Christ Never Changes

Q: What does the Bible say about the unchanging nature of Christ?

The Bible affirms that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, highlighting His eternal and unchanging nature (Hebrews 13:8). The unchanging nature of Christ is a central tenet of Christian faith as expressed in Hebrews 13:8, where it states, 'Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.' This doctrine assures believers that Christ's love, power, and truth remain constant regardless of circumstances. In a world marked by change and uncertainty, this truth offers profound comfort and stability, reminding us that we can rely on Christ's promises without fear of them shifting or fading away. As believers, we are anchored in the assurance that our Savior never changes, allowing us to face life's transitions with hope and peace.

Q: How do we know Christ's love for us never changes?

Christ's love is described as everlasting and constant, assuring believers that He will always love them (Jeremiah 31:3). The unchanging love of Christ is illustrated throughout Scripture, notably in Jeremiah 31:3, where God's love for His people is declared to be everlasting: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love.' This foundational aspect of divine love assures believers that regardless of their circumstances or failures, Christ's affection remains steadfast. He loved us before the foundation of the world and continues to love us with an unchanging love that does not wane with time or circumstance. This eternal love is a source of great comfort and security for Christians, reminding them that their relationship with Christ is not based on their merits but on His faithful commitment to them.

Q: Why is the doctrine of unchangeability important for Christians?

The unchangeability of Christ provides Christians with stability and hope amid life's uncertainties. Understanding the unchangeability of Christ is vital for believers as it offers a constant point of reference in a world that experiences perpetual change. When cultural norms shift or personal circumstances fluctuate, believers can rely on the assurance that Christ's character and promises remain unchanged. This theological truth strengthens faith, fostering resilience against doubt and fear. It also encourages Christians to pursue a deepening relationship with Christ, knowing they are connecting with a Savior who is eternally dependable. Ultimately, this doctrine empowers believers to navigate life's complexities with confidence and hope, assured that they are anchored in the unchanging nature of Christ.

Q: How does Christ's unchanging sacrifice affect our salvation?

Christ's unchanging sacrifice guarantees the effectiveness of His atonement for all believers (Revelation 5:6). The unchanging nature of Christ's sacrifice is a critical aspect of historic Reformed theology, ensuring that His atonement for sin remains wholly effective for all who believe. Revelation 5:6 depicts Christ as 'a Lamb, as it had been slain,' which emphasizes the eternal significance of His sacrificial death. Because Christ's sacrifice does not change, it remains powerfully effective throughout history and across generations. For believers, this means that their salvation is equally secure—it is not contingent on changing conditions or new revelations but firmly rests in the completed work of Christ on the cross. His sacrifice assures us that forgiveness and redemption are eternally accessible to all who trust in Him.

Chapter 13, Hebrews 13. Christ never changes. That's the title of the message. It's also our hope. He never changes. It's our comfort. He never changes. You know, I've seen a lot of changes over the years. My dad saw a lot more than I have seen. And my grandfather, I was thinking of what my grandfather born in 1905, I think it was. Both of my grandparents' fathers were born in that time period. They were still using horse and buggy. And I came along in 1955.

My, what I have seen, and what we are about to see, I think, in the near future, we've seen a lot of changes. And people who do not like changes, my granddaughter being one of them, I tell her, I said, if you don't get used to changes, you're gonna be in a straitjacket in a corner somewhere. because CHANGE is THIS LIFE. It's THIS LIFE, it's just a part of THIS LIFE. We see the changing of the seasons, the changing of the weather every day, every day. And I've gone through several changes myself as I age, not just what I have seen but what I have felt and experienced.

Growing old is interesting. It's interesting. I'm thankful, I'll tell you this, I'm thankful the Lord has allowed me to grow old just so I could experience His grace and His power to keep me and to teach me and instruct me. I'm glad that He's allowed me to do that. And I've experienced some changes in it. But change is a part of this life.

But someday, someday, our final change is gonna come and we will change no more. We will absolutely change no more. But until then, until then, until my change comes, I'll go through several more changes, but there is one, there is one who knows no change. It's the ROCK, Christ Jesus, that SOLID ROCK, ever the same, from ETERNITY PAST to ETERNITY in the future. If I can say it like that, I've got to use human language so we can understand. that he's ever the same. Now he says here in verse 7, I'm going to pick up verse 7, 8, and 9, that's all I'm going to deal with tonight. Because there's some changes that has happened here in this verse.

This verse mostly speaks of pastors and teachers who have gone on to be with the Lord. Some still remain But mostly here is speaking of those who have gone on to be with the Lord. You see in verse 7, Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken to you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

Now the conversation is their life. It's their life. And if you'll see over in verse 17, that's the present. Obey them that have the rule over you. That's the present ones. But this speaks mostly and it applies to those who are still alive but mostly to those who have gone on to be with the Lord.

But REMEMBER! You know, God has given us a memory and we need to use it for good things. I know it's so easy for us to remember bad things. I can remember bad jokes back when I was in elementary. Why is that? Why is it we can remember a song on the radio from when we were teenagers and it's hard for us to remember songs of grace? But God's given us a MEMORY. REMEMBER! REMEMBER THEM! Particular people He's speaking of. REMEMBER THIS!

God put them over you. God gave them to you. You know a pastor is a gift to the church. A God-called pastor is a gift to the Lord's Church. It says in Ephesians 4, 11 and 12 that God has given pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ. That's why God has given me as a pastor here to you.

And this is my responsibility. This is a responsibility I have. To teach you the Word of God, to preach unto you the Lord Jesus Christ, the unsearchable riches of Christ. And it's on my shoulders to search out those riches, like someone who has a treasure. And He brings out things new and old.

Now I don't bring out things that are new, but things newly revealed to us. How many times have you said, I didn't see that before? I've never seen that before. Well, it's been there all the time, but I didn't just see it till now. It's new to me. And that's what it means He brings out things new and old. You know, I've heard I've heard messages on Christ and election and the doctrines of grace. I've heard them many, many, many times.

They're new and old, and they never get old. They never get old. The gospel never gets old. I was raised on fried potatoes and bento beans, and I tell you what, I could eat that every day. And for a good while I did. And Vicki had to stop. I told her, you've got to stop, man. way over weight but I never got tired of them.

We don't get tired of Christ do we? Jesus Christ never becomes light bread to us and I know this as a pastor it's easy to it is easy to preach and pastor God's sheep it's the goats the butt but the sheep Oh, they like to feed. They like to feed in the green pastures of the Word of God. That's where they like to feed.

Now remember them. Remember them in love. If they're still with us, remember them in love. And I tell you this, remember them with fond memory if the Lord has taken them. I tell you, when I think of Henry, I just have such fond memories of Him and the fellowship I had with Him and the preaching I sat under, I have such fond memories of that. Such fond memories. Remember them in love and with fondness and support them if you're still alive, support them as they study and preach the Word or the Gospel to you.

And you do that, you do that, but there's people listening that need this. You do that, you do it very well, you do it very well. But he says here, whose faith follow. These men he's speaking of here, and I think most of them are gone, but he said, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. If you'll notice it says, whose faith follow, not whose actions. It's whose faith, they follow their faith. They was being lived by faith. They persevered by faith. They didn't quit. They didn't quit.

And especially in this time when he was writing to the Hebrews, there was a lot of persecution. People kicked out of their families. You know, they used to have their family get-togethers. You know what that's like. And then they're not allowed in no more. They're not allowed in the gathering. Some lost their jobs, their homes, they lost everything. They lost it all.

But I tell you the thing they didn't lose, their faith in Christ. They believed to the end. And he says, you follow that kind of faith, you imitate that faith, you imitate it. Paul said this in 1 Corinthians 11, one, BE YOU FOLLOWERS OF ME EVEN AS I ALSO AM OF CHRIST. FOLLOW ME AS I FOLLOW CHRIST.

Then he said this in Hebrews 6.12 THAT YOU BE NOT SLOTHFUL, BUT FOLLOWERS OF THEM WHO THROUGH FAITH AND PATIENCE INHERIT THE PROMISES. FOLLOW THEIR FAITH. Christ is the object of our faith, isn't He? So that's ultimately what we are following. We're following Christ as they followed Christ.

And consider the end of their conversation. He's speaking mostly of their leaders, as I said, who departed to be with the Lord. They finished their course. They had kept the faith. They entered into the joy of the Lord. Listen to what Paul says here in 2 Timothy 4, 7-8. Paul said, I fought a good fight. How'd he fight that fight? By faith. You see, our weapons are not carnal, they're spiritual. The gospel is a sword, and when we preach the gospel, we're using the sword with the Word of God. It's spiritual, it's not carnal. It's not a carnal weapon.

Paul says, I fought a good fight, I finished my course. I have a course to finish. I have a ministry to finish. And you have a course to finish. And whatever ministry that God's given you, whether it be giving, praying, or whatever it is, FINISH THAT COURSE IN FAITH. FINISH IT IN FAITH. I HAVE FOUGHT A GOOD FIGHT, I HAVE FINISHED MY COURSE, I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH. I HAVE KEPT THE FAITH.

Now here where he says, CONSIDERING THE END OF THEIR CONVERSATION, that word END means this it has this meaning it has the meaning of exit so read it like this considering the exit of their conversation which means their life considering the exit of their life how they died some of them were martyred they watched some of their pastors martyred they were put to death THEY SAW THEM LOSE EVERYTHING! AND THEY NEVER QUIT! THEY DIED IN THE FAITH! CONSIDER! MEDITATE! I wish we could learn to really do that, not like some guru, but to actually sit down and meditate, to sit down by yourself.

I've got a, over at the house, I've got the one bedroom, got a little rocking chair in the corner and a fan, and I sit there in the morning and I rock, and I'm just, it's all by myself, quiet, just the fan going, Gus laying on the bed, and I just think. I think about the message I'm gonna preach, I think about the church here, and I pray, I ask the Lord to bless, And that's the way, now I have an advantage. I have an advantage to do that. Some of you gotta get up and go out to work. I can get up and sit down. And I get to do that.

But learn to do that. Learn to take time to get a part to yourself, read the word of God, and just think upon it. Think upon the Lord. Think upon the Lord. Meditate upon Him. We need to learn to do that. Consider, meditate on the exit of their life, how they died. Not only how they lived, but how they died. We've seen some here go to be with the Lord and their end was so beautiful. Their end was so beautiful.

Marvin told me, Stoniker, he told me when his wife passed away several years ago, he was telling me this story not too awful long ago. He said, John, she was actually giddy. He said, she was so giddy, but she told me that she felt so sorry for me that I had to stay here. But he said, she was so excited. He said, I wish you could have seen it.

Remember that, remember that exit, remember that exit. There's one person I know who did not believe the Lord and I remember her exit, screaming, screaming on the way out. What a difference, what a difference! But also this, when He says here, WHOSE FAITH FOLLOW, Considering the end of their conversation. Now this speaks to me especially.

When you consider their life, consider their faith. And I had to put this in here. A preacher's life must match his message. Our life must match our message. That's so important. Paul said to the Thessalonians, I don't have to tell anybody about you. They tell me about you. Your faith, he said, is spoken of far and wide. I don't have to tell it. He said, you're like a walking epistle, a living epistle, known and read, he said, of all men, of all men.

Paul wrote this to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4.12, Let no man despise thy youth, and I think he was probably around 40 then. But let no man despise thy youth, but be thou, listen, an example of the believers in word, in conversation, that's in your life, your lifestyle, in charity, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. You be an example in these things. And that's not just for the preacher, that's for you too.

Now, some have departed, they've gone through some changes, no doubt they've had one pastor and he's passed away, and like here, you've got another one. There are some ready to depart. Changing the pulpit happens a lot, but here is the anchor. Here's the anchor.

Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. If the Lord is pleased to keep the gospel here at Bethel, you're going to see another change, but not the message. If he's gonna keep the gospel here, I assure you, the message is not gonna change. It's not gonna change. Faces are gonna change, but the message is not gonna change.

And here's where he's telling them and us, here's your hope, here's your comfort, here's your stability. Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today, and forever. yesterday he's saying here he's speaking of his i we know that he's the eternal god jesus christ is the eternal god but i believe he's all he's saying here this is the one from the beginning this is the one who's called the god of abraham isaac and jacob this is the one who sustained the apostles this is the one that Abraham trusted, David trusted, Isaiah trusted, these Old Testament saints. He was there, he was in that day, yesterday. He was in yesterday. There is no yesterday apart from Him. There is no day apart from Him. The gospel torch passes from one generation to another, but the light is the same. The light is the same. The messenger may be different, but not the message and not the light. It's the same.

Now He never changes. Let me get a drink of water. I am dry tonight. I hope I don't preach dry. But listen, He never changes. His love never changes. The older I get, the more I appreciate that. It never grows cold. He just is able to love me today as He loved me from eternity. His love never changes. He loved me and everyone whom He loves with an everlasting love, and that knows no change. AND HIS POWER NEVER CHANGES. WE ARE KEPT BY THE POWER OF GOD THROUGH FAITH. HIS POWER TO KEEP NEVER CHANGES. HE'S JUST AS ABLE TO KEEP ME FROM FALLING TODAY AS WHEN I BEGAN. HIS WORD NEVER CHANGES.

THIS WORD, AS DOUG WAS READING THE WORD OF GOD TO YOU, It struck me, it just struck me when you were reading, Doug, how old this book is. It's an old book, you know that? This book has stood the test of times. There is no book that has ever stood the test of time like this book. And that just dawned on me, just struck me when you were reading that, close to 2,000 years ago that was written.

He wasn't reading anything new. God's Word never changes. It says, God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? That's in Numbers 23 and 19.

His election of me shall never change. IF HE HAS CHOSEN ME, IT'S BECAUSE HE'S LOVED ME, AND HE WILL NEVER, HE SAID THERE IN HEBREWS, I'LL NEVER, NO NEVER, NO NEVER, NO NEVER LEAVE YOU. I'LL NEVER CAST YOU OUT. NEVER CAST YOU OUT. IT'S NOT LIKE HE CHOSE ME, THEN IT'S LIKE, WELL, HE DIDN'T THROW ME AWAY. CAN'T BE. Can't be.

He can never cast off those whom He has chosen. And the power of His blood never changes. His blood is just as powerful today as ever. It's just as powerful to cleanse as ever. Just as powerful to save as ever. The blood never loses its power. NEVER LOSES ITS POWER, NEVER LOSES ITS EFFECTIVENESS, NEVER! And His sacrifice will never change.

Listen to this in Revelation 5 verse 6, John says, And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, as it had been slain. There He stood, There he stood in the midst of the throne in his sacrificial character alive.

A dead Christ can't save anybody. The Catholics never get him off the cross. He's always hanging on the wall behind them. They've always got him hanging on the wall. Dead Christ can't save anybody, but the living Lord can and does. We have a LIVING SACRIFICE. All those animals, millions and millions of animals slain and killed and not one of them came back to life. Not one of them. We have a LIVING SACRIFICE standing in the midst of the throne of God.

And when you and I rise up in the morning to go about our changes, just remember this, we have one that does not change. and we can go about our day. When culture shifts, Christ remains the same. When leaders fail, Christ remains the same. When feelings fluctuate, Christ remains the same.

Brethren, that's such good news! Now, seeing that Jesus Christ never changes, BE NOT CARRIED ABOUT WITH DIVERSE, DIFFERENT, STRANGE DOCTRINES. There are no strange doctrines in the Bible. There are no strange doctrines. All of them given of God. BE NOT CARRIED ABOUT WITH DIVERSE AND STRANGE DOCTRINES, FOR IT IS A GOOD THING THAT THE HEART BE ESTABLISHED. WITH GRACE, NOT WITH MEATS, WHICH HAVE NOT PROFITED THEM THAT HAVE BEEN OCCUPIED THEREIN.

Seeing that the Lord Jesus Christ NEVER CHANGES, THEN HIS TEACHINGS DON'T CHANGE, DO THEY? HIS DOCTRINES DON'T CHANGE. IF HE DOESN'T CHANGE, THEN HIS TEACHINGS DON'T CHANGE. THAT'S WHAT DOCTRINES MEAN. DOCTRINE MEANS HIS TEACHINGS. THEY DON'T CHANGE. Our Lord does not continually evolve, He's not evolving, no, He is who He is. His promises do not expire, there's not an expiration date on them, and His blood never weakens. So don't get carried away with different, He says, different doctrines.

They had all sorts of things going on in that day. And we do here in our day, but we're not as attached to them. What am I trying to say? I'm trying to figure out how to put it. We are a family here, okay? We're not out there dabbling with these other religions. I'm not visiting other congregations that I know do not preach the gospel. We're not doing that. We don't have people, at least I don't think I don't have my family. I got family that's Armenian, but they don't bother me. They don't bother me, they leave me alone. And I got a feeling that's pretty much the way it is in your family too.

But they had a lot of trouble back then. Those Jewish brethren, those Judaizers, they didn't quit buddy, they didn't quit. Don't be led away by different and strange teachings. New teachings often appeal to human curiosity, I know it does. Remember over in Acts 17, the Athenians, It says this, and I'm going to paraphrase, THEY LIVE, they live to tell or to hear a new thing. That's nothing but gossip, that's what they live for. Did you hear this? Did you hear this? They just live for that. We don't live for that, do we?

I don't want to hear anything new. I want to hear more of Christ. I want to grow, and I want you to grow, in grace and in knowledge of Christ. I want our relationship to Christ to grow so strong that every one of us will be giddy when it comes time to die. When it comes our time to die, that we can rejoice, that we can sing, and we can feel for the brethren who are still going to stay here. Don't you envy, Bonnie? I do, I honestly do.

But I also know this, as Paul said, he said, I finished my course, we have a course to finish, I have a ministry to finish. I was talking to, I don't know if it was Tom Hardy, I was talking to somebody the other day, one of the pastors, and I was talking about, we was talking about getting older, and you know, the ministry, and I was saying that, What time I have left, I pray that the Lord will just enable me to be even stronger and stronger in preaching Christ. I mean like a flaming fire to preach Christ because when this is over, when this is over, I'm taking off the battlefield, it's over. I'm not going to do this no more.

I've got one time that God's given me to fight the good fight of faith. And I want to fight it to the end. And I want to fight it with STRENGTH, and with CONFIDENCE, and with PERSEVERANCE. And I want to do it, and I want YOU to do it! I want to do that. And I hope He gives this to us.

Now listen here, Strength, He says here, For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, and not with meats. This strength I was just talking about to do this, you know, to preach the gospel with more clarity and power is by grace. It's not by going through some ceremonies or some rituals and some hocus-pocus. No, it's all by grace. If I can do this, if the Lord will enable us to have this kind of a heart and attitude, it will be by grace. It will be by grace. See, TRUE CONVICTION and TRUE REPENTANCE and TRUE FAITH and the TRUE KNOWLEDGE of Christ is a REAL HEARTWORK of God. It�s a REAL HEARTWORK. It�s GOD AT WORK in the HEART. That�s what�s going on.

So He says here, �Let your hearts be established, let your hearts be CONVINCED and persuaded,� is what Paul said, I am persuaded that He's able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day. I'm persuaded of it. Don't have a doubt. Don't have a doubt. I'm persuaded of it.

Let your hearts be convinced and persuaded and settled regarding the righteousness of God and the way that God saves sinners. Jesus Christ is that way. He's the way. And grace, we understand that all of our salvation, it always has been, and it always will be, by grace. Grace from the beginning, grace along the way, and grace at the end. Grace, grace, marvelous grace. WE UNDERSTAND THAT ALL OF OUR SALVATION IS BY THE GRACE OF GOD TO US IN JESUS CHRIST. THE HEART IS NOT ESTABLISHED BY RITUALS, CEREMONIES. THAT DOES NOT ESTABLISH THE HEART.

These Judaizers came among them and was trying to get them to go back to the Law, and go back to Moses, and go back to the ceremonies. That doesn't establish anything but death. That's all that it establishes. In Acts 15-1, certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. That's a strange doctrine, because that's not of God. You didn't get that from God, you didn't get that from the Bible. Grace strengthens the heart because grace centers itself upon the Lord Jesus Christ for everything.

Christ Never Changes

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the unchanging nature of Christ?

How do we know Christ's love for us never changes?

Why is the doctrine of unchangeability important for Christians?

How does Christ's unchanging sacrifice affect our salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About John Chapman

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Christ Never Changes

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the unchanging nature of Christ?

How do we know Christ's love for us never changes?

Why is the doctrine of unchangeability important for Christians?

How does Christ's unchanging sacrifice affect our salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About John Chapman

Comments

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