One of the ways that people try to shut down the Bible is by trying to point out its inconsistencies. They look at one verse, then another, and see a contradiction. Not only that, but at times they’ll even look at the total scope of the Old Testament, versus that of the New Testament and think that the entire thing doesn’t make sense. They look at verses and situations that are taken completely out of context and try to debunk an entire religion based on it.

One of the common examples that is given is that of the nature of God. When you look at books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy, compared to books like Romans and Galatians, you’ll notice a difference. In the Old Testament books, you’ll find law, order, and consequence. These books help make up “the law” and give us many strict directions, along with the consequences that will happen if we don’t follow them. However, in the New Testament books, you’ll find that they discuss freedom, grace, and love more than any other thing. The law, sin, and death are mentioned, but they are shown as a thing of the past.

The Old and the New Testaments seem as though they have two different Gods. In the Old, there is a harsh and angry God that is only looking to spite his people. While in the New, God would never hurt or punish anyone. There’s seemingly a contradiction taking place, and I’ll admit, it’s a little confusing. Sometimes it’s like there are two Gods in scripture. Although it doesn’t always seem like it, we serve one God, with one heart.

But we must look and see for ourselves, is God angry?

One God, One Heart, Three Persons

As we’ve said, it’s easy to look at scripture, and argue that the Old Testament God has to be different from the New Testament God. Without a fuller understanding of scripture, they are vastly different. The God we see in the Old Testament is seemingly harsh and angry, while we see grace and love as the central topic more than most anything in the New Testament. There must be some reason why they are different. Some reason why God seems angry.

Well, there is. At least, a reason why they seem different. But, before we look at that, we must first understand that we do indeed serve one God. That one God has one heart, and the one God is made up of three persons. This can get confusing, but to further understand this, we’re going to look at a few of the statements that Jesus made. One regarding his own divinity, one regarding his connection to the father, and one regarding the Holy Spirit.

“Before Abraham was, I am”

Many have questioned the divinity of Jesus, especially in his times. He makes it clear who he is though with this statement:

““Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” (John 8:58)

This statement was bold for the times that Jesus walked on the Earth. It resulted in the Pharisees picking up stones to throw, but Jesus hid before they could. The Pharisees viewed this as heresy, as Jesus was putting himself above their forefather, Abraham. Jesus inevitably proved his divinity not just through this statement, but through the prophecies answered, his resurrection, and the many miracles he did.

While he walked the Earth, Jesus was not always angry with people. Oftentimes, you could find him eating with sinners the pharisees rejected, and welcoming those who others did not. He defined love to the world, though there was that time that he flipped tables in the temple.

“Only What He Sees the Father doing”

There is a passage in John’s gospel that I often find myself thinking on. It reflects well the character and the nature of our God.

““Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise”‘ (John 5:19).

Here, Jesus refers to himself as the Son, and refers to whom most of us what refer to as God, as the Father. This verse shows the relationship between Jesus and the Father, and it also shows us a life that we can, and should, model. Just as Jesus does as the Father does, likewise, in Christ, we can do just as the Son and the Father can, though that should be used within its proper context.

Some use this verse to debunk the trinity, as Jesus should not be a “person” of God, if he is seemingly dependent on him. While that may seem to be the truth, we must look further.

What this statement is saying is that Jesus is an extension of God, the Father, in a physical, human form. He cannot do anything that the Father doesn’t do, because they are the same, and that would be a break in their character. This verse then does indeed show us that Jesus is a co-equal part of the trinity with God, the Father.

“He Will Give You Another Helper”

One of the greatest things that we have as Christians is the Holy Spirit, but do you know where the Spirit comes from?

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever even the Spirit of truth (John 14:16-17).

The Holy Spirit isn’t just some angel that is sent from Heaven, but it is indeed the Spirit of truth himself! If you don’t get what that means, God didn’t just send any spirit, but His own Spirit to reside on the inside of you! That Spirit will never leave you, it will be with you forever! This is just great news!

These three together, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, make up the three persons of God!

Perfectly Just

Now, we come back to the point of this discussion. Is God angry? Are there two Gods? Why does He act so different?

To begin, we must look at one aspect of his character that is often clearly portrayed, his justness. This is the clearest aspect of God throughout the Old Testament. You see it in the beginning, as he kicks Adam and Eve out of the Garden. You see it when he hardens Pharoh’s heart. When he creates the Law through Moses. Time and time again, we see that God displays justness. The form that that often takes though, can seem a bit harsh.

In each situation that I referenced, there are dire consequences. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they were removed from the Garden and therefore cursed all humans. When Pharoh hardened his heart towards God, God hardened it again and eventually Pharoh had no chance of redemption. Perhaps the consequence that we are most familiar with though, comes from the Law, and sin.

We must understand something about sin. It offends and hurts God when we sin and choose that over him. When we go against his will and desire, which is what’s best for us anyway, it is offensive to him. In other words, we put ourselves on the offense with God when we choose to sin. That is why the Law had to be created. The Law gave the people of God a way to experience intimacy with him and not be on the offense, as long as they followed it. Of course, they couldn’t, and we couldn’t, which is why we needed Jesus, but it was a way that we could become closer to God.

But the reason why people often see God as being angry and upset all the time, is because they overlook the fact that God hates sin, and the Israelites repeatedly chose sin over life and intimacy with him, knowing the consequences. So, He’s not actually angry, He’s just.

Perfectly Merciful

The other characteristic that God displays in the Bible is often seen as grace or love. While these are characteristics of God, and he perfectly defines them, people often make one dire mistake. They seemingly mistake mercy, as grace and love. They start to bleed together in our interpretations of scripture, and this can radically impact our idea of God. It’s important to know of the mercy of God, just as it is important to know the love, grace, and justness of God.

Just as I was saying, God gave the Law so that his people could experience life and intimacy with him, by not sinning, and obeying his commandments. This act is both graceful and loving in itself, as none of us deserve as many chances as God gives us. But it also perfectly depicts justice. If you sin, you get a consequence. If you don’t, you don’t.

But the Israelites couldn’t keep the law completely, and if you’re guilty of breaking one commandment, you’re guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). So, in order to experience long-term intimacy with his people, God did the most merciful, loving, and graceful thing of all, by sending his Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world. This became the most graceful thing God ever did.

By this act, God made it that we could experience life and intimacy through his Son, Jesus. Through Jesus, we become new creations and are regarded not by our sin, but by Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Some ask how God can be both merciful and just at the same time. It is because God allows us to bear the same life and death as Jesus as our own. Now, he sees us not by our sin nature, but by the nature of Christ.

Final Thoughts

So, the question of “is God angry?” can be answered by saying this. God is justice, and God is mercy. His character has stayed the same throughout all of scripture, though some aspects of his character can be shown clearer at different times.

Do we serve two different Gods? No, but there was a change when Jesus died on the cross. His experience made a way for us that we could escape the major consequence of sin that we see in the Old Testament, and experience intimacy with him in a fuller way. So, God is the same God in the Old and New Testaments, but his wrath towards sin is shown only when we are bent towards sin. Because Jesus died for all sins, for all time, He no longer extends those consequences towards us, as believers.

Although it can be confusing at times, we must know that we serve only one God, but he is many fantastic things! He is made up of three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is both just and merciful at the same time. And at times, He has seen angry, but that anger is only towards sin. Towards us, He extends perfect love, grace, and more great and beautiful things, all the time. What great news!