Big Bible Words, Explained (Ep.24)

Sarah Annie Schneider: Welcome to the Addicted to God Podcast. I'm your host and Bible mentor, Sarah Schneider. And I am addicted to God. Addicted to God is a community of imperfect people who are pursuing a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. For over 20 years, I have been on my own Addicted to God journey. And this entire movement was inspired by the hundreds of incarcerated women whom I have had the privilege of mentoring over the past decade in my local jail. The more I learned about their addictive behaviors, the more I realized that my zeal to know God's word is not that different from their uncontrollable desire to use their drug of choice. So, in a nutshell, addicted to God is where we transfer the unhealthy unsatisfying and destructive habits and choices to the freedom and fulfillment that can only come from the one healthy addiction, God and His limitless word. I wanna ask that you share this podcast so we can end addictions, encourage the defeated, and help anyone who wants to have a relationship with God but does not know where to start. So what do you say? Let's get addicted to God together. Have you ever sat in church Or opened the Bible and felt like it was speaking a completely different language? I have. As a matter of fact, many of these podcast episodes and the topics that I choose are either out of my own personal experience and what I found to be barriers to my own ability to understand God, but from the most frequently asked questions from the women whom I've mentored, both in and out of jail. I get it. I remember reading that small section of the Bible, and I'm thinking, what? This is crazy. Crazy. Nobody uses words like these. And I know it's crazy that words like justification, propitiation, sanctification, glorification, and they just leave you thinking, I have no idea what this means. And then you think you're dumb. And I'm here to tell you you are not dumb. The Bible does have words that we just don't use in everyday language. And this episode is here to give you an overview of a couple common words. That I think are so, so powerful once you understand them. I do have to say, we are so lucky to live in an era where technology is right at our fingertips. I Google definitions to explain something to me all the time. And if you don't understand something, look it up. That's part of the adventure for me. Instead of getting frustrated or discouraged, pursue knowledge like you would chase down a caffeinated beverage at a three o'clock lull. That in and of itself is a win. When you get to stack a series of little wins over and over a consistent number of days and over a period of time, that's when your confidence grows. It's especially fun for me when I get those aha's and I can text or call a girlfriend and be like, hey, check it out. Look what I learned today. It's so cool. I'll give you an example. I remember the day I came across Blessed Are the Meek in Matthew 5.5. Without looking up the definition, I thought meek meant quiet, withdrawn, mousey, and kind of wimpy. But then I learned that meek actually means power under control. I was like, whoa, that just was a mind blower for me. And there's another tool out there. Actually, it's my resource recommendation for this episode. It's gotquestions.org. Anytime you have any questions about the Bible, Whether it's the understanding of a word or what it means in context or even what a scripture message or section means, go to gotquestions.org and put your question in. Most of the time, they already have an entire article with scripture cross-references to explain what it means. Today, I'm gonna choose what I think are the most confusing churchy words and break them down in everyday language and clear pictures so that they make sense. By the end of this episode, these words hopefully will feel less like a barrier and more like tools that help you fall deeper in love with not only the incredible God we serve, but one of the greatest blessings that He has given us access to, His Word. So are you ready? Let's go. My first word. It may be redundant. I talk about it on just about every episode, but I really, really need to emphasize it because it's so foundational. It's the one that probably makes people squirm the most. And that's sin. Sin is simply anything we think, say, or do that goes against God's perfect design for life. It's missing the mark, like shooting an arrow and not only missing the bullseye, but completely missing the target altogether. I know how off-putting this word is. I particularly hate it when people call out sins in other people. When I hear someone being critical about someone or gossiping about them, I immediately think of Jesus in John 8.7 when he says, Let anyone who is without sin cast the first stone. Basically, he's saying, before pointing out the faults, bad choices, and ungodly things that other people are doing, you better take a long look in the mirror because you are not without guilt and you're certainly not innocent either. Jeez, Jesus is so right. Who am I to tell other people they're not making the cut? Because you know what? If I'm being honest, I'm a hot mess. The Bible is clear. Romans 3.23 says, For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Ecclesiastes 7 20 says, There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. There's one of those words, righteous or righteousness. Righteousness means being in right standing with God. And being righteous is living in a way that lines up with who God is and what he says is right. I'm actually not going to ponder on that one. That isn't one of the words I really intended to get into today, but it is something that we do reference often, especially in contrast to sin. In a future episode, I'll go much broader and deeper into righteousness because that's a powerful topic. But sin, that means Every single one of us, sin. You, me, and every person walking on this planet. Sin is the reason that we feel deep restlessness and that emptiness that keeps driving us back to destructive cycles, even when we know it's wrong. In church circles, the word sin can feel like a label that defines who you are. And I have some really good news. It does not. Sin is not our identity. Sadly, it's a condition. And we all share it. The Bible makes no distinction between the person who struggles with substances and the person who struggles with excessive overeating. The Bible calls that gluttony, or even someone who lies so that they don't get caught. You see, we are all in the same boat. Naming it, honestly, that's actually an act of courage because you cannot walk away from something that you refuse to name. So name it. We're sinners. Call it out. Accept it. I remember sitting across from a woman in jail who had a long list of charges. She looked at me and she said, I'm the worst one in here. I told her, No, you're just the one who got caught. And what you did happened to break the law. You see, I have a couple of things to say about that. You may be listening to this and think, I'm not that bad because I've never been to jail. Well, you're wrong. Because when you sin, you are in an invisible jail. And guess what? You're not getting away with anything. Because you know who sees you? God. And you know what else? If you're trying to justify yourself by saying I'm good because I'm not as bad as someone else, then you have been gravely deceived. Second Corinthians 13, 5 says to test yourselves, to see if you are in the faith, to examine yourselves. I bet if you do that, if you examine yourself, you will know deep in your soul, the deepest part of who you are. Knows that you are in fact a sinner. And not a bad person. That is definitely not what I'm trying to say. Sinners aren't bad people. We're just simply all in a battle against doing what God wants versus running our own lives the way we want. If we put our needs, wants, and desire before God's needs, wants, and desires for us, that's sin. And even though sin comes naturally, God's ways are always better. Being addicted to God is a constant pursuit and it takes time. It takes showing up to meet God in the quiet so he can speak his will into your life and guide you in your decision making and affirm you when you're seeking to honor him. All that to say, don't let this word, sin, get you all hung up. The best thing you can do is be honest with yourself and God and ask him to forgive you. You might be thinking, forgive me for what? Well, for trying to meet his perfect standards through your own understanding and interpretation of good, for acting like you can get into heaven on your own, and for not recognizing that he loves you just the way you are, for who you are, and for taking for granted the gift that he has given you by sending you Jesus, his only son, to this earth. Jesus came to take all those sins upon himself and be the bridge between your imperfect sinful life and Jesus' perfect sinless life. That's the beautiful part about recognizing our sin. And I am repetitive when I talk about sin on these podcasts simply because I think it took actually I know it took thirty-two years for me to let that sink in. And quite frankly, it's not because I hadn't heard everything I just shared with you before. It's because I wasn't ready to hear it. I don't know how many of these podcast episodes you're listening to, but maybe this is the one. Where all of a sudden you understand. This is so liberating, isn't it? To know that you no longer have to be perfect and you can be authentically who God created you to be? And back to forgiveness for a quick second. Why is it even possible? It's because of God's grace and mercy. These two words get used so much, but a lot of us have never had them explained. So let's make them crystal clear. Grace is God giving you the exact opposite of what you deserve, freely and with no strings attached. I love this simple acronym that helps me remember it. G-R-A-C-E is God's riches at Christ's expense. And there's a saying that helps me keep grace and mercy straight. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. Mercy is not getting what we do deserve. I want to repeat that because it's so important. Mercy is God not giving you the punishment you actually deserve. Grace is God giving you the gift and favor that you could never earn on your own. Imagine showing up to a fancy restaurant with empty pockets. The owner walks over and says, Hey, everything here is already paid for. Sit down and eat. And by the way, here's dessert too. I know you didn't earn it. And you don't even pay it back. You just receive it. That's grace. My favorite verses that describes grace is Ephesians two, eight and nine, which says, For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by works, so no man can boast. Grace is the reason you can stop trying to clean yourself up before you come to God. He meets you right where you are. Messy, broken, addicted, ashamed, confused. Sometimes people think the way to get to God is through good deeds, or whatever the Bible calls works. That could look like going to church every Sunday, giving money to a homeless person, opening a door for a stranger, or helping someone in need. All these things are good, but they will never be enough to make us right with God. He's perfect. And that's his standard. So we can't earn our way into his love. We can't perform our way into his acceptance. And we can't be good enough. That's exactly why the gospel is the greatest news in the entire world. It takes all the pressure off. God doesn't love you because you cleaned up your life. He doesn't accept you because you've stopped the destructive cycles. He loves you and accepts you because of Jesus. And he offers you both mercy and grace right now, exactly as you are. That is why you can come to him today without fear. He already paid the price in full. All that's left for you is to receive it. The next word I want to hone in on and explain is justification. Just as if I'd never sinned. In everyday language, justification means God declares you right with him, even when you're doing wrong. Justification is the legal side of grace. Picture yourself standing in a courtroom. Every mistake, every failure, every destructive choice is piled up as evidence against you. The judge has every right to declare you guilty, but instead, he bangs the gavel and says not guilty. Not because you suddenly became perfect, not because you finally cleaned up your act. But because Jesus' perfect record is now counted as yours. Romans 5, 1 says, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Justification means the official verdict over your life has changed forever. You are no longer defined by your past. You are no longer stuck under the weight of everything you've done wrong. In God's eyes, you are declared right with Him. Fully accepted, fully forgiven, fully free. Jesus took your guilt, and in exchange he gave you his perfect standing right before God. That is justification. Atonement and the fancy word propitiation. Atonement means the debt has been paid and the relationship can be restored. A simple way to remember it is at one moment. God making us at one with Himself. In the Old Testament, people brought animal sacrifices so their sin could be covered. Those sacrifices pointed forward to something greater. Jesus became the final perfect sacrifice. The even bigger word, propitiation, you'll hear it in some Bible versions and in sermons. But that simply means Jesus absorbed the full force of God's righteous anger against sin. So it never has to fall on you. That means Jesus took the hit, so you don't have to. 1 John 2.2 says He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the world. Think of that massive storm of justice heading right straight toward you. And Jesus steps in front of it and takes every single drop. The storm is real, but it never touches you. That's atonement and propitiation. The debt is paid, the relationship is restored, and you are marked safe. Another common word and one that many people do reference quite often in Christian circles, and that's the word sanctification. We talked about this in episode 23, but I want to take it just a little level deeper because sanctification is the ongoing process of God changing you from the inside out to make you more like Jesus. In everyday language, it means God is slowly reshaping your heart, your desires, and your habits so they look more like his. 1 Thessalonians 5, 23 says, May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. Salvation is the starting line. Sanctification is the journey. Glorification is the finish line. And we're going to talk about that next. But first, I want to say what I love most about sanctification is that it doesn't require perfection. It requires willingness. God doesn't need you to show up with yourself altogether. He needs you just to show up. Every time you choose to open your Bible instead of whatever you used to use to numb you, every time you pray instead of running, every time you ask for help instead of pretending you're just fine, that is sanctification happening. That's not that dramatic. It's dramatic. Daily, and it's a choice. And for anyone who has battled addiction, sanctification is how the craving shifts. You don't white knuckle your way out of old patterns. God slowly, gently rewires your desires from the inside out. The old things lose their grip. And not because they're suddenly stronger, but because he's willing to fill the space that used to be occupied. It's not you gritting your teeth and trying harder either. It's Jesus slowly reshaping your desires so you can actually want what he wants. That's how the old addictive patterns lose their grip and a new healthy addiction to God takes root. Okay, so I dropped a little extra word in there. I want to go back to it. Glorification. Glorification is the final step. That's when we see Jesus face to face, and everything broken in us is made completely whole. Romans 8.30 says, and those he predestined, he also called. Those he called, he also justified. Those he justified, he also glorified. That means no more struggle with sin, no more shame, no more brokenness. Full, perfect, forever freedom and joy with God. I even joke with my girlfriends that my glorified body in heaven is going to be amazing. No more stretch marks, no more exhaustion, no more feeling worn out or broken. Everything that feels limited here will be made new and whole. So think about that on your hardest days. And trust me, I have hard days too. Days when it feels like I'm not making progress or old patterns are louder than I want them to be. They just keep rearing their ugly heads. Like this whole sanctification journey is taking forever. I'm impatient. I want it to happen overnight. And unfortunately it doesn't. And then I remember that this world is not the final chapter in God's story. And that's the hope that keeps us going when the journey feels long. Another word and the last one I want to put a little emphasis on is redemption. To redeem means to buy it back. In the ancient world, if someone was sold into slavery, a relative could pay the price to set them free, to bring them home where they belonged. Jesus paid the price to buy us out of slavery to sin and bring us home to God. Ephesians 1 7 says in him we have redemption through his blood. The forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace. Right in that short verse, we have the words that I am talking about today. Redemption, forgiveness, sins, grace. You see, friends, you're not too far gone and you were not too expensive. You were not a lost cause, and you were worth coming for. And Jesus paid that price without even flinching. I think about one woman I mentored who had been in and out of jail for years. She sat in group one day and said, I always thought I was too messed up for God to bother with me. When we talked about redemption, that Jesus paid the full price to buy her back, she got quiet, and then she whispered, You mean he came looking for me on purpose? That was the moment it all clicked for her. She wasn't a lost cause and she was worth coming for. I've watched that truth change the way she carries herself. It's remarkable. Her story inspires me. Her story reminds me the power of God's redemption. And it's not that God just tolerates us. He's a God who fights for us. So I want to do a quick paraphrase in plain language of everything we've talked about today. We all sin, which means we all fall short. God offers us grace, free unearned love, and mercy withholding the judgment we deserve. Through Jesus, we are justified, declared not guilty, just as if we had never sinned. His death was the atonement and propitiation that paid the debt in full. Then he begins the lifelong process of sanctification, slowly changing us from the inside out to make us more like him. One day we will experience full glorification. That's when we get in heaven. Everything broken is made new and whole and perfect, as God had originally designed it. The whole thing is possible because of his redemption. He bought us back at the highest price. These are big words, and I know they can feel intimidating, but I hope today you saw something so important, what this message and podcast is all about. The Bible doesn't use these words to confuse us or keep us at distance. It uses them to show us in the strongest language possible just how far God is willing to go for us. Every single one of these words is a love letter. The more you understand what he's already done for you, the harder it becomes to stay away from him. That's the addiction we are after, the healthy, life-giving kind that will only grow stronger the more you have it. So, friends, don't forget that this is not the end of your story. This is the beginning of your rescue. I'm thrilled to have you on this addicted to God journey, learning how to trade every harmful addiction for the one that truly satisfies. Jesus Christ and his living word. I'd also love to hear from you. You can reach out to me on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or Substack at Sarah Annie Schneider, addicted to God. And I'm always looking for guests, so if your life has been genuinely transformed by Jesus, or if you've experienced what it means to transfer your addiction to him, I'd love to hear your story. Please email me at addicted to Godpod at gmail.com. And as we close, remember, you are not defined by your past or your struggles. When you transfer your addictions to God, he becomes your one and only healthy addiction. God bless you all. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and protect perfecter of our faith. And I'll see you next week. Don't forget to choose the better addiction.