Does God Change His Mind?
God Behaving Badly • Sermon • Submitted
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· 44 viewsAddress some problematic passages where God seems to "regret" His previous actions.
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Introduction
Introduction
This series based on questions raised by students while I was teaching in India. They would bring up passages and topics used by non-believers to challenge the pastors.
This morning I thought we would look at the question, “Does God change His mind about things He has decided to do?” How many of you would answer yes, God does change his mind? How many of you would answer no to this question?
The Challenge
The Challenge
Our passage this morning is one where God seemingly regrets creating humanity. Indeed, it comes perilously close to implying that God made a mistake by creating humankind and by declaring it good. Note :
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Genesis 6:6
The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
So what do we do with passages like this? Is the God of the bible really a God who makes mistakes or changes his mind and wants a do over?
This is not the only passage in Bible that gives this impression. Consider the story of Saul. God had Samuel appoint him king of Israel. The Lord subsequently commands Saul to destroy the Amalekites and everything they own. Well, Saul does destroy the Amalekites but not what they own. Instead, they keep the plunder. So God speaks to Samuel:
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1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
After a brief time of solitary confinement in a fish, Jonah finally get around to going to Nineveh and starts preaching their destruction. Well, lo and behold the Ninevites repent! What does God do?Or what about this verse?
When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Or what about this verse?
Or what about this verse?
Or what about this verse?
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Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
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Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
It seems like once again God is regretting something He has done previously. But is that really the case? If so, how do we handle this verse:
“I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
So the challenge posed to the Indian pastors is simply this: Does God change or doesn’t He? The Bible seems to suggest two different answers to this question. How do we reconcile these passages?
Resolution
Resolution
The answer to this quandary is two-fold. First, when we look at the OT promises of God they are always conditional.
and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
In short, if a nation or people turn away from God, then God will destroy them. But if they turn towards God in repentance, God will spare them. This theme is seen repeatedly in Judges where the Israelites turn away from God and are handed over to their enemies. They then turn back to God and God delivers them. It’s explicitly stated in Moses’ last speech to the Israelites before they entered the promised land:
If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God:
However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
Second, if we look back at our original passage God is not grieved at what He has done; He is grieved at the sin of humanity.
The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
Or in the case of Saul, God is grieved that Saul disobeyed him.
Application
Application
In Christ, all of the conditional promises of God became unconditional. All of the “If… then’s” became “nows” in Christ. Why? Because having lived a sinless life Jesus took upon himself the punishment for our sin.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
The unconditional promises of God are only available in Christ. The rules and regulations of the law have been replaced by blessings of a relationship.
But there’s another point here I don’t want you to miss. God is not some impersonal force or being. After all, the Bible tells that God is love. In other words, God feels emotions. So when we sin, when we rebel against God in ways both big and small, God’s heart is grieved.
Have you ever thought about that? Jesus died for our sin on the cross, but our sin still grieves his heart. It grieves the Father’s heart because it is a constant reminder of the Son’s sacrifice. Our sin grieves the Father’s heart because it is a rejection of his perfect, unconditional love for us.