• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wyatt Graham

Faith | Books | Culture

  • About
  • Podcast
  • Column

How Does God’s Justice Work Out in the Old and New Testaments?

July 18, 2018 by wagraham Leave a Comment

In the Old Testament, God brought curses upon Israel for their sin. But in the New Covenant, Christ became the curse of the law for us. With that said, how exactly does God’s justice work out across the two Testaments? To answer this question, consider the following Q&A or catechetical style of instruction.

  1. Why did God afflict Israel? “Because of the abundance of her sins” (Lam 1:5).
  2. Why was affliction God’s mode of action? Because of the covenant with Israel (Lev 26; Deut 27–30).
  3. Does God afflict Christians today? He disciplines us, yes, but Christ suffered for our sins punitively.
  4. Why does God discipline Christians? Because “the Lord disciplines the one he loves” (Heb 12:6).
  5. Why is discipline God’s mode of action? For “discipline” or paideia (Heb 12:7).
  6. What does paideia mean? Paideia means educating and upbringing someone for their good.
  7. Did God ever discipline any Old Covenant believers in this way? Yes, but not according to the Mosaic covenant but according to grace and to his love for his creation.
  8. How does our discipline contrast with Israel’s affliction? God punishes Jesus in our place so that we can receive paideia in the New Covenant, while God brought curses on Israel according to the stipulations of the Old Covenant. 

In summary, God’s manifestation of justice in the Old Covenant follows his covenantal obligations to bring curses upon Israel when they sin. Since Christ took the curse for us and abolished the Old Covenant, now we have a New Covenant. In the New Covenant, God disciplines us for our growth. In the Old Covenant, God cursed Israel because of the covenant’s stipulations.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Filed Under: Theology

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Wyatt is the Executive Director of The Gospel Coalition Canada. He enjoys his family and writing. You'll generally find him hiding away somewhere with his nose in a book.

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Want articles in your e-mail? Sign up here!

What Socrates can Teach us About MAiD

January 29, 2023 By wagraham Leave a Comment

Is Song of Songs Allegorical? Five Questions I Might ask of the text

January 25, 2023 By wagraham Leave a Comment

Prosopology, Simply put

January 25, 2023 By wagraham Leave a Comment

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in