Glossary
Theological terms
Every term this site uses, explained from Scripture. Where a teaching is an error, its page says what is wrong with it, what truth it undermines, and how it can harm a church.
These pages describe teachings, not the faith of any person who holds them.
A
Affirming theologySerious error
The teaching that the church should bless same-sex marriages and same-sex sexual relationships as faithful before God.
AnnihilationismSerious error
The teaching that the unsaved will not suffer forever but will cease to exist, either at death or after a period of punishment.
AntinomianismSerious error
The teaching that God's moral law has no binding claim on the lives of believers.
B
Baptismal regenerationSerious error
The teaching that the act of baptism itself conveys the new birth, so that those rightly baptized are by that act regenerated and cleansed from sin.
D
Denial of a historical AdamSerious error
The teaching that Adam and Eve were not real individuals, but a symbol, a myth, or a picture of humanity in general.
E
Eternal security without perseveranceSerious error
The teaching that anyone who has once believed is saved forever, even if they later stop believing or live with no evidence of new life.
F
Free grace theologySerious error
The teaching that saving faith is simply believing Jesus' promise of eternal life, without any necessary turning from sin or submission to him as Lord.
G
Gender transition affirmationSerious error
The teaching that a person's inner sense of gender, rather than their bodily sex, defines who they are, so that the church should affirm social or medical transition.
L
LegalismSerious error
Treating obedience to God's law, or to human rules, as the ground of a person's acceptance with God.
M
Moral influence theorySerious error
The teaching that Christ's death saves only by showing God's love and moving us to repent, not by bearing the penalty for our sins.
O
Open theismSerious error
The teaching that God does not know the future free choices of people, because those choices do not yet exist to be known, so the future is partly open even to God.
P
Prosperity gospelSerious error
The teaching that God promises financial wealth and physical health to believers who have enough faith, often unlocked by giving money to a ministry.
S
Scripture as one authority among severalSerious error
The view that the Bible is one source of authority alongside others, such as church tradition, official teaching, reason, or experience, with none of them finally over the rest.
Semi-PelagianismSerious error
The teaching that sinners can take the first step toward God by their own power, after which God's grace helps them the rest of the way.
T
TransubstantiationSerious error
The Roman Catholic teaching that at the priest's consecration the whole substance of the bread and wine is changed into the body and blood of Christ, leaving only their appearance.