The God of the Old Testament is the same God in the New Testament.
And He is the same God now.
But isn’t that what makes Him trustworthy? The fact that God is so consistent throughout history takes the guesswork out of our relationships with Him.
Consistency breeds confidence. We can actually live out Paul’s encouragement to be confident that He who began a good work in us will be faithful to see it through to its completion. We can be confident because He is consistent.
In case you haven’t picked up on it, I’m just a tad bit fired up about this concept today. The fuel for this fire comes directly from a frustration with our ever-changing and wholly inconsistent culture. I’ll explain…
I love a good docuseries. Some kind of true crime tale or historical documentary that I can engage in while cleaning the house. Or – let’s be honest – that I can watch while playing a game on my phone when I need to recoup after a long week. I try to avoid documentaries centered around current events or a content area that I know will get me all riled up since it is meant to help me disengage from the world around me.
His presence is unchanging.
His character is unchanging.
His opinions are unchanging.
But I recently broke my own rule and watched a few episodes from a docuseries centered around megachurches and their mega-impact on the culture of modern Christianity. And I’m currently living the consequences of my choice, still fuming over a comment I heard from a self-described former church member.
I know – I should have seen this coming when I chose to watch anything related to the Church at large. But I watched it anyway, and now we both have to wrestle with this together. Or you could just stop reading and leave me alone with my thoughts. But if I know you like I think I do, you’re too intrigued to walk away. So let’s talk about it…
Here was the statement: Christianity is notoriously slow to come around to more progressive ideas in culture. This was in reference to a particular megachurch’s stance on cultural demands like LGBTQ+ affirmation and representation, as well as ethnic diversity and representation.
We can be confident because He is consistent.
As you may imagine, I have an opinion on each of these hot-button issues, which I’ll share if we ever speak in person. But that’s not the part that bothers me. It’s the implication that Christianity should be “coming around” to anything.
Now, I only watched this former megachurch member’s conversation with an interviewer – I was not engaging in conversation with her. But my understanding from her statement and from the rest of the conversation that I witnessed was that she believes Christianity should, at some point, arrive at the same conclusions that progressive culture has come to.
But how?
How can an unchanging God just “come around” to a perceived new idea simply because culture demands it? He can’t. Therefore, Christianity can’t.
What kind of religion can be altered at the hands of man? If we can manipulate it to be what we want it to be, to accept what we want it to accept, then we don’t actually have a God – we are the gods. And quite frankly, sin has messed us up way too much to have that kind of power. If your faith is influenced by cultural ideology, then your faith is faulty at best.
What kind of religion can be altered at the hands of man? If we can manipulate it to be what we want it to be, accept what we want it to accept, then we don’t actually have a God – we are the gods.
Think of the role religion plays in our lives. It influences our actions, our thoughts, our routines, how we treat each other, how we treat ourselves – it is a vital component of our lives. There’s no such thing as not having a religion. Humans are created to worship, and we are going to worship something. If you can’t readily identify your God, then you might just be your own god.
Hot take: Christians are the ones responsible for this woman’s viewpoint that Christianity is adaptable.
We are the Church. And we’ve allowed the whims of culture to influence what we believe and how we behave and what we affirm. Worse yet, we’ve actually had the audacity to speak on God’s behalf, informing a watching world of what He accepts, then calling it denominational doctrine.
And I just bet you we’ve gotten it wrong at least twice.
Christians, read your Bibles. Do not be ignorant about what you believe, and do not allow the changing tides of culture to define an unchanging God.
So this post took guts! Proud of you daughter! To continue the conversation… I submit that maybe the reason we have so much anxiety and fear and unrest in our own hearts and in society is because we have assigned to an unchanging God the characteristic of flexibility. Human beings are looking for security. We want to feel secure in our homes, in our jobs, and in our relationships. We want to know when we order our favorite dish at our favorite restaurant that the ingredients have not changed. We can depend on to consistently satisfy our tastebuds. If our security rests in consistency why in the world would we seek a god who is inconsistent? Your words are on target! Thank you for your Word-rooted audacity!
Thank you for encouraging me as a believer. It’s so assuring to know that other believers feel the same way I do. We need to hear from one another so we know we are not alone in our beliefs. Thanks, Kylie! (Sorry, not sorry, that you watched that documentary 🙂)
Yes – encouraging one another is so important! Happy to be on this journey with so many others like you!