Our Unchanging God
Now that my 40th birthday is in my rear-view mirror, I can laugh about all the cards and balloons I received. 90% of the cards I got made some kind of crack about how old 40 is but a few people were kind to me very few.
The staff gave me a little party on Tuesday complete with a black balloon that says, “Happy Birthday, you old buzzard!” We also celebrated with 40 candles on a chocolate covered donut. As a gift they gave me an oversized magnifying glass with the caption, “Midlife Crisis Magnifier” on the package.
One card I received said this on the outside: “Happy Birthday. I wouldn’t exactly say you’re old…but in some third world countries, you’d qualify as a tribal elder.”
One of my sisters sent me a card and then wrote on the inside, “You’re as old as dirt.”
Another one said, “Turning 40? Your face and body still look twenty-five. But there’s something in your eyes that says, ‘forty’ -- tears, I think they’re called.
I don’t think I’ve changed a bit from when I was young. Here’s the evidence…(show pictures in PowerPoint).
The elders were giving me a hard time Tuesday night about my memory going. Apparently that happens when you hit 40. That reminds me of two elderly gentlemen who were playing cards. Max, the older gentleman, was having a hard time remembering what cards were what, and usually needed help from his wife.
At the end of the game Ed said to Max, “You did very good tonight and didn’t need any help. What happened?”
Max replied, “Ever since my wife sent me to memory school, I haven’t had any problems at all.”
“Memory school? What memory school?”
Max furrowed his brow for a minute and then asked Ed, “Oh, what’s that flower that’s red with thorns? It’s a really pretty flower…”
“A rose?”
Max then said, “Yeah, that’s it!” He turned to his wife and mumbled, “Hey, Rose! What’s the name of that memory school you sent me to?”
Immutability
As humans, we are always changing. Ever since the fall of Adam, when sin was introduced, change has been part of life. The moment we are born, we begin to age. We grow, develop, and then deteriorate and our memory is one of the first things to go.
Our only hope in life is this: God never changes. He is the one constant we can count on while everything around us radically changes.
Our topic today, in theological terms, is referred to as the immutability of God. Something is mutable if it is subject to change in any degree. To be immutable means to be unchanging and unchangeable.
Here’s a working definition: “God does not, and cannot, change in His basic character.” Nothing that God has ever said about Himself will be modified; nothing the inspired prophets and apostles have said about Him will be rescinded. His immutability guarantees this.
Here’s another definition that captures the depth and the beauty of God’s unchanging character: “All that God is, He has always been; and all that He has been, and is, He will ever be.”
You can also use the word “always” to express this truth about God. God is always wise, always sovereign, always faithful, always just, always holy and always loving. Whatever God is, He always is. There are no “sometimes” attributes of God. All of His attributes are “always” attributes. He always is what He is.
Biblical Survey
There are many verses in the Bible that teach this truth. Here’s just a sampling:
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.”
Malachi 3:6: “I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”
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?”
Psalm 102:25-27: “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain; they will wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. But you will remain the same, and your years will never end.”
James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
Another Old Buzzard
The truth of God’s immutability is seen very clearly in the life of another person who was probably given some black balloons on his birthday. Abraham was as “old as dirt” and had passed the time in life when it was possible to have children. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Hebrews 6:13-20.
I see four truths in this passage related to our topic this morning.
1. God’s Promises Never Change. Verses 13-15: “When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, ‘I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.’ And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”
Abraham was given a promise in Genesis 15 that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky. Genesis 15:6 tells us that, “Abraham believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” Now, why did Abraham believe God’s promise? It certainly wasn’t because it was fulfilled right away!
Romans 4 tells us that Abraham believed against all hope. He knew the odds were against him he was almost 100 years old! I love Romans 4:21: “Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.” Abraham dialed in to God’s promise He knew that God would never change what He had promised to accomplish. You and I break our promises all the time and let each other down. God can always be counted on to keep His promises because He is our unchanging God.
2. God’s Purposes Never Change. We see this in verse 17: “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.”
God wants us to understand that His purposes are never subject to change. When Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22, Abraham obeyed and was about to slay his son when the Lord stopped him. After Abraham is found to be obedient, God took an oath. Listen to what Genesis 22:16-17 says: “…I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you…”
Why does God need to take an oath to show that His purposes never change? Isn’t His word enough? Yes, it is enough. Actually, that is in fact, what an oath is. It’s a confirmation of the integrity of God’s Word. God’s purpose will never change you have His word on it.
You and I change our plans all the time. You might start your day with a plan in mind but it often goes haywire when a child gets sick, you receive a phone call, or you suddenly turn 40 and spin out of control for a few days! God’s purposes never change. Isaiah 14:24: “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.”
3. God’s Personality Never Changes. Take a look at the first part of verse 18: “God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie…” Abraham’s faith rested on the unchanging character of God. You and I can count on God’s personality to be the same today as it was yesterday and what it will be like tomorrow. He does not change who He is.
Abraham believed that God told the truth about Himself, and God was true to His personality, which he expressed in two unchangeable ways one was the original promise, the other was the oath He took to fulfill that promise. Without a baby in the crib for 25 years, Abraham hung on to the character of God. Since it is impossible for God to lie, His promise and His oath are secure.
God is not fickle in his feelings, nor does He experience mood swings. He never has bad days or good days. He doesn’t treat us according to the whims of the moment. He is always completely consistent with Himself.
What would happen if God’s personality changed? How would we approach Him if His character was in a constant state of flux? We would never pray. We would never trust Him or venture out in faith. We would never ask for His help.
Friends, God’s personality is the same today as it was during the time of Abraham. That’s why the Bible calls Him the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Even though people come and go, God remains the same. He’s the same today that He was then, which means that He is absolutely reliable and completely consistent with His personality.
4. God’s People Can Change. Look at the last part of verse 18 and verses 19 and 20: “…We who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.”
Because God’s promises, God’s purposes, and God’s personality never change, God’s people can change! It’s great that God never changes, but wouldn’t it be awful, if you and I could never change? It is precisely because He is immutable that you and I can experience the hope of lasting change from the inside out.
This hope of change is an anchor for your soul. This implies at least two things.
Your soul needs an anchor
Your soul is prone to drift
An anchor is a steadying force and prevents drifting in the choppy seas of our lives. It keeps us from sliding away and helps us not be swept away by the winds of temptation. An anchor is like an immovable rock that we can hold onto.
A story is told of a shipwrecked sailor who clung to a rock until the tide went down. After he was able to make it to safety, a friend asked a question, “Didn’t you shake with fear when you were hanging on to the rock?” The sailor simply smiled and said, “Yes, but the rock didn’t.” Life and its uncertainties may shake us, but God who is the Rock of Ages does not move. If we cling to Him, His strength will sustain us.
In taking a close look at this passage, the anchor serves another purpose as well. The biblical image here is one of moving ahead in safety and confidence by casting our anchor forward and then, as the New English Bible translates it, “grasping the hope set before us.” This is a strange metaphor for most of us that of casting an anchor into the future and winching one’s way forward.
This ancient sailing practice is called “kedging.” When storms or turbulent seas would threaten a ship that was docked in harbor, a crew of sailors would jump into a smaller boat and haul the ship’s anchor out into the sea as far as the chain would allow them to go. The anchor would then be let down and the ship pulled itself forward into deeper water on the anchor chain.
Friends, that’s exactly what Jesus has done for us. He is the anchor for our soul that verse 19 says is “firm and secure.” Our anchor is in heaven, but our ship is on earth. And, Jesus provides us with the stability and power we need so that our lives can change now. Hebrews 13:8 says that, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
We are not to just drop an anchor so that we can “hold on” during life’s difficulties. No. Because we are anchored to Christ, who pulls us along and changes us on a daily basis, we are to “move ahead.” As Max Lucado has put it: “God loves you as you are but He loves you too much to let you stay that way.”
God is all about changing lives. Because He does not change, you and I can change. Because His promises, His purposes, and His personality never change, we can change or better yet, we must change! Once we know God through Christ we will change. Our unchanging God delights in changing His people.
