BIBLICAL & THEOLOGICAL DICTIONARY
S - T

S

Sacrament
A solemn religious ceremony instituted by Jesus Christ, the head of the Christian Church, as an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace.  The sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper (also called Communion or the Eucharist) are observed by the church to renew and strengthen our special relationship to Him.

Sadducee
A member of a relatively small but powerful Jewish religious sect which accepted only the Pentateuch as Scripture and denied the Resurrection. 

Salvation
The doctrine of God's activities in restoring humans to a right relationship with Him, including forgiveness of sin, and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, and the possession of eternal life.  Salvation includes election, regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification and glorification (Rom 8:29-30).  Also see Atonement, Faith, Reconciliation, and our Salvation section for much more information, including how to be sure that you're going to heaven.

Sanctification
The continuing process of salvation, in which we are made holy (more like Jesus) by the power of the Holy Spirit (1Th 5:23).  This process, which follows regeneration and justification (at which time we're already guaranteed eternal life),  is not truly completed until our glorification.

Sanhedrin
The supreme judicial and ecclesiastical council or court of Jerusalem during NT times.

Saving Faith
A saving grace, by which we receive and rest on Him (Jesus) alone for salvation, as He is offered to us in the Gospel.  (Westminster Shorter Catechism)

Second Coming
The future (end times) triumphant return of Christ to earth, accompanied by His saints (Christians).

Septuagint
Greek translation of the Hebrew OT, produced in the third and second centuries BC in Alexandria, Egypt.  NT writers often quoted from this edition in addition to the Hebrew scrolls.

Sin
Any thought, attitude, word, motivation or deed which violates God's perfect will or law.  Sin results in the human condition of separation from the Holy God known as Spiritual Death (Rom 6:23).  See Original Sin.

Soteriology
Study of the doctrine of salvation, from the Greek soteria meaning "salvation".

Sovereign
Possessing unlimited power to rule, not bound by any other force (Gen 1-2, Job 42:1-2, Is 40:10-15, Ps 50:1-6, Jer 32:17-19, Dan 4:17, Acts 4:24, 1Tim 6:15-16).

Syncretism
The blending of conflicting religious beliefs.

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Theism
The world view that accepts and affirms the existence of God as the personal, infinite Creator of the world, who is immanent in the world and unlimited in power and love.

Theocracy
Form of government, such as in ancient Israel, in which God is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, either directly or through His human representative, from the Greek theos (God) and kretein (rule) or kratos (power or leadership).

Theodicy
The branch of theology that defends God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil, from the Greek theos (God) and dike (justice).

Theology
The study of the personal, triune God, His nature and His purposes, and our relationship to Him, which God reveals through His words and His deeds, from the Greek theos (God) and logos (word).

Theophany
A visible manifestation or appearance of God in some form to a human, from the Greek theos (God) and phaneia (showing).

Transcendence
A theological term referring to the relation of God to His creation, that in His majesty, He is infinitely above all humans and temporal things.  See Immanence.

Tribulation
A seven year period of suffering prior to the second coming of the Christ.

Trinity
The unity of the persons of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit into one Godhead.  They share the same essence or substance (Gr homoousios), yet are three "persons".

Tritheism
A Trinitarian heresy which denies the unity of the three Persons of the Godhead, stating that there are three separate and independent Gods.

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