The Same God

The Same God

Bible:Joshua 7:16-26

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed” (1 PETER 2:24).

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People sometimes ask, “How come the God of the Old Testament seems so harsh compared to the God of the New Testament?” To start with, we need to know the God of the Old and New Testaments is the same God. He’s “the same yesterday and today and for ever” (HEBREWS 13:8). And His stance towards sin has always been the same: it must be judged. Achan hid things in his tent that God had said to stay away from (JOSHUA 7:20-22). He died for this along with all his family. This punishment seems incredibly harsh (V.25). But we need to grasp how seriously God views all sin. The death of Achan’s family shows that our holy, perfect God will not put up with sin. Ever. This is the same in the New Testament. Yet we see the answer to how God can destroy sin, yet love us—sinners. Before He went to the cross, Jesus said to God the Father, “Take this cup from me” (LUKE 22:42). What was this “cup”? It is the cup of God’s anger and judgement towards sin (SEE ISAIAH 51:17-22; REVELATION 14:10). Jesus took the full punishment for everything we have done wrong. All our sins filled the cup that Jesus then ‘drank’ in full for us. God spared Him nothing as He died on a cross because “God loved the world”—loved us (JOHN 3:16). Once we realise what sin deserves (and has always deserved, from the beginning of the Bible’s story), then and only then are we able to stand in awe of Jesus’ amazing sacrifice and rescue! There’s no judgement left for those who trust in Jesus (ROMANS 8:1), because in love “He himself bore our sins” (1 PETER 2:24).

BUT GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS OWN LOVE FOR
US IN THIS: WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS,
CHRIST DIED FOR US. ROMANS 5:8

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries