Things That Should Never Change
by Hugh Fulford
We live in a constantly changing world. In 1982, Time Magazine’s “Man of the Year” was not a man at all but the computer. In less than thirty years, think how extensively the computer has changed the way the world communicates and does business. Changes continually take place — politically, socially, economically, educationally, technologically, scientifically, morally and religiously. Change demands flexibility and adaptability on the part of all. But in the midst of a constantly changing world, we need to be reminded that there are some things that should never change.
Jesus promised to build his church (Matt. 16:18). To Peter he said: “And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matt. 16:19). Later, we learn that this power to bind and loose extended to all the apostles (Matt. 18:18; cf. Jn. 20:23). What Jesus literally said was that “whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” The apostles did not arbitrarily bind and loose on their own authority, but by the authority of heaven, the authority of God himself (see Jn. 16:13; Matt. 10:20; 1 Cor. 2:12-13).
The language of Jesus shows that there are some things that have been “bound” in heaven and are therefore timeless and unchangeable. Let us soberly consider some of those things.
God does not change. “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Mal. 3:6). Quoting from the Psalms, the writer of Hebrews said of the physical heavens: “And like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail” (Heb. 1:12). While God’s method of communicating his will to mankind has changed (1:1-2), his nature has not changed.
Christ does not change. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). His eternal co-existence with the Father, his virgin birth, his sinless life, his matchless teaching, his atoning death, his victorious resurrection, his glorious ascension, his abiding intercession, and his promised second coming remain unchanged and unchangeable.
The word of God does not change. Quoting the prophet Isaiah, Peter wrote: “All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flowers falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Pet. 2:24). Jehoiakim, king of Judah, thought he could dispense with the word of God which came to him through the prophet Jeremiah, but he learned that, though he cut it up and burned it in the fire, he could not destroy it or change what it said (Jer. 36).
God has always prohibited adding to or taking from his word. “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandment of the Lord your God which I command you” (Deut. 4:2; cf. Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18-19). Peter, in referring to the writings of Paul, spoke of those who were “untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the rest of the Scriptures” (2 Pet. 3:16). But in spite of additions, subtractions, or twisting, the word of God remains unchanged.
The gospel of Christ does not change. Paul wrote to the Galatians: “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-7). Concerning those who perverted the gospel, Paul said, “…to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you” (2:5). God’s people must be “set for the defence of the gospel” (Phil. 1:17).
God’s standard of morality does not change. Customs and cultures around the world differ — in the kinds of houses in which people live, the way they dress, the way they greet and interact with others, the forms of entertainment and recreation they pursue, the kinds of food they eat, the kinds of transportation they use, on which side of the road they drive, and many other things. None of these matters are bound in Scripture. But God has an unchanging standard of morality to which all people of the earth are amenable. Regardless of the country, culture, or climate in which a person lives, that standard is to be followed. The works of the flesh are universally wrong and will result in exclusion from the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21). Lust (and that which incites lust), greed, covetousness, dishonesty, lying, stealing, and sexual perversion (homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, pedophilia) are sinful wherever they may be found. God’s law regarding marriage, divorce and remarriage is binding on all (Matt. 5:31-32; 19:9-10); Rom. 7:2-3). No amount of rationalization on the part of man will ever make right what God says is wrong in the realm of morality!
James Haynes, an exceptionally capable young preacher, has written:
The word “no” is not a bad word. It’s a two-letter word, not a four-letter word. It should be used liberally. Most new ideas — whether they are in the public or in the church — are bad ideas. Someone needs to say no. Sex outside of marriage is common, accepted and expected. Someone needs to say no. Drugs — including the most popular ones, alcohol and prescription medication — are causing addictions and broken homes sea to shining sea. Someone needs to say no. Children are being raised to believe that they are the sun, the center of the universe. Someone needs to say no. People are being judged by ethnicity, geography and genealogy. Someone needs to say no. Sin is described as a “mistake” and “poor judgment.” Someone needs to say no. God’s name and Jesus’ name are being tossed about in moments of anger or amazement. Someone needs to say no. Some fathers have handed over their responsibilities to grandparents, school teachers and police officers. Someone needs to say no.
The divine side/nature of the church does not change. The church was in the eternal purpose of God (Eph. 3:8-12; cf. 2 Tim. 1:8-11; Tit. 1:1-3). In “the fullness of the time,” God sent forth his Son “born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4-5) — that we might become God’s children and constitute his spiritual family, the church (1 Tim. 3:15). Thus, the church was established by Christ (Matt. 16:18). He purchased it with his blood (Acts 20:28), and every blood-washed person has been added to it. (1 Pet. 1:18-19); Acts 2:47). John the Baptist did not establish the church. Martin Luther or John Calvin or John Wesley or Alexander Campbell did not establish the church. Christ himself is the founder of his church.
Christ is the foundation of the church (1 Cor. 3:11). He is its only head (Eph. 1:22-23). The church is his spiritual body, and there is but “one body” (Eph. 4:4). Every Christian is a member of that one body (1 Cor. 12:27). Christ and his inspired apostles have set (bound) the terms of admission into the church (Jn. 3:3-5); Gal. 3:26-27). They have ordered its worship (Jn. 4:24). They have determined its organizational structure (Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1). Dioceses, Sees, and hierarchical structures were no part of the church as Christ established it. There were no patriarchs, cardinals, or popes in the New Testament church. Denominations did not exist in New Testament times. The first protestant denomination is only about 500 years old, far too late to be the church of the New Testament. Christ and the apostles have declared the mission of the church (1 Tim. 3:15; Eph. 4:7-16; Gal. 6:10). To change any of these divine earmarks of the church is to do so to the peril of those presumptuous enough to “loose” what Christ and his inspired apostles have “bound.”
The plan of salvation does not change. Christ is the saviour of the world (Jn. 3:16; Lk. 19:10; 1 Tim. 1:15), but he is “the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9). Without obedience to the gospel, one is eternally lost (2 Thess. 1:6-9). But obedience means there are conditions with which one must comply in order to be saved. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21).
A study of the New Testament reveals the conditions upon which Christ saves a person. One must have faith in God, for he who comes to God, must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).
One must also have faith in Christ as the Son of God. Jesus declared, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (Jn. 8:24). Regardless of how devoutly committed one may be to one of the so-called “world religions,” without faith in Christ salvation is not possible (Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:11-12).
Repentance is a necessary condition for receiving the remission of sins. Jesus said, “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Lk. 13:3).
A confession of faith in Christ as the Son of God is likewise necessary to salvation. Paul wrote: “For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Rom. 10:10).
Baptism (immersion in water) is set forth in the word of God as a requirement for receiving forgiveness of alien sins. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mk. 16:16a). Peter instructed sinners: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).
Unfortunately, it is at the point of baptism that many want to change the plan of salvation and insist that one can be forgiven of his/her past sins without baptism. In 1890, Edward T. Hiscox, a Baptist theologian, produced a Standard Manual for Baptist Churches. In it he said:
It is most likely that in the apostolic age when there was but “one Lord, one faith, one baptism,” and no different denominations existed, the baptism of a convert by that very act, constituted him a member of the church, and at once endowed him with all the rights and privileges of full membership. In that sense, “baptism was the door into the church.” Now it is different (emphasis mine, hf); and while the churches are desirous of receiving members, they are wary and cautious that they do not receive unworthy persons (Hiscox, pg. 22).
Why is it different? Who made it different? The gospel plan of salvation as revealed in the New Testament has not changed! It still affirms: “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). This one body is the church (Col. 1:18). The Bible still says, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us” (1 Pet. 3:21) — unless one’s Bible is like the lady’s to which she had taken the scissors and cut out this passage because of her prejudice against what it clearly states!
Lamentably, there are now hireling preachers and self-serving elders of the Lord’s church who are denying the essentiality of baptism for salvation. At least one large church of Christ in Tennessee is now accepting as members those who have been “baptized” as infants, those who have baptized for some reason other than the remission of sins, and those who have not been baptized by “any method.” But the gospel plan of salvation has not changed, and those who change it do so to the destruction of their own souls and the souls of those they lead.
In a fast, ever-changing world — a world of “things that are being shaken” – let us be acutely aware that in the divine realm there are “things which cannot be shaken” (Heb. 12:27). Let us therefore resolve to be “like a man building a house, who dig deep and laid the foundation on the rock” of God’s unchanging truth (Lk. 6:47-48).
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