God of Wrath, or God of Mercy?

One of the biggest mistakes people make regarding Christianity, is when they group the Old and New Testaments together without any understanding of the significance of the two. This simple oversight is what gives rise to many of the so-called contradictions we see between the God of the Old Testament, and the God of the New Testament. 

One is a God of wrath and vengeance; raining down death and judgment. 

The other is merciful and patient; the giver of everlasting life.

So what is God really like? He can’t be both, can He? 

God established early on in the Old Testament that the penalty for sin is death. (Genesis 2:16-17) But Adam and Eve disobeyed God. They plunged the world into sin, and death spread to all things. (Romans 5:12) This, of course presents a problem, because God cannot look upon sin. (Habakkuk 1:13) 

Furthermore, if any sinful thing came into the presence of God, it would be instantly killed. Which is why people in the Old and New Testaments repeatedly fall to the ground and shield themselves from God whenever He speaks to them. Not even Moses, one of the most godly men who ever lived, could see God face-to-face. (Exodus 33:17-23) When we compare this fearful relationship to what we see in Genesis 1-3—when man and God could walk together in fellowship—we can clearly see how far things have digressed. 

By the time of Noah, man’s sin was so great that God regretted having ever made man. (Some translations say that God was “Grieved that He had made man.” ) Humans were pure evil. The Bible says that every intention of their heart was evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5) And so, being completely just in His hatred of evil, God wiped them out. He had given them over 1,000 years to repent, and they still rejected Him. However, God does not destroy the righteous with the unrighteous (Genesis 18:23-26) and so He spared Noah and his family. (This character trait is something we will see again and again with God throughout the Bible.)

God further exemplified His hatred of evil many years later, when He gave His Law to the Nation of Israel through the prophet Moses. (The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) But the Law was only a temporary solution; an imperfect system designed to show us how far we had fallen, and to provide us with some protection against God’s judgment through animal sacrifice. However, there was no guarantee that God would even accept the people’s sacrifices when offered. They could still offer them. But if the people were not truly repentant—following the Law religiously without actually turning from their sins—God could reject their sacrifice. Over time the Law became very one-sided and religious; not the intimate, personal relationship God intended for us. 

After the death of Moses, God lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan, where He then used them to enact His judgment upon the wickedness of the people living in the land. As with the people of Noah’s day, God had given the Canaanites 400 years to repent. (Genesis 15:13-16) But they refused. 

And so, at last, the Day of Judgment came. The Israelites were ordered to drive out the people of Canaan and to take possession of the land. However, God warned the Israelites that if they broke His law and began living like the nations around them, He would use other nations to do to Israel what they had done to the Canaanites.  (Deuteronomy 8)

This is inevitably what happened. God pleaded with Israel to repent and turn to Him; to choose life. But the Israelites chose to abandon God instead. And so in 586 BC, God handed Israel over to king Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. 

But God had promised that He would never abandon Israel. (1 Kings 6:13)

In Babylon, the people remembered God. They repented and turned from their sins. So God brought them out of captivity. The Jews rebuilt Jerusalem and vowed to always serve God and to obey all of His Laws. (Nehemiah 9:38)

This was the last recorded event of the Old Testament. It would be another 400 years before the events of the New Testament came to pass. 

During this time the Jews became extremely legalistic in their religion. The Pharisees and Sadducees came to power and abused God’s Law; using God's commandments to manipulate the people and secure their positions as the political and spiritual rulers of Israel. 

And then came Jesus—that upstart from Nazareth—with his ideas of mercy, and kindness; destroying 400 years of tradition, legalism, and fear all in the span of just three years. 

This is the point that is most often missed by biblical skeptics. The arrival of God’s Chosen Messiah—the one who’s coming was foretold in Genesis 3:15— changed everything.

No one could ever hope to meet every requirement of the Old Law, and the animal sacrifices only provided a temporary solution for sin. That’s why God’s judgment was so swift in the Old Testament—considering the fact that He still gave people hundreds, if not thousands of years to repent and turn back to Him. 

But Jesus did away with the Old Law. (Romans 7, 8:1-16, Hebrews 8-10) We don't have to struggle to follow the Law and offer endless sacrifices in the hope that God might forgive us. He already did. 

Our sins were transferred to Jesus when he died on the cross. He died to pay the price for our sins, now and forever. We don't need priests to intermediate between us and God. Jesus is our High Priest forever and we are now the adopted children of God. We don't need to go through another person to speak to our Father. (Hebrews 4:14-16, Romans 8:15)

The purpose of the Old Testament was to show us how far we had fallen and to encourage us with the promise that one day God would send a deliverer who would fulfill the requirements of the Law and restore our relationship with Him. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus.

So does that mean God has changed? Is He no longer a God of wrath? 

Not at all. 

All this means is that God has given us the opportunity to be saved from what is to come. God cannot abide evil. He will judge the world. But He is being patient for our sake, because He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed. He wants everyone to be saved. (2 Peter 3:9)

Jesus is like a lifeboat. The world—the entire universe in fact—is a ship. 

The ship is broken and sinking. But God has provided a way to escape. 

We are living in a “Grace Period.” God will save anyone who is willing to turn to Him. But eventually the last lifeboat will be full. And when that happens, God will judge the world. He has held off for 2,000 years, but the signs of His Return are all around us. (Matthew 24:3-14) 

So then, is God a God of Wrath or a God of Mercy? 

The truth is: He is both. 

He is completely just and will punish all evil. But He is also merciful and has provided the entire world with one last chance to escape the coming judgement. All that He requires is that you put your faith and hope in Jesus Christ and follow Him.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

~ Romans 6:23 New Living Translation (NLT)

“I (Jesus) tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”

~ John 5:24  New Living Translation (NLT)