March 24, 2015 (Tuesday)
Do you know the proper name for a group of cats? The answer is a “clowder” or a “glaring.” I’ve been around cats all my life and I never knew that. I’ve never heard anyone use those words. You probably know that a male cat is called a “tom” or “tomcat,” but did you know that an unaltered female is called a “queen?” *
If you are among the cat lovers of the world, you don’t need to know those words. You can enjoy your cat(s) without the additional vocabulary.
In the same way you can become a Christian without ever hearing theological words like, “eschatology,” “soteriology,” or “hermeneutics.” Those words are important in theology but the average person probably prefers words of their own that mean the same things, like “last things,” “salvation,” and “Bible study.” They have no need to know the technical verbiage of the classroom.
As a child grows, he comes to a point in his life at which he accepts Jesus as Savior. He knows enough to be saved, because the facts are not difficult to comprehend. I need to know that my sins have separated me from God, that Jesus died on the cross to save me, and that I can accept him into my heart by believing in Him as God’s son and my savior–the one who rose from the dead and is alive today. Profound facts, to be sure, but understandable by those who have come to believe they need the Lord. As time goes on, the believers understand these facts better and can explain them more satisfactorily, but one does not need a theological education to know God in Christ.
A man asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” and received the answer: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). The man believed and was saved. His family followed in his footsteps. Their lives were never again the same. It can happen to you.
*Wikipedia has an article that gives a list of words involving cats.