There’s a common perception that God acted differently towards people in the Old Testament, then He does in New Testament times. Some have gone so far as to say that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament aren’t the same and that they like the God of the New Testament, but don’t like the God of the Old. These people’s understanding of scripture is a bit confused; but just why is that so?
To start with, we need to understand that God hasn’t changed. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Since Jesus told us “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30), this is tantamount to saying that “God the Father is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Therefore, any difference we see in Him, from Old Testament times to New Testament ones must either be in the way the two groups of text are written or in the way we perceive them.
The Law
A major part of the Old Testament is the Law, which is contained within the first five books of the Bible. Few believers today have any understanding of the Law, beyond The Ten Commandments. Considering what it says in those, most people understand the Law to be a list of things we shouldn’t do. But there are actually 613 commandments in the law and most of those are directions about what to do, rather than what not to do.
In comparison to that, the New Testament contains over 1,000 laws, largely repeating things that are in the Old Testament Law. But there’s one big difference between the commandments in the Old Testament and those in the New. The Old Testament Law dealt with people’s actions, while the New Testament focuses on the condition of our heart. This can make our thoughts and attitudes into sin; something that isn’t seen in the Old Testament Law.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. – Matthew 5:27-28
This doesn’t look to me like Jehovah was harsher during Old Testament times, but rather that Jesus raised a higher standard in the New Testament. Both deal with the same thing and pretty much in the same way; but Jesus isn’t satisfied with just our actions; He chooses to go after our thoughts and our hearts as well.
If we analyze that, it really makes a lot of sense. The place to deal with sin isn’t after the sin is committed or even as the sin is about to be committed. Rather, the place to deal with it is in the heart and mind of the individual. Sin is first conceived in the heart, leading people to think about how they will carry out that sin and the supposed rewards for it. The act of sin comes much later, after they convince themselves that they want to do it; can do it; will receive some benefit from doing it; and finally, can get away with doing it. None of that is true. Dealing with sin in the heart and mind, rather than just dealing with the physical acts, has the potential of eliminating a lot of sin.
Part of the reason why the Law seems so much harsher in the Old Testament is the focus that is put on the Law. Paul wrote to the Galatians that “the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). That doesn’t need to be repeated in the New Testament, because we already have it in the Old. But it is referenced constantly, if we are willing to see it.
God & Death
One of the common complaints that people have against God in the Old Testament is that He killed people or He had the nation of Israel kill them, which is somehow even worse. We see this clearly in the Old Testament, especially in the books of history. God commanded Joshua to kill all the people living in Canaan, taking control of the land (Joshua 11:18-23).
Why would God command this? Because the people of that land were steeped in practicing idolatry and God recognized that there was no redemption for them. Had there been, He would not have allowed them to be destroyed, let alone commanding it. We are told that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), so in reality, all they did was pay the price for their own sin.
Please note that it is in the New Testament that we are told “the wages of sin is death,” not the Old Testament. That isn’t just an Old Testament concept. In fact, we see people dying for their sin in the book of Acts.
The first part of Acts, chapter 5, deals with a couple known as Ananias and Sapphira. We know little about them, other than that they were believers, married to each other, and apparently had enough wealth that they had property other than their home. Besides that, we find from their actions that they didn’t really take their relationship with the Lord seriously enough, lying to the Holy Spirit.
To save space, I’m not going to quote the entire passage here; but they sold some property and brought some of the money to give to the apostles. This was something that others were apparently doing as well, as it is mentioned at the end of chapter 4. The problem was that they lied about what they were doing, keeping some of the money. It was theirs to keep, but they apparently claimed that they were giving it all to God, lying to the Holy Spirit.
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” – Acts 5:3-4
Not only did Ananias lie like this, but his wife, Sapphira, did as well, separately, but in collusion with her husband. For this, they both died. They died for lying, nothing more.
Compared to this, the sins that people died for in Old Testament times were much more serious. It’s just that this is one small story, which is easily overlooked, while there is much bloodshed shown in the books of history found in the Old Testament.
Of course, the other way to look at this is the violence that God allowed to be perpetrated against His Son, Jesus Christ. Compared to dying on the cross, one of the cruelest means of torture ever devised, the people who were killed in the Old Testament had an easy death. In many cases, their suffering was minimal, although the end result wasn’t.
But Jesus had to die for our sins. Had He not done so, we would still be living in a time where we needed to make animal sacrifices for our own sins. Few of us could even pretend to afford this, as we don’t make enough money to pay for all those animal sacrifices.
Prophecy
Of all the Bible, the books of prophecy are some of the hardest for most people to understand. This is partially because of the way that most people read them, approaching them as a continuous narrative, much like reading the books of history. But prophecy cannot be read like that, at least, not if we want to understand it. Time must be taken to analyze what is being read, in order to understand it in the context in which it is given and hear the true message.
Without taking this time, the message of prophecy can easily seem dark to people, speaking of destruction. Without taking the time to understand it, one cannot see that the true message of prophecy is a message of hope to those who will repent and turn back to God.
The prophetic book with the harshest and darkest message is the one book of prophecy found in the New Testament, the book of Revelations. This gives a clearer message of death and destruction than any other prophetic book found in the Bible. Somehow, believers find this to be a message of hope, while seeing other books of prophecy as a message of despair. Yet if there was ever a message of despair, it is the message that the book of Revelations gives to those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Perhaps it is easier for us to accept the message of Revelations, because it is easier for us to understand it. The entire book provides a continuous narrative of End Time events, in timeline order, making it easier to understand. Because of that, it can be read through and taken as a story, albeit one with a message of destruction to those who don’t believe.
The believers of today take the message of Revelations as a message of hope, believing that they will be spared the calamities recorded in its pages. While not all believers accept the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture, most do. This “escape clause” makes them see themselves as being in heaven, while all that is happening here on Earth. As such, they see no cause for concern.
As for unbelievers, they don’t believe the prophecy of the Bible anyway, even while many will accept the prophecies of people like Nostradamus. Since they don’t believe in God as creator, they don’t believe in His ability to destroy it all either. To them, the book of Revelations is just one more dark book of prophecy to be ignored. The only difference in their minds is that there are many more such books in the Old Testament, than there are in the New Testament.
The Message of Grace
The biggest difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is the message that they bring. The New Testament’s message is one of grace, about how we have been saved by Jesus Christ. We can sum up the entire message of the New Testament in the verse:
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. – Ephesians 2:8
God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that whoever might believe in Him, would be forgiven of their sin and receive eternal life (John 3:16). But this message has very little meaning without the foundation of the Old Testament. It is there, in the books of the Old Testament, that we find out that God is a holy God, as well as what sin is. Without the understanding of sin, there is no way to see our individual need for a Savior. That message has been expressed so clearly through the Old Testament, that even people with no understanding of the Bible, have gained an understanding of sin through the message that the Old Testament brings.
We also see the consequences of sin played out over and over again in the books of history, through the actions of the nation of Israel, as they fell into idolatry over and over again, only to have God raise up a Judge to rescue them. Like us, they struggled to remain faithful to God, needing His constant intervention to save them from their own sin. That came about through the work of the Judges and the Prophets.
Today, most Christians ignore the Old Testament, through their lack of understanding it. Even so, it is the Old Testament which has taught them about their own sin and their need for a Savior. They have received its message, even while thinking they reject it.
Some have said that the mother represents grace, while the father represents the law. We can apply this to the Old and New Testaments too; with the Old Testament taking the place of the father, showing us the law, while the New Testament takes the place of the mother, showing us grace. Just as a child needs both messages, we too need them both. We need to see both sides of God, to understand who He is and what He has done for us.
In Conclusion
To understand and know God, we must see both sides of Him. One of the problems that plagues the Body of Christ today, is that we focus on God’s grace, without seeking to understand why we need that grace. The “sloppy agape” message of the church today leaves out the fact that we are sinners, while still trying to say that Jesus is our Savior. This has cheapened the work of the cross, turning salvation largely into a “feel good” experience, rather than an essential part of our being.
God is both grace and justice… love and the Law. He balances both parts perfectly, as does the Bible. When we accept both sides of God, then our salvation has more meaning; more depth and more substance. Our faith can be greater, because it is rooted and grounded in God’s Word, rather than just an emotional experience.