In this one little verse, the Lord God makes a wonderful, comforting statement about Himself. He says, "I do not change."
There is a very simple reason why God never changes, and that is that is already perfect. He cannot become more perfect, therefore, He never changes. His word doesn't change either, because His word is the revelation of who He is. We are told in He.13:8, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever."
But, wouldn't you agree with me that we live in changing times? Some of the changes are good, but some are not good. How do we know which is good, and which is not? The Bible, God's word, is our final authority for faith and practice.
Homosexuality, for instance, has made its way into political correctness. But, what are we supposed to think about it? There is political correctness, and there is biblical correctness, and they are usally opposed to each other. How do we know what is the right position on such matters? The Bible, God's word, is our final authority for faith and practice.
Romans 1:21-28 tells about people who changed things that they should not have changed. They tried to change God into an image that they could handle, they changed God's word, by twisting it to suit their own purposes, then look at what this New Testament passage says beginning in v26: "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is useemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient."
There are some terms I want you to see in this passage:
"Vile affections," v26. Vile is the Greek word "Atimah," and it means "shameful, disgraceful, or dishonorable."
"Against nature," v26. The way things were meant to be.
"Unseemly," v27. It means "shameful and indecent."
"Reprobate mind," v28. Rejected as morally worthless.
How does a society get to the point where people no longer have a clear compass about right and wrong? V28 gives the answer: "They did not like to retain God in their knowledge." Now, please understand this: Lost people are supposed to act like lost people. The real problem in our society today is that saved people have acted like lost people. When you entertain yourself with the devil's filth, you get, as v27 says, "the recompense of your error." In other words, you reap what you sow.
Jesus said that you are the light of the world, but when you hide your light under a basket, the lost world has no light. You are the salt of the earth, but if you join yourself in the world's corruption, and your entertainment comes from people who pride themselves in their reprobate mind and their homosexual and immoral lifestyles, your salt has lost its savor.
Another thing that has brought us to where we are today, is that we have gone to the voting booth with our minds set on things below, instead of things above. We have ignored the fact that God says He will meet our every need if we will seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, and we have voted for people who have very plainly told us that they are pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, and just pro-sin in general. We are receiving the recompense of our error!
There are some things that will never change:
God's nature will never change. Ever how He has ever been, He still is, and always will be.
His plans are just the same, and He will bring them to pass. Things happen, and we have to change our plans, but not God. He doesn't get sick or run out of money, and He doesn't forget what He intended to do.
His promises are always certain. He never breaks His word. Hebrews 6:18 says that, "it is impossible for God to lie."
God's love is always the same. He will love a person all the way to the door of hell. In our original text, Malachi 3:6, God says that the only reason the sons of Jacob are not consumed, is because He doesn't change. He had committed His love to them. God loves you, but He doesn't love sin, not even your sin. You've heard it said that God loves the sinner and hates the sin, and that's true, but there comes a point, when God joins the sinner with his sins. That's what happened in Romans 1, when it says, "God gave them up," and "God gave them over." There comes a point when the sinner is joined with his sins! It is not the sins that go hell, it is the sinner. But, if a person goes to hell, they will have to trample the love of God to get there.
God's nature forever remains unchanged, and so does His word. Ps 119:89 "For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven."
God's nature and God's word are unchanged. Folks may try to change it, but they are doomed to fail.
I want to tell you something else that will forever remain unchanged: Your destiny after you die. The Bible makes that plain. Nintey-four times, the Bible uses the term, "forever and ever." In most of those cases, it is referring to people's state of being in eternity.
God graciously invites people to come to Him, now, while mercy is great and grace is free.
There are a couple of things that ought to change, and they ought to change immediately. One is,the spiritual condition of anyone who hears the gospel. The word, gospel, means "good news." It is good news that Jesus has paid for your sins. Whether it's homosexuality or lying on your income tax, God hates your sin, but He gave His Dear Son to pay for it with His own blood on the cross.
Another thing that ought to immediately change is the condition of the backslider, when he is confronted with his sin. If you are saved, you are a child of God, and you are an ambassador for God on this earth.
There are some things that are forever unchanged, but today, you can be forever changed. It comes down to a question of your willingness. A willingness to go with God, instead of the ways of this undgodly world.
