Do I Believe the WORD is Unchanging?

“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Matthew 5:18

Charles Spurgeon once told of a man who said he had received no inspiration from the Bible although he had “gone through it several times.” Charles Spurgeon replied, “Let it go through you once, then you will tell a different story!”

It's usually said, “The more things change the more they stay the same.” We live in a world where the rate of change seems to be accelerating. Never in the history of the world has change been thrust upon humankind at such a dizzying pace.

When Jesus said “not the smallest letter or stroke will pass away from the Law”, He was making an amazingly strong statement about the authority and reliability of the word of God.

The “smallest letter” in Hebrew is the letter “yodh” — it is similar in shape and size to our apostrophe. The “stroke” Jesus talks about here is the technical name the “keriah”: a little stroke of a pen that makes a difference between two letters.

Since most of us are not so well versed with Hebrew, I will try explaining it with an English equivalent. It is like the difference between the English capital letter “O” and the capital letter “Q.” These letters are very similar. There is really only one little difference: that little “dash” at the bottom of the “Q.” That is similar to what Jesus is saying here: not the smallest letter — or even Stroke that makes a difference in a letter — will pass away from God’s word until it is all accomplished.

Some people ask the question: “Do you believe the words of scripture are inspired, or just the thoughts behind it?” Jesus says it’s even more than that: He teaches us here that not only is every Word of scripture inspired, but every Letter, and even every Stroke that makes a difference between two letters. That is how inspired and accurate and authoritative the word of God is for the disciple of Jesus Christ!

As we study the Bible, we see how Jesus believed in the Scripture.  Sixty-four times, He referred to the Old Testament always as authoritative.  He said, "Scripture cannot be broken." 

No matter how many translations. No matter how many interpretations. No matter how many denominations.  God’s word will never change.

Jesus can't get more specific than He does in the above verse. It's authored by the eternal, living God.  It is His eternal, living Word.  So until Heaven and Earth pass, this Word will abide; every type will be fulfilled, every prophecy will be realized, every law will be verified.

When we survey our Lord’s teaching in the Gospels we discover that Jesus consistently treated the historical narratives of the Old Testament as straightforward records of fact. He referred to Abel (Luke 11:51), Noah (Matthew 24:37-39), Abraham (John 8:56), Sodom and Gomorrah (Matthew 10:15, 11:23-24), Lot (Luke 17:28-32), Isaac and Jacob (Matt 8:11), the manna (John 6:31), the wilderness serpent (John 3:14), David (Matthew 22:43), Solomon (Matthew 6:29, 12:42), Elijah (Luke 4:25-26), Elisha (Luke 4:27), Jonah (Matthew 12:39-41), and Moses (Matthew 8:4), among others. Nowhere is there the slightest hint that he questioned the historicity or accuracy of the accounts.

Dear friends this Lenten Season can God’s word be the complete authority in our life, our homes, our church?” 

May the Lord help us. God Bless you.