Bible Q & A

Why does God's personality seem to change from the OT to the NT (or: How can the God of the OT be considered a "Loving God")?

Atheists love to ask this one but it is a question that haunts many Christians as well. To answer this question you must have a good understanding of the Bible as a whole. You must understand what Jesus really did on the cross and why that act obliterated the need for a sin sacrifice for all time. You must also understand why a sin sacrifice, as outlined in the OT(1), was ever necessary.

Why is sacrifice necessary in the first place? To answer this, we must discuss one of God's perfect attributes; Justice. Since God is perfect, He must also be perfectly Just.(2) Since we are guilty of sin and God is Just, we must be sentenced for our sin.(3) Perfect Justice demands that the sentence for sin is death.(4) Even God cannot do what is unjust and let us free of our sin - or can He? Since another of God's perfect attributes is Love, He devised a way for us to not pay for our sin. He would pay for our sin for us (BTW, animal/grain sacrifice was never really enough to wash away sin - only one sacrifice would do that)!(5)

Why do we have to pay for our sin? Simply because God cannot exist with the imperfection of sin and He wants to exist with us forever.(6) We, in turn, want to exist with God forever - it's in our very nature.(7) Hell is a lot more than just fire and brimstone, it's also eternal separation from God! That goes against our very nature. Even non-Christians cannot imagine how terrible that would be.

So why did the God of the OT destroy entire countries when it seems that the God of the NT would not do such a thing? We know that God is indeed full of love, compassion and patience(8) but sin still has to be paid for - sometimes every remnant of it must be removed. Sin is like a virus that will keep infecting until it is totally eradicated. Before Jesus "took on" the sins of the world, God could not risk losing His people to the epidemic of sin. Even now God protects His own from sin.(9) The people in the land of Israel's inheritance where infected with a major plague of sin! We know that God judges entire countries (for bad or good) as well as individuals.(10) This is what true Justice requires. But remember, God is very patient and compassionate and would not even destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if ten righteous people could be found.(11) Anyway, the people that God judged in the past will not fare any worse than those He judges on Judgement Day as described in the NT.(12) But make no mistake, sin will be judged and paid for the same way whether committed in the NT, OT or current times. The physical punishment will not always be the same for the same sin but the worst part of the punishment, the part that will affect a person's eternity, will be the same. All those who do not choose to accept what Jesus did for them will pay for their sin. All those who accept Jesus' sacrifice have had their sins paid for by it. Now that's what I call perfect Justice mixed with perfect Love!

Notes:

(1) Lev 4,5:1-13,6:24-30

(2) Dt 32:4

(3) Rom 3:23

(4) Rom 6:23

(5) Rom 3:24-26

(6) 2 Pe 3:9

(7) Gen 1:26,27

(8) 1 Co 10:13

(9) Ne 9:16-21

(10) Gen 18:20; 2 Chr 7:14; Jnh 3:10

(11) Gen 18:32

(12) Lk 16:8-12; Rev 20:11-15

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