The law is about rules. Justice is about truth.”
–John Deacon (A Man Called Justice)
“But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.”
–Psalm 33:11 (NLT)
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“Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same,
All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His name….”
–A.B. Simpson
Eternal Security? Absolutely! God is not going to change His mind about you, or me, or the human race. What He has declared He will bring to pass. Somewhere in the eons of the future He is not going to decide that we are not worth it. No, it is forever settled. Culture may change around us. The circumstances may change and with time we will age, but the promises of God are sure and certain. I like the way that the Amplified translates 1 Samuel 15:29, “Also the Splendor and Glory and Eminence of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” Not only does it portray His immutability, but also uses adjectives to describe His majesty. J.I. Packer wrote, “What God does in time, He planned from eternity. And all that He planned in eternity He carries out in time.” Hold onto that! Your and my destiny was designed by God. You haven’t chosen Him by hapless chance. In fact, all of humanity has this opportunity. Jesus came, died for our sins, and all we have to do is accept Him. God will not change that. Ah, but you say He did. He moved from the Old Covenant with the tabernacle, temple and law. Yes, in a sense, but also this was foretold and in all that is seen in the tabernacle points to Christ.
For a few moments rest in the fact that He loves you and that love will never change for He does not change. His character, His qualities, if you will, do not change. They are continually holy and righteous. I have taught for the many years that the number one problem we see in the church is that there is not the proper understanding of God. People make God into what they want Him to be rather than study the Bible to see who He really is. People speak of a relationship, but they do not take the time to properly develop one. In fact, they want a relationship based on their desires and opinions. God is not a “first-aid dispenser” where you put in change, put the knob and out pops a band-aid. He is not there just when you need Him; He is there all the time. He is not in a museum where you can go and visit whenever the notion takes you. He is not a white-haired old man sitting on a throne passing out presents to those are nice and casting into hell those who are naughty. If you want a relationship, it takes time to develop, and there must be effort.
Remember that God is perfect in all His attributes and when I speak of attributes I am talking in regard to the essential qualities of His Being. In the past three weeks we looked briefly at the “omnis”: omniscient, omnipresence, omnipotence and yesterday we contemplated immutability. Get this, we can go to God with everything for He is trustworthy and faithful. His will never varies, what He has said He will do will come to pass. Do not disregard the great gift of salvation, for surely this is what He has for you. Don’t think you can go your own way, or do it your own way. We are completely dependent upon God. Man will fail, but God never will. If God varied, even one iota, where would be our confidence, our faith? Because of His immutability we should have a solid comfort in His Word and promises. This should encourage us to pray. However, it should also be a warning to the wicked. In His promises and warning there is a holy terror. His will cannot be thwarted.
As the world around you turns and changes–God never will. As friends and acquaintances come and go–God is always there. As hopes and dreams crumble in the things of the world–God’s truth is secure and stable. Today, in closing I add the words of John Dick. Contemplate them…
“The Divine immutability, like the cloud which interposed between the Israelites and the Egyptian army, has a dark as well as a light side. It insures the execution of His threatenings, as well as the performance of His promises; and destroys the hope which the guilty fondly cherish, that He will be all lenity to His frail and erring creatures, and that they will be much more lightly dealt with than the declarations of His own Word would lead us to expect. We oppose to these deceitful and presumptuous speculations the solemn truth, that God is unchanging in veracity and purpose, in faithfulness and justice.”
———————————-
“Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same,
All may change, but Jesus never! Glory to His name….”
–A.B. Simpson
Eternal Security? Absolutely! God is not going to change His mind about you, or me, or the human race. What He has declared He will bring to pass. Somewhere in the eons of the future He is not going to decide that we are not worth it. No, it is forever settled. Culture may change around us. The circumstances may change and with time we will age, but the promises of God are sure and certain. I like the way that the Amplified translates 1 Samuel 15:29, “Also the Splendor and Glory and Eminence of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” Not only does it portray His immutability, but also uses adjectives to describe His majesty. J.I. Packer wrote, “What God does in time, He planned from eternity. And all that He planned in eternity He carries out in time.” Hold onto that! Your and my destiny was designed by God. You haven’t chosen Him by hapless chance. In fact, all of humanity has this opportunity. Jesus came, died for our sins, and all we have to do is accept Him. God will not change that. Ah, but you say He did. He moved from the Old Covenant with the tabernacle, temple and law. Yes, in a sense, but also this was foretold and in all that is seen in the tabernacle points to Christ.
For a few moments rest in the fact that He loves you and that love will never change for He does not change. His character, His qualities, if you will, do not change. They are continually holy and righteous. I have taught for the many years that the number one problem we see in the church is that there is not the proper understanding of God. People make God into what they want Him to be rather than study the Bible to see who He really is. People speak of a relationship, but they do not take the time to properly develop one. In fact, they want a relationship based on their desires and opinions. God is not a “first-aid dispenser” where you put in change, put the knob and out pops a band-aid. He is not there just when you need Him; He is there all the time. He is not in a museum where you can go and visit whenever the notion takes you. He is not a white-haired old man sitting on a throne passing out presents to those are nice and casting into hell those who are naughty. If you want a relationship, it takes time to develop, and there must be effort.
Remember that God is perfect in all His attributes and when I speak of attributes I am talking in regard to the essential qualities of His Being. In the past three weeks we looked briefly at the “omnis”: omniscient, omnipresence, omnipotence and yesterday we contemplated immutability. Get this, we can go to God with everything for He is trustworthy and faithful. His will never varies, what He has said He will do will come to pass. Do not disregard the great gift of salvation, for surely this is what He has for you. Don’t think you can go your own way, or do it your own way. We are completely dependent upon God. Man will fail, but God never will. If God varied, even one iota, where would be our confidence, our faith? Because of His immutability we should have a solid comfort in His Word and promises. This should encourage us to pray. However, it should also be a warning to the wicked. In His promises and warning there is a holy terror. His will cannot be thwarted.
As the world around you turns and changes–God never will. As friends and acquaintances come and go–God is always there. As hopes and dreams crumble in the things of the world–God’s truth is secure and stable. Today, in closing I add the words of John Dick. Contemplate them…
“The Divine immutability, like the cloud which interposed between the Israelites and the Egyptian army, has a dark as well as a light side. It insures the execution of His threatenings, as well as the performance of His promises; and destroys the hope which the guilty fondly cherish, that He will be all lenity to His frail and erring creatures, and that they will be much more lightly dealt with than the declarations of His own Word would lead us to expect. We oppose to these deceitful and presumptuous speculations the solemn truth, that God is unchanging in veracity and purpose, in faithfulness and justice.”