The Immutable Lord

Q: What does the Bible say about the character of God?

The Bible reveals that God is absolute, sovereign, unchanging, and holy, as stated in Malachi 3:6. The Bible presents God as the absolute sovereign ruler over all creation, with his character defined by attributes such as holiness and immutability. In Malachi 3:6, God declares, 'I am the Lord, I change not,' highlighting that His nature is constant and unchanging. This means that God's holiness is not only a characteristic but the essential aspect of His being that requires absolute perfection and righteousness from humanity. The misunderstanding of God's character leads to ignorance about His demands on us as sinful beings and the nature of our relationship with Him.

Q: How do we know that God is sovereign?

Scripture consistently affirms God's sovereign control over all things, as shown in Isaiah 46:9-10. The sovereignty of God is a foundational doctrine in Reformed theology, emphasizing that God rules over every aspect of His creation. Isaiah 46:9-10 affirms this sovereignty, stating, 'I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning.' This scripture illustrates that God's plans are not subject to the whims of humanity but are fulfilled according to His divine will. By understanding God's sovereignty, we acknowledge that He is in command over our lives and the course of history, reassuring us that nothing occurs outside His authority.

Q: Why is the immutability of God important for Christians?

God's immutability assures Christians that His promises and character remain constant throughout all generations. The doctrine of God's immutability, as expressed in Malachi 3:6, underscores the importance of stability in God's character and promises. For Christians, this means that God can be trusted to remain faithful to His word and covenants despite changing circumstances. This assurance provides comfort in times of trial, knowing that God does not change His mind or intentions. His unwavering nature means that the righteousness, truths, and salvific work of Christ are consistently applicable to the lives of believers, emphasizing our need for faith in God's eternal and unchanging grace.

Q: How does God's holiness affect our understanding of salvation?

God's holiness requires that sin be punished, highlighting the necessity of Christ's atonement for our salvation. God's holiness is a central attribute that shapes the understanding of salvation in Reformed theology. As depicted in the Bible, God's holiness means He cannot tolerate sin, necessitating a just response to rebellion against His law. This reality underscores the importance of Christ's atonement, as only through the sacrificial death of a holy Savior can sinful humanity be reconciled with a holy God. Without recognizing God's holiness, one cannot fully grasp the depth of human depravity and the grace extended through Christ, which highlights the transformative power of salvation.

Q: Why is it significant that God does not change?

God's unchanging nature guarantees the reliability of His promises and the security of salvation for believers. The significance of God's unchanging nature is profound for believers, as indicated in Malachi 3:6. This immutability reassures Christians that God's promises are steadfast and reliable, which is crucial, especially in turbulent times. It means that the salvation offered through Christ is not conditioned on human performance but relies entirely on the eternal purpose of God. This stability allows believers to ground their faith in a God who does not alter His will, providing comfort and hope that His plans for their lives will be fulfilled, irrespective of circumstances or failures.

I'm going to ask you to turn
to the book of Malachi. The book of Malachi, the last
book in the Old Testament. Malachi. I'm going to look at
one verse of Scripture here in a moment. In Malachi chapter 3, Now, what prompted this message
was a letter I received in response to an article that was one of
our articles that was published in a religious publication. A man wrote a very negative response
to a statement that I made, well, to the whole article. He wrote
a very negative response to the article. And his main objection to the
whole article was one statement that I made. I said in that article
that what kind of, I asked the question, what kind of God would
that be who wants to do something and cannot because we won't let
him? I said, that's no God at all,
but a pathetic failure. And this man took issue with
that statement, with the whole article, and wrote a very negative
response to it, and used several verses of Scripture
out of context, of course, ignorantly. Some of the verses of Scripture
he used started with and. You just can't do that. And,
well, the fundamental issue and the dividing line between
truth and error, or true religion and false religion today. The fundamental issue has been
and always is this question here, or this statement. The true God
versus the false God, or true religion versus false religion. And this is the question of questions,
and this is the starting point from which all else can be answered. What is the God of the Bible
really like? That's the question of all questions. What is the
God of the Bible really like? What's he like? Well, look here
at Malachi chapter 3. And this man, as so many people,
was ignorant, or is ignorant. of the character of God. Listen
to this. Malachi chapter 3, verse 6, he says, I am the Lord. I am the Lord, the Lord. Now, it is my bold contention
And I don't wish to be hard, but it is my bold contention
that most people are ignorant of the character of God. Most
people, perhaps somebody in here, well, certainly so if we do these things, if we do these things in a very
careless manner, If we approach God's Word and this worship service
in a very careless manner, obviously we don't know anything about
God. We don't know God. But it's my contention that most
people are ignorant of the true and living God and have an idea
of some God, but it's not the God of the Bible. Not at all. And even those who claim to study
God's Word, religious people, it's evident that they don't
know the true and living God. Here are a few reasons. First
of all, they do err, like this man that wrote this reply. They do err not knowing the scriptures. Christ said this to some of the
Pharisees, Sadducees, whose lives were taken up with the study
of the scriptures. Scribes and the Pharisees, Sadducees,
their lives were taken up with studying the law and the Old
Testament and the prophets. And Christ said to these religious
folk, he said, you do err not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. And that
made them mad. And it makes people mad today,
but nevertheless, it's true. It's obvious. Why is it obvious? Well, God said their minds were
blinded. Listen to this. He said it over
in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. He said their minds were blinded. They were blinded. For until
this day, even this day, there remaineth the same veil untaken
away, veil over their eyes, over their ears, over their hearts,
over their minds, untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament.
2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 14. When Moses is read, that
veil is upon their heart. In other words, the Old Testament
scripture is what I'm talking about. I've said it before, unless
you have something, some kind of understanding of the Old Testament
scriptures, that is the God of the Old Testament. You cannot
rightly understand the God of the New Testament. No way. And
when Moses is read, when many people read the Old Testament
scriptures, this veil is upon their heart and their understanding
in regards to God, what it's all about. And men and women
are blind and ignorant to the fact that God is God. The fundamental truth, that God
is God. That he is absolute, sovereign,
all-powerful, and that he changes not. That we're going to see
here. He said, I am the Lord. I change
not. And their ignorance, the ignorance
of men and women today, as it was then, is evidenced by the
fact that they are ignorant of the righteousness of God, or
that is, that which God really requires out of a man. Not the
best we can do, but absolute perfection in every jot and tittle
according to his law. Every point of every law must
be kept in order to be accepted by this God. And men are ignorant
of that, aren't they? They're ignorant of that, men
and women. And they're going about to establish their own
righteousness. They're going about trying to get to heaven,
trying to get to some God with the best that they can do, like
Cain. And if they're ignorant of that fact, and I say this,
if God does not make us righteous, if the Scriptures does not say
that God must make us righteous, then we must make ourselves righteous,
mustn't we? If Christ's blood does not save us, Then we must save ourselves,
must we? Then we must. If His blood does not make an
atonement, then somebody must. We must. Somebody. And the bottom
line is, and this is what I'm getting at this morning, the
bottom line is that God is either God or He's not. God's either God or He's not.
That Jesus Christ is either Lord or He is not. He is not. in the true meaning of the word.
Well, turn over to the book of Isaiah. Somebody keep your place
there in Malachi chapter 3. Somebody may say everybody knows
that Jesus is Lord, that God is God. Everybody knows that.
No, they don't. Let me show you this. Look at
Isaiah chapter 43. Everybody knows that Jesus is
Lord. No, they don't. They call him Lord, Lord with
their lips, but their hearts are far from believing that he's
Lord. Why is it, why would God have to say so many times that
he is Lord? I want you to look at this with
me. Look at Isaiah 43, verse 11. God says, I, even I, am the
Lord. Beside me, there is no Savior. Look at chapter 44. verse six,
over one page, to verse six of chapter forty-four. Thus saith
the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of
hosts, I am the first, I am the last, beside me there is no God. Look at verse eight, the last
part of verse eight. Is there a God beside me? There
is no God. I know not any. Look at chapter
forty-five, chapter forty-five, verse five. He says, I am the
Lord, there's none else, there's no God beside me, verse 6, the
last part. I am the Lord, there's none else,
I am the Lord, look at verse 18, the last part. I am the Lord,
there is none else, look at verse 21, the last part. There's no God else beside me,
just God and the Savior, there's none beside me, verse 22. Look unto me and be saved, all
the ends of the earth. There's none else. Look at chapter
46, verse 9. I'm God. There's none else. I'm
God. There's none like me. Why would
God have to say that so many times, if everybody knew that? Men don't know that. They don't
understand that. I am the Lord. There's none else. I'm God. Nobody else is. over and over. It's just a few.
It says that many, many times. I'm the Lord. Nobody else. I'm God. There's none other. Why does he have to say that
so many times? People don't know the very heart of the truth,
that God is God. He that cometh to God must believe
what? That he is what? God. It's a starting point. What does it mean when he says,
I'm the Lord? What does it mean to be Lord and King? Well, in
olden times, we don't know much about that. England, Great Britain
has a figurehead as a, you know, when Prince Charles, when they
finally coronate, is that the word? Crown him at his coronation,
when they crown him as king, he's just a figurehead. He's
not a king. He can't really do the acts of a king, just in figure. prince is around, rides in his
coach and so forth, and looks like a king. Everybody calls
him king, but he's not king. But back in the olden times,
there used to be kings. Sovereign monarch, that is, absolute
rulers, who for a time exercised dominion over everybody and everything. Absolute king. David was one. Saul was one. Keep going back.
Kings, monarchs. They could raise up Just a word. They could keep
alive, they could kill. They could look at Terry, if
I was a king back in the old day and I didn't like the way
you looked at me, Stanley, kill him. Take him out, cut his head
off. They could do this. But kings, we're talking kings,
monarch, lord, absolute They could keep alive. They could
kill. They could make rich. They'd say, have for my kingdom
I bestow upon you. Why? Just want to. Or they could
make poor. Take everything she's got. I,
we've impounded it in the name of the king. They could set free. They could give a pardon to whomever
they wanted to. They could make captive. Bind
him hand and foot and cast him in the dungeon. Don't ever let
him out. King, they were called lords,
that means rulers, absolute rulers. And depending upon the size of
their kingdom, back then, none, a powerful king with a large
kingdom such as David, none could stay that man's hand or say unto
him, you've got no right. The minute they did say that,
gone. Think it, overhear it in a cottage,
and you're a goner. That He's Lord of Lords. He's King of Kings. That is, these sovereign monarchs,
these absolute monarchs, supposedly, even bear in His hands to do
well, as He pleases. That God is King and Lord. There still is a King. There
still is a Lord alive today. are in his hands. He can raise
up, he can cast down. Right? He can kill, he can make
alive. He can make rich and exalt to
the stars, he can make poor. Right? Scripture says men don't
realize it. They believe that their destiny
is in their own hands. That there's no God. No God.
The fool has said no God. No king. No ruler. No sovereign
monarch. The fool. But he is king of kings,
and even the king's heart is in the hands of the Lord. Well,
what is God like? Look over at Isaiah 55. What
is God really like? What does the Scripture say about
God? What's he like? Well, before we find out what
God is really like, we must first see what he's not like. In order
to really understand God, we've got to see what he's not. Because
this is where everybody starts, right here. Isaiah 55, verse
8, God, first of all, is not like us, not in any way, shape,
form, or fashion. He said that over in Psalm 50,
didn't he? You thought I was altogether such a one as yourself.
He said, but I'm going to approve you. God will approve us, Terry,
one at some point in time. Hopefully by his mercy and grace
he approves us right now and sets these things in order before
our eyes, right now, before it's everlastingly too late. Someday
he is going to have every single individual before his faith,
and then he's going to set it in order. Then he's going to
show every individual that walked upon this earth that he is God
and that they were in his hand, and that God is not like a man,
not in any way. This is the whole of man, his
thoughts and his being, his person. And God says, My thoughts are
not your thoughts. You see, there's a way that seemeth
right to man, doesn't there? God says it's at the end of the
era of the ways of destruction. Thou thoughtest. It's wrong.
It's wrong. Man proposes. Scripture says
God disposes. The lot is cast in the lap. The
whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. God says, My thoughts
are not your thoughts. I've said this before. Any time
anybody says, This is what I think. Wrong. Margaret Ann is wrong,
unless it's according to this book. If they speak not according
to this word, My word, God said, Because there's no truth in it,
no light in it. He says, Neither are your ways
My ways. Man doesn't do anything anywhere
close to God, the way he does things. So first of all, we need
to understand that God is not like us, not in any way, shape,
or form. He's not like us. We may be a
little bit like Him, but He ain't like us. In other words, we may
bear a little bit of the image a believer does. A believer bears
something, and even mankind himself—and I don't want to get off on a
tangent here—but bears a little bit of the image of God. That
is, any goodness, any love, any compassion, any mercy, anything
good that comes out of a man, that's something of the image
of God Almighty. But it ain't much. It's like
a flickering candle compared to the sun. But our thoughts
are not his thoughts, and his ways not our ways. God does not
think like us. He doesn't weigh things. Listen
to me. God doesn't consider things.
He doesn't have to stop and think about things. It says He's
wisdom. He is wisdom. You don't have
to stop and consider. You don't have to ponder. He
never learns anything. He never forgets anything. He
is—somebody like to explain it? God is wisdom. God doesn't act
like us. Man reacts. When something happens,
we react. God doesn't react. Oh, no. God doesn't wait and see what
happens and then react. No. Things happen because God
is already acting, you see. He's the source. He's the starting
point of all things. He doesn't react when something
happens. He acts and things react. Men react. Known unto God are
all his works from the beginning. It's like a bird's-eye view,
a panorama. God has already been done to
God. He doesn't react when it's done. God, there's no time with
God. He's everlastingly eternal, no
time. It's everlasting right now to
God. Look at verse 9 here in Isaiah
55. Look at verse 9. He says, As
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your way, and my thoughts than your thoughts. His thoughts
and ways are past finding out. I feel like such an impotent
a fool for even standing up here trying to describe this God.
But somebody, he said it in Isaiah 40, somebody needs to stand up
and say, Behold, you're God, to this generation, to the city.
This world needs to know that, don't they? They need to see
that God is God. That's where everybody must start,
at the feet of this holy, sovereign God. His thoughts and ways are past
finding out. You see, man is comprehensible. We can comprehend one another.
Man is pretty predictable. If I cuss at you, you're going
to get mad. If I love you or your children or whatever, you
might love me back. We're pretty predictable. We can do that.
If I hit you, you may hit me back. Pretty predictable. We
can comprehend one another. God, you can't comprehend God. Rick, that's the reason we're
such peanuts to even sit around and talk about God. We ought
to just be repeating his word, not ever say, well, I believe. No. God's in the heavens. You're on the earth. Let your
mouth be. Let your word be. Let them only
be according to this. Right? Well, let's see what else,
something else about God. Look at verse 11. God always
succeeds at what he purposes to do. And this is what that
man in that letter wrote back. He didn't believe that what God
purposes, that what, he didn't believe that everything God purposed
to do, he doesn't. And this is a learned man, a
learned man. The man just flat is denying
God's word, isn't he? We'll see in a moment why this
is proof of unbelief or apostasy, but God always does what he determines
to do. Look at verse 11. So shall my
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return
unto me void, or useless, or vain. It shall accomplish that
which I plead. It shall prosper in the thing
whereto I sent it." I purposed it. I'll do it, he said. I'll
do it. You see, man wants to do things. God wills. God will. That's a good—God will. Where's the will of God? It will.
Will the will of God be? It will. God will. God shall. God will. Man tries. God does. Man fails. God always succeeds. Never fails. Man proposes. God disposes. And God does not
come up with plans after the facts, but God hath purposed
all things. All things are ordered by God,
and sure, they cannot be disannulled. Cannot. What is God like? Let's
look over to Isaiah chapter 6 with that. What is the God of the
Bible like? Well, he has certain attributes.
This is a very fundamental message, but every one of us People that
have been here a while, people that haven't been here very long,
everybody needs to stop and consider these things at all times. If
you've not yet heard these things, this is the starting point of
faith. This is it. This is it. What is God like? God has certain attributes. You
see, God is a certain way. He is a certain way. He has certain
attributes or characteristics. whereby he can be known, and
this is how he reveals himself. Now, let me ask you this question.
What would you say about God? If somebody asked you, somebody
out on the street asked you, what is God like? What do you
think about God? What is God? Who is God? What's
He like? What would be the first thing that you would say? What
would be the first characteristic? You say, well, God is a... What
would you say? I see what some of you would
say. Most people, you know what most people say, don't you? Most
people say God is love, right? Most everybody says God is love. Well, look at this. Look at Isaiah
chapter 6. Here's somebody who actually
saw the Lord. Isaiah, the prophet, actually
beheld the Lord God upon his throne. Verse 1, In the year
that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up, and his train, that is, the glory
of his person, filled the temple. And above him, above his throne,
stood the seraphims," that's angelic creatures. Each one had
six wings. With two of them, they covered
their face. Humility. With two they covered their feet
modestly, with two they did fly in service to their King. And
one, one stood on one side, one on the other, and cried unto
the other, describing this God, Love! Love! Love! God's a God of love. What'd they say? Now, this means so much more
than just being without sin. Our God is a consuming fire,
the Scripture says. The Scripture says God dwells
in light, inaccessible. It's like you can't go outside
and look at the sun for ten seconds or else you'll be blinded. God
is infinitely higher and purer and brighter than the sun itself. and nothing with any darkness
in it can approach unto this God. He's holy. He's of pure
eyes, the Scripture says, to even look upon the moon and the
stars are not pure in His eyes. The Scripture says, holy. Actually, a man can't describe
the holiness of God, only to say, He's holy. He's holy. But man insists upon talking
about the love of God. You can't understand the love
of God without understanding something of the holiness of
God. You remember when the high priest went into the tabernacle
to offer the sacrifices before God? Remember? In the Old Testament,
Levitical, the book of Leviticus, where the high priest went in
on the Day of Atonement into this tent in the wilderness,
and there was this outer courtyard called, well, it's called the
outer court. And then there was a curtain,
and inside this place was where God met with one man, once a
year, a high priest, and not without blood. A man offered
a sinless blood of a lamb before this holy God, and God met with
that man in that little room. What did they call that little
room? The love of loves. The high priest is going into
the love of loves to meet the lovely God. What did he have
written on his breastplate? Love unto God. God is love. Holiness unto the Lord. That was on his martyrs, what
it was. Holiness unto the Lord. See, you dare not approach this
God. You can't understand this God. You can't even understand
him in the least bit until you understand this first and chief
and major character. Holy. Terry, this way is generations
missing. Ever. Everyone flying out in the face
of a God of love. You see, God is holy. I'm not
belittling the love of God. No, no, no. I'm not belittling
the love of God. The love of God is our only hope.
The holiness of God is not our hope. The love of God is. The love of God. That is, that
God in love decides to make us holy. You see, His love, though, is
holy love. God says, I hate, I hate unrighteousness. I hate wickedness. He hates unrighteousness. He loves righteousness and truth
and holiness. God can't love anybody or anything
but holy things and holy people, right? Right. And this is the
reason Christ must be our representative, because Christ is the only man
ever lived that was holy. Holy. And he's the only man that
God can rightly love and be God. You understand that? God's mercy
is holy mercy. God cannot be merciful at the
expense of his holiness. He can't just up and say, well,
I forgive you. No. His justice has to be satisfied. Why? He said, I will not acquit
the guilty. Sin must be punished. Every crime
must be paid for in the presence of this holy God. Every one of
yours. Every one of mine. God's grace
is holy grace. He cannot give grace as a gift
of God. God cannot give anything but
perfect gifts. That's the reason he can't just
throw the blood out there and imperfect gifts out of you. You
make it perfect by your faith. Understand that? He only gives
what he provides and only what he will accept. Some will say,
well, that's the God of the Old Testament. Oh, no. You see, the same God, the same
God that in Psalm 55 and Psalm 711 said he hates all workers
of iniquity. and he's angry with the wicked
every day, the same God, the same God that destroyed the world
by a flood to begin with, the same God that destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah by fire, everybody that lived in that city but a
few people, the same God, the Scripture says He's going to
rain fire and brimstone upon this generation. In Revelation
16 it says that, Revelation 16 verse 1. that God poured out
the vows of the wrath of God upon the earth. The very same
God, the very same God, and the same God who destroyed all those
places is going to destroy this world again. Now, look back at
Malachi with me again. Malachi. God never changes. He said in
Malachi 3, look at verse 6 again, Malachi 3 verse 6, I am the Lord. I change not. John, it's the
same God today. Same God, he said, I change not.
I change not. Never. I change not. What does this mean to us? Well,
look at it there in verse 6. He says, "...therefore, because
I am the Lord, and I change not, therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed." What's that talking about? Sons of... Your son of Jacob? You know who
Jacob was? Jacob, his very name means usurper. That is, to take the place of
somebody, usurp, or by deceit and by falsehood, take what doesn't
rightfully belong to you. That's what he did in place of
Esau. Remember he tricked his daddy and played the part of
Esau? Usurper means a cheat. It means
supplanter, getting away, take what's not rightfully yours,
deceitful. He deceived his brother. He deceived his father. He talked
his brother out of the birthright. Remember, he was a cheat. He
was a lying, scheming, conniving, no good. Barbara, you like that?
No good. Scheming, conniving, no good
bum, Jacob was. A rebel. A cheat. No good. A sinner. In other words, Jacob
was a rotten, no good sinner. A worthless bum. That's who Jacob
was. Is that you? It better be. It better be. If you don't acknowledge, listen,
unless you're a son of Jacob, unless you take your place right
there with Jacob, you will not be loved by God. Why? Because
the scripture says, Jacob have I loved. But rather you have to be an
Esau. Esau have I hated. Hated. Why? Why? because Jacob was elect. Here
we go again. Elect. See, Romans 9, 11 through
13 says this, the children being not yet born, neither having
done any good nor evil, that the purpose of God, according
to election, might stand. It was said unto her, that is,
Rebekah, of him that calleth. It was said unto her, Rebekah,
their mother. the mother of these two twins,
the elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, but Esau have I hated." I mean, right. Remember that
God we were talking about a while ago? Absolute King and Lord and
Ruler? He can do what he wants to. People
say, that's not fair. Well, here's the problem with
their understanding. They forgot the first point, that God is
holy. Now, if God is absolutely holy,
that means everybody and everything is absolutely what? Unholy in
his presence, in his eye. And people say it's not fair.
I agree, it's not fair. He shouldn't have loved Jacob.
Shouldn't have loved him. Jacob didn't deserve to be loved.
He deserved to be hated, just like Esau. I know what I mean. I mean, he didn't deserve, it's
not fair to hate Esau. Yes, it is. Every single individual,
every born, is utterly sinful and rebellious. That's just what
Scripture is to you. And that's the reason I say it
right here. And this is what God says, unless you're a son
of Jacob, you'll be consumed by this holy God. What does it
mean to be a son of Jacob? Elect. Elect by God. Like it or not, I like it. Because I know I'm a son of Jacob. I know I am. I'm worse than old
Jacob. Jacob appeared to be, at times,
a fairly decent fellow. I ain't. There's no goodness
in me. I mean no goodness. No goodness. Like it or not,
our only hope of salvation is that God elects a people. We've
been talking about that. Men talk about it and they misabuse
or they abuse and misuse what we teach by saying that They
believe that we say that God elects men to damnation, to hell. That's not the case at all, folks.
We don't teach that here. We teach here what the Scripture
says, that all men are condemned already. That there's none that
doeth good, no, not one. That all have sin that comes
short of the glory of God. That there's no sound of sin.
It's from the sole of our feet to the top of our head. There's
no sound of sin. And that all men, by nature, are headed to
hell. They're going there. That's our
destination. And what we teach concerning
election is that God chooses to save some people from hell,
from their sins, not just from hell, but from their sins. God
elects the people to save. Election is unto salvation, unto
salvation. And all men are condemned already.
That's what the scripture says, if you have eyes to see it at
all. And like it or not, that's our
only hope, is that God elects the people. It's all, any man,
woman, or young person's only hope is that God elects people.
That God chooses the people not to consume. Not to consume. Well, how do you know you're
elect? Do you like what you just heard about God? Do you like
this guy, Brandon? Do you like meeting his hands?
Do you like the fact that he does what he wants to do? Do
you like that? I like it. If you say, I don't
know, then I like it. Why? Christ said,
when my Word abides in you. Right? My Word abides in you. That is, it has a place in you. That is, you keep it. You love
it. It's in your heart, and you believe
it. Whatever he says, Terry, he says, you're a maggot. You
say, that's true. That's right. You don't like
the fact that you're a maggot, but it's true, isn't it? You just believe it. And God
says, I'm on the throne. I'm glad I can do with you what
I want to do, Karen. Yes! not concerned. You'll not be
concerned, you'll be a friend of God. He lets, his word has a place
in you. Here's another sign of a son
of Jacob. A son of Jacob is one who goes through mighty trials,
mighty trials. Jacob, his whole life was one
trial right after another, yet those trials did not consume
him. Rick and I were talking about
this yesterday, how the faith is always going to be tried. I don't know what the trial may
be. It may be some traumatic experience like removing a child
or a husband or something terrible, a great sickness. It may be a
traumatic, terrible child. It may be a little thing. But
faith is going to be tried. You don't know if a boat's going
to float unless you get it on the water with you. Don't know
it. And faith is going to be tried. That makes me shiver.
But it's so. It is so. Any son of Jacob, when
trials come their way, they don't say, no, I can't have this. No,
I must not be a God. How can he do such a thing? No. The true son of Jacob said, although
he's hurting, he's in pain, he's weeping, like David did at the
loss of that child, and Eli at the loss of his two boys. It
hurts, and true trials do. But every son of Jacob will say
this. It's the Lord. Let him do what
seems good. It hurts! Wouldn't be a trial
if it didn't. But every son of Jacob will not
be consumed by those trials. You understand? And when trials
come your way, and it comes, we've seen it happen. A little
trial, just a little something. I mean, it might be a word from
this pulpit of somebody that strikes home. But if you're a son of Jacob,
you'll not be consumed by it. You'll bear up on it. God will
give you the grace. And a son of Jacob is a son of
promise. A son of promise. You see, all
the promises of God are in him. Yea and amen. All the promises
of God are to God's people. Covenant promises. God makes
promises not to every man without exception. Now why? Because God
keeps his promises, John. He keeps them, everlasting covenants.
He doesn't make promises to men that he doesn't intend to keep
with them. That is, I'll call them by my name, they shall be
saved, promises like that. He doesn't make promises he doesn't
keep. He keeps all, he's not an Indian giver. God keeps all
his promises. And a son of Jacob is a son of
promise. And Jacob went from cheat, God changed his name to
what? Israel. It means the Prince of
God. And Henry Sowell, you're going
to be turned from sinner, no good rebel enemy of God, to son
of God. Not that I want you, God promised.
Just come to Christ by Him. Well, look at Hebrews chapter
13 written up. Why are we not consumed? Why
is it so important that God be God? In order for us not to be consumed,
look at Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13, because God was in
Christ, reconciling the world to himself. Lots of world, we
have to go into this. Not every single individual will
ever live. That means make friendly, and
the word reconcile means make friendly toward God. That is,
break down the enmity. That means God's not mad anymore.
Now, here, if God's not mad at somebody, he's not going to send
them to hell, is he? God's angry with the wicked every day. God
hates all workers of iniquity. He says in one place he's going
to bind them hand and foot and cast them in the lake where the
fire is never quenched. Now, if God has reconciled every
single individual through Christ, God's not mad at anybody. That's
what they're saying, isn't it? God loves you. Well, I'm in good
shape. Christ died for you. That's even better. No, I don't like to go into that. God was in Christ reconciling
the world. That means not just Jews. That
means a people all over the world. Jew and Gentile. Does that make
sense? Reconcile, the word reconcile means to be made friendly. God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Every single
individual? No, it's obvious that every person's
not reconciled to God. But some people are. Some people
are sitting there smiling at this message. Other people throw it all out
the front. Are they friendly? No. Haters. Well, God was in Christ, though,
nevertheless, reconciling a world of people to himself. And look
at verse 8. And this God, His name is Jesus
Christ, and He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. Because this
God is holy, he could never have anything to do with sinful man.
You remember in the garden? In the garden when Adam sinned
and God blocked his pathway from coming back into the garden?
That was typical. That man can't get back into
the presence of this holy God. He was barred by what? Fire,
right? God is a consuming fire. You
can't come to God. How? You can only come to God
when you're wrapped in the asbestos robes of Christ's righteousness. You'll stand the heat. You can
come into God. Only then, God became a man,
a holy man, a holy man. Jesus Christ was his name. And
this holy man gave this holiness to all these people that God
was going to reconcile to himself. And then this holy man took their
sinfulness, their punishment, and God punished them, and now
this holy God can say, come on in. Come on in. We can walk together. We can walk together. And God
can be just, that is holy, and receive an ungodly sinner like
you and me. He can have us ungodly, unholy,
rebel, wretched, in his presence still rebels and wretched, but
in Christ we're not. He sees us with this robe around
us. This blood covering us. And he can have us. You look
good. Come on in. I don't see any sin
anywhere. I don't smell any sin anywhere.
That's the only way in Christ. Now, if he did that for everybody,
then everybody would come. Everybody would be holy and righteous,
but everybody's not. There's a hell, isn't there?
And this holy God did that. He came in the form of a man
in order to be just. and justify or accept us. Jacobs, old Jacobs, all sinners
who look like Christ will not be consumed when this overflowing
scourge of God's wrath comes through, because God has made
Jesus Christ to be Lord now. Where do we start? This is where
we start, the Lordship, the King. And because Christ is Lord, because
he's Lord and he changes not. as the God-man. And because there's
a man seated at the right hand of the Father, not just any man,
but a holy man, and not just a man, but the God-man and the
Lord, this same Jesus whom we crucified, God-made Lord. And
because this Lord is seated and ruling, and because he lets into
his kingdom whom he will, we have hope. We're not consumed,
Because of this Lord that sits at God's right hand, Christ.
And he looks at old Terry Kenley and says, that's one of mine. He doesn't look like much, but
he's one of mine. Someday he's going to look like
something. He's going to look like me. But I am the Lord. God changes
not. Christ changes not. Christ is
God. We read that in Hebrews 13.8,
didn't we? Jesus Christ is God. In order for this holy God to
save, to have anything to do with sinful creatures such as
we are, he had to come down himself and as a man live a perfect life
and give that perfection or that holiness to some people and take
their rebellion and satisfy God's justice. And because God is holy,
because God became a man, therefore you sons of Jacob, you'll You're son of Jacob. You're not
going to sin. You're not going to sin. Not
because of what you did. Jacob didn't do anything. He
didn't. Somebody said, yeah, we do do
something. We do all the sinning. We do something. We do all the
sinning. God does all the saving. It's the only way. Let's sing
that song. Joe, what do I have written down
there? I think, uh, how great thou art is what I
had in mind, I believe. What number is that? Anybody
know that off the top of their head? What is it? Thirty-seven. Let's sing that.
thirty-seven saying uh... joe carpenter leaders in this
this thing uh... first-birth and the third stand
with him first and third thirty-six uh... For my God, may I hear all some
wonders, Sincere are all the words my hands have led. I see the stars, I hear the rosing
thunders, I have throughout the universe displayed. Then sang my soul, the Savior
God to Thee. How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sang my soul, I love you. Into the deep The sun is undaunted
To heal, to light Our spirits can take heed And on the cross I heard him gladly marry. He did rise, he came to be my
soul. He'll change my soul. How great
Thou art. How great Thou art. You change my soul. Thank you. You're dismissed.

The Immutable Lord

What does the Bible say about the character of God?

How do we know that God is sovereign?

Why is the immutability of God important for Christians?

How does God's holiness affect our understanding of salvation?

Why is it significant that God does not change?

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The Immutable Lord

What does the Bible say about the character of God?

How do we know that God is sovereign?

Why is the immutability of God important for Christians?

How does God's holiness affect our understanding of salvation?

Why is it significant that God does not change?

Sermon Transcript

About Paul Mahan

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