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A Meditation on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant: Matthew 18:23-35

During times of conflict and war one of the casualties is the ability to see clearly and discern fairly. We tend to view the world in terms of moral absolutes. "They are either with us or against us." People are seen as either good or evil, heroes or villains. The problem is, of course, that most of us, and indeed, most human beings do not fall into such neatly defined categories.

Human nature is messy and complicated. People who sometimes lie or cheat on their wives can at other times act like the heroes who risked their lives trying to rescue others on 9/11. Likewise, those identified as saints or role models in history have serious character flaws that good historians or biographers can readily identify. This may well be one of the main reasons that forgiveness was such an important part of the teaching of Jesus. Still, his emphasis upon forgiveness remains one of the most difficult aspects of his teaching.

Consider the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. In the parable Jesus compares God to a king who forgives his impoverished and indebted servant everything he owes. (In my paraphrase of the parable, I've placed it in a contemporary setting.) In this case the servant's debt amounts to something in the neighborhood of ten million dollars. Moved by the servant's impassioned pleas for mercy, the king simply wipes away that debt in a sweep of the hand.

A Contemporary Paraphrase of the Parable found in Matthew 18:23-35

Unfortunately the servant reacts to that act of mercy without the slightest sensitivity to the plight of another man who owes him something like a thousand dollars. The unforgiving servant seizes his debtor by the throat and bellows: "Pay me what you owe!" But when the poor man cannot come up with the money, he has him thrown in jail. Later the king confronts the unforgiving one: "You wicked servant; I forgave you all your debt, should you not also have demonstrated mercy as I had mercy on you?" In anger the king delivers him to the jailers. And Jesus concludes the parable speaking directly to each of us: "So also my heavenly father will do to everyone of you if you do not forgive your neighbor from your heart."

Now, where does that leave us? It leaves us with the possibility of being thrown into jail not because of having committed any crime or broken any law, but simply because we did not forgive someone who had committed evil against us.

How difficult it is to affirm Christ's teaching about forgiveness, let alone put it into practice. Sure it may sound reasonable that we forgive the human race in general for sins known and unknown, but how do you forgive your best friend for an act of betrayal? How do you forgive your own parents for psychological damage or even abuse inflicted upon you in the earliest years of childhood? How do your forgive your spouse for falling in love with someone else? How do your forgive your children for adopting a way of life that seems completely alien to all the values you have tried to teach? It's easy to forgive in general, but it's almost impossible to forgive a specific wrong that has brought you deep personal pain.

In some cases it seems impossible to forgive once, let alone 70 times 7 as Jesus required.

Yet forgiveness was at the very center of Christ's teaching. It was his principal concern at the very hour of his death. As he hung there bleeding on the cross, with pain as great or greater than any of us will ever experience, he said so directly of those who delighted in his own death: "Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing."

Now if Christ's teaching on forgiveness is difficult for us to apply in our personal lives, how much more difficult for a group of people, for a whole nation to forgive. Should we forgive the thousands upon thousands of people who cheat on their taxes, resulting in a heavier burden upon those of us who pay our fair share? Should we forgive those who aided and abetted the terrorists who struck the World Trade Center on 9/11?

One of the very first difficulties involved in any attempt to forgive is that forgiveness involves a judgment against the offending party and this judgment may itself be faulty. A while back, during the first Bush administration, a parent upset at the prospect that his son, a soldier who had been sent to fight in the Middle East, might die in combat, wrote to the New York Times. "If my son dies fighting to guarantee this nation a continuing supply of cheap oil, I will have to pray that God forgive you Mr. President, I cannot."

Another difficulty comes in trying to decide what form forgiveness should take. As depicted by Jesus in the New Testament forgiveness is not just a fuzzy feeling; it expresses itself in specific behavior. The canceling of a debt, the pardoning of a crime, the swinging open of the prison doors. That's why Jesus was in so much trouble with the priests and ministers, the lawyers and law enforcement officers of his day. He didn't seem to be very concerned about their problems of law enforcement; he didn't seem to be sensitive to their difficulties in the practical administration of justice. In the world of practical politics we can't let every debt be cancelled; we can't allow every criminal to go unpunished. The simple administration of justice requires enforcement of the law. But that was not Christ's principal concern.

Where the world sees the human family divided between the good and the bad, between the righteous and the sinners, between my team and your team, Jesus saw one family. He saw all of us equally in need of God's mercy, and equally called to the work of mercy.

God's love is not like a wall that separates the law-makers from the law-breakers; God's love is like the sun which shines down upon us all. God's mercy is like the rain which pours down upon law-maker and law-breaker alike. Remember Robert Frost's poem the "Mending Wall?" The poet enters into conversation with his neighbor, at the boundary between their two farms. The harsh New England weather has broken down that wall, and the neighbor is painstakingly putting the stones back in place. When the poet asks his neighbor why he thinks it necessary to rebuild the wall, the man replies: "Good fences make good neighbors." Frost doesn't agree: "Before I built a wall, I'd ask to know what I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offense. Something there is that doesn't like a wall, that wants it down."

For us, God may be that something or someone who wants the walls to come tumbling down.

But somehow we keep conspiring to build them up. We're continually torn between God's mercy and our human need to punish, to reprimand, to imprison. We want to contain by force of arms the evil we find in those "terrorists;" we want to lock up the criminals, throw them in jail and throw away the key. And in this imperfect world, for the foreseeable future there may be a need to build some walls. Some forms of retributive justice may be necessary; some systems of mutual defense may be required to preserve order in the world. But we cannot heal the deep wounds within the human family by the force of law alone. We can place a hundred and fifty thousand troops in Iraq; we can place a police officer at every street corner in the land, but we cannot even begin to heal the wounds that afflict us all by force alone. Neither this nation's most powerful weapons, nor the most efficient police force in the world can begin to heal the wounds of the heart. But that is where the real work of healing must begin; and that is where forgiveness plays its part.

You see, when we refuse to forgive, when we harbor our resentment, we place our very lives in danger. In Christ's parable, the king has the unforgiving servant thrown into jail, imprisoned, cut off from life itself. Sigmund Freud tried to express the truth of this parable in the language of modern psychology. Freud compared our journey through life to a long march down an imaginary road. At birth, said Freud, each of us is supplied with a certain number of soldiers that we may deploy when we come across some opponent, some threat to our safety, some enemy real or imagined. When we have a conflict with a neighbor which we cannot resolve, when we hold close to our hearts some anger or resentment, we must station some troops at that point along the road. We must tie up some energy there; and that of course leaves us with fewer resources, fewer troops in facing the next challenge that presents itself. That's why some of us, having marshaled so many of our reserves to fight so many ancient battles have so little energy left for the challenges of the present. At bottom we are asked to forgive not because any of us has such a great supply of charity that we can rise above our differences with our neighbors, but rather because we must let go of our anger and resentment or we shall die. When we clutch our judgments and our accusations close to our hearts, our hearts themselves are poisoned. For our own sakes and for our very salvation we need to pray, pray that we find the grace to forgive in our neighbors what God has already forgiven in us. Thanks be to God for a mercy strong enough and bold enough to set us free

Source Material

In A Time Between The Times: The Twenty Third Psalm for Today

We live a a time between the times. Between war and peace, between faith and doubt, between birth and death, between the people we actually are the ones we'd like to become. In such a time, we need a map by which to chart our way forward. And I can think of no better map for navigating the difficult passages of life than the 23rd Psalm. It marks a passage through time, not just for each of us personally, but for entire communities and nations.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Instantly the image of the shepherd god springs to mind. It is easy to imagine the green meadows, the grass caressed by the gentle breeze of an afternoon in the spring. We can almost see the sheep lying in the golden light of the sun, have been filled to satisfaction grazing in the lush pastures all the day long.

Nearby we hear the dancing waters of a mountain brook; we see the shepherd rousing his sheep, guiding them, leading them, around those steep places where the water rushes down the mountainside in a torrent. The shepherd leads them to a place of safety beneath the shadow of an overhanging tree, where the water stands still and clear.

"He leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul."

Typically, our very first conception of God is very much like that shepherd. We think of God as a person who watches over us with the warm, protecting love of father or mother. As we contemplate these opening verses, we are filled with the same confidence and security which we have known as children.

And so these verses draw us back in time to that point when we were at one with God. To a moment in our lives like that of the very first Christmas when God was present in a moment of mystical illumination before our days of doubt and anxiety. Amid the tensions of adult life, it is refreshing to remember this mood of childlike trust and to let the shepherd God lead us beside still water.

Yet in the very next verse the mood changes, the scene shifts from the beauty and quiet of the mountain stream to the terrifying danger of the mountains themselves.

"Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death."

Here we find ourselves in the very depths of a great canyon, surrounded on all sides by the sheer rock; those walls rising up so high and so sharply on all sides that the light of the sun scarcely penetrates to this place deep in the crevices of the earth. In the shadows it is dark and cold ...

We have walked into the very heart of darkness, "the valley of deep darkness" it is called in the Hebrew. In fact, the word death does not appear in the original, for the experience here described is actually more terrifying than death.

The deep darkness of the valley is the despair we feel when the faith of our childhood seems to have failed. When mother or father can no longer comfort us; when God seems remote and abstract from our daily experience. Or worse, when one confronts the damaging influences of ones early childhood, realizing that mother or father may have contributed to the problems one faces now. Or worse, when the dilemmas one faces in adult life seem to be brought upon us by God's own hand. This is the darkness that penetrates to the very center of the soul; this is the darkness of our present age, when the benefits of our scientific and technical age still leave us feeling bereft. This is our time, when neither the innocence of childhood, not the peace of death itself can protect us from the dangers of a world that is all too real.

And yet it is precisely here, in the valley of the shadow of death, that one reaches out to discover a presence and a power greater than we have known before. For it is in the midst of life, in the time of doubt, that a God appears who leads us in "paths of righteousness."

Paths of righteousness.

This rather quaint phrase held over from the King James version carries with it an unfortunate connotation today. For we imagine righteousness to be a state of superior virtue; we imaginesomeone rather stodgy and straightlaced; someone full of heavy judgment and pious cliché. But that's not the sort of thing the psalmist had in mind.

The Hebrew word for righteousness connotes action which is taken to uphold the physical and mental health of a community. In Hebrew, righteousness connotes a sense of responsibility and a hunger for justice. That is the path which God would have us take in this adult world.

We must not merely speak platitudes about peace, for example, we must actually inform ourselves about the questions of war and peace, about the causes of conflict in our own lives and in the world around us, so that we can address them. If we are to follow God into paths of righteousness, we must be prepared to take realistic, practical actions to promote justice in our own homes, in own communities, and in the wider world. We must be prepared to take our principles into the marketplace and into the polling place so that we the people might actually walk in "paths of righteousness." In other words, we must move from the child's simplicity and trust into the adult world, where we face all the conflict and competing interests which arise wherever people organize themselves into a society.

Yet, however deeply we may be embroiled in the complexities of this world, as we walk in paths of righteousness, we may draw upon a strength greater than our own. The psalmist writes: "Even though I walk through the valley of deep darkness, I fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and they staff, they comfort me."

The shepherd's rod is a large club often with a steel tip used as a weapon against the wild animals and bandits that one might encounter in the wilderness. Armed with such a weapon, the shepherd could move with confidence even through the wilderness landscape. The shepherd's staff is a long pole used to keep balance while negotiating the difficult terrain of the mountain trails. So the shepherd could scale the dangerous heights with a sense of confidence that he would not fall.

So it is with those who seek the justice of God in this time between the times. One emerges from the darkness filled with a confidence that comes from God.

And so it is that we move through these times of terror.

Apparently the palmist now imagines a pilgrim who has been involved in a dangerous struggle with an unnamed opponent. He takes flight into the vast reaches of the wilderness, but the enemy follows. As the hours pass, the situation becomes more critical. Running short of food and water, the end appears near. With each passing mile, the foe gains more ground. But then, just as the situation seems hopeless, he climbs over the ridge of a gentle hill, and there, in the quiet of a peaceful valley, are the bright colors of the tents, an encampment of Bedouin nomads.

According to desert custom, he need only approach those tents and he will be safe. He need only reach out and touch the outer walls of the tent, and the Bedouin will welcome the stranger. They provide the protection of their arms, the warmth of their hospitality, while the pursuing enemy is stymied outside the camp.

This seems to be the exact situation described by the psalmist: "Thou preparest a table before me even in the presence of my enemies." Read as a parable from a Christian perspective, this feast represents communion. Here is the table of Christian fellowship, where the pilgrim is strengthened, not only by the hospitality of his companions, but also by the spirit of Christ, who is the lord of the camp and host at our common meal.

And so it is that the church is a place of sanctuary and protection from the world, where one can sense the warmth and hospitality and even the love of those who welcome any passing stranger. But the psalm contains promise of strength greater still than that which other people can provide.

"Thou annointest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."

Goodness and mercy shall follow. Follow is a rather weak verb. A more accurate translation of the Hebrew would be "pursue." Surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me.

As soldiers pursue an enemy in full retreat, as the hunter tracks his prey; as the wind of winter chases the falling snow, so goodness and mercy shall hunt us down. In this world we are pursued by many different people and causes. We are chased by bill collectors and tax collectors, hunted by salesmen and credit card companies, followed by old age and always by the shadow of sickness and eventually by death. But as the Psalmist declares, we are also pursued by the goodness and mercy of God. Behind the ephemeral events of our daily lives, the spirit of God is at work, watching over us, supporting us, speeding us on our way.

And so we reach the final step in our journey through time. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Suddenly the walls of the Bedouin tent open up and we are ushered into the very presence of God:

"I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

No one really knows what awaits us beyond the barriers of time and space, yet somehow this image beckons to us like a bright morning star. If it is beautiful and pleasant to come in off the crowded streets and highways to a home filled with warmth and light, how much more beautiful to enter into the very presence of God. This is the same promise and the same image that Jesus used: "In my fathers house there are many rooms."

At the very close of life we are as close to God as the new born baby held in its mothers arms. In death we return to the source, so we come full circle. And this map charts out a pilgrimage which takes us all the way from the beginning to the end.

In moments of inspiration we seem to stand like the child in green pastures. Like the characters in the stable at Bethlehem we feel the presence of God pouring down upon us more comforting than the light of the summer's sun. And yet again when that moment of inspiration fades, when the clouds gather, and we find ourselves in the valley of deep darkness, there the foundations of our faith seem to shake. We are put to the test, yet being tested, we find a presence and a power greater than we can either ask or imagine.

We leave the darkness, armed once again with God's sure staff. So that in this wilderness, in the wild places of our daily lives, we can find our way with a sense of courage and a confidence that comes even in the eye of the storm.

And it is here, in the time between the times, that we learn the value of the support that comes from our fellow pilgrims. In moments of intimate conversation, over a meal with our closest friends, breaking the communion bread together, we can say: "Thou preparest a table before me, even in the presence of my enemies; Thou annointest my head with oil, my cup is overflowing."

Finally, as we look ahead, even beyond the limits of this day and age, we are filled with deep conviction: "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow, all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

So in this time between the times, between birth and death, between creation and consummation, between peace and war, as God is our guide the way shall be made plain and the passage sure through the pilgrimage we call our lives. Thanks be to God.

Coined From Here

Who is this man called Jesus?

The author of that anonymous New Testament “Letter to the Hebrews,” apparently writing at a time, like ours, when there was great disagreement, both within the church and the wider culture, about the character and identity of the man called Jesus, attempted to clear things up when he wrote: "Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, today and forever."

There has never been universal agreement about Jesus

Despite the best effort and intentions of that writer and many others, however, there never has been lasting agreement about who Jesus really was. As you look out across the span of history, you quickly realize that there are now, and always have been, countless differing conceptions of Jesus. Even in the first century, when those who had seen and known him personally were still alive, there was heated debate.

The apostle Paul poured out his life to present the Christian message. He traveled from country to country, braving storm and death, trying the keep divided churches together, but no sooner had he squelched one controversy than another sprang up in its place. New teachers and prophets appeared everywhere. There were factions and splinter groups everywhere. From the outset, church leaders saw the need for organization, for this new religion was literally bursting at the seams.

The church was created, largely, as an attempt to organize the Jesus movement into a coherent whole. It didn't work.

As a result there gradually developed an amazing system of doctrines and creeds, councils and committees, an ecclesiastical hierarchy, bishops, cardinals and popes. Yet no effort to organize could ever contain the dynamic force that had been unleashed in the person of Jesus Christ.

The history of the church is one of contradiction and conflict: from crusades and holy wars in which tens of thousands are murdered in the name of Jesus, to works of healing and compassion in Christian schools, hospitals and universities. From the inquisitor who tortured heretics with rack and chain, to gentle St. Francis who preached to the sparrows and walked among the lilies; Christians have come to the most contradictory conclusions all in the name of this one man.

“Jesus the same, yesterday, today and forever.” Yes, the same riddle the same enigma, the same unsettling power and presence.

Still his gospel touches off the most diverse reactions. There are business executives who believe their success can be attributed to a deep personal faith, while others believe Christ counsels a life of poverty and self-sacrifice. There are Christian tax collectors, and those who refuse to pay taxes in his name. There are Generals of the Army who follow Christ into battle, and there are pacifists who believe that the Christian can only be a soldier of peace. There are Christian Scientists who refuse medical treatment in his name and there are medical doctors who identify Christ as the great physician. There are ministers who preach on network television, so their words can be heard around the world; and there are Quakers who believe that the best worship is in silence.

So, how do we explain all this diversity?

One explanation for the diversity of opinion in the church is that our differences reflect our limited powers of perception. Remember the old fable about the blind men who were led to the circus to encounter an elephant for the very first time. They reach out to touch different parts of the elephant's body and come to radically difference conclusions about its shape and appearance. On touches its leg and compares the elephant to a tree; another touches its tail and concludes that an elephant is very much like a broom, but the man who reaches out toward the elephant's trunk suddenly finds himself being lifted high in the air. As he is poised there wondering whether he will ever get back down to earth, he shouts down to his companions, "I don't know what elephants look like, but it sure feels like this elephant can fly!"

There may be a deeper reason for the diversity of views about Jesus.

As it was for the blind men so it is for us. Many of our differences reflect our limited powers of perception. But there is another and I believe more important reason for our diversity. When we examine the variety of Christian experience, when we trace back the various threads of our Christian faith, we are led back inevitably to the root and source of all our diversity, back to Christ himself.

When you realize that this one man is the source of so many contrasting views, it is tempting to conclude that he was intentionally confusing. Perhaps he did not want a clear understanding of himself to be fixed in the minds of the people. Certainly Jesus did not pour out his soul or preen before the press like present day personalities. In fact, there were moments when he avoided public attention altogether. On several occasions he ordered his disciples to keep what he had said and done secret.

The secrecy of Jesus

He refused to stage spectacular miracles that would have guaranteed instant popularity. He did not stay in one place long enough to allow people to know him well. As you read the pages of the New Testament you realize how quickly he moved from place to place. One imagines him striding through a village, stopping to converse with a few individuals for a moment, but then moving on. As he walked through the streets most witnesses would have seen at most a glimpse of him; they would have heard, at most, a few words. They may have witnessed a single act of mercy. But as quickly as he had come, he would go, out across the lake, over the rise of the next hill, up to the high mountains to be alone.

A strategy of evasion

Because he chose this approach, we know all too little about him. The gospels themselves give surprisingly little information. They are short, incredibly short. They give us a rough outline of his last three years, but the rest of his life is largely ignored. We learn more about a contemporary personality in the twenty minutes of a television talk show then we know about Jesus from the entire New Testament.

Seen in this light it would seem that Christ chose to be a man of mystery. Even those few direct quotations we do have are difficult to understand. He nearly always spoke in parables, parables or sayings which are open to a wide variety of interpretation.

We can appreciate how ambiguous he was when we consider that his closest disciples often could not agree on what he said. The thirteen men who knew him best constantly misinterpreted his teachings. At the time of his death, not one of them really understood what he had been saying all along.

He came not to answer questions, but to frame them.

When we consider all this: the conflict within the contemporary church, the confusion and contradictions of church history, the controversy even among his closest disciples, we must conclude that he was intentionally bewildering. He came not to solve life's problems, but to stir up even more difficult questions. He takes all of our comfortable clichés and he explodes them before our very eyes.

Bottom line: he came to reveal a God who defies human understanding.

Christ came to reveal a God who defies human understanding. He spoke about a God who is greater than any definition, beyond any doctrine, more profound than any philosophy, more beautiful than all nature, more loving than any saint. His purpose was to expose the limits of human knowledge, to prick our human pride and to point beyond himself to the height and breadth and depth of God.

The prayer of St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians shows the direction he would have us take. "Out of his infinite glory, wrote Paul, "may he give you power to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth, until knowing the love of Christ which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.”

The tragedy is that when we talk about Jesus Christ, we pull him back down into our conventional frame of reference. We try to define him by using the very clichés he came to explode. We make him into a man so pure, so loving, so strong that even the most hard of heart must admire him.

I once heard a famous preacher describe Christ's physical appearance, his impressive physique, his handsome face. "Jesus," said the preacher, "was the strongest man in the world." I don't know what your view of Jesus is, but you'll find none of this in the New Testament. After all, the size of his biceps is of very little consequence to the salvation of the world.

He did not want to be an icon, a statue, a clear image fixed in the human imagination and transformed into an idol.

Nevertheless it is a powerful temptation to project our favorite virtues on him. We cast him in the image of the super hero, and so miss the point entirely. He did not want to be admired as a superman. This is precisely why he was so brief and even blunt. He wanted to direct the attention away from himself, to turn your attention inward, to reveal the thoughts and intentions of your heart, to open your mind to the final religious experience, that state beyond all knowledge, when you are filled with the utter fullness of God.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.” Yes, Jesus, the same fascinating, yet bewildering presence, the same mystery, the same enigma. Because Christ is really divine, he will always be beyond any human definition.

What would it be like were Jesus to return, as many believe he will?

Many Christians believe, of course, that one day we will have all our questions about Jesus answered, for he will return to this world in an event referred to as the Second Coming. But did you ever wonder what it would be like if Christ did re-enter our world and stood before you in person? The images from the Bible that describe this event are ones of hope, to be sure, and involve the fulfillment of the deepest human desires, but they also are images of a terrible power set loose upon the world, overturning everything we hold familiar.

In fact, no one knows what awesome events, what momentous turnings await us in the months and years to come. The events that are now taking place in our world, portend great possibilities for good, but also for evil. Who knows what the final consequences will be of the changes that we now see sweeping across so many nations. Have these events something to do with the end of history as some believe?

Clearly, no one knows the answer to such questions.

Still, whatever the consequences of world events may be, each and every one of us must ask what difference it would make if Christ did return and present himself before us? What difference would it make in your plans for this day, tomorrow or next week if you knew that this were the hour when you would personally confront the living Christ?

What would be your response if you knew that this were, in fact, the hour that people have been waiting for since the beginning of time? Could it be that the words of that anonymous writer would, in fact, prove to be precisely true, "Jesus, the same, yesterday, today and forever." And that the Jesus we encounter at the end of time, might be the same one who asks not that we bow before him in worship and devotion, but rather that we open our eyes to see the God who is beyond all human knowing?

Reference Material

Not a Second of my Life

Not a second of my life must be without God down in this dark world. For many years, your faithfulness has kept me save, your love has tended me when my heart is broken, your presence has sheltered me from the wickedness of the world. You've been my healer when my mind is wounded and wiped my teary brow when I ache from the bruises of life.

It does not matter if it's death or life anymore because my lot in life is God Himself, my treasure is stored up in the locker room of heaven beyond the reach of moth and rust. For a moment, money had been my goal, for another, fame and power my pursuit, for yet another relationships, but these things don't give us the happiness or assurance we seek, rather they break us leaving us more shattered in our penury.

The love of God is one thing beyond my power of exaggeration. Sometime, my actions push Him away, yet He pardons them, even when I threw in the towel and turned my back to the cross hurrying off the path paved by His blood, He looks beyond my ignorance and follow still...

God, I may not be the best of your children, I may even sometimes forget to flip through the pages of the bible or pace out of my study many mornings forgetting to say thank you for a new day. But not a moment do I pray to spend in this weird dark and dangerous world without you.

© Olatuja Oloyede

Now if I ask you, what conditions must be in place for a suckling or baby to become a full grown man, you won't think twice before you mention certain things like good and regular feeding, right? That's right but obviously not all. Let's use this physical reality to explain the spiritual.

1) Good Diet and proper feeding

1 Peter 2:2"like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may *grow in respect to salvation***"

You know starvation can ultimately lead to death and improper feeding can cause such diseases as kwashiorkor, obesity etc. A baby Christian is expected to grow, but growth in the spirit is not automatic or instantaneous. Some conditions must be in place to make this development rapid. There is a need to constantly draw strength and nutrient from God who is our sufficiency. Reading the bible, healthy religious discussions, listening to good sermons etc are means by which the spirit man gathers strength. There is an inspiration that settles in the dreg of our soles when we hear the Word of God.

2) Relationship

A child who grows in isolation will definitely end up having certain characteristics of his human nature underdeveloped. It is not Oloyede who says so, this is a scientific fact. Therefore, for a baby to grow healthy and strong, there is a need for relationship hence, he may for example never acquire the ability to use language. So also in Christianity. There are three strands of relationships a healthy Christian should have.

A) Relationship with God

John 17:23
"I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me

This is by far the most relevant relationship any Human being can have. This is a life in constant fellowship with the majesty of heaven. When God says I know my sheep and my sheep knows me, He is talking about relationship. When you take a step towards God, He will take a thousand more towards you. You must seek to know Christ more not just about Him. You must find Him and in the bid to find Him, He will find you instead. When was the last time you bent the kneel in prayer asking with a sincere heart to know Him more?

Though God has promised His overwhelming presence to us, but there is a dimension of God you cannot experience until you are an ardent and passionate seeker of God.

B) Relationship with fellow Christians

1 John 1:5-7
"If we say that we have fellowship
with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

An isolated Christian is easily frustrated and discouraged. Just like the folktale about a lion growing among sheep. He ends up becoming just like them. You are just the product of the relationship you cherish. If you have friends who are lovers of God, whose growth are constant and progressive, you will be motivated out of mediocrity. If your religious association sees nothing bad in immaturity, you may end up revolving around the cyclic continuum of immaturity. Are your friends mediocres, is the message from the pulpit of your church making you comfortable as an average Christian, are you beginning to theologize immaturity as something acceptable, you may end up not getting out of that circle. Surround yourself with good friends who are friends of God, in whom you can see Christ.

Colossians 3:16
"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

You cannot underestimate the roles these ones will play in giving shape and meaning to your Christian life.

C) Relationship with the World

John 2:15-17 King James Version (KJV)
Love not the world, neither the things
that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

All Christians who desire to be like Christ must first give a defined relationship with the world. I mean the systems and the institutions of the human realm. Those who have decided to follow Christ may sometimes encounter clear opposition from the world. You must first count the cost and choose who to please always (God or man). If not, you will end up compromising so easily. Just like the other day when I resumed work at around 7:35am and as usual, I was among the first to resume. But as we were registering our names, I wrote the correct time, but a colleague quickly corrected me to change it to 7:25am. I don't understand why but I just told him it is impossible to do so. The world will always encourage you to comprise or give up on some godly standards, you are the one who will know where your allegiance is truly placed. If it is with Christ, then don't expect to always be in good terms with the world.

3) Time

You don't expect a new born baby to be as matured as a 40 year old man in a day right? So also is a new Christian. This growth we are talking about is not automatic or instantaneous. It is a continuous process, progressive and accumulative.

2 Peter 1:5&6"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness"

In our Christian walk, we sometimes face disappointments, failures etc. We fall into errors, make mistakes, rise and fall, some even fall back into the life of sin totally again. All these struggles are building in us strength for a better and more stable life. The reason why young Christians fall so often into sins is because God wants them to learn to trust Him totally, not in there own abilities. This is usually a very hard lesson and critical stage in our walk with God. We cannot obey the laws of God by mere determination or decision, such will fail woefully and miserably. We must depend solely on God daily. We must tell Him to help us live that life that gives Him glory. When will fail it fall, we should not just sit remorseful in solitary corners disappointed in ourselves, but we must as a matter of lifestyle go to God for help and grace to live a better life. Since growth doesn't happen in just one day, you are expected to grow everyday. In fact, there will never come a time when you will reach the climax of Christian growth. Anybody that stops growing starts dying.

4) Imitate Christ

1 Peter 2:21
"For you have been called for this
purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps."

let Christ be your role model. Let the express image of the pattern Son be your motivation. Seek to live each day like Him. To talk like Him, pray like Him, sing the kind of songs He will sing, go to places He will go.

1 John 2:6
"the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as
He walked."

5) Crucify the Old Man

"We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." Romans 6:6

This is a bit longer and you may want to study more about Self or the Adamic nature or the lawless man in the Bible. There are a number of good Christian literatures as well that discuss this subject in simplified details. This is the natural life in everyone who finds it impossible to please God. They find it hard and difficult to be subjected to God. No matter how good this life may sometimes claim to be, it will not stand the test of time. We all must trust in the finished work of Christ as the ultimate end of this nature and therefore bring our flesh under subjection to God no matter how displeasing. When the eyes lust, and the heart becomes proud we must not forget that our bodies are under new management now. The life of the flesh must not therefore dominate us since we have been given victory at Calvary over the dominion of sin and Satan, so we have the right to say no to the flesh and it will obey. Our body is the temple of God where God resides.

Amen

For your questions or counsel
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Written and Complied by Olatuja Oloyede

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“Understandest thou what thou readest?”

Acts 8:30

We should be abler teachers of others, and less liable to be carried about by every wind of doctrine, if we sought to have a more intelligent understanding of the Word of God. As the Holy Ghost, the Author of the Scriptures is he who alone can enlighten us rightly to understand them, we should constantly ask his teaching, and his guidance into all truth. When the prophet Daniel would interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, what did he do? He set himself to earnest prayer that God would open up the vision. The apostle John, in his vision at Patmos, saw a book sealed with seven seals which none was found worthy to open, or so much as to look upon. The book was afterwards opened by the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who had prevailed to open it; but it is written first—“I wept much.” The tears of John, which were his liquid prayers, were, so far as he was concerned, the sacred keys by which the folded book was opened. Therefore, if, for your own and others’ profiting, you desire to be “filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,” remember that prayer is your best means of study: like Daniel, you shall understand the dream, and the interpretation thereof, when you have sought unto God; and like John you shall see the seven seals of precious truth unloosed, after you have wept much. Stones are not broken, except by an earnest use of the hammer; and the stone-breaker must go down on his knees. Use the hammer of diligence, and let the knee of prayer be exercised, and there is not a stony doctrine in revelation which is useful for you to understand, which will not fly into shivers under the exercise of prayer and faith. You may force your way through anything with the leverage of prayer. Thoughts and reasonings are like the steel wedges which give a hold upon truth; but prayer is the lever, the prise which forces open the iron chest of sacred mystery, that we may get the treasure hidden within.

Do not love the world or the things in the world, anyone who loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 1 John 2: 15

How beautiful yet difficult for our hearts to centre its attractions on things revolving round God. The flashing things of this world, the fading glory of its passing, and all the entrapments of comfort its holds are there as consistent beckon to our ever anxious and troubled minds. Is this commandment not therefore a gross violation of our human limitations and are we not charged to subject our lives to a course practically impossible? Love not the world!!!!

What does that mean?
The desires of the flesh ____those things or acts that appeal to our sensuality and feelings which tend to give us touches of pleasure and satisfaction...

The desire of the eyes ____those material valuables compelling the pilgrim's heart by their sense of worth. (Material possessions and physical sophistications)

The pride of life ____the uncultured craze to make yourself comfortable in the highest echelon of social and political relevance. The tussle for financial supremacy and recognition.

These things are not intrinsically bad in themselves and the scriptures do not dissuade the child of God from becoming socially and politically relevant. In fact, it is scattered over the pages of the Bible why as a child of God, it is mandatory for you to rise to the peak of your chosen career. However, there is a warning not to forget the temporality of everything the world has to offer. We are encouraged to place our absolute trust, love and assurance in God.

You don't need a separate dwelling from your social environment but in the middle of several untrammeled technological progress, God wants our first love and interest to be in Him and His holy will. He wants our happiness not to be quantified by the things the world holds but that our peace of mind will be measured by His sufficiency.
A christian student who condescend so low by involving himself in examination malpractice has only shown that his desperation for academic excellence outweighs his love for God. An employee who compromises the chastity of holy matrimony to get a job has echoed through eternity where her true love actually lies... Academic excellence and financial security are certainly the will of God but not to be possessed by dubious and ungodly means. God do not want us to be frustrated by anything in this world to the point of exhorting such over His will and plan.

The temptation of our Lord should remind you of the constant strategy of the enemy. It will always ask you to bow, to compromise, to be enslaved, to worship before you possess its promises. The system of the world will always seek to rule and control you. Just take note of Jesus' rebuke. Only one deserves to be worshiped. God is the only one that should control or rule me not the temporal riches or the fading glory of a decaying world.

Our security is not in the things we see, feel, have or even dream of. Our security and peace of mind is in God.

This is a spiritual stature that we should all pray to attain. At this point where all that really matters is God, nothing we trouble us about the uncertainties of life.

Let us pray!!!

©Olatuja Oloyede

Christians and the Social World

*_"Whosoever is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness" 1 John 2:9_*

There are Christians whose lives are too complex to comprehend. They are always at loggerheads with somebody over something and you may find it almost impossible to please them. They can get angry over the slightest mistakes of people around them and they have zero tolerance for other people's shortcomings. We can explain this away with modern terms such as self-esteem or holy anger. Even unbelievers will prefer the company of their partners in crime to the ever nagging presence of the so called believer who is confusing them with his profession of God's knowledge.

Although certain things like our family background and our social environment may inform the behavioural patterns in built in us, however, by coming to Christ in repentance and penitence, we are not just forgiven of our imperfections, we are initiated into a process of spiritual transformation which end result is to configure us into the image of the son. Genuine Christians will not remain absolutely calm in the state of helplessness as far as sin is concerned. All through the scriptures ( from Genesis to Revelation), God and man's relationship has always produced one thing _____extraordinary men with exemplary lives. That is what the grace we received does in us.
*_For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age Titus 2: 11&12_*

The Spirit of God will not necessarily appear in tangible form to give us instructions as to how we live daily, but we will see Him personified in the written Word of God instructing us in the will of the Father. He is present within us controlling and regulating the kind of lives we live on the outside. As you spend time with the word of God, your cultural worldviews will be changed or modified to the desires of God which may sometimes be directly opposite the perspectives of the world's system. He will encourage you to forgive and live in peace with your fellow men. We may sometimes fail along the way, but the Spirit of Grace inside of you will encourage you to get up, make necessary amendments and move on rather than remain helpless, neglected and buffeted by the tempest of human limitations.

You will find it easy to say sorry no matter who is right or wrong. You will love to identify with a godly simple and healthy life than the self-sinking ungodly ways of life. Christ who is your life will find expression in your ways of living.

Have you really forgiven that person you are grudging over in your heart? Are you not still self centered when your overt abundance can bless a poor soul dying for crumbs from your table? Are you still prone to constant anger while you are busy justifying these ungodliness with some strange doctrines manipulated into the scriptures?

Yes, a leopard cannot change her skin. You can't change who you are but Christ can. That was why he came to this world, suffered, died a shameful death and rose again. At the foot of the Cross, you will not only be forgiven or cleanse, a new nature will be given to you. A new life regenerated by the blood of of the sacrificed Lamb. If you come naked, you will go clothed. There is the rivers of living water every famished soul can draw today. The hungry can come to the table of the Lord and feast from the bread of life. All it will cost you is to come to God and tell Him you need a bettered life. Then go and live a life of trust and obedience to the leading of the Holy Spirit. May God bless you as you bow your head and pray.

© Olatuja Oloyede
+2348137834509

Olatuja Oloyede: *If We Have Fellowship with Him*

I never had any interest in dinner parties during my undergraduate days. The only one I attended was my level party, more a get together. The reasons being that my friend who is also a Christian brother was among the organizers and I was sure he will ensure the atmosphere is conducive and simple enough.... I wasn't disappointed with what I saw the organizers who are my friends had those of us who has party-phobia in mind. Nevertheless, when it was time for the level adviser (an academic doctor) to give his speech, he mentioned something that really got me.... He said he thought some of us are spiritual and will not even think of such a gathering as this... Well, this is a man I don't even know if he knew my name.... So this man knew me right ... So he is watching my moves.... That reminds me that our lives are on the stage and those you ain't suspecting may be watching...
***********************************

_*if we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 1 John 1:6*_

Christians should lead simple and transparent lives with no dust raised or quizzical questions about the conduct of our daily enterprise. Life lived in darkness is enshrouded in complex shreds of obscurantism. The ways of men in darkness are neither clean nor clear but secretive and deceptive. That is why they may die, waste or decay on the inside and still wear that smile of pretense and hypocrisy ____deceiving and destroying themselves at the same time.

A man who walks in darkness finds it difficult to come out plain on simple issues and admit their wrong as occasions demand. Rather, he is passionate about his individual pride and reputation.

Nevertheless, we as children of God should not live in such a lie. Any intrusion on our sweet relationship with God should leave us with discomfort... It is necessary to be sorry for every unworthy act or mistake you make. God should in fact be our destination when we are scared or worried. Hypocrisy and pretense should not be the escape routes of our human inadequacies. Our heart should be transparent and sincere in relating with God and man. Our lives should not cause doubt, our speech behaviour should not raise questions about trust, our relationship should not be inordinate. Remember that in God, there is no shadow of turning. Men should be able to trust you and believe your words. Your life should reflect your God.

*_If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth_*

Theoretical and hypothetical Christianity is a caricature of Pentecostalism. Your profession of Christian call values should not be limited to realm of ideological cognition but must find solid expression in every of your practices and social engagements. It is indeed antithetical to boast a fellowship with God and still lead an exactly reverse life. A man who constantly fellowships with God will gradually become like God. It means certain natures of God like holiness, love, mercy, compassion, lowliness, wisdom, selflessness among others will begin to manifest in that life.

What life are you living? Do you claim to know God and still have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness! You are pacing down a winding road leading straight into depression forever. This is a wake up call to all the children of God who has God missing still in their physical lives ... It is time to come back home.

© Oloyede Olatuja

I have said that in the spring of the year the older members of the church began manifestly to decline in their engagedness and zeal for God. This greatly oppressed me, as it did also the young converts generally. About this time I read in a newspaper an article under the head of, "A revival revived." The substance of it was, that in a certain place there had been a revival during the winter; that in the spring it declined; and that upon earnest prayer being offered for the continued out-pouring of the Spirit, the revival was powerfully revived. This article set me into a flood of weeping.

At the next meeting of the young people, I proposed that we should observe a closet concert of prayer for the revival of God's work; that we should pray at sunrise, at noon, and at sunset, in our closets, and continue this for one week, when we should come together again and see what farther was to be done. No other means were used for the revival of God's work. But the spirit of prayer was immediately poured out wonderfully upon the young converts.

(Memoirs of Rev. Charles G. Finney. 1876, p44)

The Bible never explicitly mentions masturbation or states whether or not masturbation is a sin. The Scripture most frequently pointed to in regards to masturbation is the story of Onan in Genesis 38:9-10. Some interpret this passage as saying that “spilling your seed” on the ground is a sin. However, that is not precisely what the passage is saying. God condemned Onan not for “spilling his seed” but because Onan refused to fulfill his duty to provide an heir for his brother. The passage is not about masturbation, but rather about fulfilling a family duty. A second passage sometimes used as evidence for masturbation’s being a sin is Matthew 5:27-30. Jesus speaks against having lustful thoughts and then says, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.” While there are parallels between this passage and masturbation, it is unlikely that masturbation was what Jesus was alluding to.

While the Bible nowhere explicitly states that masturbation is a sin, there is no question as to whether the actions that lead to masturbation are sinful. Masturbation is nearly always the result of lustful thoughts, sexual stimulation, and/or pornographic images. It is these problems that need to be dealt with. If the sins of lust, immoral thoughts, and pornography are forsaken and overcome, masturbation will become a non-issue. Many people struggle with guilty feelings concerning masturbation, when in reality, the things that led to the act are far more worthy of repentance.

There are some biblical principles that can be applied to the issue of masturbation. Ephesians 5:3 declares, “Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity.” It is hard to see how masturbating can pass that particular test. The Bible teaches us, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If you cannot give God glory for something, you should not do it. If a person is not fully convinced that an activity is pleasing to God, then it is a sin: “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Further, we need to remember that our bodies have been redeemed and belong to God. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This great truth should have a real bearing on what we do with our bodies. In light of these principles, the conclusion that masturbation is a sin is biblical. Clearly, masturbation is not glorifying to God; it does not avoid the appearance of immorality, There are some biblical principles that can be applied to the issue of masturbation. Ephesians 5:3 declares, “Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity.” It is hard to see how masturbating can pass that particular test. The Bible teaches us, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). If you cannot give God glory for something, you should not do it. If a person is not fully convinced that an activity is pleasing to God, then it is a sin: “Everything that does not come from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). Further, we need to remember that our bodies have been redeemed and belong to God. “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). This great truth should have a real bearing on what we do with our bodies. In light of these principles, the conclusion that masturbation is a sin is biblical. Clearly, masturbation is not glorifying to God; it does not avoid the appearance of immorality, nor does it honor God as of our bodies.

Source

Unlike the question "Does God exist?" very few people question whether Jesus Christ existed. It is generally accepted that Jesus was truly a man who walked on the earth in Israel 2000 years ago. The debate begins when the subject of Jesus' full identity is discussed. Almost every major religion teaches that Jesus was a prophet or a good teacher or a godly man. The problem is that the Bible tells us that Jesus was infinitely more than a prophet, a good teacher, or a godly man.

C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity writes the following: "I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus Christ]: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic"on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg"or else he would be the Devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to."

So, who did Jesus claim to be? Who does the Bible say He is? First, let's look at Jesus' words in John 10:30, "I and the Father are one." At first glance, this might not seem to be a claim to be God. However, look at the Jews" reaction to His statement, ""We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God"" (John 10:33). The Jews understood Jesus' statement as a claim to be God. In the following verses, Jesus never corrects the Jews by saying, "I did not claim to be God." That indicates Jesus was truly saying He was God by declaring, "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). John 8:58 is another example: ""I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"" Again, in response, the Jews took up stones in an attempt to stone Jesus (John 8:59). Jesus' announcing His identity as "I am" is a direct application of the Old Testament name for God (Exodus 3:14). Why would the Jews again want to stone Jesus if He had not said something they believed to be blasphemous, namely, a claim to be God?

John 1:1 says "the Word was God."John 1:14 says "the Word became flesh." This clearly indicates that Jesus is God in the flesh. Thomas the disciple declared to Jesus, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). Jesus does not correct him. The apostle Paul describes Him as, ""our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ" (Titus 2:13). The apostle Peter says the same, ""our God and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:1). God the Father is witness of Jesus' full identity as well, "But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom."" Old Testament prophecies of Christ announce His deity, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).

So, as C.S. Lewis argued, believing Jesus to be only a good teacher is not an option. Jesus clearly and undeniably claimed to be God. If He is not God, then He is a liar, and therefore not a prophet, good teacher, or godly man. In attempts to explain away the words of Jesus, modern "scholars" claim the "true historical Jesus' did not say many of the things the Bible attributes to Him. Who are we to argue with God's Word concerning what Jesus did or did not say? How can a "scholar" two thousand years removed from Jesus have better insight into what Jesus did or did not say than those who lived with, served with, and were taught by Jesus Himself (John 14:26)?

Why is the question over Jesus' true identity so important? Why does it matter whether or not Jesus is God? The most important reason that Jesus has to be God is that if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). Only God could pay such an infinite penalty (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die. Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus' deity is why He is the only way of salvation. Jesus' deity is why He proclaimed, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

Source

A Sermon (No. 1)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning,
January 7th, 1855,
by the REV. C.H. SPURGEON
At New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

“I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”—Malachi 3:6

It has been said by some one that “the proper study of mankind is man.” I will not oppose the idea, but I believe it is equally true that the proper study of God’s elect is God; the proper study of a Christian is the Godhead. The highest science, theloftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature,the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.There is something exceedingly improving to the mind in a contemplation of the Divinity. It is a subject so vast, thatall our thoughts are lost in its immensity; so deep, that our pride is drowned in its infinity. Other subjects we can compassand grapple with; in them we feel a kind of self-content, and go our way with the thought, “Behold I am wise.” But when wecome to this master-science, finding that our plumb-line cannot sound its depth, and that our eagle eye cannot see its height,weturn away with the thought, that vain man would be wise, but he is like a wild ass’s colt; and with the solemn exclamation,“I am but of yesterday, and know nothing.” No subject of contemplation will tend more to humble the mind, than thoughts ofGod. We shall be obliged to feel—

“Great God, how infinite art thou,
What worthless worms are we!”

But while the subject humbles the mind it also expands it. He who often thinks of God, will have a larger mind than the man who simply plods around this narrow globe. He may bea naturalist, boasting of his ability to dissect a beetle, anatomize a fly, or arrange insects and animals in classes withwell nigh unutterable names; he may be a geologist, able to discourse of the megatherium and the plesiosaurus, and all kindsof extinct animals; he may imaginethat his science, whatever it is, ennobles and enlarges his mind. I dare say it does, but after all, the most excellentstudy for expanding the soul, is the science of Christ, and him crucified, and the knowledge of the Godhead in the gloriousTrinity. Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continuedinvestigation of the great subject of the Deity. And, whilst humbling and expanding, this subject is eminently consolatary.Oh, there is, in contemplating Christ, a balm for every wound; in musing on the Father, there is a quietus for every grief;and in the influence of the Holy Ghost, there is a balsam for every sore. Would you lose your sorrows? Would you drown yourcares? Then go, plunge yourself in the Godhead’s deepest sea; be lost in his immensity; and you shall come forth as from acouch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of griefand sorrow; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead. It is to that subjectthat I invite you this morning. We shall present you with one view of it,—that is the immutability of the glorious Jehovah. “I am,” says my text, “Jehovah,” (for so it should be translated) “I am Jehovah, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacobare not consumed.”

There are three things this morning. First of all, an unchanging God; secondly, the persons who derive benefit from this glorious attribute, “the sons of Jacob;” and thirdly, the benefit they so derive, they “are not consumed.’ We address ourselves to these points.

I. First of all, we have set before us the doctrine of THE IMMUTABILITY OF GOD. “I am God, I change not.” Here I shall attemptto expound, or rather to enlarge the thought, and then afterwards to bring a few arguments to prove its truth.

1. I shall offer some exposition of my text, by first saying, that God is Jehovah, and he changes not in his essence. We cannot tell you what Godhead is. We do not know what substance that is which we call God. It is an existence, it is abeing; but what that is, we know not. However, whatever it is, we call it his essence, and that essence never changes. Thesubstance of mortal things is ever changing. The mountains with their snow-white crowns, doff their olddiadems in summer, in rivers trickling down their sides, while the storm cloud gives them another coronation; the ocean,with its mighty floods, loses its water when the sunbeams kiss the waves, and snatch them in mists to heaven; even the sunhimself requires fresh fuel from the hand of the Infinite Almighty, to replenish his ever burning furnace. All creatures change.Man, especially as to his body, is always undergoing revolution. Very probably there is not a single particle in my body whichwas in it a few years ago. This frame has been worn away by activity, its atoms have been removed by friction, fresh particlesof matter have in the mean time constantly accrued to my body, and so it has been replenished; but its substance is altered.The fabric of which this world is made is ever passing away; like a stream of water, drops are running away and others arefollowing after, keeping the river still full, but always changing in its elements. But God is perpetually the same. He isnot composed of any substance or material, but is spirit—pure, essential, and ethereal spirit—and therefore he is immutable.He remains everlastingly the same. There are no furrows on his eternal brow. No age hath palsied him; no years have markedhim with the mementoes of their flight; he sees ages pass, but with him it is ever now. He is the great I AM—the Great Unchangeable. Mark you, his essence did not undergo a change when it became united with themanhood. When Christ inpast years did gird himself with mortal clay, the essence of his divinity was not changed; flesh did not become God, nordid God become flesh by a real actual change of nature; the two were united in hypostatical union, but the Godhead was stillthe same. It was the same when he was a babe in the manager, as it was when he stretched the curtains of heaven; it was thesame God that hung upon the cross, and whose blood flowed down in a purple river, the self-same God that holds the world uponhiseverlasting shoulders, and bears in his hands the keys of death and hell. He never has been changed in his essence, noteven by his incarnation; he remains everlastingly, eternally, the one unchanging God, the Father of lights, with whom thereis no variableness, neither the shadow of a change.

2. He changes not in his attributes. Whatever the attributes of God were of old, that they are now; and of each of them we may sing “As it was in the beginning,is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.” Was he powerful? Was he the mighty God when he spake the world out of the womb of nonexistence? Was he the Omnipotent when he piled the mountainsand scooped out the hollow places for the rolling deep? Yes, he was powerful then, and his arm isunpalsied now, he is the same giant in his might; the sap of his nourishment is undried, and the strength of his soulstands the same for ever. Was he wise when he constituted this mighty globe, when he laid the foundations of the universe?Had he wisdom when he planned the way of our salvation, and when from all eternity he marked out his awful plans? Yes, and he is wise now;he is not less skillful, he has not less knowledge; his eye which seeth all things is undimmed; his ear whichheareth all the cries, sighs, sobs, and groans of his people, is not rendered heavy by the years which he hath heard theirprayers. He is unchanged in his wisdom, he knows as much now as ever, neither more nor less; he has the same consummate skill,and the same infinite forecastings. He is unchanged, blessed be his name, in his justice. just and holy was he in the past; just and holy is he now. He is unchanged in his truth; he has promised, and he brings it to pass; he hath saithit, and it shall be done. He varies not in the goodness, and generosity, and benevolence of his nature. He is not become an Almighty tyrant, whereas he was once an Almighty Father;but his strong love stands like a granite rock, unmoved by the hurricanes of our iniquity. And blessed be his dear name, heis unchanged in his love. When he first wrote the covenant, how full his heart was with affection to his people. He knew that his Son must die toratify the articles of thatagreement. He knew right well that he must rend his best beloved from his bowels, and send him down to earth to bleedand die. He did not hesitate to sign that mighty covenant; nor did he shun its fulfillment. He loves as much now as he didthen, and when suns shall cease to shine, and moons to show their feeble light, he still shall love on for ever and for ever.Take any one attribute of God, and I will write semper idem on it (always the same). Take any one thing you can say of Godnow, and it may be said not only in the dark past, but in the bright future it shall always remain the same: “I am Jehovah,I change not.”

3. Then again, God changes not in his plans. That man began to build, but was not able to finish, and therefore he changed his plan, as every wise man would do in sucha case; he built upon a smaller foundation and commenced again. But has it ever been said that God began to build but wasnot able to finish? Nay. When he hath boundless stores at his command, and when his own right hand would create worlds asnumerous as drops of morning dew, shall he ever staybecause he has not power? and reverse, or alter, or disarrange his plan, because he cannot carry it out? “But,” say some,“perhaps God never had a plan.” Do you think God is more foolish than yourself then, sir? Do you go to work without a plan?“No,” say you, “I have always a scheme.” So has God. Every man has his plan, and God has a plan too. God is a master-mind;he arranged everything in his gigantic intellect long before he did it; and once having settled it, mark you, he never altersit.“This shall be done,” saith he, and the iron hand of destiny marks it down, and it is brought to pass. “This is my purpose,”and it stands, nor can earth or hell alter it. “This is my decree,” saith he, promulgate it angels; rend it down from thegate of heaven ye devils; but ye cannot alter the decree; it shall be done. God altereth not his plans; why should he? Heis Almighty, and therefore can perform his pleasure. Why should he? He is the All-wise, and therefore cannot have plannedwrongly.Why should he? He is the everlasting God, and therefore cannot die before his plan is accomplished. Why should he change?Ye worthless atoms of existence, ephemera of the day! Ye creeping insects upon this bayleaf of existence! ye may change your plans, but he shall never, never change his. Then has he told me that his plan is to save me? If so, I am safe

“My name from the palms of his hands
Eternity will not erase;
Impress’d on his heart it remains,
In marks of indelible grace”

4. Yet again, God is unchanging in his promises. Ah! we love to speak about the sweet promises of God; but if we could ever suppose that one of them could be changed, wewould not talk anything more about them. If I thought that the notes of the bank of England could not be cashed next week,I should decline to take them; and if I thought that God’s promises would never be fulfilled—if I thought that God would seeit right to alter some word in hispromises—farewell Scriptures! I want immutable things: and I find that I have immutable promises when I turn to the Bible:for, “by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie,” he hath signed, confirmed, and sealed every promiseof his. The gospel is not “yea and nay,” it is not promising today, and denying tomorrow; but the gospel is “yea, yea,” tothe glory of God. Believer! there was a delightful promise which you had yesterday; and this morning when you turned to theBible the promise was not sweet. Do you know why? Do you think the promise had changed? Ah, no! You changed; that is where the matter lies. You had been eating some of the grapes of Sodom, and your mouth was thereby put outof taste, and you could not detect the sweetness. But there was the same honey there, depend upon it, the same preciousness.“Oh!” says one child of God, “I had built my house firmly once upon some stable promises; there came a wind, and I said, OLord, I am cast downand I shall be lost.” Oh! the promises were not cast down; the foundations were not removed; it was your little “wood,hay, stubble” hut, that you had been building. It was that which fell down. You have been shaken on the rock, not the rock under you. But let me tell you what is the best way of living in the world. I have heard that a gentleman said to a Negro, “I can’tthink how it is you are always so happy in the Lord and I am often downcast.” “Why Massa,” said he, “Ithrow myself flat down on the promise—there I lie; you stand on the promise—you have a little to do with it, and downyou go when the wind comes, and then you cry, ‘Oh! I am down;’ whereas I go flat on the promise at once, and that is why Ifear no fall.” Then let us always say, “Lord there is the promise; it is thy business to fulfill it.” Down I go on the promiseflat! no standing up for me. That is where you should go—prostrate on the promise; and remember, every promise is a rock,anunchanging thing. Therefore, at his feet cast yourself, and rest there forever.

5. But now comes one jarring note to spoil the theme. To some of you God is unchanging in his threatenings. If every promise stands fast, and every oath of the covenant is fulfilled, hark thee, sinner!—mark the word—hear the death-knellof thy carnal hopes; see the funeral of thy fleshly trustings. Every threatening of God, as well as every promise shall befulfilled. Talk of decrees! I will tell you of a decree: “He that believeth not shall be damned.” That isa decree, and a statute that can never change. Be as good as you please, be as moral as you can, be as honest as you will,walk as uprightly as you may,—there stands the unchangeable threatening: “He that believeth not shall be damned.” What sayestthou to that, moralist? Oh, thou wishest thou couldst alter it, and say, “He that does not live a holy life shall be damned.”That will be true; but it does not say so. It says, “He that believeth not.” Here is the stone of stumbling, and the rockof offence; but you cannot alter it. You must believe or be damned, saith the Bible; and mark, that threat of God is an unchangeable as God himself. And when a thousand years of hell’s torments shall have passed away, you shall look on high,and see written in burning letters of fire, “He that believeth not shall be damned.” “But, Lord, I am damned.” Nevertheless it says ”shall be“ still. And when a million ages have rolled away, and you are exhausted by your pains andagonies, you shall turn up your eye and still read “SHALL BE DAMNED,” unchanged, unaltered. And when you shall have thoughtthat eternity must have spun out its last thread—that every particle of that which we call eternity, must have run out, youshall still see it written up there, “SHALL BE DAMNED” O terrific thought! How dare I utter it? But I must. Ye must be warned,sirs, “lest ye also come into this place of torment” Ye must be told rough things; for if God’s gospel is not a roughthing & the law is a rough thing; Mount Sinai is a rough thing. Woe unto the watchman that warns not the ungodly! Godis unchanging in his threatenings. Beware, O sinner, for “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

6. We must just hint at one thought before we pass away and that is—God is unchanging in the objects of his love—not only in his love, but in the objects of it

“If ever it should come to pass,
That sheep of Christ might fall away.
My fickle, feeble soul, alas,
Would fall a thousand times a day.”

If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be, and then there isno gospel promise true; but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once,when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then he will love me for ever.

“Did Jesus once upon me shine,
Then Jesus is for ever mine.”

The objects of everlasting love never change. Those whom God hath called, he will justify; whom he has justified, he willsanctify; and whom he sanctifies, he will glorify.

1. Thus having taken a great deal too much time, perhaps, in simply expanding the thought of an unchanging God, I will nowtry to prove that He is unchangeable. I am not much of an argumentative preacher, but one argument that I will mention is this: the very existence, and being of a God, seem to me to imply immutability. Let me think a moment. There is a God; this God rules and governs all things; this God fashioned the world: he upholds andmaintains it.What kind of being must he be? It does strike me that you cannot think of a changeable God. I conceive that the thoughtis so repugnant to common sense, that if you for one moment think of a changing God, the words seem to clash, and you areobliged to say, “Then he must be a kind of man,” and get a Mormonite idea of God. I imagine it is impossible to conceive ofa changing God; it is so to me. Others may be capable of such an idea, but I could not entertain it. I could no more thinkof achanging God, than I could of a round square, or any other absurdity. The thing seems so contrary, that I am obliged,when once I say God, to include the idea of an unchanging being.

2. Well, I think that one argument will be enough, but another good argument may be found in the fact of God’s perfection. I believe God to be a perfect being. Now, if he is a perfect being, he cannot change. Do you not see this? Suppose I amperfect today, if it were possible for me to change, should I be perfect tomorrow after the alteration? If I changed, I musteither change from a good state to a better—and then if I could get better, I could not be perfectnow—or else from a better state to a worse—and if I were worse, I should not be perfect then. If I am perfect, I cannot be altered without being imperfect. If I am perfect today, I must keep the same tomorrow if Iam to be perfect then. So, if God is perfect, he must be the same; for change would imply imperfection now, or imperfectionthen.

3. Again, there is the fact of God’s infinity, which puts change out of the question. God is an infinite being. What do you mean by that? There is no man who can tellyou what he means by an infinite being. But there cannot be two infinities. If one thing is infinite, there is no room foranything else; for infinite means all. It means not bounded, not finite, having no end. Well, there cannot be two infinities.If God is infinite today, and then should change andbe infinite tomorrow, there would be two infinities. But that cannot be. Suppose he is infinite and then changes, he mustbecome finite, and could not be God; either he is finite today and finite tomorrow, or infinite today and finite tomorrow,or finite today and infinite tomorrow—all of which suppositions are equally absurd. The fact of his being an infinite beingat once quashes the thought of his being a changeable being. Infinity has written on its very brow the word “immutability

4. But then, dear friends, let us look at the past: and there we shall gather some proofs of God’s immutable nature. “Hath he spoken, and hath he not done it? Hath he sworn,and hath it not come to pass?” Can it not be said of Jehovah, “He hath done all his will, and he hath accomplished all hispurpose?” Turn ye to Philistia; ask where she is. God said, “Howl Ashdod, and ye gates of Gaza, for ye shall fall;” and whereare they? Where is Edom? Ask Petra and itsruined walls. Will they not echo back the truth that God hath said, “Edom shall be a prey, and shall be destroyed?” Whereis Babel, and where Nineveh? Where Moab and where Ammon? Where are the nations God hath said he would destroy? Hath he notuprooted them and cast out the remembrance of them from the earth? And hath God cast off his people? Hath he once been unmindfulof his promise? Hath he once broken his oath and covenant, or once departed from his plan? Ah! no. Point to one instance inhistory where God has changed! Ye cannot, sirs; for throughout all history there stands the fact that God has been immutablein his purposes. Methinks I hear some one say, “I can remember one passage in Scripture where God changed!” And so did I thinkonce. The case I mean, is that of the death of Hezekiah. Isaiah came in and said, ‘Hezekiah, you must die, your disease isincurable, set your house in order.’ He turned his face to the wall and began to pray; and before Isaiah was in the outercourt, he was told to go back and say, “Thou shalt live fifteen years more.” You may think that proves that God changes;but really I cannot see in it the slightest proof in the world. How do you know that God did not know that? Oh! but God didknow it; he knew that Hezekiah would live. Then he did not change, for if he knew that, how could he change? That is whatI want to know. But do you know one little thing?—that Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, was not born at that time, and that had Hezekiahdied, there would have been no Manasseh, and no Josiah and no Christ, because Christ came from that very line. You willfind that Manasseh was twelve years old when his father died; so that he must have been born three years after this. And doyou not believe that God decreed the birth of Manasseh, and foreknew it? Certainly. Then he decreed that Isaiah should goand tell Hezekiah that his disease was incurable, and then say also in the same breath, “But I will cure it, and thou shaltlive.” Hesaid that to stir up Hezekiah to prayer. He spoke, in the first place as a man. “According to all human probability yourdisease is incurable, and you must die.” Then he waited till Hezekiah prayed; then came a little “but” at the end of the sentence.Isaiah had not finished the sentence. He said, “You must put your house in order for there is no human cure; but” (and thenhe walked out. Hezekiah prayed a little, and then he came in again, and said) ”But I will heal thee.” Where is thereany contradiction there, except in the brain of those who fight against the Lord, and wish to make him a changeable being.

II. Now secondly, let me say a word on THE PERSONS TO WHOM THIS UNCHANGEABLE GOD IS A BENEFIT. “I am God, I change not; thereforeye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Now, who are “the sons of Jacob,” who can rejoice in an immutable God?

1. First, they are the sons of God’s election; for it is written, “Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated, the children being not yet born neither having done goodnor evil.” It was written, “The elder shall serve the younger.” “The sons of Jacob”—

“Are the sons of God’s election,
Who through sovereign grace believe;
Be eternal destination Grace and glory they receive.”

God’s elect are here meant by “the sons of Jacob,”—those whom he foreknew and fore-ordained to everlasting salvation.

2. By “the sons of Jacob” are meant, in the second place, persons who enjoy peculiar rights and titles. Jacob, you know, had no rights by birth; but he soon acquired them. He changed a mess of pottage with his brother Esau, andthus gained the birthright. I do not justify the means; but he did also obtain the blessing, and so acquired peculiar rightsBy “the sons of Jacob” here, are meant persons who have peculiar rights and titles. Unto them that believe, he hathgiven the right and power to become sons of God. They have an interest in the blood of Christ; they have a right to “enterin through the gates into the city;” they have a title to eternal honors; they have a promise to everlasting glory; they havea right to call themselves sons of God. Oh! there are peculiar rights and privileges belonging to the “sons of Jacob”

3. But, then next, these “sons of Jacob” were men of peculiar manifestations. Jacob had peculiar manifestations from his God, and thus he was highly honored. Once at night-time he lay down and slept;he had the hedges for his curtains, the sky for his canopy, a stone for his pillow, and the earth for his bed. Oh! then hehad a peculiar manifestation. There was a ladder, and he saw the angels of God ascending and descending. He thus had a manifestationof ChristJesus, as the ladder which reaches from earth to heaven, up and down which angels came to bring us mercies. Then whata manifestation there was at Mahanaim, when the angels of God met him; and again at Peniel, when he wrestled with God, andsaw him face to face. Those were peculiar manifestations; and this passage refers to those who, like Jacob, have had peculiar manifestations.

Now then, how many of you have had personal manifestations? “Oh!” you say “that is enthusiasm; that is fanaticism.” Well,it is a blessed enthusiasm, too, for the sons of Jacob have had peculiar manifestations. They have talked with God as a mantalketh with his friend; they have whispered in the ear of Jehovah; Christ hath been with them to sup with them, and theywith Christ; and the Holy Spirit hath shone into their souls with such a mighty radiance, that they could notdoubt about special manifestations. The “sons of Jacob” are the men, who enjoy these manifestations. 4. Then again, they are men of peculiar trials. Ah! poor Jacob! I should not choose Jacob’s lot if I had not the prospect of Jacob’s blessing; for a hard lot his was. Hehad to run away from his father’s house to Laban’s; and then that surly old Laban cheated him all the years he was there—cheatedhim of his wife, cheated him in his wages, cheated him in his flocks, and cheated him all through the story. By-and-bye hehad to run away from Laban, who pursued himand overtook him. Next came Esau with four hundred men to cut him up root and branch. Then there was a season of prayer,and afterwards he wrestled, and had to go all his life with his thigh out of joint. But a little further on, Rachael, hisdear beloved, died. Then his daughter Dinah is led astray, and the sons murder the Shechemites. Anon there is dear Josephsold into Egypt, and a famine comes. Then Reuben goes up to his couch and pollutes it; Judah commits incest with his owndaughter-in-law; and all his sons become a plague to him. At last Benjamin is taken away; and the old man, almost broken-hearted,cries, “Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away.” Never was man more tried than Jacob, all throughthe one sin of cheating his brother. All through his life God chastised him. But I believe there are many who can sympathizewith dear old Jacob. They have had to pass through trials very much like his. Well, cross-bearers! God says, “I changenot; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Poor tried souls! ye are not consumed because of the unchanging natureof your God. Now do not get fretting, and say, with the self-conceit of misery, “I am the man who hath seen affliction.” Why“the Man of Sorrows” was afflicted more than you; Jesus was indeed a mourner. You only see the skirts of the garments of affliction.You never have trials like his. You do not understand what troubles means; you have hardly sipped the cup of trouble;you have only had a drop or two, but Jesus drunk the dregs. Fear not saith God, “I am the Lord, I change not; thereforeye sons of Jacob,” men of peculiar trials, “are not consumed.”

5. Then one more thought about who are the “sons of Jacob,” for I should like you to find out whether you are “sons of Jacob,”yourselves. They are men of peculiar character; for though there were some things about Jacob’s character which we cannot commend, there are one or two things which Godcommends. There was Jacob’s faith, by which Jacob had his name written amongst the mighty worthies who obtained not the promiseson earth, but shall obtain them in heaven.Are you men of faith, beloved? Do you know what it is to walk by faith, to live by faith, to get your temporary food byfaith, to live on spiritual manna—all by faith? Is faith the rule of your life? if so, you are the “sons of Jacob”

Then Jacob was a man of prayer—a man who wrestled, and groaned, and prayed. There is a man up yonder who never prayed this morning, before coming up tothe house of God. Ah! you poor heathen, don’t you pray? No! he says, “I never thought of such a thing; for years I have notprayed.” Well, I hope you may before you die. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell.There is a woman: she did not pray this morning; she was so busysending her children to the Sunday School, she had no time to pray. No time to pray? Had you time to dress? There is atime for every purpose under heaven, and if you had purposed to pray, you would have prayed. Sons of God cannot live withoutprayer. They are wrestling Jacobs. They are men in whom the Holy Ghost so works, they they can no more live without prayerthan I can live without breathing. They must pray. Sirs, mark you, if you are living without prayer, you are living withoutChrist;and dying like that, your portion will be in the lake which burneth with fire. God redeem you, God rescue you from sucha lot! But you who are “the sons of Jacob,” take comfort, for God is immutable.

III. Thirdly, I can say only a word about the other point—THE BENEFIT WHICH THESE “SONS OF JACOB” RECEIVE FROM AN UNCHANGINGGOD. “Therefore ye sons Jacob are not consumed.” “Consumed?” How? how can man be consumed? Why, there are two ways. We mighthave been consumed in hell. If God had been a changing God, the “sons of Jacob” here this morning, might have been consumed in hell; but for God’s unchanginglove I should have been a faggot in the fire. But there is away of being consumed in this world; there is such a things as being condemned before you die—“condemned already;” there is such a thing as being alive, and yetbeing absolutely dead. We might have been left to our own devices, and then where should we have been now? Revelling withthe drunkard, blaspheming Almighty God. Oh? had he left you, dearly beloved, had he been a changing God, ye had been amongstthe filthiest of the filthy, and the vilest of the vile. Cannot you remember inyour life, seasons similar to those I have felt? I have gone right to the edge of sin; some strong temptation has takenhold of both my arms, so that I could not wrestle with it. I have been pushed alone, dragged as by an awful satanic powerto the very edge of some horrid precipice. I have looked down, down, down, and seen my portion; I quivered on the brink ofruin. I have been horrified, as, with my hair upright, I have thought of the sin I was about to commit, the horrible pit intowhich Iwas about to fall. A strong arm hath saved me. I have started back and cried, O God! could I have gone so near sin, andyet come back again? Could I have walked right up to the furnace and not fallen down, like Nebuchadnezzar’s strong men, devouredby the very heat? Oh! is it possible I should be here this morning, when I think of the sins I have committed, and the crimeswhich have crossed my wicked imagination? Yes, I am here, unconsumed, because the Lord changes not. Oh! if he had changed,we should have been consumed in a dozen ways; if the Lord had changed, you and I should have been consumed by ourselves;for after all, Mr. Self is the worst enemy a Christian has. We should have proved suicides to our own souls; we should havemixed the cup of poison for our own spirits, if the Lord had not been an unchanging God, and dashed the cup out of our handswhen we were about to drink it. Then we should have been consumed by God himself if he had not been a changeless God. We callGoda Father; but there is not a father in this world who would not have killed all his children long ago, so provoked wouldhe have been with them, if he had been half as much troubled as God has been with his family. He has the most troublesomefamily in the whole world—unbelieving, ungrateful, disobedient, forgetful, rebellious, wandering, murmuring, and stiffnecked.Well it is that he is longsuffering, or else he would have taken not only the rod, but the sword to some of us long ago. Butthere was nothing in us to love at first, so, there cannot be less now. John Newton used to tell a whimsical story, andlaugh at it too, of a good woman who said, in order to prove the doctrine of Election, “Ah! sir, the Lord must have lovedme before I was born, or else he would not have seen anything in me to love afterwards.” I am sure it is true in my case,and true in respect most of God’s people; for there is little to love in them after they are born, that if he had not lovedthem beforethen, he would have seen no reason to choose them after; but since he loved them without works, he loves them withoutworks still; since their good works did not win his affection, bad works cannot sever that affection; since their righteousnessdid not bind his love to them, so their wickedness cannot snap the golden links. He loved them out of pure sovereign grace,and he will love them still. But we should have been consumed by the devil, and by our enemies—consumed by the world, consumed by our sins, by our trials, and in a hundred other ways, if God had ever changed.

Well, now, time fails us, and I can say but little.. I have only just cursorily touched on the text. I now hand it to youMay the Lord help you “sons of Jacob” to take home this portion of meat; digest it well, and feed upon it. May the Holy Ghostsweetly apply the glorious things that are written! And may you have “a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees well refined!”Remember God is the same, whatever is removed. Your friends may be disaffected, your ministers maybe taken away, every thing may change, but God does not. Your brethren may change and cast out your name as vile: butGod will love you still. Let your station in life change, and your property be gone; let your whole life be shaken, and youbecome weak and sickly; let everything flee away—there is one place where change cannot put his finger; there is one nameon which mutability can never be written; there is one heart which never can alter; that heart is God’s—that name Love.

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1) Good Diet and proper feeding

1 Peter 2:2"like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation"

2) Relationship

A) Relationship with God

John 17:23"I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me

B) Relationship with fellow Christians

1 John 1:5-7"If we say that we have fellowshipwith Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Colossians 3:16"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

C) Relationship with the World

3) Time

2 Peter 1:5&6"Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness"

4) Imitate Christ

1 Peter 2:21"For you have been called for thispurpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps."

1 John 2:6"the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner asHe walked."

5) Crucify the Old Man

"We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." Romans 6:6

Written and Complied by Olatuja Oloyede

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1 Peter 2:2"like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may *grow in respect to salvation***"

John 17:23
"I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me

1 John 1:5-7
"If we say that we have fellowship
with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Colossians 3:16
"Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

1 Peter 2:21
"For you have been called for this
purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps."

1 John 2:6
"the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as
He walked."