Our Awesome God: He Does Not Change
Our Awesome God:
He Does Not Change
INTRODUCTION:
Before the president of the United States can take office, he has to swear an oath. Historically, he puts his hand on a Bible, and he repeats these words from the US Constitution:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Most presidents have added the words: “So help me God.”
But when God swears an oath, He doesn’t say “So help me…anyone else.” Why? Because God doesn’t need anyone’s help to stay true to Himself…
The letter of Hebrews is a sermon on encouragement (13:22). The author is wanting to encourage Christians to stay faithful to Jesus Christ, regardless of what the consequences might be in this physical life. To encourage Christians, the writers talks all about the blessings that are available in Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews 6, the writer states in verse 10 that “God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” So the writer wants Christians to know that God recognizes, remembers, and will reward our acts of service toward each other. Those acts might not get recognized in this life, but God will recognize them in the next life.
Because God remembers our acts of love and service, the writer states in verse 11 that we should show diligence in this area so that we can realize the “full assurance of hope” until the end of our lives on earth or until the end of the earth itself. We need to “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (ver. 12).
One of those whose faith we need to imitate, he mentions in verse 13, is Abraham. God promised Abraham and God swore an oath to Abraham - recorded in Genesis 22:17 - that God would bless Abraham and multiply his family. Abraham waited; he waited; he waited - and eventually God fulfilled that promise to Abraham (ver. 15).
In verse 16, the writer wants to contrast the nature of God and the nature of human beings. Human beings, when they want to emphasize the importance of their word and the truthfulness of what they are saying, will swear by someone greater than themselves. Usually, men swear “by God.” Supposedly when someone says, “I swear by God,” then that should settle things because they are telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
But what does God do when He wants to emphasize the truthfulness of what He is saying? Can He swear by someone higher than Himself? No. There is no one higher than God. Notice the words of the Hebrew writer in verse 17: “God desires to show to the heirs of promise [Abraham and his family and all those - including Christians - who will learn from Abraham’s life] the “unchangeableness of His purpose,” interposed - or guaranteed - with an oath.”
So, to show Abraham that God really, really meant what He was saying, the writer says God guaranteed it with an oath. But notice verse 18 - by two “unchangeable things:” God’s nature (that He cannot change; it is impossible for God to lie) and God’s oath - we can take strong encouragement from God and find refuge in God’s nature so that we can take hold of the hope that is set before us.
The word translated “unchangeable” here is also translated “immutable.” I wanted to introduce that word to you if you do not know the word. “Immutable” means “unchangeable.” Here, the writer is talking about God’s unchanging nature.
God is not One person one day and a different person the next day. He does not change. I, for one, have changed over the years. There are some bad things that I once did that I don’t do any more. There are some good things that I should have done my whole life but I started doing them when I learned better. You and I have changed.
God does not change. God does not need to change. And the Hebrew writer wants us to know that because God does not change, if He kept His promise to Abraham to bless him and his family and then fulfilled His promise, then God will fulfill His promise to us to bless us for serving each other in love, which is the context of this statement back in verse 10.
So, as we learn more about the nature of our “awesome God” this year, let’s meditate now on the fact that God does not change. The same God who blessed Abraham is the same God who will bless us today…
GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE IN HIS NATURE:
Numbers 23:19 -
In Numbers 22-24, we have the account where King Balak of Moab is trying to convince a prophet named Balaam to curse God’s people. When Balaam goes to God, God tells him: “only the word which I speak to you shall you do.” Balaam blesses Israel instead of cursing them. King Balak got mad at Balaam but gave him another chance.
Balaam goes back to God and God tells him, “speak what I tell you.” So Balaam tells King Balak, “Must I not be careful to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?” (23:12). Balak says “OK. Just curse Israel for me.” But in the process of speaking, God puts these words into Balaam’s mouth and he tells King Balak: “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man [human being] that He should repent; Has He said and will He not do it?” (23:19) God has blessed Israel and He will bless Israel and He had no need to change His mind or change His plans relative to Israel. Of course, Israel would have to be obedient, but God would work with those Israelites who were obedient even if the nation as a whole was disobedient. But the point we’re making here is that God does not have to ever say, “Well, I didn’t see that coming. I need to change what I’m doing.” God never has to say, “I need to learn from that.” Why? Because God never changes.
1 Samuel 15:29 -
This context has God commanding King Saul to kill the people of Amalek, which is a punishment for their sinful behaviors. King Saul chose not to obey God completely and incomplete obedience is not obedience at all. King Saul spared the life of the king, named Agag, and he spared the best of the animals, which God had told him to slaughter.
The prophet Samuel met King Saul and told him that his half-hearted obedience to Jehovah God was equivalent to witchcraft and idolatry (ver. 23). Saul answered that he had sinned, but the prophet Samuel knew that Saul’s confession was too shallow, too little, too late. Because of King Saul’s persistent disobedience, Samuel told him that God had rejected him from being king over God’s people. Samuel turned to leave and Saul grabbed his robe, which tore. Samuel used that as an object lesson to tell Saul that God would “tear” the kingdom of Israel from him and give it to someone, his neighbor (King David) who would serve God better than King Saul had.
So notice in verse 29, Samuel says, “Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” In other words, God had decided that He would not allow Saul or his sons to reign over the kingdom of Israel and God was not going to have to change His mind about this decision. God was going to bless David because David served God with all his heart.
Psalm 102:26-27 -
We do not know who wrote this psalm. The theme of the psalm is the affliction of the righteous by the wicked. The psalmist felt like his days were numbered and they were passing by too quickly. He states, however, in verse 12 that God remains forever. His name will exist from one generation to the next. God is stable and His nature remains the same; His compassion will continue (ver. 13).
Because God is compassionate, He will listen to the prayers of the “destitute” (ver. 17); He does not despise their prayers. He listens to their prayers and will set free those who are oppressed by the wicked (ver. 20).
Again in verse 23, the psalmist feels that he is weak; his strength is fading every day. He says God has shortened his days. But he prays in verse 24 that God will allow him to live longer. In contrast to the short life-span of human beings, the psalmist writes in verse 25 that God established the earth and formed the heavens with His hands (ver. 25). Speaking of the heavens and the earth (ver. 26), they will perish. God will endure. They will wear out like an old garment and be changed.
But - and here’s the point for us - God is the same (ver. 27); His years will not come to an end. God does not change. He is immutable. He does not grow old; He does not grow tired; He does not learn anything new.
One more passage from the OT…
Malachi 3:6 -
Malachi lived after Israel experienced a whole lot of changes - the Assyrian exile is in the past; the Babylonian exile is in the past; the return from Babylon is in the past. The walls of Jerusalem have been rebuilt and worship has been re-established accord to the Law of Moses.
Malachi 3 begins with God promising to send a Messenger before His face - a prophecy we know was fulfilled in John the baptizer. When the “messenger of the covenant comes,” (ver. 2), who will be able to stand before him? Those who have been purified from their sins. They have to be refined in order to offer worship to Jehovah God. Once they are forgiven of their sins, then they can be pleasing to Jehovah God (ver. 4).
So we know that Malachi is predicting the coming of John the baptizer as well as Jesus Christ because the forgiveness of sins are available only through Jesus Christ. So, in verse 5, God says through Malachi that God will draw near for judgment; He will be a “swift witness” against Israel who was practicing sorcery, adultery, swearing falsely, and oppressing the wages of workers, and oppressing widows and orphans and those who turn away foreigners from worshipping Jehovah God.
Then in verse 6, God says, “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” In what way does God not change in this text? God requires His people to live holy lives; He does not change. God will punish disobedience; He does not change. God will bless and reward those who are penitent; God does not change.
THE NEW TESTAMENT ALSO ASSURES US THAT GOD DOES NOT CHANGE:
As we pointed out from our lesson last month on the “Godhead,” because Jesus is God in the flesh, then His nature has not changed either. In other words, Jesus represented the exact same teaching, nature, love, compassion, justice, and righteousness that God expresses throughout the OT times.
There are two passages I want us to briefly consider in the NT; the first one quotes from Malachi 3:6…
Hebrews 13:8 -
The Hebrew writer, back in chapter 6, has already encouraged Christians to depend on God’s immutability. He will bless those who are faithful to Him, because He has promised to do so. Here in Hebrews 13, the writer has in mind specifically Christians who are being persecuted by those around them with a type of persecution that would impact their income, their money, their ability to provide for their own needs.
The Hebrew writer says in verse 5: “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you…” Here, the writer quotes from Joshua 1:5. Don’t love money because God is always with you and will never desert you. He will provide.
Then in verse 6, the writer will quote Psalm 118:6: “so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” Don’t be afraid of what man can do, including hurting you financially, because God is your helper. God is your provider…
Then the writer tells Christians: “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” The preachers, the evangelists, the Bible teachers, the missionaries - remember them, consider what they went through to get the word of God to you, and imitate their faith. And remember, and here the writer quotes from Malachi 3:6 and applies it to Jesus Christ (yet another passage that proves that Jesus is God): “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
The same Jesus who walked with and encouraged the twelve apostles is the same Jesus who walks with us today and encourages us. The same Jesus who sustained the early Christians as they spread the gospel in the book of Acts throughout the Roman Empire is the same Jesus who sustains us in our faith today. He does not change. Jesus is immutable.
James 1:17 -
One last passage on this characteristic of God…
The challenge of having enough money and making a living - and being both prejudiced for and jealous against those who are wealthier than we are - is also a theme that runs through the letter James wrote.
I suggest to you that the temptation to live for more money, and even to compromise one’s Christian convictions to do that, is behind the words of James here in this first chapter. Simply put, James writes in verse 17: “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
Every gift that is good and every gift that is perfect comes from Jehovah God above. He is the “Father of lights,” shining His loving and giving and kind nature down on us from the heights of heaven. And speaking of the “Father of lights,” James writes that there is “no variation” in God nor does He cast shadows in different directions because He is constantly changing. God does not change. He is immutable.
If God is perfect, and He exists from eternity, and He is one, then there is nothing for Him to change. Indeed, He cannot change. There is nothing to change to or to change from.
Take home message: Because Jesus is immutable, we can (and must) trust Him!