliever doesn’t confuse resurrection with reincarnation.

When we talk to non-Christians and use theological terms such as “atonement,” “justification,” “reconciliation,” “redemption,” “sanctification,” “transformation,” “Trinity,” and so on, we must explain what the doctrines mean. For most unbelievers, used in a Christian context, these words are as foreign as beta particles and quasars are to non-astronomers.

Learning to define these terms is a good exercise for developing your understanding of what they mean. If you don’t understand these concepts yourselves, you won’t be able to explain them to unbelievers. C.S. Lewis put it this way: “If, given patience and ordinary skill, you cannot explain a thing to any sensible person whatever (provided he will listen), then you don’t really understand it yourself. (God in the Dock, 256-57)

Next week we’ll look at the advantages of a seldom considered avenue for effectively communicating Christian truths to non-Christians: WORD PICTURES. What are they and how can we use them.