Is God the Same God in Old and New Testaments?
Unchanging and Consistent
How can the God of the Old Testament (where women, children, and the aged are put to the sword) be reconciled with the New Testament concept of Jesus and the Father who is love? First, you must realize that the Bible is a unit, and that the revelation of God in the Old Testament and New Testament is consistent. If it were not consistent, the Bible could not be called truth (John 17:17). However, God is the same and He does not change.
The God, who loves the sinner and will forgive his sin, is the same God who punishes the sinner when he refuses to repent. The nature of God is both love and justice. He loves all people, but must punish those who do not accept His forgiveness and become His children. In the Old Testament many nations turned their backs on God, worshipped idols, demons, and gave themselves over to sexual immorality. Romans 1:18-32 declares God has wrath toward them. “The wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness, and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.”
The book of Romans describes those who have the image of God but do not maintain the knowledge of God, but gave themselves over to uncleanness, fornication, murder, etc. God commanded Israel to eliminate those tribes that had rejected Him, were guilty of idol worship (demonism), abnormal sexual practices, etc. Because they would have polluted God’s people and destroyed the purity of the Messiah line, God in keeping with His nature of judging those who turn against Him, told Israel to eliminate those nations.
Proof that God Loves
God loves each and every person:
- John 3:16
- Romans 5:8
- 1 John 4:7-8
- 1 John 4:9-10
- 1 John 4:16
- 1 John 4:19
- Titus 3:4
- 2 Peter 3:9
- 1 Tim 2:4
- Isaiah 45:22
God Hates Sin, but Not Sinners
Sometimes in Scripture we read that God hates sinners (see the verses below). The word for ‘hate’ can also mean odious, an enemy or foe. When a person has unrestricted sin, without repentance, working against God, the person becomes the enemy of God. God still loves them (see previous fact), but they became His enemy. God “hates” the sinner, not as we hate – God passionately hates the sin, and sees the person as full of sin, so this person is now the enemy of God (I.e., God sees the person’s sin with hatred, and therefore there is a view of the person with hatred). Remember that God’s ways are not our ways, so his approach to people is different and much more complex than how we view others. (Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5, Proverbs 6:16-19, Hosea 9:15) And yet God still desires for His enemies to be saved. (Romans 5:10)
