Old Testament to the New: Has God Changed?

Published On: September 24, 2025

Picture this: You’re reading through the Old Testament and encounter God commanding the destruction of entire cities, bringing plagues upon Egypt, and consuming people with fire. Then you flip to the New Testament and find Jesus saying “turn the other cheek” and “love your enemies.” It’s easy to wonder: Did God have a change of heart somewhere between Malachi and Matthew?

Critics often portray the “Old Testament God” as wrathful, even vengeful, while the “New Testament God” seems loving and merciful. The Bible’s answer, however, is clear as it is consistent: God doesn’t change. What we’re seeing isn’t divine evolution as most people assume—it’s progressive revelation of the same unchanging God.

THE FOUNDATION: DIVINE IMMUTABILITY

Scripture declares God’s essence, attributes, and purposes are eternally fixed. This isn’t abstract theology—it’s the bedrock of our faith and comfort.

God explicitly declares His unchanging nature. In Malachi 3:6, God states plainly: “I the Lord do not change.” The apostle James reinforces this truth, describing God as having “no variation or shadow due to change” (1:17). When God makes such direct statements about His character, we can trust them completely.
God’s nature is fundamentally different from human nature. Numbers 23:19 draws a stark contrast: “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.” Unlike humans who grow, learn, and evolve, God exists in perfect completeness. What appears as divine “change” is actually His consistent character responding to changing human circumstances.
Christ Himself embodies divine immutability. Hebrews 13:8 proclaims “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Since Christ is fully God, His unchanging nature proves God’s character spans both Testaments without alteration. The Word who “became flesh” (John 1:14) is the same Word who spoke creation into existence.

GOD’S JUSTICE: CONSISTENT ACROSS TESTAMENTS

While many assume God “softened” between the Testaments, Scripture reveals His justice burns as brightly in the New Testament as it did in the Old. The cross itself proves God’s standards never lowered.

Old Testament evidence reveals God’s justice was always tempered with mercy:

God proclaimed both mercy and justice from the beginning. In Exodus 34:6-7, God reveals Himself as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love”—but also as one “who will by no means clear the guilty.” This dual revelation shows justice and mercy coexisting perfectly in God’s character.
The Psalms celebrate God’s patient love. David writes in Psalm 103:8 that God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Far from being harsh or quick-tempered, the Old Testament God exhibits remarkable patience with human rebellion.

New Testament continues to show the same divine justice:

Paul declares God’s wrath against sin remains active. Romans 1:18 states that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” This present-tense reality shows God’s justice didn’t disappear when Christ came.
The cross demonstrates both love and justice simultaneously. Romans 3:25-26 explains that God presented Christ as a sacrifice to show His righteousness, proving He is “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Divine love didn’t override divine justice—it satisfied it perfectly.

GOD’S LOVE: ANCIENT AND ENDURING

Critics who claim the Old Testament portrays a God who lacks love haven’t read carefully. God’s covenantal love permeates the Hebrew Scriptures just as fully as it does the New Testament.

The Old Testament overflows with evidence of God’s enduring love:

God chose Israel based on love, not merit. Deuteronomy 7:7-8 explains God set His love on Israel “not because you were more in number than any other people…but it is because the Lord loves you.” This unconditional election mirrors the same grace Christians experience today.
God’s love endures despite human unfaithfulness. Through Jeremiah, God declares, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (31:3). The entire book of Hosea uses marriage imagery to show God’s relentless love for wayward Israel, demonstrating divine love that refuses to give up.
God promises unfailing covenant faithfulness. Isaiah 54:10 records God’s promise: “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed.” This covenant love provides the foundation for every New Testament promise.

The New Testament fulfils rather than contradicts this ancient love:

John 3:16 expresses the culmination of eternal love. When John writes that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” he’s describing the ultimate expression of the same love declared throughout the Old Testament.
Nothing can separate us from this ancient-yet-ever-new love. Paul’s confidence in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” rests on the foundation of God’s unchanging character revealed across all Scripture.

PROGRESSIVE REVELATION, NOT DIVINE EVOLUTION

The key to understanding apparent differences between the Testaments lies in recognising God reveals Himself gradually throughout history, not because He changes, but because humanity needed careful preparation for the full revelation in Christ.

The Old Testament provided essential preparation:

Types and shadows pointed forward to Christ’s work. The sacrificial system wasn’t arbitrary ritual but object lessons teaching about sin’s seriousness and God’s provision for forgiveness. Every sacrifice pointed to “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).
Prophecies built anticipation for coming redemption. From Genesis 3:15’s promise of victory over Satan to Isaiah 53’s suffering servant, the Old Testament created expectation for the Messiah. These weren’t afterthoughts but part of God’s eternal plan unfolding in time.

The New Testament brings fulfillment of ancient promises:

Christ completes what the Old Testament began. Hebrews 1:1-2 explains that while God “spoke to our fathers by the prophets,” He has now “spoken to us by his Son.” This isn’t contradiction but completion—fuller revelation of the same God.
One gospel spans all history. Paul declares in Galatians 3:8 that “Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham.” The same salvation message proclaimed today was promised to Abraham centuries earlier, proving one consistent plan of redemption.

WORSHIP THE GOD WHO STAYS THE SAME

Far from being a theological problem, God’s consistency across Scripture provides our greatest comfort. In a world where everything shifts and changes, we worship a God whose faithfulness spans generations. The same God who delivered Israel from Egypt delivers us from sin. The same God who kept His promises to Abraham keeps His promises to us today. This unchanging character—perfectly holy, completely loving, absolutely faithful—deserves our complete trust and eternal worship.

What appears as divine inconsistency is actually divine consistency responding to changing circumstances. Loving parents discipline a rebellious toddler differently than they guide a mature teenager, but their love and standards remain constant. Similarly, God dealt with humanity in its spiritual infancy through laws, ceremonies, and dramatic interventions. Now that Christ has come, we live in the full daylight of revelation.

OLD TESTAMENT TO THE NEW: HAS GOD CHANGED?—RELATED FAQs

What about passages where God seems to “repent” or change His mind (like with Nineveh in Jonah)? Reformed theologian John Calvin explained these as anthropomorphisms—God speaking in human terms we can understand. When Scripture says God “relented” concerning Nineveh’s destruction, it describes the outward change in God’s actions, not an internal change in His nature or plan. God’s eternal decree always included conditional mercy based on repentance, so Nineveh’s salvation fulfilled rather than contradicted His unchanging purposes.

How do we reconcile God’s immutability with the Incarnation—didn’t God change when Christ became human? The Westminster Confession addresses this by distinguishing between God’s essence and His actions. Reformed theologian Louis Berkhof argued that in the Incarnation, the divine nature didn’t change—rather, the Son took on human nature in addition to His divine nature. As John Murray explained, God remained unchangeably God while the Word “became flesh,” adding humanity without altering divinity. The change occurred in Christ’s human nature joining His divine nature, not in God Himself.
Why does God use such different methods of revelation and relationship between Testaments? Geerhardus Vos wrote God’s revelation is both organic and progressive—like a seed growing into a tree. The methods change because humanity’s capacity for revelation develops through redemptive history. RC Sproul compared this to a teacher using picture books for kindergarteners and textbooks for graduate students—the teacher’s knowledge doesn’t change, but the teaching methods adapt to the student’s readiness.

What about God’s apparent favouritism toward Israel in the Old Testament versus His love for all nations in the New? Reformed covenant theology explains this as the distinction between God’s common grace and special grace. John Frame notes God’s election of Israel was always intended to bless “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3). Herman Bavinck argued Israel’s special status was pedagogical—God used one nation to prepare the world for Christ’s universal gospel. The scope broadened in the New Testament, but the heart behind it remained the same.

How do we explain God commanding violence in the Old Testament when Christ preaches peace? Reformed scholars distinguish between God’s role as cosmic judge and Christ’s instructions for interpersonal relationships. John Frame explains that when God commanded Israel’s military actions, He was executing divine judgement through appointed agents. Michael Horton notes Christ’s “turn the other cheek” teaching addresses personal revenge, not the state’s role in justice. God’s holy wrath against sin remains constant—only the agents and timing of its execution change.
Did God’s law change between the Testaments, and what does this say about His nature? Westminster theologians developed the threefold division of God’s law: moral (unchanging), ceremonial (fulfilled in Christ), and civil (specific to Israel). John Calvin taught the moral law reflects God’s unchanging character, while ceremonial laws were temporary pictures pointing to Christ. Sinclair Ferguson explains that when Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law, He didn’t change God’s standards but completed them. The law’s substance remains as eternal as God Himself.

How should we understand God’s emotions—does He really get angry, or are these just metaphors? Reformed theology holds to the doctrine of divine impassibility—God doesn’t experience emotions the way we do, but His responses to human actions are real. John Piper argues God’s “wrath” is His settled, holy response to sin, not an emotional outburst. Kevin Vanhoozer suggests we understand divine emotions as stable dispositions rather than changing feelings. God’s anger against sin and love for righteousness are constant aspects of His perfect character, not mood swings.

OLD TESTAMENT TO THE NEW: HAS GOD CHANGED?—OUR RELATED POSTS