By: Corey BonassoIf you read this title and the first thing that came to mind was, “baby don’t hurt me,” then you and I probably have something in common. Fortunately for everyone, this is not an article about an early 90s Haddaway song.
Anyone who has studied scripture even casually would hopefully answer this question with some form of “God is love.” God, after all, is the creator of love.
“Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” -1 John 4:8.
His example of what love is and how to show love is, by definition, the only correct example. However, when we study the Bible, we can’t help but notice that God has a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde vibe going on. In the first major section of the Bible, the Old Testament, God seems like he is full of wrath and ready to exact his divine justice on sin with swift and terrifying fullness. Some examples include Sodom and Gomorrah, the Tower of Babel, and of course the Flood. Reading any of these stories is enough to make most of us stop and ask, “Why is God doing this if he is supposed to be loving?”
Looking at the second major section of the Bible, the New Testament, God seems much more patient and forgiving than the God we see in the Old Testament. Did God change his character? Did he send all of his wrath down on Earth and now he’s ready to forgive? How do we reconcile this apparent contrast?
First, let me say that if there is one thing that God does not do, it is change. God is perfect and unchanging, and his character remains steadfast and true through eternity. This is still true when we turn the page from Malachi to Matthew. Observing a thing or a phenomenon from different vantage points and at different times is going to necessarily leave us with different impressions in our observations. I’m sure everyone can remember seeing those optical illusions as children – is it an old woman looking forward or a pretty young woman looking the other direction? The image remains the same, but depending on how you view it, it may not appear the same.
Furthermore, God is a living being with emotions and intellect, which is how he also created us. The vantage point from which we view him changes as we grow, but God also shows us different sides of himself. God chose to reveal himself by his infallible written word using fallible human beings through divine inspiration.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” -2 Timothy 3:16-17 (emphasis added).
Therefore, when we wrestle with this dichotomy of Old Testament God versus New Testament God, we have to understand that God chose to reveal himself in this way for a reason. The reason is emphasis. God chose to emphasize his wrath in the Old Testament while emphasizing his gentleness and patience in the New Testament.
While that is certainly the pattern of the Bible, there are several examples of God’s love and patience in the Old Testament, as well as examples of his wrath in the New Testament.
The Flood is an example of God bringing his judgment on the world for its wickedness, but God shows his love for his creation by saving Noah and his family. Noah didn’t do anything to deserve for God to save him, but God showed mercy on him in order to fulfill his perfect plan of redemption. Similarly, God saved Lot from Sodom before its destruction because of his love for Lot and for Abraham. In addition, in the story of Jonah, the city of Nineveh repents after Jonah brings the word of God to the city. However, within a single generation, the city had again strayed from God’s ways. God did not bring judgment on Nineveh for over 150 years after it repented during Jonah’s time.
“The Lord is slow to anger but great in power; the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.” -Nahum 1:3
Looking to the New Testament, Ananias and Sapphira held back a portion of their money when giving gifts to God, and God struck them down because of their deceitful hearts. We also see God’s wrath coming in the last days as described in Revelation. However, the place where we see God’s wrath being poured out most fully throughout all of Scripture is actually found in the New Testament – God poured out his full and complete wrath on Jesus as he hung on the cross.
While God seems to emphasize different aspects of his character in the Old and New Testaments, he is not changing. We must remember that we are made in God’s image, so we also have emotions and intellect and different sides of our character and personality. I may seem different to an observer when I’m having a red-letter day as opposed to a black-letter day. God also has different sides of his character that make up the whole of who he is. Just as God is love, God cannot coexist with sin. God created us to be in fellowship with him and for us to fully know and fully love him. When sin entered the world, that fellowship was broken. By definition, sin is the separation from God.
God’s nature cannot condone or permit sin; therefore, his only choice of how to address the sin that is present in our hearts was to destroy us or redeem us. As we know, God chose to redeem his people, which reveals to us the necessity of God pouring out his wrath on Jesus at the cross.
“For I am with you to save you, declares the Lord; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” -Jeremiah 30:11.
This is one of my favorite verses in all of Scripture because it shows us God’s promise to save us and not leave us to destruction, but it also shows us that our sin is not simply ignored. We are punished and disciplined for our sin, but because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the destruction we deserve is poured out on him instead of us.
In instances where we see God’s wrath, we also see his mercy and love because God does not bring full destruction on his people, even though we are deserving of it. Conversely, in instances where we see God’s love, we also see his discipline and punishment. Anyone who is a parent (and many who are not parents) understand that a child needs correction. Parents who allow their children to act however they please are sure to have heartache due to the children’s behavior. Parents who love their children discipline and correct them because they love them. We are God’s children, and he loves us more than we can imagine. Because of this, he disciplines us in order to show us the errors in our walk and bring us back to the path of righteousness.
In conclusion, let’s come back to the question of, “What is love?” The idea that God is a God of war and wrath during one period of time and a God of love in another period of time is simply false. God is the same God always without change. God is love, and the wrath of God is an aspect of his love. In order for God to love us perfectly, he must reveal his wrath because we are corrupted by sin. If God tolerated or ignored our sin, then that would indicate that he does not truly love us because it would negate his perfect nature.
The Old Testament details God’s relationship with his chosen people under the Old Covenant law delivered through Moses to Israel. The New Testament details God’s relationship with his chosen people (which now includes the Gentiles grafted in) under the New Covenant established by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross. Jesus’ fulfillment of the Old Covenant and establishment of the New Covenant was possible because God poured out his full wrath on Jesus out of his love for us, his children.
The only true answer to the question of, “What is love” is this: God is love.