The God of the Old and the God of the New (Hebrews 13:8)
Main Idea: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!
Text:
One verse I want to focus on today is Hebrews 13:8. One verse.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)
You’ve probably heard people say that the God in the Old Testament was kind of harsh and kind of judgmental. Maybe even you’ve read your Bible and you’ve even thought that. I know I’ve thought that.
On the other hand, maybe you’ve thought that the God in the New Testament, He’s all loving. Forgiving. He changes, it what it seems like.
They call this the Duality of God. He’s this and then He’s that.
So if this is true, how can we reconcile this view with our Scripture this morning, that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever? Did God suddenly become real kind after Malachi? Was He punishing the people in the Old Testament all because of Adam and Eve? That doesn’t seem right.
So the main problem, to be honest, is that I think the Duality view of God is wrong!
Four main points.
- God had to parent humanity throughout the Bible.
- God is loving and forgiving in the Old Testament.
- God is not judgmental in the Old, He’s simply supreme.
- God is loving and forgiving in the New Testament, and supreme in the New Testament.
God had to parent humanity throughout the Bible.
Obviously, you’ve heard the term, “God your Father.”
Let’s say my child comes up to me, and I say, “Hey, it’s time to go.” And they ask me, “But why do we have to go?” Let’s say I get down to their level, I look right in their eyes and I say, “Well, honey, you’re tired. And I’m tired. And it’s almost bedtime. So we need to go home and get ready for bed.” I’m sure they’re going to go and put their shoes on, and they’re going to say, “Okay, daddy! That’s a great logical answer!” It ain’t gonna happen.
My wife gets on to me about this, saying, “You’re logically telling them what to do. They don’t have that ability yet!” So the real answer is just to say, “I can understand you’re upset, but it’s time to go.” Black and white. Concrete ideas.
Early on in life we need those boundaries. “Can I do this? Can I do that? Can I not do this? Can I not do that?” God provided this for toddler humanity in the Old Testament. As humanity matured, God changed His parenting style. He didn’t change, He changed His parenting style by sending Jesus and His Holy Spirit. We were finally ready for them under His steady hand.
God may seem harsh in the Old Testament just as parents may seem harsh.
God is loving and forgiving in the Old Testament.
I’m actually wondering if people who say that God is harsh and judgmental in the Old Testament, have they read the Old Testament? Like, all of it?
Adam and Eve literally did the one thing God told them not to do, and He spared them.
Abraham was supposed to sacrifice his son, but God provided a ram for him.
Moses was supposed to talk to a rock and he struck it instead, and God still let him see the Promised Land.
God stuck with the Israelites through complaining, wanting to go back to Egypt like all the time, then they started worshiping idols, blatant disregard for God, and guess what, He was with them.
If you read the Psalms, which by the way is in the Old Testament, it’s full of David speaking of God’s saving, His cleansing, His loving kindness.
All of the obscure minor prophets of the Old Testament contain one of the following: God blessing Israel or Judah, or saving a remnant, or becoming a light and salvation. It’s all there. God is the same in the Old Testament as He is in the New.
God is not judgmental in the Old, He’s simply supreme.
Well, why did God do this? Or why did God do that? I don’t know, I’m not God!
God is outside of time. So He’s creating the world, and He’s destroying it at the same time. It’s just a weird thing to think about.
I take it on faith that although I would have done things differently, I’m not God, and I’m glad.
God is loving and forgiving in the New Testament, and supreme in the New Testament.
There’s a bunch of examples of God remaining loving and forgiving in the New Testament: Jesus sending His Son and things like that. But we tend to skip over examples of what He’s being supreme in the New Testament.
The New Testament contains Revelation. In my opinion, the scariest verses of the Bible are in the New Testament!
These people are saying to Jesus, “We testified in Your name, and we did all these miracles.” And He says to them, “Depart from Me. I didn’t even know you.” Crazy.
There’s also a weird situation of people being stricken by worms and falling over dead! Some people are falling over dead after withholding money from the church! All these things happened in the New Testament! They sound like Old Testament stories, don’t they?
God is supreme. I don’t know why it happened, but it happened.
The main point: isn’t it amazing how unchanging God is? God is just, but also merciful. Great, and also full of grace.
Some of you probably know Micah as Mr. Slifer. Micah was a teacher at Faith Bible Christian Academy to many of our youth. Micah is a godly Christian man who is gifted by God in really extraordinary ways. And I’m sure the message he’s prepared today will encourage you and lead you to exalt the… (read more)
