How do I explain to a non believer that God is the same

[Girl With The Windex Eyes]

in the old and new testament. This guy says that as he learns about Christianity he doesn't like it. He says he finds it scary that God can be wrathful one minute and all about loving and accepting others the next. Help me better explain that He is the same God in both testaments and he shouldn't find it scary.  

[real eyes realize]

Well, Jesus will be just as wrathful too with those who don't repent—when the time comes:

Quote:

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 (NIV)

6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

If he doesn't like YHWH/Jesus' sense of justice, there's not much we can do. But yes, God is the same in the Old Testament and New Testament. He gives a bunch of chances to repent (ergo, Jesus warning to either "repent or perish" in Luke 13:1-5; he's taking a long time to come back and punish people because he prefers they repent, i.e. 2 Peter 3:9; just like YHWH in the Old Testament giving hundreds of years before wiping out the Amorites, Genesis 15:16) But God, the very one of the Old Testament, also relented of his wrath completely once he saw the nation (or the person) sincerely repenting of their sins:

Quote:

Jonah 3:10 (NIV)

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

Quote:

Ezekiel 33:11 (NIV)

Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

Quote:

Joel 2:13 (NIV)

Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

The Father and the Son have the same level of mercy and wrath.

Also, it's not being wrathful "one minute" and not wrathful the next. That "minute" can take hundreds of years, if not thousands, for his punishment to come upon people. Of the people who were instantly smited, it was usually his own servants (priests and Levites more often than not) who violated one of his commands while serving him... or got prideful (like Korah). "Instant smite down" means you knew better, more than most, and still went ahead and did it (transgressed). Even in times of battle, the enemy nations were fully aware of the God they were messing with, and they still chose to attack. In all cases, anyone who felt YHWH's wrath had received plenty of warning beforehand.

Under Jesus' ministry, it's the same: he's showing us mercy every day (withholding punishment we deserve), giving every one of us plenty of opportunities to repent of our sins and be born-again; he is slow to anger, but if a person remains unrepentant, refusing to admit their sin / their transgression of his law, they will feel his wrath one day. The Book of Revelation, from chapter 6 and on (where Jesus starts opening seals, releasing plagues), is wrath on the world. To quote one example:

Quote:

Revelation 9:20-21 (NIV)

20 The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

Like I said, Jesus started opening them in chapter 6. Just because he doesn't "like" this, doesn't mean he will avoid this. If he doesn't repent, that too will be him. If he does repent and reconcile with his Maker, only then will he be protected from all that.

Quote:

Revelation 7:3 (NIV)

“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

Quote:

Revelation 9:4-6 (NIV)

4. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 They were not allowed to kill them but only to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the sting of a scorpion when it strikes. 6 During those days people will seek death but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.

And beyond any physical torment he endures on earth or not, more important is securing where he'll spend an eternity after judgment day: with God on the new earth? or cast into the lake of fire with the devil, his angels, the beast and the false prophet, where they'll be in torment forever? If you don't want to be with God, that's exactly what you'll get. He's giving people the chance to decide now while they have a chance: "do you want to be with me or not? You clearly hate me, so why would you want to spend eternity with me? It's my heavens, my earth, if you don't want me, nor want to live with me, than you'll have to go into exile, see what it's like to exist without a single bit of me." Right now, the wicked are living alongside God's people sharing the same planet, receiving the same rain and benefits. Once he separates the righteous from the wicked, there will be nothing of comfort left for the wicked.

What is so off-putting about him and any of his commands? He's protecting people with those commands, they help us maintain order, eliminate evil, and avoid all things that are detrimental to relationships/families (i.e. being enslaved to pleasure and to "self" to the point that you neglect the necessary things in life, duties, responsibilities; ergo why cheating on your spouse is a sin/transgression of his law, you're hurting the well-being and order of your family just for a moment of pleasure, that might actually hurt you just as much as your family). If he actually took time to meditate and seek God with his wholeheart, he would see how beneficial these commandments are.

Quote:

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 (NIV)

12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Quote:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Quote:

Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

He's the highest Spirit in authority, there's no escaping him. You'll either be on his good side and shown favor—or on his bad side and shown wrath, because you want to stay his enemy and hate on him.

---

edit: and actually, it is suppose to be a scary thing.

Quote:

Philippians 2:12 (NIV)

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

Quote:

2 Corinthians 7:15 (NIV)

And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.

Quote:

Psalm 2:11 (NIV)

Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling.

But his judgment is not something we should be worried about. In fear of, in reverence of? sure. But not worried if that's what you mean? If we're repentant and in prayer with him, there's no reason to be worried. We're not getting punished.

Quote:

1 John 4:18 (NIV)

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Quote:

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Quote:

1 John 1:5-10 (NIV)

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Footnotes:

a 1 John 1:7 Or every

 

[Warrior Of El]

Tell him that he should fear god in order for him to respect his divine might and to obey his testament.  

[Biblical_Counselor]

evidencebible.com

The God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old Testament. The Bible says that He never changes. He is just as merciful in the Old Testament as He is in the New Testament. Read Nehemiah 9 for a summary of how God mercifully forgave Israel, again and again, after they repeatedly sinned and turned their back on Him. The psalms often speak of God’s mercy poured out on sinners.

He is also just as wrath-filled in the New Testament as He is in the Old. He killed a husband and wife in the Book of Acts, simply because they told one lie. Jesus warned that He was to be feared because He has the power to cast the body and soul into hell. The apostle Paul said that he persuaded men to come to the Savior because he knew the "terror of the Lord." Read the dreadful judgments of the New Testament’s Book of Revelation. That will put the "fear of God" in you, which incidentally is "the beginning of wisdom."

Perhaps the most fearful display of His wrath is seen in the cross of Jesus Christ. His fury so came upon the Messiah that it seems God enshrouded the face of Jesus in darkness so that creation couldn’t gaze upon His unspeakable agony. Whether we like it or not, our God is a consuming fire of holiness (Hebrews 12:29). He isn’t going to change, so we had better ...before the Day of Judgment. If we repent, God, in His mercy, will forgive us and grant us eternal life in heaven with Him.

Through my experiences out on the streets, people often call God a tyrant. But when I start with the Law, it brings the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19, 20). The problem is not about a God that is unmerciful in the Old Testament, but about a God that punish sin. Have they ever lied, stolen, blasphemed, lusted (adultery), hated (murder)? And I'll go on from there on how they violated God's law, and how He provided a Savior to save us from the wrath that is to come. God is merciful, loving, and kind, but He is also just and holy, and punish sin where it is found. I heard it was said this way: "People will complain about God, no matter what He is like. If God were to let sin go, people complain that He is not just and punishing murders or rapists. And if God were to judge sin, they will complain because they cannot do what they want to do."

And of course, we cannot save anyone. We must pray that God will open their hearts and that by using the Word of Life, it will be planted in their hearts and pray that it will grow and other people to come into their lives and water the seed that you have planted. (1 Corinthians 3:6, 7)  

[Girl With The Windex Eyes]

Thanks to all of you! Sometimes I'm bad with words. I do appreciate it. Of course I'll do my best at putting it in my own words, but it helps. ^_^  

[Doitsu Rutovihhi]

Tell him that god does indeed still invoke his wrath upon those who sin. He has always loved humanity. He cast Lucifer out of heaven for standing against him when he commanded that he bow to Adam. He cast out Azazel and Samyaza for fornicating with mortal women (Who later gave birth to giants), and increasing their vanity by giving them cosmetics. However, in the new testiment, it does seem as though god has grown much more lenient. This isn't truly the case. But one must remember the chronological differences in time between the events in the old testiment, and those in then new testiment. God gives people chance after chance to repent of their sin and change their ways before smiting them. He did this in the old testiment as well. But the old testiment takes place with vast chronological differences, while the new testiment is rather close together chronoligically, as it details the life of Jesus Christ and that of his deciples.  

[Girl With The Windex Eyes]

Doitsu Rutovihhi

Tell him that god does indeed still invoke his wrath upon those who sin. He has always loved humanity. He cast Lucifer out of heaven for standing against him when he commanded that he bow to Adam. He cast out Azazel and Samyaza for fornicating with mortal women (Who later gave birth to giants), and increasing their vanity by giving them cosmetics. However, in the new testiment, it does seem as though god has grown much more lenient. This isn't truly the case. But one must remember the chronological differences in time between the events in the old testiment, and those in then new testiment. God gives people chance after chance to repent of their sin and change their ways before smiting them. He did this in the old testiment as well. But the old testiment takes place with vast chronological differences, while the new testiment is rather close together chronoligically, as it details the life of Jesus Christ and that of his deciples.

Thank you and that is an excellent point about the chronological differences!