God is still holy and loving

I've found a couple of good posts recently on the holiness and immutability of God--how God didn't change between the Old Testament and the New.

John Luke writes about both the love and vengeance of God at Blogcorner Preacher:

God has always been, and will always be, first and foremost about love. That love includes judgment against those who deny Him. But it also includes divine compassion, love without equal, for the least of us.

Phil McAlmond writes on a similar theme at Winter's End:

From the very beginning, the ancient paths have always been the same, Listen to the voice of God, Obey the voice of God, walking in all that He commands and there, He will bless us His people. It is so very straight forward, Listen, Obey, doing the will, word and ways of God and He will be our God and we will be His people, prospering under His righteousness.

God has always been both holy and merciful. Let's remember that even though we're saved by grace, not works, God still wants us to live differently from the world: "My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:1&2-RSV).