James 1:17, “…and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
There was a time when I was young that all the Christians I knew believed what God said in the Bible. There was a time when I was young that all the pastors that I knew of taught that sin was sin. There was a time when I was young that fornication, adultery, homosexuality, drunkenness, lying, taking the Lord’s name in vain, witchcraft, murder, etc. were defined as sin because that’s what God calls it in the Bible. There was a time when I was young that people realized that God was the one that defined sin. There was a time when I was young that a person (pastor or friend) who lovingly and caringly repeated what God had said in His Word wasn’t considered mean but rather was just sharing what God had said.
Now it seems that if a person reports what God has said, then that person is mean and unloving. Now it seems that if a person shares the truth found in the Bible, that that person is high minded. Now it seems that if a person believes what God has said, then that person is a hypocrite, for everyone knows that they aren’t perfect.
Does agreeing with God mean that I am judging and condemning a person’s sin? Does agreeing with God mean that I cannot love a sinner just as God has loved me - a sinner? Does agreeing with God mean that I am in some way superior to others? Does agreeing with God mean that I want others to be miserable? God forbid.
God is the source of all truth. He has given us all the truth He wishes us to have in His Word - the Bible. If we will but believe what He tells us in His Word then He will teach us from His Word. What I have learned from God’s Word is that every person is so sinful that none of us can ever hope to reach heaven and God on our own. I have learned that everyone’s particular sinful habits are different but are all also similar in that we all struggle with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. What I have learned is that my sin is no better or worse than yours. What I have learned is that God has provided forgiveness for my sin through faith in Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. What I have learned is that salvation from my sin is only through Jesus Christ. What I have learned is that this gift of salvation is not just for me alone but for everyone. What I have learned is that if I love God and others, I will tell others that they too are in need of this same Savior and that He died for them just like He died for me.BUT…everyone already seems to believe in a Jesus, just not the Jesus Christ of the Bible. Their Jesus doesn’t call sin, sin. Their Jesus isn’t the only way of salvation, just part. Their Jesus was a nice teacher and was never mean. Their Jesus loves everyone and doesn’t expect anyone to turn from their sin. Their Jesus isn’t the God of the Bible manifest in flesh, but a Jesus of their own making and emotion.
The Jesus of the Bible said that we should love our enemies. The Jesus of the Bible also said that looking on a woman to lust was sin. The Jesus of the Bible told the children to come to Him. The Jesus of the Bible also told the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. The Jesus of the Bible said that He did not come to condemn the world but that the world, through Him, might be saved. The Jesus of the Bible also called the scribes and Pharisees vipers and hypocrites because they put traditions of men above God’s Word. The Jesus of the Bible washed the feet of His disciples. With whip in hand, the Jesus of the Bible also threw the merchants out of the temple. The Jesus of the Bible taught that God loved the world. The Jesus of the Bible also taught that men should repent. The Jesus of the Bible claimed to be both God and man. The Jesus of the Bible said that He was the only way to heaven.
If we are to believe God, then we must believe that He isn’t just a God whose love is all kindness, gentleness and sweetness. Because He is a pure and just and holy God and because He is love, He is not only sweet and loving and gentle but also a God of wrath and a God who rebukes and God who punishes. Furthermore, we must also recognize that He wants us to share this truth with others.
So who changed? Did God change? Did God’s Word change? Or did people change what they believe about God and His Word?
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I change not...”
(The following link is to a sermon on how man is recreating God in his image instead of man conforming to God’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-yhsfvsE8s&list=PLEDEE0A10C9BCDBE2)
