Old & New Testaments: What's the Difference?

Too often I hear people say that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are not the same. That the Old Testament is all about God's wrath as He brings death and destruction upon nations while the New Testament is all about God's grace and compassion being extended towards man. 

 

I have talked with many individuals who have told me they reject the Bible because they see the Old and New Testaments as having two different gods.

Is this really what is happening? Are there really two different gods of the Bible or is there something else going on?

Grace in the OT

First, I want to address the statement people make when they say there is no grace in the Old Testament. Throughout all of eternity, human history included, God's Attributes are Infinitely Equal! This means that forever and always God exercises His justice to the same infinite degree as His grace and goodness. In fact, they intertwine and dance beautifully together because you cannot have true love if you are not just.

"For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." - Matthew 5:45

God provides rain for evil people and heathen nations. That sounds pretty gracious to me.

"...for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." - Genesis 15:16b

In the passage above God promised Abraham that the land in which he was living would one day belong to his descendants. However, it would not come to pass for well over four hundred years. Reading through the previous verses you will find that God gave the Amorites, the current occupants of the land, four hundred years to turn away from their wickedness. Only a gracious God would give that much time.

God rescued mankind from the flood waters. God rescued Lot from abominable Sodom and Gomorrah. God sent a prophet and saved the great city of Nineveh from impending judgment. Over and over again God reached out to mankind with the desire to bless them abundantly and to make them great in the eyes of the world. In fact, Ezekiel 18:23 records that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Yet they consistently forsook the Lord to do their own thing and pursue their own evil lusts. All throughout the Old Testament God consistently offered life. Even today, God is extending His grace to an evil world in order that we may come to Him.

Here's the Difference

It is not a matter of different gods, but of a different emphasis. There is one God who exists for all eternity and His name is Jesus Christ. God spent so much time in the Old Testament building a case against man in order to reveal to us how desperately sick and twisted we are. The Old Testament emphasizes to us that we, apart from God, are in a hopeless condition. It shows us that we desperately need a Savior! On the other hand, the New Testament emphasizes His grace in sending the only One who can save us and make us well.

God's message in the OT: "You need help!"
God's message in the NT: "I'm your Help!"

Far from being contradictory, the Old and New Testament's emphasis on God's character are a beautiful complement to one another that offers us a complete picture of who God is and His heart for the World!