Unchangeable


Nonbelievers will often attempt to discredit God’s word. While street evangelizing, I occasionally run into individuals who claim the Bible is full of contradictions. When I ask them to name one, many times they cannot do so. They simply believe what somebody else told them.

Recently in the Fargo Forum (my hometown newspaper), a man supportive of same-sex marriage wrote a letter to the editor claiming, “God’s laws change all the time” without citing an example. He went on to write, “Just go to any bookstore and see all the different Bibles, each one a different interpretation.” What does he mean by “different Bibles?” Was he comparing the Holy Bible to non-Christian books such as the Koran? That’s like comparing apples to oranges. Muslims believe Jesus was only a prophet and not God’s Son. John 3:16 says otherwise.

This letter writer might have referred to different Bible translations you find at Christian bookstores. The English language has changed over the years but God’s word hasn’t. Legitimate renderings of the original Hebrew and Greek texts all teach the same message. The covenants God made with man in the Old Testament and the New Testament may have differences. Nevertheless, Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”

If anything has changed, it’s our history and science textbooks (which the letter writer touted as his “holy books”). Many of them nowadays don’t acknowledge God at all. True science will not contradict the Holy Bible. As Albert Einstein once said, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.”

Sometimes God will “change His mind” and relent from bringing judgment when His people intercede for others (such as Moses for the Israelites in Exodus 32:14) or when sinners repent like those in Nineveh (Jonah 3:10). However, God’s character and moral laws remain constant. Can you imagine God telling us someday that it’s now okay to rape, murder, and steal?

God is not fickle like most people. He will always be faithful and act consistently with His word in response to our actions.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” - James 1:17 (NIV)

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