10 – God IS Covenant Keeping

By / Base Theology Discipleship / 12 minutes of reading

As we have seen repeatedly throughout Scripture, holiness works through the Lord’s entire character. Holiness ensures uniformity and equity throughout God’s actions and reactions with His creation. Therefore, moral integrity is central in all interactions between God and humanity. Likewise, integrity in all agreements made between Yahweh and mankind is guaranteed by virtue of His holy nature. Which is precisely what we see when looking at covenants in Scripture.

A covenant is a strong and formal agreement between two parties, much like a contract. A covenant has regulations,   obligations, and promises which both parties must abide by.

The Bible records many covenants, particularly throughout the Old Testament. Some are between people, and others are between God and people, but the serious nature of a covenant remains the same. For the purposes of this lesson, we shall focus on covenants between God and man.

Most covenants found in the Bible are unconditional, meaning that once the covenant is formally established, the covenant must be fulfilled. These are called everlasting covenants; they are unchanging by nature and inalterable in their absolute fulfilment. These unconditional covenants are the Noahic, Abrahamic, Davidic, and New covenants.

Scripture also records one conditional, or temporary covenant, which is the Mosaic covenant. The blessings of this covenant were conditional upon Israel’s obedience to the Law. Likewise, the judgements of this covenant were also the result of disobedience to the Law.

We call these “biblical covenants” because they are plainly stated in Scripture for all to read. These covenants require no imagination and use clear language to communicate God’s intentions. Understanding biblical covenants highlights God’s righteousness and dependability. He always remains faithful and unchanging to His Word, and we see this especially in His covenants with Israel and mankind. Solomon declared in 1 Kings 8:23, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart.”

Following is a brief summary of some of the main biblical covenants.
The Noahic Covenant
The word “covenant” (Heb. berit) is first found in Genesis 6:18, where God says to Noah, “I will establish my covenant with you.” This was the first biblical covenant, and it was established with Noah as an unconditional and “everlasting covenant” (Gen 9:16), which is still in effect today.

In this covenant, God promises to provide certainty within nature; “while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease” (Gen 8:22). This promise guarantees stability of the natural world, enabling humanity to continue living without the threat of global or total catastrophe.

“While the earth remains” mankind can depend upon the seasonal cycles. This promise by God extends its blessings through all creation including the climate, the planet, the  plants, “every living creature… the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth” (Gen 9:10). In Genesis 9:11-13, God states His promise of the covenant; “I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: 13 I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant.”

The effects of this covenant meant that blessings would impact all of creation. Noah and his sons are told to “multiply and fill the earth” (Gen 9:1, 7). God also caused animals, birds, and fish to fear mankind (Gen 9: 2). God then provided all living animals as food for mankind, just He had provided plants for food in the beginning. The only stipulation was that humans are not to eat meat with blood in it (Gen 9:3-4). Lastly, God affirms human life to be sacred; neither man nor animal is to kill a human being (Gen. 9:5-6)  “for God made man in his own image.”

The unconditional and eternal Noahic covenant serves as a foundation on which God’s kingdom and His plan of salvation are to be worked out. This covenant sits as the foundation for the future biblical covenants to follow with a rainbow in the sky to remind us.

The Abrahamic Covenant
God’s covenant with Abraham is found in the promises of Genesis 12:2-3. “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonours you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” From Abraham, God would:
a) Make a great nation (Israel).
b) Make the name of Abraham great.
c) Bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who dishonour Abraham.
d) And “in you (Abraham) all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Further blessings within the Abrahamic covenant are declared through Genesis chapters 12-15. They include promised land (Gen 12:-7; 13:14-17) as a forever inheritance which God later specified in Genesis 15:18-21. God further promised to protect and reward Abraham (Gen 15:1) and make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the night sky (Gen 15:5).

God then ratifies His covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15:7-17, where God passes through divided animal carcases proclaiming His promises to signify His unconditional commitment to fulfill this covenant regardless of how Abraham lives.

Through this covenant God promised that Abraham would have numerous descendants and be “the father of a multitude of nations” and “kings shall come from” him (Gen 17:5-6). This pointed forward to the coming Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7:12-16.

“Importantly, while the covenants primarily focus on Israel, they are not restricted to Israel nor seen as applying only to Israel. As Genesis 12:3 and 22:18 reveal, it was God’s intent to include Gentiles in the covenant promises. Paul affirms this in Galatians 3:7-9, where he links Gentile salvation in the church to what God promised Abraham in Genesis 12:3 and 22:18 concerning blessings to Gentiles.” (John MacArthur, Richard Mayhue, Biblical Doctrine Crossway.)

The Abrahamic covenant affirms that people of all cultures and ethnicity shall be saved through faith, just as Abraham was (Gen 15:6). It also affirms that the ethnic identity of Jew and Gentile shall be preserved within the body of God’s saved people.

The Mosaic Covenant
God introduced His law through Moses and formed the Mosaic covenant. The Lord called out to Moses His message for Israel; “if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples” (Exodus 19:5).This is the only conditional covenant God made with Israel which was dependent upon their obedience.

This Mosaic covenant was for Israel only (Exo 19:3), it included 613  commandments of which the 10 commandments were a summary set (Exo 20:1-17). God included the rules for Israel’s social living (Exo 21-23) and their system of worship (Exo 25-31). The sign of this covenant in Israel was their observance of the sabbath (Exo 31:16-17).

The Mosaic covenant could not save Israel from their sin, and it did not offer salvation. But it did show Israel how Yahweh wanted them to live as a loving, faithful, and worshipping community of God’s chosen people.

While many wrongly interpret the Mosaic covenant given to Israel, it remains righteous and good for the purpose for which God gave it to Israel (Rom 7:12). The apostle Paul writes extensively in his letter to the Roman believers, explaining the blessings and the limitations of the Mosaic Law.

  • The Law gives us knowledge of what sin is (Rom 3:20).
  • The Law shows us that as sin increases, God’s grace increases all the more (Rom 5:20).
  • From the Law’s inability to offer salvation, Paul explains that “the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law” (Rom 3:21). As Paul continued to explain, “the righteousness of God (comes) through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Righteousness could NEVER be earned through obeying the Law. The Law was never intended to produce salvation.

While God was faithful to the Mosaic covenant, Israel broke the Mosaic covenant. Therefore, God promised to surpass it with a new and better covenant. “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah” (Jeremiah 31:31). Christ’s death brought an end to the Mosaic covenant and its compulsory laws (Eph 2:13-15). Thus, believers in Jesus Christ are NOT under the Mosaic covenant. Through His death on the Cross, Jesus Christ “abolished the law of commandments expressed in  ordinances” (Ephesians 2:15).

The Davidic Covenant
The Davidic Covenant is another unconditional and everlasting covenant. The central passage detailing God’s promises is 2 Samuel 7:12-16. “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Observations:
* David’s son, Solomon, will establish this kingdom (:12).
* Solomon would build God’s house, the temple (:13).
* God would establish Solomon’s kingdom forever (:13).
* God would be a father to Solomon. When Solomon disobeyed, God would discipline him but would not take the kingdom from him as he did with Saul (:14-15).
* David’s kingdom dynasty will endure through Solomon and forever with the throne of David established forever (:16).

Although 2 Samuel chapter 7 does not use the word ‘covenant,’ the word does appear in Psalm 89:3-4. “You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 4 ‘I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.’”

In the gospel records of the New Testament, Jesus appears as the Son of David. Matthew 1:1, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David…” (see also Mat 9:27; 15:22; 21:15). Acts 13:34-37 testifies that resurrected Jesus is the fulfilment of the Davidic promise. Acts 13:34, “as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way,
‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’” In Revelation 3:7, “the angel of the church in Philadelphia” identified Jesus as “the true one, who has the key of David.”

Revelation 22:16 again identifies Jesus as “the root and the descendant of David.” Although Jesus’ first coming fulfilled some of the Davidic covenant promises of the coming King, there are other promises awaiting future fulfilment at His second coming. Through faith in Christ, God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). New Testament inclusion of Gentiles into salvation and the Kingdom is evidence of Davidic covenant fulfilment waiting for its ultimate fulfilment. Matthew 25:31-32, “when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations.” In Jesus’ glorious second coming He shall literally sit upon the throne of David in His literal Millennial earthly Kingdom. Jesus explaining these future realities to His disciples said, “truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28).

Just as we read and accept the historic fulfilment of Jesus in the David Covenant, so we look to sovereign God to bring final and ultimate fulfilment for King Jesus in the future fulfilment of the Davidic covenant.

The New Covenant
The “New covenant” is first spoken of in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where God promises Israel to forgive their sin and have an intimate and unbroken relationship with His people. While the promise was first made to Israel, it was later extended to every person who comes to Jesus Christ in faith (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:15).

This new covenant is unconditional and eternal in nature. It’s in this new covenant that God initiates and empowers his people of faith, regardless of ethnicity, to love Him, to serve Him, and to remain faithful to Him while enjoying His blessings. Under the New covenant, people are motivated to obey God by their love for Him and not by an external threat of punishment if they disobey.

God the Holy Spirit is now the enabler, empowering people to do what they could never do under the Law. “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

The New covenant is a life changing, present reality, with future certainty for both Israel and the Church. The New covenant does NOT make Israel redundant; it does NOT cause the Church to replace Israel, and it does NOT mean that the Church has absorbed Israel into itself. Ethnic Israel never loses her God appointed identity as unique from the New Testament Church.

Paul builds on Isaiah 59:20 when he teaches in Romans 11:26-27 “And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob’; 27 and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

While New Testament Gentile believers cannot become  part of ethnic Israel, a born again Jew does become part of  the Church.

Covenant Theology
Some teachers argue that there are three covenants that were made between the members of the Godhead before the first recorded covenant with Noah. They call these three covenants, the covenant of redemption, the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace.

These get called ‘theological covenants’ because they cannot be found in the text of Scripture. Theological covenants are dependent upon the student’s thinking and perceptions of spiritual matters. This line of thinking grants the student a great deal of authority over Scripture in order to claim the existence of covenants which do not actually exist in God’s Word. Therefore, they are disqualified from being grouped with “biblical covenants” and do not meet the normal definition of the term ‘covenant.’

Conclusion
Biblical covenants show us the righteous and faithful nature of God in action over long periods of time and through multiple generations of His people. They show us that, just as God is unchangeable, so his promises are unchanging.

The covenants God made with man give evidence that just as the Lord literally fulfills His promises of judgement upon sin, so He literally fulfills His promises of blessings. Israel presently awaits their literal fulfilment of all remaining covenant promises. That time will come when King Jesus reigns over the Millennial Kingdom.

All of God’s promises are based on who He is and His plan for the world. Therefore, it is with confidence that we look to the Lord to fulfill all remaining components of His covenant with Israel and with His Church that have not yet reached there literal and ultimate fulfilment.

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9 – God IS Justly Righteous

By / Base Theology Discipleship / 14 minutes of reading

Holiness filters through every aspect of God’s being with no part of His character being untouched by absolute purity and perfection. Consequently, every area of His governance reveals equity in His administration over human affairs. We read of this in many of the Psalms which contain elaborate declarations of the Lord’s character. They reveal to us His worthiness of our worship.
2 “The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name! Holy is he!
4 The King in his might loves justice. You have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!” (Psalm 99:2-5).

However, this cannot be said of fallen mankind. History records many human abuses of authority, where people’s sense of justice is back to front. When this happens, God’s people should realise that “he who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15, cf. Pro 24:23-25). These terrible inconsistencies grow out of sin motivated hearts that desire inappropriate power, self-gain, and self-glory. When corruption weighs the moral scales in favour of wickedness and unrighteousness, a gross disconnection exists between human and heavenly authority. But NO such accusation can ever be made against the Lord.

In Deuteronomy 32:3-4, Moses proclaimed to the assembly of Israel, “I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! 4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” God never violates His law, He never administers corrupt rulings, He never mistakenly acquits the guilty or wrongly punishes the innocent. Holy God is not capable of such violations in His righteousness.

The Old Testament Hebrew language uses 3 main words for “righteous or righteousness.”
Saddiq = just, innocent, in the right, devout.
Sdaqa  = honesty, justice.
Sedeq  = accuracy, what is right and correct, right thing, what is honest, equity. 

The New Testament Greek language uses a main root word for righteous, dikaios, which means equitable, innocent, holy, and just. And an English dictionary would describe “righteous” as morally right, honourable, virtuous, and justifiable. All 3 languages have similar meanings with variations to help us understand what Scripture means when it declares God is righteous.

It is important for us to understand that because God IS righteous, He DOES righteous things. Yahweh’s righteous character always leads His righteous behaviour. Put another way, the Lord’s righteous decisions are always because of His righteous nature. Therefore, we observe in Scripture that God is just in everything He does. He is upright in all His interactions with others. He is honest in all His communications. He consistently acts and reacts in the right and appropriate way for every situation. God is NOT able to think or do anything that is not righteous. God’s Holiness dictates and compels His righteousness.

The righteousness of the Lord expresses His holiness by dealing justly with people of all kinds. Both the obedient and the wicked equally come under the justice of Righteous God. The obedient to blessed reward, and the wicked to damning judgement. God’s every evaluation of mankind is based upon truth with the highest accuracy. In God’s courtroom, no one shall ever be misrepresented. There shall never be inaccurate, or misinformation presented. No false witness shall every appear because God’s perfect memory is the only witness needed. Neither shall anyone ever challenge the rightness of God’s verdicts as judge.

God is righteously kind and rewarding
“The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works” (Psalm 145:17). The Lord never forgets or fails to reward the righteous deeds of His obedient children. Some of those rewards are administered now, but most are being stored up in heaven ready to be administered upon our arrival there. Therefore, Jesus instructed, “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).

Even in those times when the world’s cruelty lashes out at the righteous, heavenly justice records it and assigns heavenly reward to the suffering believer. Again, Jesus explains in Matthew 5:11-12, “blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven…” This is because “God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Hebrews 6:10). By faith we understand that every believer shall accurately and fully receive eternal reward for the righteous fruit of Christlikeness during their earthly lives.

While reward is NOT the believer’s primary motive for obedience, God shall never be indebted to His children for their righteous living. The apostle Paul, who suffered for Christ more than most, said, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Heaven shall uncover the eternal richness of God’s glory to be shared with all those who are in Christ.

On the day of believer’s heavenly evaluation, God shall “test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:13-15 NIV). Here we see equity in God’s judgment. Each person is judged by the same standard, and rewards shall be administered appropriately. Even those who shall suffer loss for works done with wrong motives, they shall still receive the blessedness of eternal life with the righteousness of Christ credited to them. “The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Romans 3:22). Belief in Christ qualifies the sinner for the eternal status of being righteous in Christ.

God is righteous in discipline
One of Scriptures’ most gracious, yet bizarre examples of Yahweh’s discipline is seen in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar. The prophet Daniel had the job of delivering the interpretation of a dream that foretold the king of his upcoming discipline. You can read the full story in Daniel chapter 4.

The just reason requiring discipline was Nebuchadnezzar’s idolatrous pride. It’s explained in Daniel 3:1, “King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits (28m) and its breadth six cubits (2.7m)…” King Nebuchadnezzar was so arrogant that he had a huge golden image of himself made (Dan 2:38) and placed it “on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.” As if that was not bad enough, he then gathered the nation’s leaders and announced the following. “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:4-6). The king’s ego demanded unqualified worship from the people. In God’s grace, Nebuchadnezzar was not instantly destroyed. God spared him for a higher purpose. This Gentile king would become an object lesson of gracious sovereign justice, plus he would also become a Gentile king praising Yahweh.

The Lord even called Nebuchadnezzar to repent before the correction took place, thus sparing himself. Daniel 4:27 records God’s invitation to Nebuchadnezzar to
“break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” But no, this king thought he knew more than Yahweh. He thought he could somehow circumvent sovereign correction – WRONG!

Instead of killing Nebuchadnezzar, Yahweh chose to place His righteous mercy on display for all to witness through the life and discipline of wicked Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 4:17 details God’s purpose for the upcoming discipline. “The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.” The world needed correction of it’s understanding of who the real ruler of the earth is – YAHWEH. And the world needed to comprehend that the Most High rules over all kingdoms, including over Nebuchadnezzar. This truth was not negotiable, and it was unchangeable. The goodness of Righteous God was now going to deliver the lesson.

The inescapable righteous humiliation happened. Daniel 4:29-33 explains, “at the end of twelve months Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you…  33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.”

It took 7 years of living like a wild animal for the discipline of Nebuchadnezzar to have its full effect, such was the depth of his arrogance. At the end of 7 years the Lord restored Nebuchadnezzars’ sanity and set him back as ruler over Babylon.

Daniel 4:34-35 tells of the kings’ changed attitude. “I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honoured him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” The righteous and just discipline which graciously preserved the Kings life had grown true worship in the man’s heart. “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Daniel 4:37).

Nebuchadnezzar knew that he was the recipient of righteous and compassionate discipline. To receive correction is better than judgement, and Nebuchadnezzar now understood this. So it is in the lives of all God’s children. God’s discipline may come through chastisement for the purpose of correction, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar. Or it may simply be for the purpose of training greater holiness into human flesh.

Righteous training through sanctification is an essential part of every believer’s life on the path to Christlikeness. Hebrews 12:10-11 tells us that our loving Heavenly Father “disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”  God’s children are to worship with gratitude because we have not been abandoned, we are not neglected, and we are not left unaided in developing righteous character. Our Heavenly Father sometimes implements His just righteousness through very difficult training as He grows Christlikeness in us. In this way the Holy Spirit’s lordship in our lives grows glory for our Saviour Jesus Christ (2Co 3:18).

God is the righteous Judge
God alone stands as the final Judge of all who dwell within all spheres of His kingdom. As surely as “the heavens declare his righteousness” so “God himself is judge!” (Psalm 50:6). There is coming an inescapable day when “He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness” (Psalm 96:13), and “He will judge …the peoples with equity” (Psalm 98:9). Holy accuracy shall echo  throughout heaven’s Courtroom as the Almighty Judge recounts the sins of those who chose to disbelieve in Him or his Son.

In the coming day when Yahweh unleashes His fury upon the wicked and rebellious, justice will be inescapable and irreversible. “The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth…” (1 Samuel 2:10). Every verdict shall be delivered with perfect fairness, with perfect equity, and in accordance with the life lived against their Creator.

What’s more, the administration of God’s justice has been delegated to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. As “the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honour the Son, just as they honour the Father…” (John 5:22-23). When sinners reject Jesus Christ, they are rejecting the Judge of their souls. The Judge, who could be their Saviour, calls them to receive forgiveness and eternal life, but only while they have breath in their lungs. All that all changes once we leave this world and enter eternity. Therefore, Jesus is to be honoured with the same deep reverence as the Father is to be honoured, because “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to” Him (Matthew 28:18).

The gospel includes warnings of the judgement which every human must face. Those who face the Judge without faith in Him as Saviour will receive no more opportunities of grace. “For the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). This shall be perfect justice, final justice, and irreversible justice. This emphasises the urgency of the gospel which Peter preached at Pentecost; “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

But for those sinners who by faith “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:24-25), “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2). The just righteousness of Christ is a beautiful part of His nature for the believer, but a fearful part of His nature for those who reject Him as Lord and Saviour.

As always, the greatest manifestation of Yahweh’s just righteousness is seen at the Cross of Calvary in His Son Jesus Christ. Likewise, the greatest human experience of Yahweh’s just righteousness is discovered through placing faith in what Christ accomplished on the Cross as the propitiation for our sins. At the Cross, the Father showed the fullest extent of His righteousness “so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:26).

When we introduce a sinner to Christ who was crucified on the Cross, we should point out that it is their sin that is in Christ who is hanging there in their place. The just God who must inflict death upon sin (Rom 6:23) is also the justifier who declares the sinner to be innocent, if only that sinner will believe that Jesus was their substitute on that Cross. We are to introduce each sinner in the gospel to themselves hanging dead on the Cross in Christ. It’s as if we were laid over Christ, and those nails went through us, through Christ, and embedded into that Cross (1Pe 2:24).

There is indeed urgency in the gospel, there is desperation on behalf of the unforgiven sinner, for the Justly Righteous God of all will require the life of every sinner. Only those found to be in Christ shall walk out of God’s courtroom declared innocent and carrying the righteousness of Christ their Saviour.

Conclusion
“The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory” (Psalm 97:6). Identifying and understanding the Lord’s righteousness magnifies His glory with dazzling intensity. “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you” (Psalm 89:14).

God IS Justly Righteous, and these qualities cannot be separated from the rest of His nature. His goodness is seen with spectacular radiance through His justice and His righteousness. Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” John 1:12-13, “to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Application:
Worship!
Evangelise!

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8 – God IS Good

By / Base Theology Discipleship / 13 minutes of reading

During the amazing discussion between Yahweh and Moses recorded in Exodus 33, the LORD said to Moses, “you have found favour in my sight, and I know you by name.” To which Moses replied, “Please show me your glory?” (Exodus 33:17-18). Exodus 33 is a rich account of the intimate relationship mutually enjoyed between Yahweh and Moses. Because the Lord is omniscient (all-knowing), He knew everything there was to know about Moses. Moses could not reveal anything to God that was not already familiar to God.

But the same could not be said of Moses due to his limited mind. Moses could only perceive attributes of Yahweh which were graciously revealed to him. So, when Moses requested, “show me your glory,” Yahweh responded in a way that would enable Moses to receive a summary view of God’s glory. Moses was about to receive a highly accurate overview of the accumulative beauties of all God’s character. This incredible glimpse of Yahweh’s essence would happen in just a moment of time. But I suspect that for Moses, it would seem as if time stood still as he witnessed such an out-of-this-world revelation of His Sovereign Creator.

As the Lord prepared Moses for such as awe inspiring experience, He said to Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy (Exodus 33:19).

Notice the sequence in which God was to reveal His glory to Moses. Everything that could be revealed of Yahweh would be encapsulated in His goodness. Out of goodness would flow every attribute of the Lord. As the name ‘The LORD’ was to be proclaimed, Moses would witness attribute upon attribute of Yahweh’s goodness.

Astounding as that would be for Moses, there was more specific detail which Yahweh wanted Moses to understand. The Lord wanted Moses to know with absolute clarity that “I will be gracious” and I “will show mercy.” This would be Yahweh’s testimony of Himself.

The accumulative manifestation of God’s glorious goodness would be seen through the expressions of God’s grace and mercy. This was so necessary for Moses, as he was called to lead a rebellious and stiff-necked people (Exo 33:3) who would never qualify to receive God’s goodness by their own merit.

What’s more, Yahweh’s grace and mercy would be dispensed according to His ‘will.’ Because sinful Israel could never qualify, it would be necessary for the will of God to overrule their sinful undeserving lives with His determined grace and mercy. Moses would then understand this to be  the glorious manifestation of God’s goodness.

And so, it happened. Yahweh preserved Moses’ life during this revelation by placing him in a crack within a rock face. Then, covering Moses with His hand, and only allowing Moses to view His back, Yahweh passed by Moses while proclaiming His name. That was sufficient to overwhelm Moses’ senses with exposure to God’s glory (Exodus 34:5-9). All of Yahweh’s goodness was revealed, all of His grace and mercy was exposed. Every human sense that Moses possessed would have perceived Yahweh’s goodness perfectly and completely as intended by the Lord.

Yahweh’s goodness interlinks and synchronises His grace, mercy, kindness, love, forgiveness, compassion, patience, generosity, care, and more. Goodness is the central means of God’s character through which Yahweh expresses His holiness. And it is His holiness that permeates and distinguishes His every character attribute with absolute  purity and perfection.

David mentions this in Psalm 23:6, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” To know anything of God’s mercy is to taste of His glorious goodness. To know God is to know His goodness which is always present and can never lessen or cease. God IS Good!

Of particular interest in Exodus 33:19, is Yahweh’s focus on His grace, His mercy, and His will. These attributes display and transport His goodness into our world and into our lives.

God is Graciously Good
Doctor Steven Lawson summarises grace with the following statement. “Divine grace is God’s unmerited favour toward unworthy sinners that delivers them from His just condemnation and bestows on them His forgiveness and righteousness. It is the attribute of God by which He withholds from sinful mankind what they truly deserve – judgment. Instead, He gives them what they do not deserve – salvation. Grace is given freely by God, without any cost, to the one who receives it by faith.” (Lawson, Steven J. Show Me Your Glory: Understanding the Majestic Splendor of God (Reformation Trust Publishing)).

God owes humanity nothing. He is NOT in debt to His creation in any way. It was mankind who stepped away from fellowship with God through sin (Genesis 3:19). Death was the predicted and inevitable result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. So, from that early time in human history, God’s engagement with humanity had to be based upon His grace.

God’s grace is always inspired by His loving mercy and is always initiated by Himself. He is always the one who predetermines all the details that must come to fulfilment for a sinner to experience His grace. Plus, it is always God who brings to completion any works of His grace within our lives. In this way, God wills His goodness upon those He “chose… in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace…” (Ephesians 1:4-6).

When thinking of God’s grace and human works, they can NEVER exist together for the purpose of salvation. Divine grace and human efforts contradict each other, proving to be incompatible for salvation, lacking any ability to function together. The apostle Paul firmly states this in Romans 11:6, “if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.”

The nature of God’s grace is that it can never be earned, it is always given freely without cost to the recipient. Grace is never a reward for good works, rather, grace is a gift to the guilty sinner. Paul carefully explains this grace principle in Ephesians 2:8, “for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Grace is the ONLY foundation for salvation. Grace is the ONLY foundation on which faith can exist and function. Therefore, Paul says that “faith” is the “grace” gift from God to a sinner which enables salvation.

Grace is a wonderful expression of God’s goodness. The realisation of God’s grace grows humility, worship, gratitude, and the desire to serve within the believer. Grace should always be amongst the most frequently worshipped attributes of Yahweh. God is Graciously Good!

God is Mercifully Good
Again, Doctor Steven Lawson summarises mercy with the following statement. “Paul writes, ‘He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy’ (Titus 3: 5). “Mercy” (Greek eleos) refers to His heartfelt pity toward those in great affliction. This mercy moves Him with compassion to provide relief for sinners in their distress.” (Lawson, Steven J. Show Me Your Glory: Understanding the Majestic Splendor of God (Reformation Trust Publishing)).

Although grace and mercy are similar, they are not interchangeable. They are distinct from each other and highlight differing aspects of God’s goodness. God’s mercy is consistent with all other facets of His nature, and is therefore dependable, just, fair, and holy. Following David being called to account by the prophet Nathan for his sin with Bathsheba, David repents before the Lord. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1). David knew God well enough to know that you can depend upon the certainty of God’s holy heart. Yahweh is merciful, loving, and forgiving. So, guilty David pleads His case before the Lord. There, David found the required mercy to be completely cleansed and set back on a path of righteous living.

In Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah speaks out of great anguish over the suffering of fallen Jerusalem. However, during the terrible suffering Jeremiah proclaims, “the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

God is NEVER exhausted of mercy. He never tires of administering compassionate love through His mercy. His people can trust that the Lord refreshes His application of mercy into their lives each and every morning. This is an extraordinary application of mercy which grows out of the fact that God is faithful. Therefore, He is dependable in the administration of mercy. Yahweh’s holiness means His faithfulness is unchanging and always looking for opportunities to show mercy where it is not merited.

The Lord’s mercy is always expressed by Him taking from His heavenly resources and dispensing them to His people. Mercy is never theoretical only. Rather, mercy sees that His  spiritual resources are poured out through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:26), through the Word of God (Jn 17:17), through the service of angels (Heb 1:14), and through the faithful service of God’s people (Rom 12:13) to meet the needs of God’s beloved children (2Pe 1:3-4).

The Lord’s mercy is intimate and applied personally to each of His children. Paul, writing to build restoration into the sin damaged Corinthian Church detailed some of the resources of mercy at their disposal. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Paul understood that mercy grows comfort in the life of a damaged believer. Comfort finds a place of rest and peace in the Lord because mercy is the foundation of that comfort. Merciful comfort is also able to be passed on to others who are suffering. Having received mercy and experienced God’s comfort, the believer is equipped to introduce others to the merciful God who provides comfort to all who take trusting refuge in Him.

But the highest manifestation of God’s mercy is seen in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ’s humanity He suffered in every way that any person could suffer. In this way Christ identifies fully with mankind. “Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17). In every aspect of Christ’s divinity and humanity, He perfectly fulfilled all requirements by God to be our merciful and faithful high priest.

The fullest extent of Christ’s merciful priestly role is seen in His work of propitiation for sins on the Cross. There was no other way in which God’s wrath against our sin could be satisfied. In Romans 3:25, Paul explains that our merciful “God put forward as a propitiation by his (Jesus’) blood, to be received by faith…”  God the Father wanted to be appeased. He wanted to deliver to mankind the fullest possible expression of divine mercy that He could. So, He presented His Son for the job of carrying our sin to the Cross where the Father would unleash His fury upon Him until He was appeased – propitiated – and calmed from wrath to peace. Jesus Christ did this!

When these truths are genuinely received by faith, a sinner has the blood sacrifice of Christ applied to them. Romans 5:9-11 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The believing sinner is transitioned from the state of being a dead enemy (Rom 5:10; Eph 2:1; Php 3:18) under the wrath of God to being forgiven (Col 2:13). They are cleansed (Ac 15:9), adopted into the beloved (Rom 8:15; Eph 1:6), gifted eternal life (Jn 3:16), indwelt by the sealing Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13), and gifted with Christ’s righteousness (1Co 1:30). Such is the extreme nature of God’s mercy in action for undeserving sinners. God is Mercifully Good!

God is Wilfully Good
No subject challenges the human heart more than “God’s will.” Humanity demands their imagined rights, and claim to be masters of their own destiny, and in so doing they attempt to rob God of His will. Mankind claims to possess a dominant “free will” which usurps authority over any will that God may possess. No belief could be further from the truth or violate the nature of Yahweh more than this one.

In Exodus 33:19, God explains through the strongest form of emphatic statements that He has a “will.” “I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” (Exo 33:19). It is unmistakable, Yahweh knows His own mind, and He knows precisely the things that He desires to become reality. God’s will is dominant, it is sovereign, it is all-knowing, and it is all-powerful. Jehovah’s will governs over all things. When He exercises His will, it happens. To ensure this, He employs His grace and mercy as He interacts with undeserving sinners.

This, in part, is why the church uses the word ‘sovereign’ to explain God’s will. The things that He wills to be, simply happen as expressions of His good and dominant character. If Yahweh did not wilfully determine to act out His grace flowing from His mercy towards sinners, NOT a single human would ever receive salvation. Every person would remain dead in their sin (Ephesians  2:1), without the desire or the capacity to reach out to God for life (Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:10-11).

Humanity is dependent upon God’s will. If mankind did possess a free will, as many claim, they would exercise that will to wish God out of their lives. Peter boldly confronted the crowd in Acts 2:22-23 with this truth. Peter preached; “Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know – 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

Mankind’s unregenerate will is to get God out of their lives. Whereas God’s will is to restore mankind to God. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5). When we believers were spiritual corpses trapped in the graves of our sin, God “willed” to change us when we had NO will of our own. Therefore, spiritual rebirth is ONLY possible by the merciful will of the one and only sovereign and loving God who chose to be our Saviour. Here we see God’s grace, God’s mercy, and God’s will intersect in the most astounding act of God to bring about the salvation of sinners for His glory alone.
God is Wilfully Good!

Psalm 100
​1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Application:
Worship!
Evangelise!
Administer God’s goodness to others!

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7 – Clarity of Scripture

By / Base Theology Discipleship / 7 minutes of reading

The doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture (also known as Perspicuity of Scripture) teaches us that God has made His Word, the Bible, to be clearly understandable. Some people in the history of the church, and even today, want to tell us that the Bible is a mystical book or that its interpretation is unclear. As we shall see, that is not true.

The clearly understandable character of Scripture is founded on the character of God:
* God is a relational God. He wants to know us and for us to know Him. We can expect His Word to communicate properly with us because good communication is part of a good relationship. He is knowable through His Word, so it must have clarity because He wants us to understand who He is.
* God is an intelligent God (Psa 92:5). He is completely able to communicate intelligent and logical thoughts to us. His Word shows this.
* God is a God of order. He has created a universe that functions in an ordered fashion, and He expects us, as believers, to conduct ourselves in an orderly way. Just as we can expect His communication with us to be ordered and functional. 1 Corinthians 14:35 says, “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.” His communication with us will not be characterised by confusion.
* God is also true, infallible, and reliable. Therefore, we can expect the same when He speaks. His Word in Scripture is representative of Himself and His character, so we can expect it to be clearly intelligible.

Scripture must be, and is, able to be clearly understood, because God sends it to perform certain tasks:
* Scripture is light. It gives understanding from the Lord “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105; 1 Peter 1:19).
* Scripture is profitable for us. “All scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
* Scripture explains salvation. “…the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15b). The message of salvation is there for all who want to find it.
* Scripture tests the accuracy of religious ideas. “Now these Jews were more noble than those of Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).
* The Lord has given us His understandable Word to do this kind of work in us. It is fit for these purposes because it has clarity of meaning.

God has given us clarity in Scripture so that it can be read by everyone. Scripture is addressed to common people. Deuteronomy 6:4 says, “Hear, O Israel.” God’s Word is there to be heard and understood by all the different people that live in the community. Mark 12:37 says, “The great crowd heard Him (Jesus) gladly.” God’s Word was never intended to only be understood by a special or elite type of person but not the rest of us. It doesn’t have hidden meanings that ordinary people can’t find. We can all access it and read it for ourselves and expect to learn what it means.
* We are told by the Lord to teach Scripture to our children (Deu 6:6-7). Obviously, the basic and most important truths of the Word can be grasped in some measure even by children. As Timothy was taught; “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings…” (2 Timothy 3:14-15a).

What the clarity of Scripture does NOT mean.
* It does not mean that all parts of Scripture are equally easy to understand. Clarity is not the same as simplicity. Some parts of Scripture are fairly simple, and some are more complex. Often, we find that we need to work to understand properly what the text is saying. Peter says of Paul’s writings, “There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16). Those who are “ignorant and unstable” will twist the meaning of the verses that require greater understanding. Instead, we are to submit to the task of diligently seeking the meaning of more complex texts under the Lord’s guidance, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The clear meaning is there to be found, when we are prepared to apply ourselves in the right way. Also, an important principle here is that the more difficult texts are always to be seen in the light of those texts that are plainly obvious in their meaning.
* Clarity of Scripture does not mean that interpretation, explanation, and exposition by a Bible teacher are not necessary. The New Testament speaks of the gift of teaching and the office of the pastor/teacher. In Acts 8, Phillip heard the Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah and asked him “’Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, ‘How can I unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Phillip to come and sit with him.” (Acts 8:30-31). Our Lord also explained Scripture to His disciples. After His resurrection, for example, He met some of His disciples on the road to Emmaus, “And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27). We need teachers to explain to those of us who know less, to apply Scripture, to exhort and rebuke, and other such tasks.

Why would someone believe that Scripture is not clear in its meaning?
* Perhaps they are a new believer and know nothing of the Bible or have never been taught well. They need to be shown the clear meaning of Scripture by those who are more mature. We instruct them, knowing that “the unfolding of your words gives light, it imparts understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130).
* Perhaps someone will think Scripture is unclear because they are unwilling to diligently spend time in study. Or perhaps they have not bothered to grow spiritually. The writer of Hebrews rebukes his readers for their lack of growth, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food” (Hebrews 5:12). They were poor in their understanding and had not sought edification.
* People with a wrong heart attitude can fail to grasp the intent of Scripture even if they are educated and intelligent. “At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children” (Matthew 11:25).
* People will struggle to understand what Scripture is saying if their methods of interpretation are bad. That is a whole other subject which we shall cover another time.
* People will struggle to understand some parts of Scripture if they are not born-again believers. Their thinking about God’s Word is distorted by their sin and their ungodly desires. We have the advantage of having the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us understand. “You gave your good Spirit to instruct them” (Nehemiah 9:20).
* The work of false teachers deliberately obscures the meaning of some texts also. These are men (and women) who speak “twisted things” (Acts 20:29-30).

In conclusion, let us praise our God, who has given us His good, understandable Word. “Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). Thank Him that it is His will for us to know Him through His clear Word that He has provided.

   

 

7 – Clarity of Scripture Read More »

6 – God IS Unchangeable

By / Base Theology Discipleship / 12 minutes of reading

The depth of knowledge concerning God’s character will ultimately determine the maturity of a believer or a Church. Similarly, the stronger the understanding of who God is, the more God centred and God exalting worship becomes. The greater the exploration of God’s nature, the stronger the Church’s vision of God’s majesty becomes with believer’s strength and courage growing in proportion to their understanding of Yahweh. The passion and purity of a Church’s teaching of doctrine and evangelism will determine the intimacy of their walk with the Lord.

Psalm 33:8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
A significant part of a believers’ correct understanding of God is that He does not change. This is God’s “Immutability.”  “For I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6). Because God is eternally perfect (holy) in every thought, in all His values, and in every action, He has no need to change in any way. If God were to change, that would mean there must have been an imperfection or an incompleteness that needed correcting. And imperfection or incompleteness is NOT true of Yahweh. He cannot be improved upon, nor can He be lessened or worsened in any way because He is holy. Just as God is eternal in His holiness, so He is eternal in His unchangeableness, in His immutability.

In 1 Samuel 15:29, the prophet Samuel declared the Lord’s discipline to sinful king Saul. Samuel explained to Saul that He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind (NIV). Humans are always changing. We change our values, we change our speech and behaviour, we change our preferences, and we change our opinions. This remains a constant struggle for mankind, including Christians. Learning how to be constant in our beliefs and behaviour is an important part of our sanctification. However, as Samuel explained, because God is not human He is eternally unchanging in nature and thoughts. He does not possess the fleshly weaknesses and sinful inclinations which often promote change in us.

Now, before we continue, we need to understand that in humans, not all change is bad. As believers, God calls us to change for good, for improvement, and for greater holiness. Therefore, we are exhorted to change many things so that we can be more like Christ and more God honouring. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind… (Romans 12:2). But this is not true of God as He is already perfectly perfect in every way (He is Holy).

The Lord revealed to Isaiah, my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). The difference between the way God thinks and the way we think is enormous. There exists a huge distance between the way we think and behave, and the way God thinks and behaves.

For God, holiness is natural and requires no effort on His part. But for humans, we are not holy by nature. As God observed before He flooded the earth in Genesis 6:5, the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And following the great flood, God still observed that the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth (Genesis 8:21). Humanity’s sinfulness makes them changeable. God’s holiness makes Him unchangeable.

The Psalmist says the same about the created universe. Following sin being introduced by Adam and Eve, the heavens will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, 27 but you are the same, and your years have no end (Psalm 102:26-27). Every created thing is changing, aging, and dying. Nothing and no-one can escape this constantly changing reality. But this is not true of God, as the writer of Hebrews 1:10-12 declares. “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11 they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, 12 like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.” God does not age, He gets no older or younger. Just as He had no beginning, so He shall have no end, He is eternal and forever the same (Rev 1:8).

Further to this, James writes, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change (James 1:17). Highlighting the microscopic perfections of God, James’ explains that the closer you inspect God the more you will observe that within His perfections there exists NO variations. There are NO exceptions to God’s holy and generous character towards His children. There are NO inconsistencies in God’s nature. James’ stresses the fact that there is NOT even a shadow due to change in God’s character. In other words, even in the secondary effects of God’s actions, in the consequences of what He does, there is total and unchanging consistency within His character. Every part of God’s nature endures as knowable constants of who God is.

Likewise, the writer of Hebrews testifies of Christ, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). This reinforces our understanding of Jesus’ deity. Jesus is God, He is eternal, and He is unchangeable.

Similarly, God is unchanging in His love for His people.
Psalm 103:17, the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children. God’s affections do NOT change like the world’s affections change. God’s expressions of loving devotion to His children are fixed and faithfully unchanging. As Paul told Timothy, even during those times when we are faithless, he remains faithful – for he cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13). God cannot change His character simply because His children are inconsistent in the way they live. God’s faithfulness means that He is dependable, and it is NOT based upon our performance. Yahweh’s incredible  faithfulness is also expressive of the inter-trinity relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who lives within every believer, including struggling believers. It is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:21-22).

Believer’s security stands firm, guaranteed by the unchanging and faithful nature of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s immutability is central to a correct understanding of the gospel, of salvation, and of believer’s eternal security.

Some people use the story of Abraham interceding for the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:22-33), to argue that God changes His mind. When considering this account, we need to remember that the Lord new the outcome long before Abraham started talking with Him. Isaiah 46:9b-10, I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose. God new Abraham’s thinking, his motives, and his vulnerable condition as a mortal man who could not control the events that God controls. God knew all along that He was going to agree with Abraham’s request to spare Sodom if only 10 righteous people were found, to which the Lord responded, for the sake of ten I will not destroy it (Genesis 18:32).

It was good for Abraham to engage with the Lord in this discussion, pleading for the potentially righteous people of Sodom. It was good for Abraham to realise that God is approachable, that God listens, and that God was willing to save the wicked along with the righteous residences of Sodom. Did God change His mind with Abraham, no! God simply allowed His predetermined will to play out by involving Abraham in the process. It was always God’s intention that Abraham’s discussion would be part of the process of fulfilling His will to save only Lot and his two daughters from Sodom (Gen 19:16-17, 26).

From Abraham’s human perspective however, he may have thought that he was negotiating a moving goal with the Lord. But that was just Abraham’s perspective. As we know, God sees things very different to the way we see those same things.

The same principle is true in our prayers today. From our perspective, God calls us to continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2). We pray, we watch for how God responds to our prayers, then we adjust how we pray and continue to pray more and watch more. All the time we do this with thanksgiving because we understand that God knows what He is doing. This process of prayer is God’s predetermined method of including us in His work. This is how God engages believers, getting us involved in the process of working out His will in our lives while He remains unchanging.

Again, we see God’s infinite intelligence and power synchronising His predetermined will for our salvation with our responsibility to believe. Ephesians 1:11-13 explains this, God works all things according to the counsel of his will (:11). Then in verse 13, we read that we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and believed in him. From our perspective we think we made the decision to believe which then changed God’s mind about us. We assume this happened because we believed. We assume that God responded to our belief for the first time by adopting us (Eph 1:5). But this is only our human perspective. From God’s perspective, He has not changed His thinking about us. He had always determined for us to believe and to include us in that process of hearing the gospel and responding to the gospel. We changed our mind towards God, which is what God had planned for us to do. But God did not change His mind towards us, He simply brought His plan to completion within us.

Psalm 33:10-11 declares, the LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Here we see that the Lord is determined in His immutability. While earthly nations may think that they can do as they please, and they may think that they determine their destiny, they are wrong. The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will (Proverbs 21:1). Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand (Proverbs 19:21). Yahweh’s will does not change, it was determined in eternity past and fulfilled within human history. What Yahweh wills, He does. God is also unchanging in His desire to save sinners from His judgement.

We see that the Lord had Noah preaching for up to 100 years while he built the ark. Peter says that God brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others (2 Peter 2:5). God could have killed every human including Noah and his family, but He didn’t. Even though Noah sinful, he was righteous when compared to the evil world population (Gen 7:1). God showed grace in saving Noah and his family.

Peter reminds us that the Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise (of coming judgement) as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The Lord’s moral loving kindness is constantly reaching out to sinners with the invitation of salvation. He gives everyone many, many opportunities to repent and receive forgiveness and eternal life. At the same time, the Lord’s sovereign love exercises His will by calling and electing sinners according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ (Ephesians 1:9).

These two truths work together in perfect harmony. God’s moral love toward all sinners (John 3:16), and God’s sovereign will (Eph 1:3-14) synchronise perfectly with each other while engaging human responsibility to repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). Yahweh is consistent and persistent in reaching out to save those who are dead in sin (Eph 2:1). He is unchanging in His efforts to show mercy to those who do not want His mercy. Romans 9:15-16, God says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

John 1:12-13 reads to all who did receive him (Jesus), who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. God is unchanging in saving sinners, in giving spiritual rebirth, in overriding the sinful will of humans by gifting them the necessary faith and repentance (Eph 2:8-9; 2Ti 2:25) so that they can believe and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Application:
a) Added to all the other qualities of God which deserve our worship, we include His unchanging character in our worship.
b) Because the Lord is unchangeable, we can trust Him, depending on Him to keep His Word and never failing us.
c) The Lord’s unchanging mercy expressed through the gospel inspires us to share the good news of the gospel with the unsaved.
d) In our discipleship we teach God’s immutability so that those who are younger in faith can grow in the depth of their faith because God will change on them.
e) Believer’s hope for the future is strengthened because we understand that Yahweh has already determined the beginning to the end. The future events of Revelation are prewritten history for God. God will make it happen because He is not going to change. What God will, God does. And that will never change.

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