What is the Immutability of God?

The immutability of God (that He does not change) is clearly taught throughout Scripture in countless passages. For example, in Malachi 3:6 God affirms, "I, the Lord, do not change." (See also Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Isaiah 46:9-11; Ezekiel 24:14.)
James 1:17 tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.” The shadow of turning refers to the sun which eclipses, and turns, and casts its shadow. It rises and sets, appears and disappears every day; and it comes out of one tropic, and enters into another at certain seasons of the year. But with God, who is light, there is no darkness at all, there is no change, nor anything like it. He is unchangeable in His nature, perfections, purposes, promises, and gifts. He being Holy, cannot turn to that which is evil; nor can He, who is the fountain of light, be the cause of darkness, and since every good and perfect gift comes from Him, evil cannot proceed from Him, nor does He tempt anyone to evil. The Bible is very clear that God does not change, neither His mind, His will, nor His nature.
Seen from a logical viewpoint, there are several reasons why it is impossible for God to change. First, if anything changes it must do so in some chronological order. There must be a point in time before the change and a point in time after the change. Therefore, for change to take place it must happen within the constraints of time; however, God is eternal and exists outside of the constraints of time (Psalm 33:11; Psalm 41:13; Psalm 90:2-4; John 17:5; 2 Timothy 1:9).
Second, if anything changes it must change for the better or the worse, because a change that makes no difference is not a change. For change to take place, either something that is needed is added, which is a change for the better, or something that is needed is lost, which is a change for the worse. But since God is perfect, He does not need anything. Therefore, He cannot change for the better. If God were to lose something, He would not be perfect; therefore, He cannot change for the worse.
Third, when someone changes his/her mind, it is often because new information has come to light that was not previously known, or the circumstances have changed that require a different kind of attitude or action. Because God is omniscient, He cannot learn something new that He did not already know. So, when the Bible speaks of God changing His mind, it must be understood that the circumstance or situation has changed, not God. So when Exodus 32:14 and 1 Samuel 15:11-29 talk about God changing His mind, it is simply describing a change of dispensation, and outward dealings, toward man.
Numbers 23:19 is very clear, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?” No, God does not change His mind. These verses affirm the doctrine of God’s immutability: He is unchanging and unchangeable.

What Do You Think?

My husband Michael, is the pastor of a non-denominational church. When our family was invited to come to Wintersville to shepherd this congregation, I was excited because of that. I grew up in a Baptist church, and chose to worship the Lord at a Nazarene church as an adult, all the while, not really concerned with what either one of those terms meant. I have wondered for a long time whether it really mattered what denomination you were affiliated with, after all, doesn't separating the body of Christ coerce us into remaining divided? Is this really a betterment for edification? From my understanding, denominations started with disagreements among people who argued about right and wrong and it's relationship to scripture. Excuse my assumption, but to me, that in itself means that practices have the tendency to be based on human standards, though I am sure it's not that way in all cases.

In Christianity, the term non-denominational refers to those churches which have not formally aligned themselves with an established denomination, or remain otherwise officially autonomous. This, however, does not preclude an identifiable standard among such congregations. Non-denominational congregations may establish a functional denomination by means of mutual recognition of or accountability to other congregations and leaders with commonly held doctrine, policy and worship, without formalizing external direction or oversight in such matters. Some non-denominational churches explicitly reject the idea of a formalized denominational structure as a matter of principle, holding that each congregation must be autonomous.
Members of non-denominational churches often consider themselves simply "Christians", yet the acceptance of any particular stance on a doctrine or practice for which there is not general unanimity among churches or professing Christians, establishes a de facto credal identity. In essence, it can be said that each non-denominational church forms its own unofficial "denomination" with a specific set of tenets as defined by the beliefs and practices of their own congregation.

I personally believe that belonging to a Christian denomination can pull focus off Christ and onto certain principles of that particular denomination. Like I said before, it is not that way in all cases. I have found that in our church, growth occurs because of the people who want to focus on Christ Jesus, rather than denominational principles. Sometimes people get hung up on their own viewpoints and certain principles that they may have been taught in the past or are being taught in the present, but isn't the point of Christ's church for the benefit of the glory of God and not to showcase our differences? If I grew up in a Baptist church and you yourself are a Nazarene, does that give you a preconceived notion about me?

Because they do not look to any human organization for doctrine, non-denominational churches generally claim that the Bible alone is the source of doctrinal authority. The Bible tells us of many of those who were so religious in their mindsets, that their hearts were far from Him. If we become trapped by our dispensational mindsets, how will we allow room for the Holy Spirit to move in us?