This is a sermon which Elizabeth and I preached together on Sunday, February 24th. We are writing sermons during the season of Lent which respond to questions the congregation has submitted. One of those questions was about the apparent difference between the Old Testament God and the New Testament God.
We had a lot of fun working together to write this sermon. We hope that it speaks to you and that I might give you a chance to reflect on some tough questions.
The sermon is a little long, but I encourage you to read the whole thing. The black text indicates parts which Elizabeth spoke, and the red text indicates parts which I spoke.
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
We gather today to worship the one God who is:
God of the Israelites,
God of the Jews,
God of the Gentiles,
God of all creation.
And yet---that one God seems to act in widely divergent ways. The one God we worship sometimes seems like 2 very different Gods.
Questions (asked by members of the congregation)
Why does the God of the Old Testament seem so angry?
What kind of God would flood the whole earth?
In the New Testament, we encounter a God of love and forgiveness. What happened to judgement?
What is going on with a God who orders the killing of innocent people?
I’m afraid of the Old Testament God. What is the relationship of that God to the God of the New Testament?
Some of the questions which confound us are unanswerable in this life. We acknowledge the questions, we live with the questions. But we know----those questions can be answered fully only when we meet God face to face.
As we must accept that we have questions which cannot be answered , we must also accept that each of us asks these questions from our own unique perspective.
Think about where you sit when you come into this sanctuary every week. Some people sit on the pulpit side, some people sit near the choir, some people sit up in the balcony. If Elizabeth and I walked into this sanctuary at 11:00 to find everyone sitting in different seats, we would be confused. Most of us have a tendency to sit in the same area each week because we become comfortable worshiping from the same spot. We see the service happen from the same angle and this is the angle we get used to. If we got up and moved across the sanctuary, we’d have to get used to seeing everything from a different angle. We all have a perspective with which we’re comfortable, and to change this perspective would require lots of re-thinking. In the same way, we each view God from different angles.
These unique perspectives influence how we look at the Bible and how we understand God.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
We gather today to worship the one God who is:
God of the Israelites,
God of the Jews,
God of the Gentiles,
God of all creation.
And yet---that one God seems to act in widely divergent ways. The one God we worship sometimes seems like 2 very different Gods.
Questions (asked by members of the congregation)
Why does the God of the Old Testament seem so angry?
What kind of God would flood the whole earth?
In the New Testament, we encounter a God of love and forgiveness. What happened to judgement?
What is going on with a God who orders the killing of innocent people?
I’m afraid of the Old Testament God. What is the relationship of that God to the God of the New Testament?
Some of the questions which confound us are unanswerable in this life. We acknowledge the questions, we live with the questions. But we know----those questions can be answered fully only when we meet God face to face.
As we must accept that we have questions which cannot be answered , we must also accept that each of us asks these questions from our own unique perspective.
Think about where you sit when you come into this sanctuary every week. Some people sit on the pulpit side, some people sit near the choir, some people sit up in the balcony. If Elizabeth and I walked into this sanctuary at 11:00 to find everyone sitting in different seats, we would be confused. Most of us have a tendency to sit in the same area each week because we become comfortable worshiping from the same spot. We see the service happen from the same angle and this is the angle we get used to. If we got up and moved across the sanctuary, we’d have to get used to seeing everything from a different angle. We all have a perspective with which we’re comfortable, and to change this perspective would require lots of re-thinking. In the same way, we each view God from different angles.
These unique perspectives influence how we look at the Bible and how we understand God.
Look at
the relative thickness of the OT and the NT in the Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Bible, the Old Testament contains 39 while the New
Testament contains 27. There are over three times as many words in the Old
Testament as in the New Testament.
You
might think that, with so much more information in the Old Testament we would
be preaching, reading, and studying the Old Testament three times as much,
right? I have a binder where I collect my sermons. My section for New Testament
sermons is about twice as long as my section for Old Testament sermons.
For 30 years,
I have studied scripture professionally and for a lifetime I have studied
scripture devotionally. My knowledge of the NT is much broader and deeper
than of the OT. Having preached regularly for more than 20 years---2 ½
file drawers stuffed with sermons from the NT. Less than ¾ of a single
drawer holds my OT sermons.
In a
few moments I’m going to ask you to do some doodling. I am going to ask you to draw two
circles. The size of one circle will represent how much knowledge and
understanding you have of the OT. The size of the other circle will
represent how much knowledge and understanding you have of the NT. If your
circles look anything like mine, the NT one will be much larger than the OT.
Our general Bible knowledge and experience leans heavily toward the New Testament even though the Old Testament has so much more material. I think that we would find that we are much more familiar with the material of the New Testament than that of the Old.
God
Because we are so much less familiar with the Old Testament, we tend to focus on the stories with which we are already familiar. Many of these Old Testament stories present God in a certain light.
When we consider the stories of the OT we often find stories of destruction and chaos. Stories that depict a judging, angry God. When we consider the memorable stories of the New Testament, we imagine a different God. But there are important moments in the New Testament which remind us of the judging, angry OT God.
Judging: The story of Noah is very familiar. But we often leave out part of the story. God sees the wickedness of humankind and is sorry for creating humans in the first place. God decides to kill everyone on the face of the earth except for Noah. The story that follows is one of death and destruction by a judging God. We also read in Genesis the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. God destroys two entire cities because of their wickedness and their lack of hospitality to the stranger.
In the New Testament we hear about a judging God when Jesus describes the separation of those who cared for others and those who didn’t. Or when Jesus says that the branches which do not bear fruit will be cast into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Angry: God is depicted as an angry many times in the Old Testament, most notably when Jerusalem is destroyed because God was angered. But God’s anger appears in the New Testament as well when Jesus flips over the tables of the money-changers in the Temple.
Senseless Death: Another glaring reminder of this angry God are the stories in the OT in which God seems to senseless kill or senselessly allow others to kill.
There are multiple stories in Joshua of civilizations being wiped out for the sake of the Israelites. In the 11th chapter of Judges we find the story of Jephthah's daughter. She is killed for no apparent reason save an ignorant vow made by her father.
In the NT we see a similar story of senseless death in the early church. A husband and wife named Ananias and Sapphira sell property and hide the profits from the rest of the church. As a punishment, they are struck dead before the very feet of Peter.
These stories may be frightening, but the important thing to notice about them is that they occur in both Testaments.
The God whom we experience as judging, angry, and cruel in the Old Testament is a God who is also judging, angry, and cruel in the New Testament. The God we experience throughout Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments is one, consistent God.
Loving
I expect, for many of us, the predominant image of the God of the New Testament is of a loving God who sent his son because he loved the world.
A God who consistently demonstrates love, his grace, and mercy by drawing people into the kingdom.
A God who, despite the unfaithfulness of the people, restores people to a right relationship with God.
In stories and prophecies, perhaps less well known, the God of the OT also consistently demonstrates his love and grace.
Despite the treachery of Joseph’s brothers, who in their envy, sold Joseph into slavery, God protects Joseph and permits Joseph ultimately to save his entire family from starvation. Joseph’s powerful affirmation of God’s grace appears in the final chapter of Genesis. Joseph says to his brothers, Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people as he is doing today. (GN 50:20).
In the OT book of Ruth, we encounter Naomi, a woman, embittered by the death of her husband and the untimely death of her two sons. Having no heirs, she implores her daughters in law to return to their homeland where they can create a new life for themselves.
Ruth is faithful to her MIL, remaining in Moab. Through God’s bountiful grace, Ruth is given a husband and becomes mother to Obed, from whom David descends. Naomi’s life is made complete by the birth of Obed who is described as a restorer of life and nourisher of her old age. (Ruth 4:15)
God’s love is poured out again and again for the people whose stories connect with our own in the Old Testament.
Forgiving
The New Testament is filled with stories in which Jesus forgives the sins of the penitent and even of those who seem oblivious to their sin. Those encounters offer comfort to us who recognize our own sin. Among some of my particular favorites is the story of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus does not overlook her sin. Neither does he overlook the sin of the crowd, gathered with stones in their hands. Instead, Jesus dismisses the woman and the crowd with a simple command, Go and sin no more. (John 8:11)
Luke tells of the paralyzed man, placed in the presence of Jesus by his friends. Seeing the faith of those friends, Jesus says, Friend, your sins are forgiven.
Later in the gospel, a woman, described as a sinner bursts into the home of the Pharisee with whom Jesus is having dinner. After she bathes the feet of Jesus and anoints them with ointment, after she shows hospitality and deep love for Jesus, he turns to her and says, Your sins are forgiven. (Luke 7:48)
In the OT, we are reminded of God’s bold forgiveness when he rescues a wayward Jonah from the belly of the whale and when he equips Moses to be a leader for a people held captive in Egypt. And we see that same forgiveness during the 40 year sojourn in the wilderness. God remains faithful to a people who repeatedly fall away from their faith. God provides manna and quail and water for the people. He forgives them when they hoard the daily manna and provides it again on the next day. God renews the patience of Moses, their weary leader. In the 34th chapter of the OT book of Exodus, there is a remarkable affirmation of who God is, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. (Ex. 34:6-7)
The God whom we experience as loving and forgiving in the New Testament is a God who is loving and forgiving in the Old Testament. The God we experience throughout Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments is one, consistent God.
I expect, for many of us, the predominant image of the God of the New Testament is of a loving God who sent his son because he loved the world.
A God who consistently demonstrates love, his grace, and mercy by drawing people into the kingdom.
A God who, despite the unfaithfulness of the people, restores people to a right relationship with God.
In stories and prophecies, perhaps less well known, the God of the OT also consistently demonstrates his love and grace.
Despite the treachery of Joseph’s brothers, who in their envy, sold Joseph into slavery, God protects Joseph and permits Joseph ultimately to save his entire family from starvation. Joseph’s powerful affirmation of God’s grace appears in the final chapter of Genesis. Joseph says to his brothers, Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people as he is doing today. (GN 50:20).
In the OT book of Ruth, we encounter Naomi, a woman, embittered by the death of her husband and the untimely death of her two sons. Having no heirs, she implores her daughters in law to return to their homeland where they can create a new life for themselves.
Ruth is faithful to her MIL, remaining in Moab. Through God’s bountiful grace, Ruth is given a husband and becomes mother to Obed, from whom David descends. Naomi’s life is made complete by the birth of Obed who is described as a restorer of life and nourisher of her old age. (Ruth 4:15)
God’s love is poured out again and again for the people whose stories connect with our own in the Old Testament.
Forgiving
The New Testament is filled with stories in which Jesus forgives the sins of the penitent and even of those who seem oblivious to their sin. Those encounters offer comfort to us who recognize our own sin. Among some of my particular favorites is the story of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus does not overlook her sin. Neither does he overlook the sin of the crowd, gathered with stones in their hands. Instead, Jesus dismisses the woman and the crowd with a simple command, Go and sin no more. (John 8:11)
Luke tells of the paralyzed man, placed in the presence of Jesus by his friends. Seeing the faith of those friends, Jesus says, Friend, your sins are forgiven.
Later in the gospel, a woman, described as a sinner bursts into the home of the Pharisee with whom Jesus is having dinner. After she bathes the feet of Jesus and anoints them with ointment, after she shows hospitality and deep love for Jesus, he turns to her and says, Your sins are forgiven. (Luke 7:48)
In the OT, we are reminded of God’s bold forgiveness when he rescues a wayward Jonah from the belly of the whale and when he equips Moses to be a leader for a people held captive in Egypt. And we see that same forgiveness during the 40 year sojourn in the wilderness. God remains faithful to a people who repeatedly fall away from their faith. God provides manna and quail and water for the people. He forgives them when they hoard the daily manna and provides it again on the next day. God renews the patience of Moses, their weary leader. In the 34th chapter of the OT book of Exodus, there is a remarkable affirmation of who God is, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. (Ex. 34:6-7)
The God whom we experience as loving and forgiving in the New Testament is a God who is loving and forgiving in the Old Testament. The God we experience throughout Scripture, in both the Old and New Testaments is one, consistent God.
Hymn 263 Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise
People
The way that God is represented in Scripture plays an important role in how we understand God. But there are other factors that play roles as well. One of those factors is the context in which Scripture was written. We have to realize that Scripture was not written in a vacuum. God used people as the means of revelation. The only method that we have to attempt to understand God is through our intellect as human beings. This intellect is naturally limited and flawed because we are human. All of this is to say that in order to come to a better understanding of who God is and how God acts, we have to try to understand the people whom God has created...us.
The way that God is represented in Scripture plays an important role in how we understand God. But there are other factors that play roles as well. One of those factors is the context in which Scripture was written. We have to realize that Scripture was not written in a vacuum. God used people as the means of revelation. The only method that we have to attempt to understand God is through our intellect as human beings. This intellect is naturally limited and flawed because we are human. All of this is to say that in order to come to a better understanding of who God is and how God acts, we have to try to understand the people whom God has created...us.
The people of God in Scripture and the people of God today are people who live in constantly changing culture. The Jews of the Old Testament, the Gentiles of the New Testament, and the myriad of people who call themselves Christians today view the world uniquely and therefore understand and describe God uniquely.
Despite the changing culture, God's people throughout the OT and the NT are a consistent people. Though given everything that is needed for fullness of life, God’s people are prone to sin. It begins in the garden when the only thing off limits----the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil-----is the thing Adam and Eve most desire. They fail to appreciate what God gives. The people do not understand that God’s law is rooted in God’s love.
They hoard God’s gifts and resist sharing. They put God to the test, they hunger for more---for more food, more power, more recognition. They create idols out of what gives--a golden calf in the Old Testament, and, in the NT, we can all relate to the rich man. When told by Jesus that he must sell what he owns and give the money to the poor so that he will have treasure in heaven ( Mk 10: 21), the man goes away grieving. Of his money, the rich man has crafted an idol. Perhaps, most devastatingly, the people of God throughout history, break the covenant God has established with them. During our Bible Study at the officer’s retreat last month, your elders and deacons were looking together at a passage from Exodus, in which the Israelites are grumbling because they feel as if God is not treating them fairly. When asked the question, What do we learn about God’s people?, the almost immediate response was, We learn they they are just like us. Indeed, they are. We take our place beside the stiff necked people of the OT and the those with hardened hearts in the NT.
God’s people, throughout the Old and New Testaments, and God’s people today, sin and fall short of the glory of God.
Just as God’s people throughout history fall short of God’s glory, they also demonstrate their ability to follow God faithfully.
Comfort: God’s people demonstrate many times their desire to be comforted and supported by God. In the story that our Small Groups discussed this week the disciples find themselves in a storm-battered ship with a sleeping Jesus. One of the people in my Small Group this week made an interesting observation. He pointed out that when they saw their peril their first response was not to try to pump out water or abandon ship. They immediately went to Jesus seeking aid and comfort.
In Psalm 88 the author cries over the destroyed city of Jerusalem begging for God’s comfort. The author says: O Lord, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence, let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry. A passionate cry for comfort.
Chosen: The people of God across the ages also demonstrate their desire to be a people chosen by God. In the beginning of Luke's gospel Mary responds to her conception by the Holy Spirit with a beautiful song which demonstrates her willingness to be chosen to do God's work. When Jesus calls out to the disciples, they drop what they are doing in order to follow him.
The prophet Isaiah responds in a similar way when he is called to do God’s work. God asks, “Who will I send, and who will go for me?” and Isaiah responds by saying, “Here am I, send me!”
God’s people throughout history long for the relationship God has established with them.
Hymn 376 Love Divine,
All Loves Excelling
Covenant
Reformed theology is marked by its strong emphasis on covenant theology. The covenant of grace, initiated by God with Abraham, is renewed by God throughout scripture. This covenant is born of God’s deep and unchanging love for humanity. It is marked by the powerful words of God, I will be your
God and you will be my people.
This this covenant of grace is made possible because it is rooted in God’s powerful love. This love is demonstrated in the many covenants that God makes in the Old Testament. After the destruction of the entire world in the flood of Noah's day, God places a rainbow in the sky and says, "I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendents...that never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. After Abraham chooses to follow God, the Lord made a covenant with him.
God makes covenants with most major figures of the Old Testament: Moses, David, Solomon, the prophets, and many others. All of these covenants were established and maintained despite many human failings because of God’s love.
And these were not the only covenants made by God.
Reformed theology is marked by its strong emphasis on covenant theology. The covenant of grace, initiated by God with Abraham, is renewed by God throughout scripture. This covenant is born of God’s deep and unchanging love for humanity. It is marked by the powerful words of God, I will be your
God and you will be my people.
This this covenant of grace is made possible because it is rooted in God’s powerful love. This love is demonstrated in the many covenants that God makes in the Old Testament. After the destruction of the entire world in the flood of Noah's day, God places a rainbow in the sky and says, "I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendents...that never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth. After Abraham chooses to follow God, the Lord made a covenant with him.
God makes covenants with most major figures of the Old Testament: Moses, David, Solomon, the prophets, and many others. All of these covenants were established and maintained despite many human failings because of God’s love.
And these were not the only covenants made by God.
THE NEW COVENANT
The covenant of grace is given new and richer meaning through the incarnation of God in the person of JX. He, who came, full of grace and truth, to live among us is the complete revelation of God. Those who have known only in part, now begin to understand more fully.
The covenant of grace is given new and richer meaning through the incarnation of God in the person of JX. He, who came, full of grace and truth, to live among us is the complete revelation of God. Those who have known only in part, now begin to understand more fully.
FONT
This font is the place where we are accepted and grafted into the covenant community. We meet Christ in these waters. We’re reminded that God draws us into a relationship built upon love.
In the Sacrament of Baptism, the great and terrible God of the Old Testament and the loving and forgiving God of the New Testament become one in Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the New Covenant.
TABLE
To this table, we, the covenant people of God, bring our hunger for righteousness, our need for forgiveness, our fledgling commitment to our faith, our hopes for the future. In the breaking of bread, in the pouring of the cup, faith is nurtured, hope restored, hungers fulfilled. Jesus Christ is our host. We come as those invited.
In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, the great and terrible God of the Old Testament and the loving and forgiving God of the New Testament become one in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the New Covenant.
We worship the one God, fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who is
God of the Israelites
God of the Jews
God of the Gentiles
God of all creation. Amen.
This font is the place where we are accepted and grafted into the covenant community. We meet Christ in these waters. We’re reminded that God draws us into a relationship built upon love.
In the Sacrament of Baptism, the great and terrible God of the Old Testament and the loving and forgiving God of the New Testament become one in Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the New Covenant.
TABLE
To this table, we, the covenant people of God, bring our hunger for righteousness, our need for forgiveness, our fledgling commitment to our faith, our hopes for the future. In the breaking of bread, in the pouring of the cup, faith is nurtured, hope restored, hungers fulfilled. Jesus Christ is our host. We come as those invited.
In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, the great and terrible God of the Old Testament and the loving and forgiving God of the New Testament become one in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of the New Covenant.
We worship the one God, fully revealed in Jesus Christ, who is
God of the Israelites
God of the Jews
God of the Gentiles
God of all creation. Amen.
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