Jesus Unchanging: Reminders for Faithful Christian Living

So we've been going through this series about the book of Hebrews where we have found that Jesus is better. And one of the ways that Jesus is better is that Jesus does not change. I don't know if you ever thought about that, but if the love of Jesus changed, that wouldn't be good. If the holiness of Jesus changed, that wouldn't be good. If the promises of Jesus changed, that wouldn't be good. Because everything about what he's shown us in his love and his holiness and in his word is good. And so to lower the standard would be an awful thing. [00:32:54] (46 seconds)  #JesusIsUnchanging

So sometimes I think we overlook the reality of what this table is communicating. It's yes, indeed, it's communicating that Christ bore our sins, that he suffered in our place, that he took our penalty, that he bore God's wrath. But it was for a reason. It was for changed lives that would then praise his name as the Hebrews text tells us, and to seek not to neglect to do good for others and to share what we have. [01:19:07] (36 seconds)  #TableMeansTransformedLives

The the writer of Hebrews has made it clear, we've got one sacrifice for all time. It's Jesus. His his blood is more than satisfactory. His blood was perfect. His sacrifice was perfect. There is no need for any additional sacrifices. We have a better altar and a better sacrifice. So whenever the Satan tries to convince you that you haven't measured up enough to warrant or merit the love of God, that's utter nonsense. You haven't done anything to merit the love of God. [00:56:46] (37 seconds)  #OnePerfectSacrifice

This morning at adult discipleship hour, Bart reminded us of how excruciating crucifixion was. It was the worst imaginable way to die. And Jesus knew that's the death he was going to die, but he did not change. He was unchanging in his purpose, and he knew that only the perfect blood of the lamb of God could take away the sins of the world. [01:29:43] (41 seconds)  #UnwaveringPurposeOfChrist

So this remembering is a reminder to look back. Think about all of the individuals that have had an impact on you. And when Paul told Timothy to imitate Paul, the reason he was doing that was so that Timothy would see Jesus. Paul didn't say, look at how great I am. He said, imitate me as I imitate Christ. [00:51:52] (26 seconds)  #ImitateToSeeJesus

So the first response is, what does Hebrews say I should do? In other words, it's to take what God has said and say, what do I do now? It's gotta be practical. It's gotta be applicable. God doesn't just want you to be smarter. He wants you to be sanctified. Right? Secondly, and, you know, that includes beliefs and attitudes and behaviors. [01:07:49] (27 seconds)  #PracticalSanctification

So when it says to submit to your leaders, it's saying to you, obey the truth as it's taught if it's taught rightly. Obey the truth. Don't obey the preacher. Now if the preacher says the truth, in a sense, you know, you're following the leader, you're doing what the leader says to do, but only in so far as it is what God's word says. [01:03:55] (29 seconds)  #ObeyTruthNotPerson

We just need to remember that theological variation is not something to be embraced. We we need to be very careful about who we listen to, what books we read. There are some books on, I'm gonna use parenthesis, theology that are garbage. We need to be very careful about who we listen to, the teaching that we receive. It's something to be avoided. There is only one faith, There's only one gospel. There's only one savior. There are no alternatives. [00:55:14] (38 seconds)  #GuardAgainstBadTheology