Jesus Christ And His Teachings Never Change

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In Hebrews 13:8, we read, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” This is one of the most powerful verses in all the Scriptures, and one that most Christians know by memory, or at least recognize as being from the New Testament.

In a world where things are changing rapidly, where the fast past of living has become hectic, and, where it’s so easy to feel left behind, left out, and bewildered, a world is which values have been compromised and society seems teetering on the brink of moral collapse, it's tremendously comforting to know that we have a compass that points true, a God who speaks clearly, and a Savior who never changes. The Word of God is clear and consistent. When we follow it, our moral compass remains constant.

There are three things about Jesus that never change:

1. The first thing about Jesus Christ that never changes is the power of His name:

“Jesus Christ”. What an amazing name! It carries so much power. And that power is still the same. In 40 years of ministry, I have seen broken lives renewed, strained relationships restored, sick bodies healed and hearts transformed through the name of Jesus Christ! I have prayed in that name in hospitals, emergency rooms, funeral parlors, church services, classrooms, and at the bedside of those persons who were passing away. The power of Jesus’ name has always brought comfort and strength to those in need.

The name Jesus Christ has been used through the centuries and still remains the most powerful name ever known! Whatever struggle you may be going through, whatever problem you may be facing, if you will call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that name has the power to bring renewal and healing into your life.

In Acts 3:6, when a crippled man at the temple asked Peter and John for alms, Peter responded by saying, “Silver or gold I do not have, but in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk”, and through the power of that name an amazing miracle happened! That man who had been crippled from the time of his birth was healed and walked!

There is no greater power in heaven and earth than the name of Jesus Christ, and that power is available to us today, just as it was for Christians at the time of Peter and Paul.

2. The second thing about Jesus Christ that never changes is who He is and what He has accomplished:

His claims, His teachings, His revelations, His prophecies, and His promises will never change. He is the Savior who is always present to guide, comfort and strengthen us. Psalm 68:19 says, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens”. Jesus is with you each day, and shares your burdens. His love and faithfulness never change!

Here are just three of His unchanging claims:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die”, John 11:25-26a.

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”, John 10:10b.

“My grace is sufficient for you, my strength is made perfect in weakness”, 2 Corinthians 12:9a.

These claims never change. Jesus Christ never changes.

3. The third thing about Jesus that never changes is His moral and ethical teaching:

If Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow as Hebrews 13:8 tells us, then surely His moral and ethical teachings do not change. And if that is true, then our values and ethical principles, the values and ethical principles taught to us by Jesus, should not change!

Here is an opportunity to say something that needs to be said: God’s plan for sexuality involves procreation and mutual affection within the marriage relationship. Anything else has consequences for both the individuals involved and society in general. Upon what justification can I say this? I say this because the Bible teaches that unrestrained lust and sexual immorality, results in disregard for the purity of character of both oneself and one’s sexual partner, a disregard which not only saddens our Heavenly Father and grieves the Holy Spirit, but which also damages our soul by making it less and less sensitive to the Holy Spirit. “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God, and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 NIV). “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more” (Ephesians 4:17-19 NIV).