Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 27). We can change God’s mind (Vol. 12, No. 52). From Pastor’s Desk.
Beloved: grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the transition week between the months of April and May 2025. And I pray that God will set you right wherever you may be wrong in life, so that all His good purpose for you may be accomplished without delay. Amen.
One of the things we learn in the bible is that true repentance can change God’s mind. But we do have Scriptures that tell us that God does not change His mind. In other words, once He determines to do something, nothing will be able to stop Him from doing it. What, then, are we going to do about such Scriptures? Are we going to set them aside as useless? Never! We cannot set aside any Scripture as useless. That is because no Scripture is useless. On the contrary, every Scripture is of God and is useful for our edification. (Cf. Num 23:19; 1Sam 15:29; 2Tim 3:16-17)
However, even though we truly have Scriptures that tell us that God does not change His mind, we also have other Scriptures that show us things that can make God change His mind. And one of those things that can make Him change His mind, as I pointed out before, is genuine repentance. For instance, God once sent Prophet Elijah to Ahab to judge him and his household for murdering Naboth, an innocent man. God said that He was going to wipe out all this king’s descendants and give their flesh to dogs and birds to eat. (Cf. 2Kings 21:17-24)
Now, as we see in the bible, Ahab was a very wicked and proud king. Besides, the woman he married, Jezebel, was even more wicked than him. And together they both brought a rule of terror on the people of God. Yet when this man heard the word of God’s judgment, he did not arrest Elijah, abuse him or keep malice with him. He did not even argue with him over the matter. Instead, he humbled himself, tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. (Cf. 1Kings 21:17-27)
Why did Ahab act like that? it was because he knew that he was wrong. He knew that there was no excuse for the killing of an innocent man. So, God was right to judge him as his actions deserved. All he could hope for, then, was mercy. And the only way for him to receive God’s mercy was to humble himself and acknowledge his sins. Otherwise, the judgment passed on him and his household was bound to come to pass.
Now did God, on this occasion, show Ahab mercy and forgive him or not? He did. The bible says, “Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”” (1Kings 21:28-29NIV)
Did you see that? Because of Ahab’s acknowledgement of his sins, God postponed the disaster He wanted to bring on him and his household to the days of his sons. In other words, God changed His mind for a moment. And if Ahab’s sons too had forsaken his sins and humbled themselves before the Lord, the judgment pronounced on them would not have happened in their days. In fact, God may even have totally cancelled His plans of judging their household. But they did not turn away from the sins of their father. So, they were all eventually wiped out as God had promised. (Cf. 2Kings 9)
Well, the point we are making is that we can change God’s mind through genuine repentance. So, if God is meant to punish you for something wrong you are doing, you can make Him change His mind by genuinely repenting of it. But if you continue to walk in pride towards Him and refuse to acknowledge your sins or errors, your punishment may come sooner than you expect. And who knows how bad that would be for you. So, humble yourself now and repent of your sins. And may you find in you the strength to do so. Amen.
I want to further share with you concerning the instructions that we are given in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12, which have to do with watching over one another. We are told to see to it that none of us develops a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. We are also told to see to it that none of us falls short of the grace of God. And these things have led us to looking at series of things that we need to pay attention to, if we will be able to help one another stay in the truth.
Now the last of the things we have been dealing with has to do with relating to one another only on the basis of the word of God. As I pointed out, we must not relate to one another as believers outside the confines of the word of God. There are things the word of God commands us to do. And they are the things we must command ourselves to do. There are things His word encourages us to do. And these are the things we must encourage ourselves to do. In like manner, there are things the word of God commands us not to do. And these are the things we must command ourselves not to do. Then there are things the word of God discourages us from doing. These also are the things we must discourage ourselves from doing.
But then, there are also things that God has not spoken for or spoken against. Paul refers to such things as disputable matters. And we have rules given to us in Scriptures in handling such matters. We have these rules given to us so that we will not find ourselves judging or condemning our brethren for things God has not condemned them for.
Now I want to press this further by talking to us on dealing with one another according to human traditions. Remember what we are saying is that we must relate to one another only on the basis of the word of God and not on the basis of our feelings, experiences, idiosyncrasies or traditions. We may have feelings that are good. We may have experiences that people may learn from. And we may have traditions that are good. But these things must be consistent with the word of God. Otherwise, we must discard them as useless. We must not impose them on anybody or demand that anyone act on their basis.
For instance, in Saint Mark’s gospel, chapter 7, we are told this:
“The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”” (Mark 7:1-5NIV)
We see here that the religious leaders of the Jews were judging the disciples of the Lord based on the traditions of the land, not based on the word of God. Truly, the things that are said here about their traditions are not bad. Washing your hands before eating is not bad. Washing your cups, pitchers and other things you use for eating is not bad. And taking your bath, having come back from a journey or the market, is not bad.
However, we do not have any command in the word of God that we must wash our hands before we eat or that we must take our bath before we eat or do any other thing. These things are not bad in themselves. But they are not rules given to us for godly living. It will, therefore, be wrong of us to judge anyone on their basis or to conclude that someone is not living to please God on the basis of these things.
Interestingly, even in marriages, husbands and wives can have issues along these lines. They can begin to make on themselves demands that the word of God is not making on them. You, as a husband, may love to always take your bath when you are back from work, for example. And that is a good thing. But your wife may not love that or may not have been raised to function like that. Truly, it will not be a bad idea for her to copy you in doing this. But to insist that she also must do so before you can relate properly to her in your home is to miss it. That is because you are making a demand on her that God is not making on her.
Don’t miss my point here. I am not saying that it is alright for someone to be living a dirty life. If someone has been working for hours and needs to take their bath in order not to irritate their spouse or others around them, they should do the needful. But we must also understand that something like that will not make them godly or ungodly. Yes, I know there is this slogan that says, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” But it is not scriptural to say so. There is nowhere in the bible in which we are told that cleanliness is next to godliness.
To say the fact, cleanliness is not next to godliness. Someone may be dirty in their lifestyle and still be godly. And someone may be clean but ungodly. Lazarus, as we see in the story Jesus told about him and a rich man, was dirty and poor. His body was filled with sores and wounds. Yet when he died, angels came to carry him to paradise. But the rich man that was living a neat life ended up in hell. Did Lazarus go to paradise with his dirty and awful body? No! He went there in his spirit. And as we are told in Scriptures, he would, henceforth, begin to live with a glorified body, a body that sicknesses and diseases could not afflict. (Cf. Luke 16:19-31)
So, we need to watch ourselves as we relate to one another. Otherwise, we may be judging ourselves on the basis of some traditions or superstitions. And this will affect our relationships with one another. It may make us condemn or judge the innocent. It may shut whatever door of opportunity we might have had to help one another stay in the faith. If you cannot properly fellowship with another person because you have placed a barrier of traditions between both of you, that person may not be able to reach you, if they should need your help. And even if you should want to help them, they too may not want your help. The same thing is applicable to you.
Well, when these religious leaders of the Jews began to judge the disciples of the Lord based on their traditions, He responded. Look at his response from verse 6 of the chapter:
“He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God) – then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”” (Mark 7:6-13NIV)
There are three basic things Jesus says here about the religious leaders of the Jews. First, He says that they have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions. Second, He says that they have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe their own traditions. Third, He says that nullify the word of God by their traditions. What is the point of all these? It is that these people took their traditions more seriously than the word of God. So, they were ready to replace the word of God with their traditions, wherever the word of God goes against those traditions.
Nothing, as I said before, was wrong with the tradition of cleanliness that these religious leaders of the Jews had. And it is not wrong for us too to have such a tradition. It is not wrong to take care of our body and the things we use in eating and drinking. On the contrary, it is good to be hygienic. It helps us to live healthy. But it is wrong for us to place whatever we believe or practise about this above the word of God. And it is wrong for us to make whatever we believe or practise about it a rule of life for anybody.
Rules of life are made for us on the basis of the word of God. I mean that what God says is what determines our rules for living, not human traditions. And in relating to one another we must be careful not to present our traditions as the word of God. Yes, we must be careful not to judge people on the basis of our traditions or superstitions. There are all kinds of superstitions from place to place. For instance, among the Yorubas, it is a taboo to sit and eat at the entrance of a house. And it is indeed not a commendable thing to be eating at the door of a house. But it is not a sin. You can choose to eat wherever you like. It is not a sin. You can even choose to eat at the dumpsite, if you are okay with it. It is not a sin. There is no Scripture that says that it is a sin for anyone to do so.
So, we need to be careful how we judge people. Certain things may not be socially acceptable. It does not mean that those things are wrong or that God is against them. How people dress may not be socially up-to-date. Some will dress and not tuck in their shirts. Some others will dress and not button up. They just want to dress down all the time. Is that a sin? No! I used to attend an assembly in which a cell leader would tell his members that it was a sin for them to dress and not tuck in their shirts. And is that indeed a sin? No!
See, we must respect people’s right to live as free people. As long as they are not using their freedom as a cover up for evil, we must respect their right to live as free people. Paul also shares some things with us along this line in his letter to the Colossians. From verse 16 of chapter 2, he says:
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:16NIV)
We dealt with this in our last lesson. We said whatever people believe about what they eat and how they handle days, times and seasons is between them and God. And no one should judge anyone on the basis of how they handle these things. Then, from verse 17, Paul goes on to say this:
“Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.” (Colossians 2:18-19NIV)
Paul is speaking here about mysticism. He is referring to a situation in which people try to impose certain spiritual experiences they claim to have had on God’s people. These ones often want to use these spiritual experiences they have had as their rule for judging God’s people or for determining how God’s people are to live their lives. They will talk about the visions or dreams they have had or talk about certain angelic visitations they have received.
Now the word of God is not against visions, dreams or angelic manifestations. These are some of the means that God uses in revealing His will to His people. However, any vision or dream we see must be consistent with the word of God. If it is not consistent with His word, then, we must reject it. We must never place our visions or dreams above the word of God or use them to replace the word of God.
What about angelic visitations? They are real. But it is not every time that people have angelic visitations that they are of God. In 2Corinthians 11 Paul tells us that Satan often masquerade as an angel of light and that his servants also do likewise. So, demons can masquerade as angels of light.
How, then, do we know when an angelic visitation is of God or not? First, a true angel of God will never demand that you worship him. He will always tell you to worship God. Second, a true angelic visitation will only seek to glorify God. Therefore, no angel will tell you to do anything that is contrary to what is written in the word of God. (Cf. Revelation 19:9-10; Revelation 22:8-9)
Unfortunately, there are those who have judged God’s people as going to hell on the strength of certain angelic visitations they had. I listened to a woman who went into details of the things some angels showed her about why Christians may go to hell. According to her, certain Christian ladies were taken to hell because they used earrings, wore trousers or used hair attachments when they were here on earth. And that is an example of what Paul is saying to the Colossians. He is speaking of those who will go into great detail about their visions, dreams or angelic visitations, saying things that are not consistent with Scriptures. What do we do about such things? We throw them away.
You cannot tell me that someone is going to hell because they wear trousers or earrings. On what strength? On the strength on your dreams? Is that what the word of God says? If that is not what the word of God says, I must reject what you are saying. We have prophets who do similar things. They give prophecies that are inconsistent with Scriptures. And they expect everyone to follow them. If you, then, will not follow them, they may take you as a rebel or as an unbeliever. Such things are wrong.
Well, Paul says that you should not allow anyone to judge or condemn you on such basis. In fact, he goes on to tell us that people who do such things have lost connection with the Lord of the church, that is, Christ. Also, he tells us that they are unspiritual. They may appear spiritual. But they are not. So, we should not take them seriously.
Furthermore, Paul says from verse 20 of the chapter:
“Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (Colossians 2:20-23NIV)
This is similar to what I shared with you in Mark 7 on relating to human traditions. There are traditions and superstitions of men that say, “Do not touch! Do not handle! Do not taste!” But as long as they are not consistent with the word of God, we do not take them seriously. Yes, there are times we need to exercise caution or discretion in relating to the traditions and superstitions of people in some places. Yet, as long as their traditions are against the word of God, you too must be against them.
But then, if a tradition is not against the word of God and accepting it will make it easier for you to relate to those who practise it, you may want to accept it for their sake. The word of God tells us to be at peace with everyone. And if respecting the tradition of those with whom we live or work or study is not contrary to the will of God, we can show some respect for it. That may help us in living in peace with them. But where their tradition is contrary to the word of God, we must reject it.
What we are saying is that we must not allow our lives to be judged or run on the basis of mere human commands or superstitions. It is sad that we have church leaders that impose things on their brethren that God has not imposed on them. They tell them to dress in certain ways. They force them to fast for some number of days. They tell them what colours they must not use. They don’t want them to use perfumes or lotions. They just want them to treat their body harshly.
These things, however, are not commands of God. If you do not want to use lotions or perfumes, that is fine. But there is nowhere we are commanded in God’s word not to use them. Also, there is nowhere we are commanded in the word of God to fast for any number of days in a week. Is something wrong with fasting? No! But we have no specific command from God on when any of us should fast. Yet we find church leaders imposing these things on God’s people. And that is replacing the word of God with our own traditions.
Sadly, as Paul shows us, all these rules have no power in restraining sensual indulgence. They have no power in changing people’s lives or in stopping people from sinning. Only the word of God has the power to change people’s lives. Only His word has the power to make us the people wants us to be. So, in relating to one another, we must do so only on the basis of the word of God. Otherwise, we will be wrong.
