Sermon Central
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An Unchanging God In A Changing World
Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Sep 2, 2021 (message contributor)
Summary: Author Lloyd C. Douglas used to tell how he loved to visit an old man who gave violin lessons. He enjoyed visiting him because he had a kind of homely wisdom that was refreshing to him.
One morning he walked into his studio and greeted him by saying, "Well, what's the good news today?"
Putting down his violin, the teacher stepped over to a tuning fork suspended from a cord and struck it and said, "There is the good news for today." He continued, "That, my friend, is the musical note "A." It was "A" all day yesterday, it will be "A" next week, and for a thousand years to come."
When you hear some folks talk about God, you know they do not know the God of the Bible.
Why do I say that?
Because the god they talk about is a god that changes from day to day. He is one thing today and something else tomorrow. THAT IS NOT THE GOD OF THE BIBLE!!!
WHAT MANKIND HAS DONE IS WE HAVE HUMANIZED GOD. That is, we have made Him like ourselves.
God does not change even though we live in a CHANGING WORLD.
Illus: I’ve often thought of those who have lived for the past 90 or 100 years and how much change they have observed.
For example:
What about changes in books? Did you know…
• No books were published until the year 1500?
• By the year 1900, 35,000 books were published each year?
• In 1995, 500,000 new books were published?
What about changes in speed? We live in a CHANGING WORLD!
• For the first 1800 years since Christ, the top speed was 20 miles per hour by horseback.
• The train came along and it jumped to 100 miles per hour.
• When the passenger jet came along in 1952, it whisked through the sky at over 300 miles per hour.
• By 1979 that speed had doubled to 600 to 700 miles per hour.
• Then the manned rockets came along a few years later and now they speed through space at about 20,000 miles per hour!
What about communication?
• From smoke signals we changed to telegraph
• From telegraphs to telephones
• From telephones to e-mail.
With all the changes each day it makes your head swim. If our forefathers could come back today and see all the changes what a shock they would experience.
Did you know, of these changes, many have proven to be GOOD AND MANY BAD!!!
Sociologists are careful to point out the devastating effect of all this on humanity.
That is, such constant and rapid change is leaving mankind with a feeling of instability and insecurity.
Illus: There’s a feeling by many that we have cut loose from our anchors and are drifting along, as though pulled by the current of change.
This produces confusion and fear.
Many of the changes that we experience have proven to be GOOD. But some of the changes in this changing world have proven to be BAD.
For example…SIN HAS NOT CHANGED!!!
Sin is still sin, men have tried to change it by changing it’s name.
For example:
• They call adultery “an affair.”
• They call homosexuality a “gay lifestyle.” God calls it an abomination
• The abortionists are not called baby killers; they are now called woman’s rights doctors
• Alcoholism is now called a disease
• Greediness is now good business
• Cursing is now adult language
• Drunks are now called alcoholics
• Whores are now called escort girls
• Illicit sex is now free love
Changing the wording doesn’t change the sin. SIN IS STILL SIN!
Look what God’s Word has to say about this in Isaiah 5:20, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”
Illus: Years ago Johnny Cash sang a song called “A Boy named Sue” Now you cannot help but think that a boy named Sue would want to change his name.
But sin no matter what MODERN MAN CALLS…IT IS STILL SIN!!!
SIN HAS NOT CHANGED; WE JUST CALL IT BY ANOTHER NAME.
You have heard that old saying, “A rose by any other name is still the same.”
I have told you about the bad part of change, but let me tell you the good part about changes.
For example, since we are imperfect creatures, we need the ability to change if we are going to improve.
God’s Word tells us once we receive Christ we change from a sinner to a saint.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
This is the evidence that we have been born again; we change from a life of sin to becoming a NEW CREATURE!
But listen, that is not the way it is supposed to be with GOD. If He changes one iota, we are all in trouble. That would mean that He is not God, but that He is like we are.
