Unchanging Truths

Some unchanging truths I've been thinking about today...

 

What of this so-called "Lord" and "Savior" we Christians are always talking about and why should any non-Christian even care to listen?  

Unchanging truths. 

His name is Jesus Christ, and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). 

Unchanging truths. 

Contrary to popular beliefs, the Word of God is always relevant. It was relevant yesterday, is relevant today, and will be relevant tomorrow and forever. "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8). 

Unchanging truths. 

Similarly, the "the Word became flesh" (John 1:14), or our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is unchanging Himself, and He died once for the sins of anyone and everyone who would ever live here on earth yesterday, today, and tomorrow. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). 

Unchanging truths. 

That's good news since the truth that's the same yesterday, today, and forever is that we are all sinners in need of God's saving grace, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and "the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). 

Unchanging truths. 

Speaking of that "free gift" mentioned above? Rejoice! "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8) since we are told "for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). How do we receive this free gift? How do we believe in it and in the One that delivers it to us? Thankfully, it's not even up to us either! "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9) and it comes with another glorious promise from the mouth of Christ Himself who assured us that "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). The result? "And I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:44). 

Unchanging truths. 

"The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance" (2 Peter 3:9) so repent of your sins, my friend! There is Someone who forgives you for your sins, who rescues you from the horrors of death, who reconciles you to God The Father while removing your guilt and shame, and who promises to restore you by His unmerited forgiveness and mercy, leading to eternal life with Him through your God-given repentance and faith in His death upon the cross and resurrection from the grave for you and for all mankind! 

Unchanging truths. 

His name is Jesus Christ, and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8) and He says "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).

In a Lutheran layman's terms, this is most certainly true.



NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. As another Christian Blogger once wrote, "Please do not see this blog as me attempting to 'publicly teach' the faith, but view it as an informal Public Journal of sorts about my own experiences and journey, and if any of my notes here help you in any way at all, then I say, 'Praise the Lord!' but please do double check them against the Word of God and with your own Pastor." To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm a relatively new convert to Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little more than 3 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier/older pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category (and they don't have a disclaimer like this) since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because I now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse footnotes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained under-shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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