Do You Believe In Two Gods?

It is an argument we hear quite often: The God of the Old Testament is so different from the God of the New Testament. Usually, the God of the Old Testament is described as a harsh, thundering tyrant, while the New Testament God is one of love and mercy. Is this an accurate picture of God? What are the consequences of believing in this type of separation between the covenants?

First, it should be noted that the biggest difference in what we read of God in the two Testaments is the difference in the covenants and their purposes. In other words, it is not God who changed, nor have people changed, but instead, God's method of dealing with man has changed. The purpose of the Old Testament was to preserve a people for producing the Messiah. This promised Messiah would then be the means of God's dealing with man. Having accomplished this, God's plan would be fully completed.

One can imagine had God not had a plan to produce the Messiah, how foolish might He have looked if the Jewish nation were allowed to be destroyed, or worse, if it had been allowed to drift into idolatry without the remnant being preserved through their faith. With the destruction of the Jewish system, whether by another nation or by their own lawlessness, the plan for the Messiah is lost.

It should also be noted that there are many instances of a long-suffering, loving God in the Old Testament, so this is not a concept foreign to the Old Law. The classic case involves Abraham's bargaining with God for the souls of the righteous in Sodom (Gen. 18:22-33). As Abraham deals with God, God promises to save the wicked city if He finds, first fifty, then forty-five, and so on, down to ten, righteous souls there. Notice that He never says it would take fifty. The numbers are always Abraham's, but God makes it clear that He will preserve the righteous.

In addition, Peter says our "present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men" (2 Pet. 3:7). Clearly, the God who destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the God who destroyed the earth in the days of Noah, is capable and willing to destroy the present earth due to ungodliness.

As to the destruction of nations, it is interesting to note why God destroyed them. Why did God destroy Gaza? "Because they deported an entire population to deliver it up to Edom" (Amos 1:6). Edom? "Because he pursued his brother with the sword, while he stifled his compassion; his anger also tore continually (1:11). Ammon? "Because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their borders" (1:13). Israel? "Because they sell the righteous for money and the needy for a pair of sandals" (2:6). Is this an unjust indiscriminate God acting in the destruction of these nations? Further, can we doubt that God's hand was in the destruction of other, non-Biblical, evil governments? Can anyone doubt the destruction of the Third Reich was from God?

And what of God's dealing with us? The Hebrew writer tells us of the new covenant, to be made with "spiritual" Israel, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more"" (Heb. 8:10-12).

When did God make this compassionate, tender statement? In the Old Testament, through the prophet Jeremiah (31:33-34). The idea that the God of the Old Testament lacked compassion simply is not true, and neither is the idea that the God of the New Testament will not act with vengeance (2 Thess. 1:6-10).

God hates sin, and those who continue in sin, refusing to come to Him, will be punished, just as surely as the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Those who acknowledge their sin and come to Him will find a compassionate God, bent on mercy rather than vengeance. The God who judges us is clearly up to our reaction to His word.