Unchanging truth

All Scripture is inspired by God…It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

There are people who say that the Church needs to change with the times. They don’t like some of the things taught in the Bible, because those teachings seem out of step with modern sensibilities. But their concern raises an important question: who actually wrote the Bible?

If the Bible was written by a variety of wise men, each building on the teachings of his predecessors, then the Bible is a living document like the Constitution of the United States; as society changes, the words we look to for guidance need to adjust with the times. But if the Bible was written by God, we must treat the Good Book as an unchangeable document because it speaks the words of an unchanging, eternal God.

Although it was penned by a variety of holy men over a span of centuries, God was the source of every word set to paper. Peter says, Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21). Paul says that all Scripture comes from the mouth of God (2 Timothy 3:16).

In Malachi 3:6 God says, I the LORD do not change. This means that His message does not change either. Moses said, hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you…Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it (Deuteronomy 4:1-2). Jesus said, don’t think that I have come to destroy the Law of Moses or the teaching of the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to bring about what they said. I tell you the truth, nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. Not even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will be lost until everything has happened (Matthew 5:17-18).

It all boils down to this: if you accept the Bible as coming from God, you dare not make changes to it. The Bible is God’s message of truth spoken to a world that is confused by lies and distortions of the truth. It should not surprise you that the Bible contradicts conventional thinking; but you don’t meddle with the truth in order to remain comfortable with falsehood.