Turn with me now, if you would,
to Titus chapter 1. As I mentioned to you a moment
ago in the Bible study, we're going through Titus right now,
phrase by phrase. And we had two more phrases to
look at in verse two for this morning, but I felt led to swap
them. because I really wanted our children
and our Bible class teachers and everyone to have the opportunity
to hear this truth right here. The title of this message is
God That Cannot Lie. Verse one says, Paul, a servant
of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith
of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness,
in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie. promised before the world began. We just looked at the phrase
promised before the world began for our Bible study and now we're
going to focus on God that cannot lie. It ought to make us a little
uncomfortable or a little fearful anytime we say that God cannot
do something. God is the all-powerful, all-sovereign,
all-controlling God. God is the creator and the owner
and the ruler of all things. Nothing and no one can stop His
hand from doing anything. Anything. Nothing or no one can
even question him and what he does. That's what Daniel 4 verse
35 says. He's the only one seated on the
almighty throne and he does what he wants with who he wants. There is none beside him. There is none who can challenge
him. He needs no one. and no thing. The name God means
the self existing one from everlasting to everlasting. He alone is God. So to say that he cannot do something
that makes those who are his people and have been caused to
believe on him for who he truly is. It makes us uncomfortable
to even mention something like that concerning him. But what
I want us to see this morning is some of the things that he
himself has said in his own word that he cannot do. And what we're going to find
is each one of these things only brings more glory to him for
who he truly is. Each one of these things, starting
with this one right here. God cannot lie. That's glorious, isn't it? Cannot. God cannot lie. It is impossible for him to lie. Everything that he says is true. He is true. He is the truth and
therefore he only speaks truth. The scripture says that every
word in this book is true and faithful. The scripture says that not one
word in this book will ever fail or return void and it's because
these are the words of God and God cannot lie. God cannot lie. And the way that
we're going to look at this subject matter and the way we're going
to deal with this message is we're going to see some of the
things that God said he cannot do. And in seeing these various
things, we're going to let his word prove to us that he's not
lying in it. He's not lying about this. We're
going to realize that our hope is based on the fact that he's
not lying in what he says. We're about to see that our hope
is built on some things that God says he cannot do. The first one is God cannot lie. God cannot lie. For the second
one, turn with me to Malachi chapter three. Last book in the
Old Testament, Malachi chapter 3. Verse 6, Malachi 3 verse 6 says, For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed." God cannot change. God cannot change for better
or worse. He is that He is. He is perfect. He is perfect. Nothing and no
one could ever find any fault in him. He is perfect. He is
as perfect as perfection can be. Any change would be a change
from perfection and that cannot happen. I've heard people wrongly say
throughout the years that God changes. You ever heard anybody
say that? I've heard people wrongly say throughout the years that
God changes. God changes his mind. He changes
his thoughts on people, on things. Thank God that's not so. Thank
God that's not so. Because if it were so, we wouldn't
have any hope. If that were so, we would not
have any hope. If God had it in his mind to
save me, If God purposed to save me and
chose to save me, but it was possible for me to keep trying
him and to keep trying his patience and to keep sinning against him
and to keep rebelling against him to the point that he would
finally say, you know what? Nevermind. I don't want to save you anymore. If that was at all a possibility,
you and I would have no hope. We would have no hope. That's
so. You and I would have no hope.
Verse six, he said, I am the Lord. I change not. Therefore. You sons of Jacob
are not consumed. That's the very reason why you
sons of Jacob are not consumed. Glory to God in the highest for
the fact that he cannot change. He can't change. Turn over to
Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13 verse 8 says, Jesus
Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. Never changing. Isn't that so comforting? Never
changing. The angels told the disciples
this same Jesus is going to come back down just like you've seen
him go up. Never changing. Look at James chapter 1 verse
17. James 1 17. Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the father
of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, not
even a shadow of turning. The Lord our God does not change.
Never has, never will. All right, look right here at
James 1 verse 13. Let no man say when he is tempted,
I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with
evil. Neither tempteth he any man. The Lord our God, Father, Son,
and Spirit cannot sin. He cannot sin. Our Lord entered this world in
the likeness of sinful flesh. He looked like sinful man. But never one time ever did he
commit sin against his father. He was sinless. He was sinless. Turn with me to Hebrews 4. Hebrews 4 verse 14, seeing then
that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, for
we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we
are yet without sin. Not one time ever did he commit
a sin. God cannot lie because a lie
would be a sin. God cannot lie. A lie would be
a sin. God cannot change. Because to
change from what He originally promised would be a sin. You know that's what Matthew
chapter 5 says. Don't swear because if you don't do it, you're sinning
against God. He cannot change from what He originally promised
because that would be a sin. And God cannot sin. Now why is that truth so glorious
for God's people? God cannot sin. We hear that
and we think, yeah, I get that, I understand that. Why is that
such a glorious epiphany for God's people? Why is that so
wonderful? Here's the reason why. Turn with
me to 2 Corinthians 5. 2 Corinthians 5 verse 21 says, For he hath made him, God the
Father made Christ, God the Son. To be sin. Those two words to be are in
italics. They were added by the translators.
It was originally written he hath made him sin for us who
knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. In the fact that He could not
sin. When God the Father made Christ
trade places with us, His people. When God the Father made Christ
to be the substitute for His people, to stand in their actual
place, The moment that transaction happened and He stood in our
place, we got to stand in His. When He became us, as Hebrews
chapter 7 says. I don't even like to finish this
statement. Was substitution a real substitution
or a fake substitution? Like Brother Scott Richardson
used to say, when when the scripture says he was made sin, was he
really made sin or or did was it did they just did the Holy
Spirit of God just say he was made sin? Was he really made
sin or did was it just a sticky note that said sin posted on
him? That's what Brother Scott said. He was really made sin. When he was made to be us, when
he became us, when this transaction happened, was he really made
to be us? Did he really stand in our place?
Was it really Gabe Stoniker hanging on that cross? Or was it just
a sticky note put on him, Gabe Stoniker? Which one was it? Gabe
Stoniker hung on that cross. That's my only hope. When He became us, what did we
become? In this substitution, what did
we become? When He was made one with us,
I mean one flesh, what were we made? What were we made one with? What did we become one flesh
with? Him. Him. The moment he was made sin, you
know, sin is not just what we do is what we are. All right. The moment he was made sin, the
moment he was made what we are, we were made righteous. It's
not just what Christ does. It's what Christ is. Righteousness. He hath made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. And 1 John 3 verse 9 says, whoever
is born of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in
him, and he cannot sin because he's born of God. Cannot. This right here is the grounds
of our salvation. God cannot lie. God cannot change
and God cannot sin. Now I'm going to join these next
two together. We'll let these go hand in hand.
Turn with me to Exodus 34. Exodus 34 verse 4 says, And he hewed two tables of stone
like unto the first. And Moses rose up early in the
morning and went up unto Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded
him. And he took in his hand the two
tables of stone. And the Lord descended in a cloud
and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed the Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the
guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth
generation. The Lord our God cannot. He will
not. He will by no means because he
cannot clear the guilty. He cannot clear the guilty. Why
can he not just clear the guilty? It's because he's holy. The judge
of the earth must do right. He cannot just pardon a sinner. Well, I think I'll just pardon
you. He can't just pardon a sinner
at the expense of justice being served. He's holy. Sin must be
punished. He cannot not punish sin. He must. And the glorious news
of the gospel is He did on the cross of Calvary. Christ died
on the cross bearing the punishment that God had to deliver. Listen
to this statement right here. This is the truth. The death of Christ on the cross
for the sin of His people. That was not Him clearing His
people. That was Him punishing His people. That was not Him giving them
a free pass. That was Him exacting everything
they owed. That was God punishing all of
His people to the fullest degree in Christ. Outside of Christ,
the judgment of sin, it must come because God cannot clear
the guilty. But in Christ, the judgment of
sinful man, all of his elect, has come because God didn't clear
the guilty. Christ was made to be guilty.
and punished. Alright, now here's the flip
side to that. Turn with me over to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 31. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Thank God, God cannot
condemn a soul that Christ died for. Cannot, will not. Who is he that condemneth? No
one can condemn. It's Christ that died. God cannot
clear the guilty because he's holy. And for that same reason, because
he's holy. He cannot condemn the righteous. Cannot condemn the redeemed,
the sanctified, the souls that were made spotless and pure and
clean in the blood of Christ. God cannot lie. God cannot change. God cannot sin. God cannot clear
the guilty. God cannot condemn the innocent.
Any soul made innocent in Christ. And the last scripture we'll
turn to is 2 Timothy 2. 2 Timothy 2 verse 13, it says, if we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful, he cannot deny himself. That is good news. The scripture
says Christ is our judge, but it also says he's our advocate.
He judged us if we are His people. He judged us in Himself. And
because of that, He advocates for what He has done before His
throne. Who sits on the throne? Who's
in the judgment seat? Christ. Who's the advocate before
the judgment seat? Christ. He pleads the intercession of
His own work. As our just judge and our justifying
Savior, He's also the mediator between the two. He's the mediator
who pleads His own blood before His own throne. And as He listens
to His own plea, How effectual do you think his
intercession for us is if he's the one pleading to himself? As he listens to his own plea
on our behalf, knowing in himself he did enough to make peace for
us. He is satisfied with his own
work and he receives us for his own sake. Our hope lies in this right here. He abideth faithful. He will plead for us. And when
he does, he cannot deny himself. He cannot deny himself. We will
be received. We will be accepted for his sake. That is a truth from God that
cannot lie. And that truth will hold true
for all eternity. Amen.