October 2013
It's easy to wonder, why are there two "Testaments" in the Bible? Is the description of God really the same in both? Or has the New Testament (NT) replaced the outdated, strange view of God presented in the Old Testament (OT)? This is a question which can be troubling. And it is not a new question. Even as early as c. 144 AD, authors such as Marcion rejected the OT God Yahweh as incompatible with the teachings of Jesus. Is this the case?
We have to grant a lot of God’s character is commonly agreed on between the Testaments. The fact God is personal, exists, created everything, is tremendously powerful, and interjects in human history is readily affirmed by both. This also makes both Testaments more similar to each other than they are to most other world philosophies (such as anywhere God does not exist or is impersonal). But, people also seem to observe a great variety of differences. The OT God seems wrathful, while Jesus' teaching appears very calm. God is often viewed as distant or transcendent in the OT while intimate and personable in the NT. The OT gives an impression of strictness with hundreds of laws people are supposed to memorize while the NT is thought to be more casual and carefree, focusing on a few simple relational guidelines (such as "love your neighbor as yourself" in Mark 12:31). The sharpest difference, it is claimed, is the cruelty and mean nature of the OT God, compared to the gentle, lamb-petting, smiling-at-children nature of Jesus. Followers of Christ may wonder what to do with the OT and be embarrassed by the apparent baggage it brings.
First, many people do not realize God's mercy in the OT. Consider the following examples:
Second, many people do not perceive God's justice in the NT. Consider the following:
Few people read the whole Bible. This means some people rely on popular impressions, many of which are very critical of the Bible. However, any view of God's wrath in the OT must also be reconciled with examples like these. And any view that God has changed between the Testaments must account for his concerns in the NT.
Some people object that a wrathful God is incompatible with a loving God. Is it possible for the same person to be angry and loving? Think of a parent who loves his child but still gets upset with their bad behavior. Parents love their kids but also hate seeing them hurt themselves, be hurt by others, or hurt other people. God feels the same. Is God's anger arbitrary? No, God's wrath is clear, rational, and dependable. It is always against the wickedness of people (Romans 1:18). God is angry when personal beings get hurt. So anyone who hurts themselves, hurts another, or hurts God causes God to act. The Bible is clear that any act of moral evil is meaningful. James 2:10 says, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." This means any amount of evil counts. It takes only a moment's pause to recognize there is real moral evil in the world. Something must be done. When we think about it soberly, it makes sense to go from someone who would say, "I couldn't follow a God who judges people" to "I'd have a hard time loving a God who doesn't care about justice." It is possible and reasonable for God to be angry and loving.
Differences between the OT and NT certainly exist. Let's look at a couple below.
In the Old Testament, God sets up a political nation state, Israel. The Bible is clear on a few reasons why this happened. One is to increase God's reputation with other nations. By following God's guidelines, "this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people'" (Deuteronomy 4:6). Israel is to show others how to live. They also established who spoke for God. God promised Israel he would "raise up for you a prophet from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him... I will put my words in his mouth" (Deuteronomy 18:15,18). A line of prophets, men who spoke for God, came from Israel. These prophets wrote down what God is like and what he says (this is the OT). A LOT of what the OT says points to Jesus. See some predictive prophecy on this.
In the New Testament, Jesus is explicit that his kingdom is spiritual, not political. When confronted he says:
"My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." "You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:36-37)
Jesus affirms his authority and his kingdom but clearly differentiates his kingdom from the expectations of Pilate. The Apostles made no attempt to set up a nation state. It did not happen until 200 years later and it caused a lot of issues. History shows Christians often misusing Jesus' authority when they tried to enforce national rules. While we learn a lot about what God is like, what humanity is like, and who God speaks through in the OT, some of his methods have changed. Christ's political kingdom will become reality when he comes back. We have no indication Christians should set something up before then.
In the OT, God chose a particular person to work with. This person was Abraham. God picked him and then worked through his descendants. While not every passage in the OT is directed towards Israel, the majority are. See Genesis 12:1-2:
The Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing."
Alternatively, the NT is explicitly directed towards all people. A clear expression of this is in Galatians 3:27-28:
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
God is working through all races, any social economic status, and both sexes in the new kingdom. The scope is global to all humans. In Matthew 28:19, Christ sends his workers to all people groups. A significant difference! But wait, note the next verse in each of these passages:
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3).
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29).
From the beginning God planned on using his selection of Abraham to bless everyone. He chose a particular people not because they are the only ones God cared about or had in mind. In fact, this blessing is given to all who receive Christ. They are counted as Abraham's descendants and enjoy the promises to him. Paul teaches this directly:
Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith (Galatians 3:7-9).
The most significant difference, and one that ties the others together, is a change in our standing before God. This is due to the cross. God planned this change and the OT prophets were aware of it. Consider Jeremiah 31:31-34:
"The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
God changed from using external motivation to internal; the law is going from written words to inside their minds. All are able to know God. People have permanent forgiveness. Hebrews 8:13 adds that the first agreement is obsolete. The original agreement was only a semi-clear picture of what things should be like (Hebrews 10:1-7). Like a shadow, which shows the outline and shape of something but not its rich color and depth, the OT was just a preview of how a relationship with God could be. It was "for this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant" (Hebrews 9:15). Christ died as a ransom to set us free from our moral guilt. This is why our standing could change. We could only have this closer, inward, relationship with God after the cross when our debt had been paid.
We are saved from God's wrath by Christ. "Since we've now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" (Romans 5:9) Therefore, your relationship with God can change today. Christ will be a ransom for your moral evil. He will free you from captivity. You can be a part of the eternally good things God put in motion thousands of years ago. All it takes is asking God to forgive you.