Last three blogs I have been trying to examine this main
issue: Is God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament of the Bible
the same? Or are they different? In one blog, I countered the arguments of the
skeptic that God in the Old Testament is bloodthirsty or vindictive, and showed
that God had always been fair and just; He always warned the human beings
involved about the wrongs they were doing. Only when they did not repent of the
sins, punishment and judgments came. God had been loving, long suffering and
patient, but also He is the God of justice and righteousness. There are reasons
for what He did and why destruction happened.
As written in Isaiah 59:2,
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His
face from you,
So that He will not hear (your
petitions).”
God of the Bible is a Holy God, who insists that His
people be holy too. In Leviticus 19:1, 2 it is mentioned,
“And the LORD
spoke to Moses, saying,
Speak to all
the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.’”
His demand for holiness from His people was a constant
thread which weaves through all the narratives of the Old Testament. And that
is exactly where His people, Israel, let Him down. He pleads with them,
disputes with them, calls them to argue it out, though the prophets He sent
down the line. “Repent, return to me and live,’ was and is His constant demand
of His people.
God is not just the God of Israel; His real purpose of
selecting Abraham and creating a nation and a people, Israel, out of him, was
to pass on the blessings given to Abraham to all the families on the earth.Latter part of Genesis 12:3 says,
“And in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed.”
This blessing is nothing but salvation, salvation from
sin and suffering and inheriting the eternal life. This will come through a descendant
of David, the King of Israel, an Israelite, a Jew, the “seed,” promised to
Abraham, Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:16. Thus His concern is not just the Jews,
but the whole humanity, people belonging to every race, every community and
every religion, living in the world, the universe.
With the coming of Jesus, salvation was offered to the
whole of humanity. Jesus begins his ministry on earth saying,
“Repent,
for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17
It is the same appeal, first made to Israel in the Old
Testament, now being made to everyone in the world in the New Testament.
It is the same God, who prepared a nation for such a
purpose, and sent His Son as a human being into the world, to suffer and die,
paying the penalty for the sins of the humanity, so that we can go scot free.
God made this provision for us, for our salvation, and to reconcile the
recalcitrant, rebellious and estranged human beings to Himself though Jesus
Christ. He raised Jesus from death after three days and in doing so, not only
gave the authority to Jesus Christ to forgive our sins, but also set before us
the hope of eternal life after our physical death on earth. God loved the world
so much that He sent His only begotten Son to earth so that whoever believes in
him will not perish but have everlasting life. Is there any other proof needed
to show that God is a loving Father, concerned with our future in eternity and
has been at work for our redemption, since the time of Fall of our first
parents, Adam and Eve.
God is like the Father in the parable of Prodigal son,
told by Jesus, waiting, with His arms outstretched, for us to return to Him, in
repentance and seeking forgiveness. He is ever willing to forgive us and take
us into His family, to shower us with His blessings and love. How can we miss
such a great love!
It is the same God, to whom both the Old Testament and
New Testament testify. A God of love is He, physically represented by Jesus on
earth, showing what love can do for His people. Jesus laid down his life for
us, he came to die for us, so we can be reconciled to God, His Father, and now
Father of all who accept the invitation of Jesus Christ to repent and return.
It is one continuum, from the start to finish. We are
almost at the end of the race; for the world as we know will end soon, when Jesus
Christ will come back again to gather His people. He will establish His rule of
justice and righteousness on earth forever.
Are we ready for that day? How can we not be? Let us
not be foolish enough to spurn such a great love like this, but yield to it and
inherit eternal life promised to us through Jesus Christ.
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