Calvary Baptist Church

Calvary Baptist Church, Grenada, MS, USA

Holding to the truths embraced by Baptist for centuries.

As we enter a new year one thing that is certain is that many things will be changing. Scientific information will change. Some things that were thought to be true will be found to be untrue and some things that were thought not to be true will be found to be true. New discoveries will give fresh insights into many fields. New discoveries in the medical field will change the way some diseases are treated or diagnosed. Business activity will change during the year. Some businesses will thrive and grow and others will wither and die. Politics in our country and other countries will change as some leaders will ascend and others will descend and leave the scene. Moreover, in our own personal lives our circumstances will change. Our health, our jobs, our financial status, our relationships, our prospects all may change at any time. None of these things remain the same very long.

In such a world it is good to know that our God does not change. The Father does not change; the Son does not change and the Holy Spirit does not change. They are the same in their attributes and being. They are the same yesterday, today, and forever. In Malachi 3:6 God says “I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye son of Jacob are not consumed.” No one can use this language except God for all other things and all other people are constantly changing. God’s nature is unchangeable; his attributes are unchangeable; his righteousness is unchangeable; his word is unchangeable; his promises are unchangeable; his wisdom is unchangeable; his knowledge is unchangeable and his power is unchangeable.

His nature is unchangeable because He is the eternal God who is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the great “I AM”, the uncaused one without beginning or ending. His attributes are unchanging because He is absolutely perfect in all His ways. “As for God his way is perfect”. His righteousness is unchanging because He is holy in all his ways. He is absolutely pure and in Him is no sin at all. His Word is unchanging because “forever it is” settled in heaven”. His Word is always relevant, always true, no matter what is happening on earth. His Word does not need to change with the times or the changing ways of men. His promises are unchanging. The promises that He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will all be fulfilled. The promises that He made to us will all be fulfilled also. When He said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” we can believe it. When He invites us to “cast all our care on Him for He careth for us” we can believeth it. Likewise it is true that when He says “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” we can know that when we see ourselves as sinners before a holy God, and recognize that God in His grace sent His own Son to die the sinless in the place of the sinner, we can be saved by trusting in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as the basis of our forgiveness of sin. Hundreds more promises could be quoted and they are all true.

His wisdom is still unchanging. He never had to take counsel of anyone about what He would do. He knows all things eternally and perfectly. His wisdom is displayed in His creation, in His providence, and in His provision for sin. His creation displays His greatness and His power. His providence and purpose ensure that all His plans will be fulfilled. While we may not understand what is going on, He understands perfectly and is never caught by surprise but is always ruling over the affairs of men to bring glory to Himself. His provision for sinners displays how a holy God can be true to His holiness and save sinful men. His own Son became sin for us bearing our penalty and our shame that God in His grace could give to the believing sinner the perfect righteousness of Christ, so making the sinner fully accepted in Him.

His power is unchanging. Genesis asks “Is there anything to hard for the Lord?” The obvious answer is no. His power ensures His purpose. He is still all powerful and nothing can stay His hand.

Not only is He unchanging in all these things, but He is also unchanging in His love. The Scriptures declare “He loveth us”. This love is in the present tense and will always be in the present. Nothing can change the love of God in Christ for us. He loves us just like He loves His Son and the Son loves us just like He loves the Father. Nothing can ever separate us from their love. His love is constant, complete, continuing, and changeless. His love for us sent His Son to the cross to be the propitiation for our sins, and the Son loved us so much He willingly and voluntarily died in our place. It’s a love that will see us all the way home to glory. He’s the Rock of Ages, the unchanging Sun of Righteousness. What a comfort this should be to us. We have one who always thinks of us, loves us, protects us, provides for us, cares for us and even when He has to chasten us He does it because He loves us and he wants something better for us.

Let us therefore rejoice that in the face of change all around, in the face of trials and tribulations we encounter, in the face of great adversaries with whom we struggle we have an unchangeable God who says “...I am the Lord; I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed” (Mal. 3:6). Now that’s a promise that we can lean on this year.