"I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned you rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him." Psalm 2:7-12
Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem was Lord and Christ. Messiah, Savior and God become man. This prophecy was fulfilled at the birth of the child, and referenced in New Testament scripture many times:
Hebrews 1:2-3,6 says, "but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word...And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'"
Romans 1:2-4 says, "the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendent of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with his power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."
All I wish to add to that reading of the Word is that Jesus claimed to be God, nothing less. At Christmas time as we sing the songs of the Christ child and celebrate the birth of the Savior, what strikes me is how completely unfathomable is the means by which God chose to provide for our salvation. We are never told in scripture so it would be only a guess, but I can't imagine that at some point Luke, after having questioned so many people about the birth of Jesus, would have run across someone who would have said something like, "I always thought the Messiah would have just appeared on the scene, straight from heaven in a flash seen by a multitude strong and powerful, marching into Jeruselum to claim His rightful place as King and ruler over the whole world. Never would I have guessed that He would have come into the world as a baby. Perhaps a baby like none other in the history of the world, but a baby nonetheless. I just never would have guessed."
That's the way I feel. I am expecting a new baby this Christmas. It is amazing enough that God would send His Son to be fully human, but to send Him as a baby, having gone through a full 9 months in the womb of Mary, fully Man in the truest sense of the word. A descendent of David in His human nature, but full of power and majesty as the very Son of God. In light of this Christmas truth two more scripture passages come to mind:
1 Corinthians 1:26-30 "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of nobel birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God - that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." In this time when children are not even considered fully human that I put my faith in God, who used the very basic humanity of a developing child in the womb of a virgin to give His Son as a gift for the salvation all who would belive on Him. I boast in that truth this Christmas, that that which no one would plan and see as foolishness (a King coming as a child), in the weakness of a baby and lowly in stature (born in a manger, son of a carpenter) is the very righteousness, holiness, and redemption for my soul.
John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Christmas Truth - Day 3
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from days of eternity." Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites. He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securly, for then his greatness will reach the end of the earth. And he will be their peace." Micah 5:2-4
"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governer of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David." Luke 2:1-5
We have seen where history is important in the prophetic scheme. Isn't it fascinating that some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, a prophet in Judah told of the new ruler of Israel being born in Bethlehem Ephrathah and that a census (the first one inacted by the governer in authority) prompted Joseph to take Mary from Nazareth to Behlehem in Judea, the precise location prescribed. So it turns out not only history is important but geography as well.
It is also important to note that the prophecy says the ruler was tapped from eternity. Again the doctrine of the Trinity is on display. The Son has eternally existed, and will come to the town of Bethlehem (and not just any Bethlehem, but the particular town in Ephrathah). The significance of this cannot be overstated as we see elsewhere in scripture (Isaiah 9:6) that the son was given, it was the child that was born. The Son of God eternally exists, the earthly manifestation was for a specific and pre-determined time. More on this another time.
Finally, even the town is of significance as the name Bethlehem means "house of bread". So the one who is called the Bread of Life in John's gospel comes from the house of bread. "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread taht came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:48-51 Once again we see the promise in the Old Testament (namely God sustaining His people physically) fulfilled in the person of Jesus who is THE eternal sustanence for those who would seek to turn from death and accept God's offer for life.
This bread that will sustain for eternity was offered to all not just for a day or a season, but for all time as Jesus (the Bread of Life) willfully chose to "...give for the life of the world." I hope if you have read this far that you either have already partaken of this Bread, or you would consider believing on Jesus the Christ, the Messiah as the source for eternal life and in so doing receive the portion offered to each one of us by our Heavenly Father.
"In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governer of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David." Luke 2:1-5
We have seen where history is important in the prophetic scheme. Isn't it fascinating that some 700 years before the birth of Jesus, a prophet in Judah told of the new ruler of Israel being born in Bethlehem Ephrathah and that a census (the first one inacted by the governer in authority) prompted Joseph to take Mary from Nazareth to Behlehem in Judea, the precise location prescribed. So it turns out not only history is important but geography as well.
It is also important to note that the prophecy says the ruler was tapped from eternity. Again the doctrine of the Trinity is on display. The Son has eternally existed, and will come to the town of Bethlehem (and not just any Bethlehem, but the particular town in Ephrathah). The significance of this cannot be overstated as we see elsewhere in scripture (Isaiah 9:6) that the son was given, it was the child that was born. The Son of God eternally exists, the earthly manifestation was for a specific and pre-determined time. More on this another time.
Finally, even the town is of significance as the name Bethlehem means "house of bread". So the one who is called the Bread of Life in John's gospel comes from the house of bread. "I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread taht came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:48-51 Once again we see the promise in the Old Testament (namely God sustaining His people physically) fulfilled in the person of Jesus who is THE eternal sustanence for those who would seek to turn from death and accept God's offer for life.
This bread that will sustain for eternity was offered to all not just for a day or a season, but for all time as Jesus (the Bread of Life) willfully chose to "...give for the life of the world." I hope if you have read this far that you either have already partaken of this Bread, or you would consider believing on Jesus the Christ, the Messiah as the source for eternal life and in so doing receive the portion offered to each one of us by our Heavenly Father.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Christmas Truth - Day 2
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord- and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist." Isaiah 11:1-5
Such is the word from Isaiah the prophet sometime close to 700 B.C. Some 750 years later, Matthew records the lineage of Jesus of Nazareth in the opening of his gospel and we read:
"A record of the geneology of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham...Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David...Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ." Matthew 1:1-17
History is important in the prophetic scheme and as we see from this example the fulfillment of the prophecy that the lineage of the Messiah would be preserved. This is even more significant when we consider the tumultuous events that took place in the time period between Jesse and Jesus. We look at God's judgement of disobedience on the part of His people, the Babylonian captivity and exile from the promised land and see an example of God's faithfulness toward His covenants.
The passage in Isaiah also speaks to the responses of the Messiah when questioned by the people. It says He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes nor by what He hears with His ears. We see this very thing time and again in the gospels when Luke, for example, records things like "When Jesus saw their faith...", "Jesus knew what they were thinking...", "But Jesus knew what they were thinking...", "He saw through their duplicity...They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent."
And so we remain today; silent and astonished before a man who did not judge by what He saw with His eyes, nor with what He heard with His ears, but who knew the very heart of man and spoke the truth with righteousness, precisely because this was no mere man, not just another great teacher, but because this was the Messiah son of David, son of Abraham, a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
Such is the word from Isaiah the prophet sometime close to 700 B.C. Some 750 years later, Matthew records the lineage of Jesus of Nazareth in the opening of his gospel and we read:
"A record of the geneology of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham...Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David...Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ." Matthew 1:1-17
History is important in the prophetic scheme and as we see from this example the fulfillment of the prophecy that the lineage of the Messiah would be preserved. This is even more significant when we consider the tumultuous events that took place in the time period between Jesse and Jesus. We look at God's judgement of disobedience on the part of His people, the Babylonian captivity and exile from the promised land and see an example of God's faithfulness toward His covenants.
The passage in Isaiah also speaks to the responses of the Messiah when questioned by the people. It says He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes nor by what He hears with His ears. We see this very thing time and again in the gospels when Luke, for example, records things like "When Jesus saw their faith...", "Jesus knew what they were thinking...", "But Jesus knew what they were thinking...", "He saw through their duplicity...They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent."
And so we remain today; silent and astonished before a man who did not judge by what He saw with His eyes, nor with what He heard with His ears, but who knew the very heart of man and spoke the truth with righteousness, precisely because this was no mere man, not just another great teacher, but because this was the Messiah son of David, son of Abraham, a shoot from the stump of Jesse.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Christmas Truth - Day 1
Well it happened again this year, thankfully. It has happened every year right around this time of year since I can remember and i've been happy to see it come each time. I am speaking of A Charlie Brown Christmas, of course. I watched a really nice cartoon with my wife and children, which is always time well spent. Something new occurred to me this year, however, that spurred my thinking and inspired me to a series of posts which will be forthcoming in the days leading up to Christmas day. The central theme of the cartoon was the real meaning of Christmas, something that is missed by the vast majority of Americans each and every year. Critical to answering the question about the real meaning of Christmas is truth.
Truth is correspondence. By that I mean that we know that something is true because it corresponds to reality. If I were to say that I am 6'-4" tall with dark hair, you would know that to be true by investigating those measurable attributes and comparing them to my statement. If my statements correspond to the real measurements, then my statement is truthful. This is critical to those of us who are followers of Christ because we don't follow His teaching because they make us feel good, or because we like most of what He says, or because our family always has; we follow Christ because we believe His teaching to be true. Due to that belief, we find the joy of the Lord that gives us comfort no matter the circumstance, we find the knowledge that the Lord will do what is right and can appreciate even the hard parts of His teaching, and we can appreciate the blessings that our progenitors have passed on to us.
So what is true this Christmas? Jesus says in John 14:6-7 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Jesus is the truth. God has given us the privilege of providing the truth in the form of the Word that we can measure against reality. John 1:1-2 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."
These two scriptures point to the first truth i'd like to bring out, and that is the doctrine of the Trinity. The more I study and think about the Trinity the more beautiful a concept it becomes in my heart. Jesus claims to be God, not a mere man, not just a great teacher, but God. We see from scripture the concept of the triune nature of God (namely God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). The first four words in the Bible say "In the beginning God...". The reality is that this universe is finite, and no matter the circumstances surrounding it's propagation the beginning was a caused event. The explanation that best fits reality is that the caused event of creation is due to God, the uncaused agent. Also, creation (which includes mankind) is the choice of the Creator. Because God exists eternally in three persons, He didn't need to create us for company. We need not think too highly of ourselves. There was unity in diversity from eternity in the community of the Trinity. We are created in God's image so it comes as no surprise that each one of us desires to be a part of a community. Companionship, support groups, families, gatherings of all kinds reflect the reality of the Trinity in each of our image-bearing attributes. Loneliness is always considered a bad thing, because it opposes the truth of the community.
When Jesus was ready to begin His earthly ministry we read in Luke 4:14-21 that He went to the synagogue and opened the scroll of Isaiah and He read, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'." Jesus said that He was the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah.
In the life of Christ (that is, His birth, life, death and resurrection) represents a fulfillment of several hundred Old Testaments prophecies. I thought it would be a good idea to bring just a few of these to bear at this time to remind us that Christianity is not just a fanciful notion, but the TRUTH. Lord willing, tomorrow I will post on the fulfilled prophecy of the family line of Jesse.
Truth is correspondence. By that I mean that we know that something is true because it corresponds to reality. If I were to say that I am 6'-4" tall with dark hair, you would know that to be true by investigating those measurable attributes and comparing them to my statement. If my statements correspond to the real measurements, then my statement is truthful. This is critical to those of us who are followers of Christ because we don't follow His teaching because they make us feel good, or because we like most of what He says, or because our family always has; we follow Christ because we believe His teaching to be true. Due to that belief, we find the joy of the Lord that gives us comfort no matter the circumstance, we find the knowledge that the Lord will do what is right and can appreciate even the hard parts of His teaching, and we can appreciate the blessings that our progenitors have passed on to us.
So what is true this Christmas? Jesus says in John 14:6-7 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Jesus is the truth. God has given us the privilege of providing the truth in the form of the Word that we can measure against reality. John 1:1-2 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning."
These two scriptures point to the first truth i'd like to bring out, and that is the doctrine of the Trinity. The more I study and think about the Trinity the more beautiful a concept it becomes in my heart. Jesus claims to be God, not a mere man, not just a great teacher, but God. We see from scripture the concept of the triune nature of God (namely God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). The first four words in the Bible say "In the beginning God...". The reality is that this universe is finite, and no matter the circumstances surrounding it's propagation the beginning was a caused event. The explanation that best fits reality is that the caused event of creation is due to God, the uncaused agent. Also, creation (which includes mankind) is the choice of the Creator. Because God exists eternally in three persons, He didn't need to create us for company. We need not think too highly of ourselves. There was unity in diversity from eternity in the community of the Trinity. We are created in God's image so it comes as no surprise that each one of us desires to be a part of a community. Companionship, support groups, families, gatherings of all kinds reflect the reality of the Trinity in each of our image-bearing attributes. Loneliness is always considered a bad thing, because it opposes the truth of the community.
When Jesus was ready to begin His earthly ministry we read in Luke 4:14-21 that He went to the synagogue and opened the scroll of Isaiah and He read, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has annointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'." Jesus said that He was the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the Messiah.
In the life of Christ (that is, His birth, life, death and resurrection) represents a fulfillment of several hundred Old Testaments prophecies. I thought it would be a good idea to bring just a few of these to bear at this time to remind us that Christianity is not just a fanciful notion, but the TRUTH. Lord willing, tomorrow I will post on the fulfilled prophecy of the family line of Jesse.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
What Does Being a Christian Really Mean?
An article in the local paper caught my attention today. It was a story picked up from the associated press and was entitled "Survey:Americans Mix and Match Religions". Four thousand people were surveyed who claimed to be Christians but also expressed a belief in New Age and Eastern mysticism, Casting spells, Astrology and Reincarnation. I think this article is critical in understanding the times in which we live, and in being able to answer the question "What does this mean?"
In our contempoary post-modern culture in the United States of America, language is less and less important. More specifically, the importance of words having real substantive meaning is becoming non-existent. With the advent of text-messaging and twitter a premium has been placed on shortcuts and expediency. Combine that with a mindset that the meaning of words change based on the situation, that the original intent and context have no bearing on word usage, and we are faced with a tenuous situation. We see this fleshed out in common terminology like 'abortion', 'politically correct' and 'progressive'. In this country we attempt to change reality by substituting abortion for murder or infanticide, which would be more appropriate and accurate. We say people are progressive when progress means moving to what is better and we only mean they promote change. We say people should be politically correct when any action is either correct or incorrect whether in politics or any other arena.
This is absolutely crucial when looking at the survey. When anyone today claims to be a Christian (or asks us if we are a Christian), the first question we must ask is "What do you mean by Christian". We must remember that instead of everyone considering the original context and meaning of the word Christian, in this culture what is probably assumed is "Do you consider yourself a Christian as you choose to define what a Christian is at this particular moment and in this situation." In that sense a Christian could be anything that pops into a persons head.
Acts 11:26b says "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." The term Christian originally meant a disciple of Jesus Christ the Messiah, a follower of Christ, one who belonged to Christ, one who followed the teaching of Jesus of Nazereth, one who followed those teachings so closely he became a 'little Christ'. The disciples of Christ (Christians) had another unique quality that becomes clear in this context (See Acts 11:19) "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to the Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus." We learn elsewhere is the book of Acts that Stephen was stoned to death. In fact, in Hebrews 11 we are told of other things those earlier in the faith dealt with: jeers and flogging, imprisoned in chains, stoned, sawed in two, put to death by the sword, left destitute, persecuted and mistreated. So, if we are to be correct in things and combat this post-modern tendency to make of a word whatever we wish, the next time we are asked if we are a Christian perhaps we can remember the only legitamite meaning of the word and say that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, ready to face persecution and death for the sake of His Name.
If this is in fact the case, then we cannot associate with any other faith, religion, belief, etc. because Jesus Himself said in John 14:6-7 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Truth by definition is exclusive, so when Jesus says He is THE way and that NO ONE comes to God except through Him, then any other way is false. Therefore a follower of Jesus cannot hold any other view in addition to the one offered by Jesus.
Notice I have not spoken of denominations or the state of salvation of any of the survey participants. This is intentional. No one knows another's heart and the issue of salvation and devotion to the Lord is not denominational. What I am saying is that more and more as we move farther into post-modernity true believers in Jesus must be increasingly careful to notice how words are used and demand that the terms be defined in any discussion. Christian means only one thing in truth, namely a disciple of Jesus Christ. One may make the word situational and change the meaning in any way he wishes, but he will not be a Christian in the true sense of the word.
In our contempoary post-modern culture in the United States of America, language is less and less important. More specifically, the importance of words having real substantive meaning is becoming non-existent. With the advent of text-messaging and twitter a premium has been placed on shortcuts and expediency. Combine that with a mindset that the meaning of words change based on the situation, that the original intent and context have no bearing on word usage, and we are faced with a tenuous situation. We see this fleshed out in common terminology like 'abortion', 'politically correct' and 'progressive'. In this country we attempt to change reality by substituting abortion for murder or infanticide, which would be more appropriate and accurate. We say people are progressive when progress means moving to what is better and we only mean they promote change. We say people should be politically correct when any action is either correct or incorrect whether in politics or any other arena.
This is absolutely crucial when looking at the survey. When anyone today claims to be a Christian (or asks us if we are a Christian), the first question we must ask is "What do you mean by Christian". We must remember that instead of everyone considering the original context and meaning of the word Christian, in this culture what is probably assumed is "Do you consider yourself a Christian as you choose to define what a Christian is at this particular moment and in this situation." In that sense a Christian could be anything that pops into a persons head.
Acts 11:26b says "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." The term Christian originally meant a disciple of Jesus Christ the Messiah, a follower of Christ, one who belonged to Christ, one who followed the teaching of Jesus of Nazereth, one who followed those teachings so closely he became a 'little Christ'. The disciples of Christ (Christians) had another unique quality that becomes clear in this context (See Acts 11:19) "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to the Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus." We learn elsewhere is the book of Acts that Stephen was stoned to death. In fact, in Hebrews 11 we are told of other things those earlier in the faith dealt with: jeers and flogging, imprisoned in chains, stoned, sawed in two, put to death by the sword, left destitute, persecuted and mistreated. So, if we are to be correct in things and combat this post-modern tendency to make of a word whatever we wish, the next time we are asked if we are a Christian perhaps we can remember the only legitamite meaning of the word and say that we are disciples of Jesus Christ, ready to face persecution and death for the sake of His Name.
If this is in fact the case, then we cannot associate with any other faith, religion, belief, etc. because Jesus Himself said in John 14:6-7 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Truth by definition is exclusive, so when Jesus says He is THE way and that NO ONE comes to God except through Him, then any other way is false. Therefore a follower of Jesus cannot hold any other view in addition to the one offered by Jesus.
Notice I have not spoken of denominations or the state of salvation of any of the survey participants. This is intentional. No one knows another's heart and the issue of salvation and devotion to the Lord is not denominational. What I am saying is that more and more as we move farther into post-modernity true believers in Jesus must be increasingly careful to notice how words are used and demand that the terms be defined in any discussion. Christian means only one thing in truth, namely a disciple of Jesus Christ. One may make the word situational and change the meaning in any way he wishes, but he will not be a Christian in the true sense of the word.
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