After Hours Ministries Apologetics
Comments on: Thoughts For the week Page – Year 5779
by Bryan W Melvin on 08/30/18
As I am updating my website and blog page, I received some feedback and new reference page concerning folks hearing the same things for the upcoming Jewish new year 5779 this September.
The reason I brought this up is that when a person uses numeric values to derive meanings, honesty is best policy. What concerned me was how several folks say from what they derived comes as a thus sayeth the Lord.
However, to claim a prophetic word came from the Lord when it did not, is another matter altogether. If they would have said instead, this came from the numeric meanings, then no problem.
We simply should not treat such a thing as a prophetic word with frivolity, as a game or like a toy. Bad news. I take it that the folks who do this do this naively out of excitement from a zeal without knowledge and pray they learn not to do so again.
If not, and they know what they are doing, another story. That is a wrong period and suggest they stop and at least be honest.
My exploring of the number 5779 is not prophecy on the Thought for the Weeks page. It is interesting but definitely not a thus saith the Lord. It does line up with the bible concerning the times but no prophecy.
Last word: Biblical number meanings are not the cure all of all ills and ways to find secret formulas, nor use to define someone’s future by calculating the number value of their names. I may post more on numbers on the blog some folks have some balance. There are rules on this subject and the first, don’t misuse this or use it wrongly.
Blessings
Problem Facing the Modern Church
by Bryan W Melvin on 11/24/11
There is a problem facing the modern Church world and that is, it is losing its way. Recently I encountered people who are mixing worldly religion into Christianity when it comes to the subject of the afterlife and eternal recompense.
I hear often this question: “I cannot conceive that finite sins warranting infinite punishment - even against an infinite God.” Such reasoning which at first sounds reasonable; instead deny reality about what sin within is to an eternal being. It is this lack of understanding in the modern church is causing a lack of conviction and life altering power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of many believers.
Add to this, a new modern mix of Hindu, Eastern, and Buddhist thought about the afterlife consisting of only eventual bliss for all with the new churchy human definition of God’s love, who’s Love Wins all. In the modern church movement, there is no need for an eternal Hell which Jesus consistently warned about, because – love conquers all. The result is that you now have a weak seeker sensitive kind of Church that plays church and is no longer church.
The Church instead becomes a building or social gathering. Pastors insolating themselves, members compartmentalized and ritualized. People remain hurting, relationships with each other and God remains broken behind a visaud of oee-gooey sounding phrases about love. Sin and its effects are swept under the rug. The sound tenant of eternal punishment is being slowly being erased away by morally reasoning creatures created with eternity in their hearts. Sin is no longer sin and no sin worthy of eternal doom.
What is Sin?
Is sin stealing a
candy bar from a grocery store?
Is sin telling a white
lie when your wife ask you if her dress makes her look fat and you say NO –
let’s go?
Does sin consist only of chewing tobacco, doing illegal drugs, drinking alcohol in excess?
If our definition of sin is limited only to simple finite expressions, then the objections to an eternal Hell have a valid point. However, those things are not sin, nor do they define what sin really is. These maybe spontaneous expressions of inward sin but such expressions are not what sin is.
In America and elsewhere, was lost the concept of what sin
is. Jesus died for our sins – so did Jesus die for our stealing a candy bar, telling a white lie so your wife doesn’t go
through the roof? Did Jesus die for alcohol and drug abuse alone? Is that the
kind of sin He died for?
If a person’s definition of sin is only on finite spontaneous outburst, then is it any wonder the gospel message has so little effect in modern evangelical circles? Think of it – Jesus died because you said the cookie monster broke the lamp, or you got drunk last night and joyfully killed a squirrel crossing the road while driving.
Did Jesus die to forgive you because you broke the traffic
law speeding down a one way street or having a head light out in your auto? Did
Jesus just die for sins because nobody is
perfect because we all just have little problems that a happy pill can’t cure?
Did Jesus died on the cross to forgive for stealing a few bucks out of the spouses’ wallet? Is this what sin is that Jesus died for to forgive?
The answer is NO. Those things do not make sin. They are expressions and manifestations of what the sin, inside, does to the heart in expressing itself but theses finite manifestations cannot alone be used to define what sin really is.
Sin in the Hebrew and Greek original languages of the bible contained the notion of missing the mark, of twisting away, or twisting in and out of something. You could simply say sin is the ability to develop a personal morality that justifies – getting away with it.
Sin twist the truth to – get away with it. Sin manipulates truth, love, goodness, in order to get away with it. Sin is the attitude of the heart defined in Jeremiah 17:9, a continual wrapping of love, truth, justice, righteousness, goodness, grace, mercy, etc – for one’s own selfish gain.
It is that kind of sin that is not finite. Even the opposing argument posed as “…can't conceive of finite sins warranting infinite punishment - even against a infinite God,” exposes the wrapping nature of sin. How? By pitting God’s sense of mercy, love, against God’s own Character of grace and love. It seeks to demand God to bow to man so man can twist his way out of a jam – avoiding eternal punishment. It is such attitude as this, is what is infinite because it is what resides in the heart of every man and woman.
Until we are again made aware of sins consequences by bold preaching empowered by the Holy Ghost (John 16:8-11), the current seeker sensitive gospel will have only lukewarm effect. We will continue to seek to circumvent the Justice of God Justice. Continue to choose sin over God’s cure and processes of eradicating it out of our eternal heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11-22 Note -Jesus is the one that cause to see what comes after)
Why God takes not actual life away
Why God designed moral reasoning beings to be eternally living is only known to him. What he does reveal in his textbook, the bible, is that he did fashion us originally to live eternally with him. We fell into twistedness of the heart. God cannot lie, God cannot sin, God cannot do wrong, God is not unrighteous but our sin seeks to cause God to act contrary to whom and what he is, to what he promised and given. God takes away not actual life after our mortal being dies…but makes a way so that a banished one can return just as revealed in 2 Sam 14:14c.
God will be who He is to a banished humanity. A God who cannot lie, God who cannot sin, God who cannot do wrong, God is not unrighteous, God who is impartially fair to all, etc & etc. He will make a way for humanities banished ones to return back to him that is righteous, impartial, and perfectly just to the person. The person must awake to their sin and simply seek and call on Him to forgive. The way such awakening occurs is by what happened on the cross.
Jesus was lied about, falsely accused, put on trial, mocked, beaten, spat upon, forced to carry a splintery burden of great weight, stripped naked, his only possession gleefully divided amongst profiteers, and forced to die, stabbed in the side. That is our sin against God and each other. That is the infinite sin of the heart that Christ’s cross erases and paves the way for the Holy Spirit to sanctify a lasting cure against sin's corrupting.
How many times have we symbolically, or allegorically, lied about someone, falsely accused, put God or another on trial, mocked, physically or mentally beaten and spat upon? How many do we force to carry a splintery burden of great weight, or stripped naked, or gleefully divide God’s or another’s possessions for our profit, and forced death and ruin upon each other? Rob their heart, stole their trust, and manipulated their goodness and love? Who have we stabbed in the back and spread this muck around to our families, neighbors, friends? Done it to the least of these…done it to me did not Jesus say in the gospel of Matthew?
That kind of sin is infinite and God made the way that is fair to the hearer providing an escape from God’s very wrath if only they but believe in Christ Jesus – his work on the cross and resurrection into new life. That is the fairness and love of God exposed. We deserve not even one chance of escape for abusing God’s goodness in any shape or form, but God does anyway – to them who believe as Jesus said in John 3:15-21, 36.
Somewhere, we lost the concept of sin and by sin, twisted its meaning so as tempt God to avoid His eternal wrath befitting eternal beings who reject his plea to return. Now read 2 Samuel 14:14 again and notice the principle being set forth from the throne of God by a wise woman:
“For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.” 2 Samuel 14:14 NKJV
The means by which God devised for those banished to be able to return is Jesus Christ, the grace of the cross, and resurrection into new life. So reader, is that you? See the sin of your heart that tempts God and test him? Recognize how you steal, rob, bring to ruin your life in the lives of others? You need to be forgiven – How? Please read this bible verse and do likewise in your own words…
Luke 18:13-14
Last Parting Thoughts
Why God designed moral reasoning beings to be eternally living is only known to him. What he does reveal in his textbook, the bible, is that he did fashion us originally to live eternally with him.
He is called the living God – A God of the living and to be otherwise would cause him to deny himself and become less that he is. Something he will not do. So stop attempting to manipulate God and force him to deny himself by manipulated human definition of what love and mercy is. Reader, you are not God – stop trying to be.
Instead, praise the Lord for his way that he alone devised, before the foundation of the world, to restore justly, rightly, impartially those banished who come to their senses – return to Him and transformed out of darkness into newness of life. Be that one, come on his terms of grace, not your own. Amen.
'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' Luke 18:13
Whatever Happened to Sin?
by Bryan W Melvin on 06/22/10
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness?" Romans 1:18 NKJV There is an amazing thing about our modern times: no one thinks him or herself as a sinner much anymore. Yet, the bible boldly proclaims all are under sin (Romans 3:9). However, no one thinks this really applies to one's self! It has to be those really bad people, not me, is the modern mantra chanted today. Thus, truth is still being suppressed by unrighteous moral reasoning as was in the Apostle Paul's time. The bible is plain, the wrath of God remains on humanity. People do not like to think of themselves sinners and excuse themselves from being cast into that group making it difficult for Christians to awaken the lost to an awareness of sin, that God's wrath truly lays upon the lost. Why so hard? Simple, people justify themselves as not so bad, not perfect, and certainly not like Hitler. How can we as Christians awake the lost and bring forth revival in our midst? Yes, it is by the means of the cross that can awaken the lost to the reason why the wrath of God lays heavily upon humanity. What happened to Jesus during the 24 hour period before the cross exposes this very reason. Why are we so afraid to preach this in the manner that stirred so many to come to Christ as oft happened during days gone by? Jesus was betrayed, lied about, put on trial, falsely accused, spat upon, mocked, beaten, a crown of sharp thrones crammed into his head, whipped, stripped naked, nails driven into his hands and feet, his clothes divided and gambled over, he was derided, laughed at, made a spectacle of, tempted to act unjustly, chortled with contempt. What was being shown here? The main thing being revealed is what humanity really thinks of God as well as how we treat each other. We may not physically crucify people but, oh, how we mock, belittle, betray, gamble for others possessions, how we put on trial, in our minds or with our words beat, scourge others. And what would we do with God if he were to appear before us nowadays? Would we not also put him on trial if we could, are you doing so? Demand him to perform something so you would believed? Mock him? How about put him to death for all the unfairness of the world due to our actions, not his. How often have we derided God? Gamble away the clothes of righteousness he wants to give? How have we stripped him from our public square? Whip him with our words, and jam a thorny crown of contemptuous contempt for being such an evil God for letting bad things happen. How we falsely accuse God of evil, seeking words that will entrap him so we can say ah, ah, there is no God!
For that: "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." Romans 5:8-9 NASB Can you see why the wrath of God lays heavily upon humanity? You see, I think the definition of sin needs a revision for each new generation so people understand what it is. Sin is more than missing the mark; it is more than twisting good into evil. Sin also afflicts. How many various ways and degrees do we afflict others like how Jesus was treated? How many people do we let down, betray, lie about, swindle, tear down, put on trial, determine what value they are, demand from them, which in effect nullifies any good we think we may have? "But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us?" Romans 3:5 ESV Could you, would you lay down your life as Jesus did to expose how sin afflicts in order to save a bunch of people who lie about you, put you on trial, falsely accuse you, spit upon you, mock you, beat you, place a crown of sharp thrones jammed into your head, whip, strip you naked, drive nails into your hands and feet, have your clothes and possessions divided and gambled over, deride and laughed at, be made a spectacle of, tempt you to act unjustly, chortled you with constant contempt, would you die for such a people in order to show them the error of their ways? In order to save a willing few from wrath that is justified in coming? To change out of such darkness, transform their lives and make them new creations? Adopt them as sons and daughters? I say a few because most want to remain in darkness thinking it be light. Would you do this for the few who would see the means by which the wrath of God becomes averted? Still permitting a choice to all, despite knowing many will use this very choice to always reject, mock, deride you, can we be really that just, equitious? Are we that self justified to think for a moment that we do not bring on affliction? How often do we as parents afflict our young with rejection, ignore them? How about those we come in contact with? Hurt in various ways? Do we afflict upon them forms of abuse, ridicule? Tear down another's hopes and dreams? Afflict with broken hearts, discard others for a price of a beer, drugs, fortune, fame? How do we bring affliction to the work place, how do we afflict by reducing others through our own personal political power grabs in the office or at home? Afflict by not taking time to help, or aid or even listen to those we know hurting in silence and despair? "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." Romans 5:10-11 NASB Would you do this for such an ungrateful people who only have contempt, doubt, and odium in their hearts for you? Jesus did and in doing so, he exposed the nature of sin which brings affliction into this world. Shackling us to live always in a state of afflicting! We screwed up the world. We can't fix it. We need help. This matter is bigger than ourselves, why, because no matter how much good we can do, our acts of affliction nullify all our good. We know we are not perfect but this will not get you into heaven or be able to help you stop from bringing on more affliction wherever you go. We need a savior: someone to save us from ourselves, who will provide aid to help us learn how to stop our afflicting. Jesus Christ is that one, who came to expose sin for what it is and does. He bore the wrath of God for us upon that old rugged cross. He broke the serpent's power of affliction over our lives making a public spectacle of this for us to see. Why? Because as the Apostle John wrote: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
"20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.21 "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." John 3:16-19 NASB Don't be like the ones mentioned that love darkness more than light! That love affliction more than freedom! Those that chose this path are as Isaiah says: "If favor is shown to the wicked, he does not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly and does not see the majesty of the LORD." Isaiah 26:10, ESV Such people as this cannot and will never enter heaven, or discover the promises of God because if such favor is shown to the afflicters, they will not learn how not to afflict in the land uprightness, which is heaven, because they'll continually deal corruptly by manipulating majesty of God's goodness/love for their own selfish ends. Heaven would no longer be heaven. You need to be the one who believes in Jesus Christ as savior, now, not later! The way to find the savior is to believe in him who came not to condemn you but to release you from your habitual afflicting of ruin so that you and God can become reconciled and discover together a profound love that transforms your very life with new meaning, hope, purpose, new destiny, new life, the life of God born within you, sealing you forever as his beloved, no more wrath weighing upon you. You'll be set free! Come, Flee from the wrath to come!
