Question: Dear Dr. Roane, does God ever change His mind, and if so, doesn't this make him whimsical and arbitrary? If He arbitrarily changes His mind, as it seems He does in scripture where He says: “I will…be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy” – Exodus 33:19 And, again where He says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion” – Romans 9:15 The point is, how can I be certain that I am ever saved and on my way to Heaven?
Answer: My dear friend, that's a good question and a logical one at that. The answer is both yes and no. If you mean that God can or will contradict Himself, the answer is no. He is always consistent with His nature. Jesus declared, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). If that is so, and I believe it is, God by His very nature will always be true to Himself, and common logic dictates that truth cannot contradict truth. I know, scripture teaches in many places that it is God's desire to "save" all; but all are not saved. Why, we ask, does an all-loving God who wishes all to be saved, then turn around and condemn some? He is all-powerful, we reason, so why doesn't He correct the problem by cleansing their disobedience and make them good? The answer is because some men have chosen not to obey, and we are creatures of choice.
No, God does not change His mind. God never goes back on His promises or tells us something one day and something different the next. Unlike us, God always can be trusted to keep His Word. God, the Bible says, “does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a human being, that he should change his mind” (1 Samuel 15:29).
God gives us choices in life—and those choices have consequences. If we choose (for example) to leave God out of our lives, we can only expect to experience what God has already promised: heartache, turmoil, and judgment. If, on the other hand, we repent of our disobedience and turn in faith in Christ, God has already promised us peace and hope and salvation. God hasn’t changed His mind; He is only responding to the choices we’ve made.
Take King Hezekiah in the Old Testament, for instance. He was one of the best kings the people ever had—but the Bible tells us that toward the end of his life he became proud and ignored God. As a result, God judged him for his disobedience. But once Hezekiah repented God blessed him. (See 2 Chronicles 32:24-26.) God wasn’t changing His mind; He was instead fulfilling His promises.
God’s promise is to save you if you truly trust Christ for your salvation. Make sure of your commitment to Jesus. Then thank Him for His promise that “whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).
Trust this helps,
