Is the God of the Old Testament Different From the God of the New Testament?

“Is the God of the Old Testament different than the God of the New Testament?
Jewish people claim that it is. Christians insist that one God is found in both sections of the Bible, and yet, in the Old Testament God seems angry, judgmental and vindictive. The New Testament God stresses love and forgiveness.”

This is a very common objection to the Bible. Indeed, upon first glance, God does seem different in Old Testament days, often commanding wars or executions for capital offenses. To make matters even more confusing, capital offense was not limited to murder, but even sexual practices such as adultery. In the New Testament, God seems to have chilled out, being much more about mercy and offering us a nurturing relationship with Himself.

Although these observations are obvious, we must point out just as quickly that they are surface observations.

God is actually the same in both Testaments, although the covenant with His people has changed.

If the Old Testament claimed to be a binding contract for all time, we would have reason to be suspicious of the New Testament. But Jeremiah the prophet predicted this very covenant:

“The time is coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, “declares the LORD. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

The Old Testament Law of Moses could be divided into two major categories, the Moral Law and the Ritual Law. The Moral Law included commandments such as, “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” etc. Because human beings have a sinful nature, their ability to follow such commands is seriously flawed. That is why God in His mercy also gave the Ritual Law in which animal sacrifices, supposedly atoned for sin and made up for the fact that the Moral Law was not being adequately obeyed. If people were true to this check and balance system, if upon sinning they at least offered an animal sacrifice, God would say, “You have obeyed my law.” Naturally they were not obeying the Moral Law in any ideal sense. Under the New Covenant, the Ritual Law is fulfilled in Jesus, our ultimate sacrifice. When He died on the cross, He was paying not only for the sins of people in the present and future, but also the past. He died for Moses, Abraham, King David and anyone else who sought His forgiveness (Hebrews 9-10).

The Moral Law is also fulfilled through our relationship with the Holy Spirit, who changes our hearts and gives us to ability to put others before ourselves. Jesus said the entire law could be summed up as follows:

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”

The term “Law and the Prophets” is what ancient Hebrews used while referring to their own Bible. This is what Christians now call “Old Testament.” Thus, Jesus is saying that if we are able to follow this one golden rule, we have obeyed the entire Moral Law, for obviously if we are treating people the way we want to be treated, we will not kill them, steal from them, covet their goods, cheat with their spouses, etc. The problem, of course, is that nobody is able to follow this standard one hundred percent. That is why we need God’s forgiveness on the cross for our past, and the changing power of God’s Spirit to make us better people in the future.

As you can see, Jesus did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

With this in mind, let us list some specific similarities between the Old and New Testament believer:

O.T: Forgiven of sin through animal sacrifices which typified what Jesus would later do for them

N.T: Forgiven of sin through death and atonement of Jesus.

O.T: Kept under God’s control through the moral law from outside with imposed rules and regulations
N.T: Kept under God’s control through the Holy Spirit

O.T: Placed hope in future but unidentified Messiah
N.T: Place hope in identified Messiah’s Second Coming.

In short, the Old Testament believer looked toward the cross.

The New Testament believer looks back at the cross.

God’s provision for sin is the same in both testaments. His standards are also the same but when we move on to the subject of standards, it gets a bit tricky.

God Himself always was, and always will be, both merciful and just, but His people under each covenant tended to emulate different attributes. The Israelites were instruments of God’s justice and judgment. That is why disobedient Hebrews were put to death for various violations (Leviticus). That is why certain wicked nations, such as the peoples inhabiting Canaan, were conquered under God’s command. These nations were actually sacrificing babies on the alter to their pagan deities (Deuteronomy 20:16-18, Leviticus 18:21).

In the New Testament era (as a general rule) Christians are not sent out as mercenaries to punish evil. Instead, they are instruments of God’s mercy. Jesus commanded His disciples to carry the Gospel (good news that we can be forgiven of our sin) to every nation (Matthew 28:19-20).

But despite the difference in emphases, examples can be found in both testaments for all of God’s attributes. For example, King David, having committed adultery and murder (to cover up the adultery) was guilty of two capital offenses, either one of which was punishable by death according to the Law of Moses. But Nathan the prophet looked David in the eye and said, “The Lord has removed your sin. You shall not die” (2 Samuel 12). Meanwhile, in the New Testament, two individuals (Ananias and Sapphira) dropped dead on the spot while lying to the apostles, slain supernaturally by God Himself (Acts 5). Of course the New Testament also develops the doctrine of hell far more than the Old Testament. Can there be a more ultimate, permanent example of God’s justice?

The good news is that on the cross, we see God’s mercy and justice combined. Justice says our sins needed to be dealt with. But love was exemplified in God becoming a man to take on the penalty we deserved.

Rest assured, both the Old and New Testament were inspired by the same God, the one and only God of the universe.