“Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same. All may change but Jesus never, Glory to His name.”
This song, written by A.B. Simpson was one that was sung often at my home church during my earliest years. I remember it well. It had a very distinct sound that made it easy to remember, though I never gave any real thought to the words and their implications…until many years later.
When we are young, we know virtually nothing of “change”. We pretty much, subconsciously, think that, when we wake up in the morning, all will be as it was when we went to sleep the night before. It’s mom or dad who alert us to changes. When I was growing up, and attending First Baptist Church in Lincoln Park, I just assumed I would grow old there and my kids would attend there until they were old, and so on. But then “life” happened and here I am.
As adults, we come to assume that change is a given part of life. And, while that is true of VIRTUALLY all things, it is not, in fact, true of ALL things.
As followers of Christ, we must have a mindset that is unique to Christianity. While we assume change in the world around us, we must, if we are to be faithful to our commitment, assume sameness when it comes to God and Christianity. The tenets, the teachings of Christianity haven’t changed since Christianity came into being at the resurrection of the Christ.
Where we do have to consider and even embrace change is in our approach to communicating the Gospel message to the world we live in. We must consider culture and language. We must consider traditions and sensitivities of a people. Just ask any missionary who is ministering on a foreign field. A good Scripture to consider on this subject that I have been thinking about recently and considering how I can apply it in my own life is I Corinthians 9, when Paul talks about causing “no hindrance to the gospel of Christ” and becoming “all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some”.
To be sure, while we must consider the audience in the how, we must also always remember that the Gospel message is not about the audience, it’s not a sales pitch, rather it is TO the audience. An ultimatum, really. Ultimately, the audience reaction is irrelevant. We speak at the behest of the One that never changes.
While methods change, the message doesn’t. The message mustn’t. The message of the Gospel is exactly the same today as when John the Baptist called out, “REPENT, the kingdom of God is at hand.”
The message of the Gospel has not changed. The tenets, and teachings of the Christian faith have not changed. The reason the message of the Gospel is necessary, that being the sinfulness of man and his need for salvation has not changed. It is exactly the same today as it was when Eve took the first bite of the forbidden fruit.
Yet, we live in a world that is constantly changing. Moment by moment, day by day, week by week, and so on. If you pay any attention to current events and societal trends, it’s impossible to not notice how much things change. In fact, just as a ball picks up speed as it rolls down a hill, so change becomes more and more frequent and intense. It is important that we be mindful of this. Not so that people can see that we are up on the latest trends, rather so that WE are not led astray from the truth.
The phrase “New and improved” is a motto that marketers of everything from soup to nuts have used to sell their products for as long as man has had products to sell. There is something in our psyche that makes us vulnerable to this approach. Granted, some products are sold by pointing out their durability, their long-lasting qualities, and their history of great performance. But nothing gets our attention like “New and improved”.
Some of you, no doubt, have read stories of well-known Christians in recent years who have gone through what has been called “deconstruction”. This involves throwing out what they have been taught and starting over with a clean slate. We won’t go into the fallacy of the notion that that is even possible (starting with a clean slate, that is). But most that I have read about point out “new” information that makes the veracity of the Bible suspect, the teachings antiquated. Most have some version of “we now know” or “back then they didn’t know”. Each of these are the result of giving in to that desire for “new and improved”. It is doing what Eve did when the serpent said to her, “You will not surely die.” I’m sure Eve was not familiar, specifically, with the concept of steadfastness. She knew God, yet chose to follow a stranger. She did exactly what Paul would describe a few thousand years later in Romans 1. She “suppressed the truth in unrighteousness”.
Looking up the word “steadfast”, I found these definitions. “Fixed in direction” “firm in purpose” “resolute” “unwavering” “firmly established” “firmly fixed”. Keep in mind that, when it come to the wisdom of the world, this is anathema to their mindset. Science, they will tell you, is always evolving, as is all of the universe. Virtually all ideas are liquid, they would say.
However, for the Christian, steadfastness is essential. Here are some verses that speak to steadfastness.
Joshua 23:8
But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.
1 Samuel 12:21
You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or deliver, because they are futile.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
Ephesians 4:14
As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
2 Thessalonians 2:15
So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
2 Peter 3:17
You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,
II Timothy 4:3
For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.