Back to GraceDoes God Need “Do-Overs”? (or, Can God Change His Mind When His Plan Goes “Wrong”?)
1 Samuel 15-16
Introduction
- Your church leaders need to be theologians.
- The church should progress from spiritual milk to spiritual meat.
Our Context: How can God be changeless and still change His mind?
We always interpret Scripture with Scripture.
- Any passage can stand on its own since it is God’s Word.
- However, a passage must be interpreted in light of the whole Bible.
God is immutable, but that doesn’t mean that He is immobile.
- God is immutable: He doesn’t change – Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 1:10-12, 13:8
- Immutability is not immobility: God acts and accomplishes His plan – Isaiah 46:10
When God “regrets,” He is doing something differently than what we would do if we were the same situation.
- God is perfect in every way (Psalm 18:30)– so He’s not admitting a mistake or an error of bad judgment.
- God is holy, completely separate from sin (Isaiah 29:23) – so His conscience is not bothering Him.
- God is eternal, the Creator of time (Psalm 90:2)– so He’s not wishing He could go back and do things differently.
- God is omniscient, all wise and knowing all things (1 John 3:20) – so He’s not admitting He would have chosen differently if He knew how things would turn out.
- God is all-sufficient, complete and lacking nothing (Acts 17:24-25)– so He’s not dependent on man’s obedience to supply any joy or satisfaction when things go wrong.
- God is immutable, always the same (1 Samuel 15:29) – so He’s not coping with the consequences of man’s bad decisions.
- God is sovereign, in complete control of all things (Daniel 4:35) – so He’s not lamenting a scenario that He was powerless to change. (These are the things we do when we regret!)
When God “regrets,” He sees man’s sin as offensive and against His desire for man to obey, to enjoy fellowship with Him, and even receive blessing from Him.
Principles
- God does whatever He pleases, and whatever He does pleases Him.
“For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the ocean depths." (Psalm 135:5-6)
- You will always have a limited understanding of God.
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may follow all the words of this Law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)
- You can trust God!
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32)
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.” (Psalm 34:8)
God – Who never changes – has ordained our ever-changing behavior to play a role in His unchangeable plan for His glory and for our good.