Common Myths About the Bible – #3

Myth #3:
The God of the New Testament is loving and benevolent, but the God of the Old Testament is mean and angry.

It's a very common belief that God is a mean, angry, capricious, vengeful deity in the Old Testament, looking for any reason to smite someone down. On the flip side, popular belief maintains that God is a cheerful, loving, peaceful, benevolent being in the New Testament. With such an extreme contrast, it's hard to believe that the two halves of the Bible are talking about the same god. How could God be so vicious in the Old Testament, but so nice in the New? Did He have a change of heart somewhere in between?

In reality, this is an incorrect, oversimplified view of the Bible. God's justice and wrath is portrayed in both the OT and the NT. God's radical love and mercy is also a consistent theme throughout the whole Bible.

It's hard to present a short, simple list of Old Testament passages that portray God's love and mercy, because it is the subject of the entire Bible. When God reveals himself to Moses, He says, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished" (Exodus 34:6–7). These are not just words, but a promise from God which He fulfills by rescuing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, establishing a covenant with them, leading them to the promised land, and protecting them from their enemies.

After hundreds of years of disobedience, God punishes the nation of Israel by sending them into exile, but He also keeps his promise to gather them back to the promised land after they have served their time in exile (Deuteronomy 30:1–4). When God's people are brought back to Israel, they confess the sins of their past:

"For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighbouring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God."
– Nehemiah 9:30-31

The Psalms also vividly describe God's intense love for his creation, especially people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and afflicted. Here are a couple excellent examples you can read for yourself: Psalm 10:17-18, Psalm 86, Psalm 136, Psalm 138:6-8, Psalm 145:9-21, and Psalm 146.

Last but not least, the Biblical books of prophecy also characterize God as loving and merciful. The prophet Joel implores the Israelites, "Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity" (Joel 2:13). God is so merciful, He even angered the prophet Jonah by sparing the notoriously wicked city of Ninevah (Jonah 4).

On the other hand, the New Testament also depicts God's justice and wrath. Jesus actually talked a lot about hell. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Jesus even told a parable about hell (Luke 16:19–31). Other passages where He talks about the final judgment and hell include Matthew 13:49-50 and Mark 9:42-49.

Jesus' crucifixion is the ultimate example of how God's love, mercy, justice, and wrath can all be incredibly intertwined. On the cross, the wrath of God that humanity deserved was poured out on Jesus instead. Romans 5:6-9 says,

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!"

Amen.


Scripture quoted from the NIV.