Dichotomy Of God In The Old Testament

An increasingly common phenomenon in the church today, particularly in more liberal streams of Christianity, is the privileging of one attribute of God over another. Perhaps the most frequent example of this is the privileging of God's love over his justice. Those who fall prey to this dichotomy draw a distinction between God in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, God is viewed as a being of wrath who mercilessly executes judgment on the pagan and sinner. In the New Testament, however, with the coming of Christ, God is seen as more benevolent, loving, and gracious to the sinner.

Those who espouse this view hold up the actions of Jesus toward a variety of sinners: the Samaritan woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, Zacchaeus, and more. They argue that Jesus was far more interested in showing love, forgiveness, and grace than wrath and judgment. They believe rightly that “God loves you just the way you

There is a reciprocal and symbiotic relationship between the two. Each is dependent on the other for its proper functioning. In the same way, in the case of privileging the love or justice of God, Kapic would likely point out that there must instead be reciprocation between the two of them. God is not either loving or wrathful; gracious or just; merciful or holy. He is all these things, in perfect measure, and at all times. In fact, the perfect justice of God informs his lovingkindness, and his love tempers his justice and wrath. Once again, Kapic echoes this reality when stating, “We tend to choose between the Lord’s grandeur or his mercy, but we must consistently resist this choice. Simply put, a faithful theologian is someone who – like the psalmist – knows that God’s glory is gracious and that his grace is