Very often when I hear about the Old Testament, I hear things from people that claim or strongly suggest that God in the Old Testament is different than God in the New Testament. This is not a new phenomenon, it has been around since the New Testament was written. Often I find that people believe this because they simply do not know what the Old and New Testaments are about. So I wanted to answer today, “Is God the same in the New and Old Testaments?” If you want to speak more about this or have questions please do not hesitate to contact me. johnjr@steeplelesschurch.com. If you need a Bible we would love to help. Click here for a free Bible. There also is a sermon that relates to this topic, if you are interested in watching it please click here.
1. Who is God?
God in the Bible is presented as the creator of the earth, time, and space (Gen 1:1). The Bible tells us that God is triune and made up of three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in One Being. The Bible is the revelation of God given to humans through the Holy Spirit. The reason we believe the Bible is true is because the Holy Spirit helped the people who wrote the Bible so they could not be wrong. The Bible, therefore, allows humans to understand God, and in fact, when a person becomes a Christian the truth will be inside them. This does not mean that Christians will know everything about the Bible, however, the Bible tells us because of the Holy Spirit Christians will know the difference between moral right and wrong. God is the creator and the savior of humanity.
2. What are the Attributes of God?
The attributes of God describe who He is. There are a large number of attributes and in my opinion, the immutability of God, the love of God, and the justice of God are the three important attributes for this discussion. I believe the main reason people see God differently is that in the Old Testament the only part that people tend to pay attention to is the justice of God, such as the divine justice on Sodom and Gomorrah. In the New Testament God tells the Jewish people that the Gentiles are now also the people of God and people see this as God’s divine love. However, it is easy to see both the justice and love of God in the Old and New Testaments.
The love of God in the Old Testament can easily be seen when God allows a large number of Gentiles to become Israelites through their faith in God. The justice of God can be seen in the New Testament by showing how the Pharisees will go to hell for their disobedience against God while parading as the elite Jews. The immutability of God means that God never changes. God has the power to do anything within His nature, and His nature is perfect. Therefore He cannot change because you can not get better than perfection. “For I, the LORD, do not change…” (Mal. 3:6). It would be a logical inconsistency to suggest that God is perfect and can change in any way.
3. Why Does the Consistency of God Matter?
It matters because we know that we can always rely on God. God is not a man that He changes His mind. Therefore we know that our past, present, and future can be secure in God because He is willing to save us if we put our faith in Him. The immutability of God is so important because if God could change that would mean that not only would He not be perfect, it would be dangerous for us if He decided to forsake us one day. With God being unchangeable we can rely on Him as truthful and faithful to save us.
4. How Can a Human be Saved by God?
The sacrifice that God made by allowing His son to die for us allows us to be saved. This shows both the attributes of God of love and justice. God is just because sin can not go unpunished but He is also loving because He made the sacrifice that we could not make. To be saved a human only has to believe in God and put their faith in Jesus as the lord of their life. In doing so, you are accepting the punishment of your sin as paid by Jesus Christ and will spend eternity with God because you therefore will have all your sins paid.
5. How can I Learn About God?
Like I said before, one of the best ways to learn about God is through the Bible. I have read the Bible six times so far and it is easy for me to see the continuation of God’s word from the Old and New Testaments. The descriptions of God never change in the Bible so reading it all the way through I believe is extremely important for the Christian. Praying is another way we can learn about God. We have direct access to God at all times because if we are Christian then the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. Finally, the church is set up for us so that we can better understand God.
Here at SteepleLess Church, we love to help people better understand God. I am the associate pastor and can be contacted at any time. I would love to help you better understand the Bible, pray for you, or just be a friend in times of need. Please reach out at any time at johnjr@steeplelesschurch.com. God bless.
