Why God in the Old Testament is so different that it is in the New Testament? : I think the heart of this question lies in the fundamental misunderstanding of what both the Old and New Testaments reveal about the nature of God. Another way of expressing this same basic thought is when people say . The Old Testament God is a God of wrath, while the God of the New Testament is a God of love The fact that the Bible is Gods progressive revelation of Himself to us through historical events and through His relationship with people throughout history can contribute to the misconception of people about how God different in the Old Testament, compared with his performance in the New Testament. However, when one reads both the Old and New Testaments, it becomes quickly apparent that God is no different than a Testament to another and that the wrath of God and His love are revealed in both Testaments. For example, throughout the Old Testament declares that God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy and truth (Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Deuteronomy 4:31, Nehemiah 9:17 , Psalm 86:5, Psalm 86:15, Psalm 103:8-14, Psalm 108:4, Psalm 145:8, Joel 2:13). Yet in the New Testament, Love and love and mercy of God are manifested most strongly through the fact that ... God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). Throughout the Old Testament, we also see God dealing with Israel very similar to that of a loving father dealing with his son so. When they willfully sinned against Him and began to worship idols, God punished them, and yet time and again he set them free once they repented of their idolatry. This is very similar to the way we view God dealing with Christians in the New Testament. For example, Hebrews 12:6 tells us that ... the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. Similarly, we see throughout the Old Testament the judgment and wrath of God poured out on unrepentant sinners; similarly, in the New Testament, we see Gods judgment in action ... the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) Even with just a quick read of the New Testament, we see that Jesus speaks more of hell than heaven. So we clearly see that God is nothing different in the Old Testament than He is in the New Testament. God, by His very nature is immutable (no change). And although we see an aspect of His nature revealed in certain passages of Scripture more than others, in Himself He will never change. When you really start to read and study the Bible clearly shows that God has no difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament. Although the Bible really is the set of sixty-six individual books, written on two (or possibly three) continents in three different languages, over a period of about 1500 years, written by over 40 authors (from different social and cultural) strata, remains a book containing perfect unity without contradiction from beginning to end. In it we see as a loving, merciful and just God, sinful man comes in all kinds of situations. Truly, the Bible is a love letter to mankind. Gods love for His creation and especially man, is evident throughout Scripture. Throughout the Bible we see the loving and merciful call from God to the people, inviting her to a special relationship with Him, not because they deserve it, but because He is a merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness and truth . We also see a holy and righteous God, who is the Judge of all those who disobey His Word and refuse to worship him, who instead turn to worship gods of their own creation, worshiping idols and other gods Instead of worshiping the one true God (Romans 1). By the holy and righteous character, all past, present and future sin must be judged. Yet God in His infinite love has provided payment for sin and a path of reconciliation so that sinful man can escape His wrath. We see this wonderful truth in verses like 1 John 4:10 Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. In the Old Testament, God provided a sacrificial system, which could be atonement for sin, but this system was only temporary and simply pointed to the future coming of Jesus Christ, who would die on the cross to definitely make a replacement and full atonement for sin. El Salvador was promised in the Old Testament, is more widely revealed in the New Testament and the ultimate expression of Gods love in sending His Son Jesus Christ is revealed here in all its glory. Both the Old and New Testaments were given to us to make us wise unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). When studied more closely, it becomes clear that God is no different in the New Testament than it was in the Old Testament.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 21:51:52 +0000
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