Note: This is the sermon manuscript that Ben carried into the pulpit. Feel free to use it in any way to advance the kingdom of God.
Questions For God:
Do You Ever Change Your Mind?
Exodus 32:7-14
Englewood Baptist Church
Sunday Morning, July 27, 2008
I am beginning a new series of messages today and the title of the series is Questions For God. Over the next weeks, I will deal with questions that come to pastors from time to time. These questions are of the sort that we all want to ask them, but we don’t want to look foolish. Let’s begin with the first question.
A young girl writes her pastor an email. This is what it says:
Dear Pastor Jeff,
Hello. I hope you are having a good week. Your message Sunday was really good. My daddy stayed awake the whole time! But that’s not why I’m writing. I have a question. My best friend Alexis is a real nice person, but one thing drives me crazy about her. She can’t ever make up her mind about anything. What clothes she is going to wear, what food she is going to eat, what friends she will spend time with, what sports she is going to play…she changes her mind almost every day and it’s really starting to get on my nerves. It made me stop and think….does God do that? Does God change his mind? If so, I don’t know if He and I are going to get along for thousands of years in heaven. Please let me know what you think. I am worried.
Sincerely,
Jessica B.
This little girl asks a very important question. Does God change his mind? You might think by the email that this is a trivial matter and that any sane pastor would overlook it completely, and move one to more important things like budgeting and counseling. But I am here to tell you today that this little girl raises a monstrous theological concept. It comes under the doctrine of “The Immutability of God.” Let me put that big word on the screen for you:
Immutable: not capable of or susceptible to change
There is a song on Christian radio right now. Brandon Heath sings the song and the title is “I’m not who I was.” It’s one of my favorite songs. With music as his microphone, Brandon confesses that he has grown over the years. He is now more forgiving, more gracious, more godly than he once was. Hence, the title, “I’m Not Who I Was.” Now, is that not true of all of us? How many of us wanted to be firefighters or pageant queens or NFL quarterbacks as children? Today, we reflect on those childhood ambitions and we laugh. Why? Because we have matured and grown up. We have changed. Our desires, our hopes, our dreams—they have all changed. We have changed.
And the question that Jessica B. asks is extremely important to us. Is God growing up? Is He maturing? Is he becoming a better, more qualified God? Is he a little bit more forgiving today than he was in 1805, or 1581, 251 B.C.? Is he changing over time? And if he is changing, then He must be a God that changes His mind about certain things. Does the Bible teach this? Does the Bible support a God that is in process? Let’s find out.
Look in your Bibles at Exodus 32. You know that story. Moses has been chosen to climb to the top of Mt.Sinai and receive the 10 commandments. It is truly a mountaintop experience for him, but what he doesn’t know is that his trusty assistant, Aaron, has caved into peer pressure at the foot of the mountain. The people have grown weary of waiting for Moses to return, and they have fashioned a golden cow as their new and improved god. And the Lord is angry…so angry that he wants to destroy them all and start fresh with Moses, his faithful servant. Read with me, Exodus 32:7-14.
Well, there it is. Problem solved. All the pastor has to do is open his laptop, and type out the simple email. Dear Jessica, read Exodus 32. God does change his mind. Sincerely, your pastor. It’s that simple right. Not so fast.
Numbers 23:19:
God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
Well, that’s confusing. Exodus 32 shows God repenting, or changing his mind. Two books later, the Bible says that God is not a man, that he should change his mind. He does not speak and not act. He does not promise and not fulfill.
Another verse:
1 Samuel 15:29:
He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind."
And the skeptic says once again, “The Bible contradicts itself. You cannot trust in a book that disagrees with itself. Throw it in the trash and live as you please. Make up your own rules.” Hold on, skeptic.
The Bible does not contradict itself and God does not change his mind. Let me show you…
Three Truths About the Unchanging Nature of God
We’re going to be bouncing around the Bible some, so hang on tight. If you don’t want to flip to all these verses, just make a note and study it later.
1. God’s personality is unchanging.
The God of the Bible is not some nebulous force, some fog that floats over the earth. No, he is a personal God. He has personality. And when I say that His personality is unchanging, I am talking about his characteristics: His love, His mercy, His judgment, His compassion. These things do not change. Turn with me to Hebrews 1. A few verses:
Hebrews 1:10-12:
"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same…
God the Father remains the same. He is the same God today that He was when He created the world. If you flip over in the book of Hebrews, you will see the same language used to describe God the Son.
Heb. 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
In your own study, take a peek at James 1:17 and Malachi 3:6…more verses confirming the unchanging character of God. He is the same God that created the heavens and the earth, that sent the prophets to the people of Israel, that sent his Son to die on a tree. He is the same yesterday and today and forever. Jessica B., his personality does not change.
2. God’s promises are unchanging.
I tell my wife all the time: I’m going to take out the trash. And then I forget to do it. A person gives me a book and I say to myself: I am going to write that person a thank you note and I don’t follow through. Human beings do that. We say we’re going to do something and then, intentionally or unintentionally, we fail to deliver.
But let me tell you something: God never fails to deliver. He does not forget. He does not change his mind. He does not need a reminder on His Blackberry.
Psalm 33:10-11:
10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.
Your children and your children’s children will be able to sing the old hymn “Standing on the Promises of God” even in the year 2075. Why? Because the promises do not change through generations. God’s plans stand firm. Isaiah 46:10 says that he knows the end from the beginning.
Do you know what this is? This is the book called Baptists and the Bible. The front cover says “Revised and Expanded.” Do you know what that means? It is the same book that was published in 1980, but it is the second edition. A few things have been changed and updated. The information has been edited and expanded upon.
Let me tell you something about the Word of God. There will be no second editions. The Word of God will stand forever (Is. 40:8). You don’t have to worry about God changing his mind about how the world is going to end. He’s not going to release a second edition of the book of Revelation that removes the pearly gates of heaven or the streets of gold. And he’s not bluffing about hell. When He says that it is a literal place, a place of unending torment and sorrow, then that is exactly what it will be for those who end up there. The plans of the Lord stand firm forever.
But let’s return to our Exodus passage. If God does not change his mind, if he has never resorted to plan B, then what is going on at the base of Mt. Sinai? Because it sure looks to me like he had plans to destroy his own people, but the prayer of Moses calmed him down and changed his mind. Did Moses save God from making a hasty decision?
Absolutely not. In fact, if you will look closely with me, you will see in Moses’ prayer that this passage teaches the unchanging nature of God. Upon close inspection, you will see that Moses is appealing to God’s fixed character and plans. Look with me at v.11….
Moses seeks the favor of God because he knows that his God is a God of mercy and compassion. He is calling out to the God of love, saying, “Aren’t you going to be compassionate? Aren’t you going to allow mercy to triumph over judgment? That’s the kind of God you are. You are not a God dominated by anger and rage. You are a God that loves to hand out grace. He is appealing to unchanging nature.
A chapter later, God reveals Himself to Moses and Scripture says that Moses caught a glimpse of his back. He didn’t see the face of God. He saw where God had been. And as the Lord passes him by, this is what Scripture says:
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished…Ex. 34:5-7
That is the personality of the God that we serve and Moses knew Him. And so, what does he do? When his people are in sin, he calls upon the God of grace. He appeals to his unchanging nature.
Now, not only do you see his unchanging personality, you also see in this passage, his unchanging promises.
Moses appeals to those promises in v.13….
Moses says, “Lord, you have never broken a promise. Why would you start now? You are not a promise breaking God. You are a promise keeping God.”
Now we just navigated through v.13 and we’re doing pretty good in defending God’s unchanging personality and promises, but then we collide with v.14 and we have a problem. Let me read it to you again…
This is where it gets tough, but this is where the third truth comes into play. I have shown you that God’s personality is unchanging. I have shown you that God’s promises are unchanging. Now I want to show you how…
3. God’s plan is unfolding.
Now when I say it’s unfolding, I am not suggesting that the Lord is hoping for the best. I am not suggesting that he is not under total control of the future. Again, Isaiah 46:10, he knows the end from the beginning. So what do I mean when I say that it’s unfolding? Let’s go back to Exodus 32 and you can see it up close. Here is…
The Unfolding Plan of God
o God must punish people for their sins.
In other words, he is just and there is no sneaky person on Earth that gets away with theft or gossip or murder. You reap what you sow in God’s economy and that is what we see in vv.7-10. Israel is about to get what they deserve. It was not God’s desire to destroy his people. It was their sin that required it. They were sowing seeds of idolatry and they were about to reap the just wrath of God. V.9 says…
So there you have it. God has seen their sin and He must punish sin. He is not like some professional card player who has mastered the art of bluffing. No, you will not call God’s bluff when it comes to judgment. He will be faithful to judge.
o God provides a mediator.
You can feel the tension in this text. You have a holy God who is dead set against sin. He has a zero tolerance policy for evil doers. He must punish them. But on the other hand, he has promised to bless these people and to save them out of Egypt and to deliver them into the promised Land. How can he be just and also merciful? How can he bless a sinful people? The answer: by providing a mediator. He sends Moses to stand in the gap. Moses is the go-between for these two parties. You have the sinful people on one side; a holy God on the other. And in the middle is the man of peace that allows the two to come together.
Look at v.7. “Go down Moses.” There is the sending. God didn’t have to send Moses. He could have said, “Moses, don’t move a muscle. I am about to rain down a ring of fire on those people and turn them into ashes. He could have done that and it would have been righteous. But no, he sends a man of peace to stand in the gap. And Moses prays for his people.
o God puts mercy on display.
Psalm 106:23 sums this up. Look what it says:
23 So he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him
to keep his wrath from destroying them. Psalm 106:23
So let me make sure we’re getting this formula right. A God with righteous anger chooses a humble servant and sends him to stand in the gap on behalf of wayward sinners. Do you see what I see? This is not Old Testament anymore. This is the gospel with a veil over it. On the other side of the cross, we can peek through the veil and see the face of a compassionate God who satisfies his own wrath by sending a servant to mediate the covenant. And not just any servant, but His only Son. This was the plan from Genesis and this is still the plan in the book of Revelation. It is called redemption and it is still unfolding. It’s not too late for you to get in. God has sent a gracious mediator to stand in the gap for you.
Now let me redeem my remaining time to share why this lesson is so important for little Jessica and why it is so important for you.
Since God is Unchanging…
1. We praise God.
We praise him for two reasons:
•Because he does not change for better or for worse.
Do you realize how scary it would be to serve a god that was in moral decline? He was generous but now he is stingy. He was loving, but now he is selfish. That would be a rocky foundation to stand on. We don’t want a God that deteriorates with time. But, if you think about it, we don’t want the opposite either. We do NOT want a God that improves or that gets better either. Listen to the powerful words of A.W. Tozer:
What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself. In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood. He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith. He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one. Neither does He change His mind about anything. Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind. –A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy
You can praise God that He still calls the angels to rejoice when one sinner comes home. He is the same yesterday and today and forever and you can trust Him.
•Because he does change in his relationship to us.
What do I mean? I mean what we sing…
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
The Lord has promised good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
There was a day when I, Ben Mandrell, was not shielded from the just wrath of God. I was under the law. If I had died, I would have gone to hell and that would have been fair. I was deserving of destruction. But one day, my eyes were opened to the glorious cross of Christ, and I received mercy. The punishment that belonged on my head was transferred to the thorny head of Christ. And at that moment—SNAP—I was transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. God was no longer my enemy. He became my shield, my protection. If that is not your story, I plead with you today to make Jesus Christ your mediator. Because through Christ, God’s mercy has been put on display. God sent him for you! Praise God.
2. We Pray to God.
Prayer is not your tool for manipulating God or forcing His hand. Prayer is not provided for you so that you will inform God of the most excellent way. So much of our theology on prayer is warped. Many believe that God is sitting in heaven, looking sullen and depressed, just waiting for some person to voice the right prayer so that He can do what He really wants to do. He is limited by our prayers.
No, God’s ways are higher than our ways. His plans are greater than our plans. He knows exactly how this plan is going to unfold. So what is the purpose of prayer then? If it is all settled, then why should we pray? The answer: because prayer is the God-ordained means by which he accomplished his plan. God has determined that He will work through the prayers of His people. Our prayers are meaningful. They alter the course of human history as God desires. Prayer is God’s way of drawing us into the web of His work. When he says, “Who will stand in the gap for Jackson?” We should rise up and say, “We will.” We join Him in the redemptive process in our city.
Going back to Exodus…God’s will was to save Israel, not destroy them, and His will was accomplished through a praying Moses. Today is the same. God’s will is accomplished through the prayers of his people.
Billy Graham once said, “To get nations back on their feet, we must first get down on our knees.”
3. We proclaim God.
His plan is still unfolding. He will judge sinners for their evil deeds, just read Rev.20. He will cast people into the hell that they deserve. But, He has sent a mediator and and that man of peace came so that all men could be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth. That is where you and I come in. God wants to display mercy to sinners, but we have to tell them the truth. Proclaim God. His door of salvation is still propped open. Just a little while longer…
