The Culture of Hope Founded on Faith
Jesus Never Changes
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
A favorite song from Sunday School that I often sing to myself goes like this:
“Yesterday, today, forever Jesus is the same;
All may change but Jesus never;
Glory to His name.
Glory to His name, Glory to his name.
All may change but Jesus never;
Glory to his name.”
I derive a great deal of peace from that divine consistency. If a person’s belief system is not based on God, then his or her hope is based on beliefs, whether they have a basis in fact or not, which change with circumstances. Biblical hope is based exclusively on the biblical facts of God’s historical interaction with man and God’s unchangeable nature.
As Christians we have the hope of all the biblical promises, especially of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, because it was God who promised, it was God who confirmed it, and it is God who continues to confirm it in each of our lives. The continuing presence of the Holy Spirit in each Christian gives us all that we need to continue in hope no matter what is happening around us.
If what a person believes does not include God then what a person believes will change. God never changes and Bible-based beliefs about God do not change. We celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ this weekend, the central focus of all biblical belief. As Acts 16:31 says, the answer to the question “…what must I do to be saved?” continues to be:
“…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
