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John 1:17 says, “For
the law was given through Moses; grace and
truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Jesus instituted the New ‘eternal’
Covenant with his disciples the night before
He died.
Luke 22:19-20 says,
“And he took bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and gave it to them,
saying, “This is my body, which is given for
you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And
likewise the cup after they had eaten,
saying, “This cup that is poured out for you
is the new covenant in my blood.”
Ancient covenants were sealed with blood
(Ex. 24:8; Lev. 17:11-14) and Jesus’ blood
is the sacrificial blood that sealed the New
Covenant that was poured out in His death.
Unlike the Old Covenant sacrifices that were
only temporary, the blood of Jesus' New
Covenant covers everyone who accepts Him as
Lord and Savior (Luke 22:19; Mark 14:24; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
To understand the Old
and New Covenants, we need to first
understand what the word covenant means. In
basic terms, a covenant is a formal legal
agreement. It may be an agreement between
two people, a treaty between nations, or a
relationship between God and a human
individual or nation. A covenant is more
personal than a contract, it involves
loyalty and allegiance, not just a financial
exchange between business partners.
The Mosaic Covenant was one of several
ethical codes of conduct that God gave
throughout human history. God gave commands
(codes of conduct) to Adam and Eve living in
the Garden of Eden (Gen. 1:26-30; 2:15-17).
God also gave commands to Noah (Gen. 6-9)
and to Abraham (Gen. 12:1; 17:10-14; 26:5).
The Mosaic code contained all the 613 laws
of the Old Covenant (Exodus - Deuteronomy)
[1] and today we live under the New
Covenant, the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Rom. 8:2). The New Covenant
contains hundreds of specific commands
recorded in the New Testament. [2]
Each covenant is a new legal contract. A
contract must have all of its requirements
clearly defined in the contract. Each
covenant can use elements from previous
covenants, reapply them, omit them
completely and give new laws. The laws found
in the Mosaic Covenant were done away with
in their entirety as a legal code. It has
been replaced by the law of Christ.
The Mosaic Law was only a temporary covenant
and brought nothing to fulfillment (Gal. 3:23-24; Matt. 5:17). The New Covenant is
better than the old because it assures us of
complete forgiveness and brings us into the
very presence of God, something the Old
Covenant could never do (Heb. 3:6; 8:6-8; 9:15-20; 2 Cor. 3:6-11).
The Levitical priesthood was set aside since
it was unable to accomplish God’s saving
purpose because of its "weakness and
uselessness" (Heb. 7:11-12). Only Jesus’
work on the cross could bring people to
perfection (Heb. 7:11; 9:9; 10:1). Unlike
the Levitical priesthood, Jesus’ priesthood
was final because the sacrifice that he made
on our behalf was perfect. Jesus as our new
high priest has accomplished “eternal
salvation to all who obey him” (Heb. 5:9).
Hebrews 10:4-10 says, “For it is
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats
to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when
Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not
desired, but a body have you prepared for
me; 6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure. 7 Then I said,
‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the
book.’” 8 When he said above, “You have
neither desired nor taken pleasure in
sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings
and sin offerings” (these are offered
according to the law), 9 then he added,
“Behold, I have come to do your will.” He
does away with the first in order to
establish the second. 10 And by that will we
have been sanctified through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Hebrews 7:12 says, “For when
there is a change in the priesthood, there
is necessarily a change in the law as well.”
The Old Covenant only prefigured what was
to come, it was not the substance, Christ
is! The laws of the Mosaic Covenant were
temporary; they served as veiled word-pictures of
what Christ would do for us. They were a
pale reflection of what was to come. The
Bible calls them shadows, Hebrews 10:1 says,
“For since the law has but a shadow of the
good things to come instead of the true form
of these realities, it can never, by the
same sacrifices that are continually offered
every year, make perfect those who draw
near.” Shadows are not solid or permanent,
they only exist because some real object has
cast the shadow. The Old Covenant ceremonies
were merely shadows pointing forward to
Jesus Christ, he is the substance. Now that
He has come, the Old Covenant ceremonies
have served their purpose and been made
obsolete by the New Covenant (Col. 2:16-17;
Heb. 8:5; 8:6-13; 10:1).
The
sacrificial system given to Israel in the Mosaic
covenant prefigured Christ's ultimate
sacrifice of himself on our behalf. The
imperfect animal sacrifices could not purify
anyone who offered them completely. If they
had been able to do so, they would have
ceased altogether. The annual sacrifice on
the Day of the Atonement was a yearly
reminder of the people's sinfulness; in
Christ, we have our sins are complete
forgiven. Hebrews 8:12 says, “For I will be
merciful toward their iniquities, and I will
remember their sins no more” (cf. Rom. 11:27; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 10:17).
A better covenant!
Hebrews 7:22 says, “This makes Jesus the
guarantor of a better covenant.”
With
the New Covenant we have a new legal code,
the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:21; 2 Cor. 3:4-18;
Rom. 8:2; Heb. 7:19, 22; 8:1-4).
Jesus came to give us
new commands to live by.
The
Apostle John repeatedly said we need to keep the
commands of Jesus. Those who love Christ
will obey His commands and experience the
Father's love and presence personally.
In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love
me, you will keep my commandments.”
God’s love will reign in our hearts
and empower us to love others.
John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered him,
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we will
come to him and make our home with him” (cf.
John 14:21; 15:10; 1 Jn. 2:3; 5:3; 2 Jn. 1:6).
In all of these verses, the
disciples' love for Christ is revealed by
their obedience to his commands. Christ has set
the pattern of love and obedience and his
disciples are expected to follow His
example.
Love is the
fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8).
The
Apostle John said many times in his writings that we are to
keep the commandments (John 12; 14; 15;
1 Jn. 2:3-4; 3:22-24; 4:21; 5:2-3; 2 Jn. 1:4-6; Rev. 12:17; 14:12; 22:14);
but what exactly does John mean by his use
of the word, “commandments”?
John used different Greek words for “law”
and “commandments” consistently in all of
his writings.
When John is
speaking about the Old Covenant law he uses
the Greek word “nomos” exclusively (John 1:17, 45; 7:19). Some of the other Bible
authors did on occasion use the Greek word
entolē to refer to the Law but John never
did! John used entolē in Revelation 12:17; 14:12 and Revelation 22:14 to refer to the
commandments of God. John always used the
Greek word entolē to mean a “moral and
religious precept, regulation or command”.
John never said that we have to keep the Ten
Commandments from the Old Covenant Law to be
saved under the New Covenant. We are told to
keep the “precepts”, “commands” and
“regulations” of God under the terms of the
New Covenant. [3]
The New
Covenant replaced the Old Covenant.
The Law of Moses was God’s exhaustive
and indivisible law under the Old Covenant
(James 2:10; Gal. 5:3) that was summed up in
the Ten Commandments (Ex. 34:28) and was the
legally binding agreement made with the
nation of Israel alone (Ex. 19:5-6; 24:3).
It was temporary in its duration (Heb. 7:11-12; Col. 2:14), and it was brought to
completion by the blood of Jesus Christ
(Rom. 10:4; Matt. 5:17-18; Col. 2:14-17).
Look at how the New Testament
describes the function of the Old Covenant
Law.
The Old Covenant law
was given to Israel alone and was never meant for the Gentiles (Rom. 2:14-15; 9:3-5; 1 Cor. 9:20-21).
The law was given to reveal our sinful
nature and to lead us to Christ (Gal. 3:19-22; Rom. 3:19-20; 5:20; 7:5-7; 8:7; 1 Tim. 1:8-11; Heb. 7:11-19), not to justify
us.
The law only has the power to
produce death for those who do not keep it
perfectly (Rom. 5:20-21; 7:5; 10:5; James 2:8-10; Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26).
The
law was only a temporary guardian, given to
watch over God’s people until we could be
made new in Christ (Rom. 7:1-12; Gal. 3:23-25).
Christians have never been
under the authority of the Old Covenant law
(Rom. 6:14-15; 7:1-6; 10:4; 2 Cor. 3:4-18;
Gal. 3:23-26; 4:21-31; 5:1-4; 5:18).
None of the ceremonial requirements of the
Old Covenant are required in the New
Covenant (Col. 2:14-17; Eph. 2:15; Gal. 3; 4:9-11; Heb. 8:7-13; Rom. 14:5; Acts 15).
As a New Covenant believer, we are under
God's grace, not the Old Covenant law (Matt. 11:28-30; 12:1-8;
Acts 15:1-28; Col. 2:14-17; Gal. 4:10-11; 5:18; Rom. 6:14; 14:5-12;
Eph. 2:11-18; 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Heb. 3:7-4:13; 10:23-25).
Christ’s followers are
called to live a new life of liberty and
told to have Christ’s divine love as their
driving motivation (Gal. 5:1-14).
Christians are told to live their lives
under the power and control of the Holy
Spirit who promises to live inside of them (Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16).
People will sometimes
ask, “If the Old Covenant commandments are
not to be followed, is it okay for us to
commit adultery, kill, or steal”?
No, it is not. We are under a New
Covenant now, not the old. In fact, nine of the Ten
Commandments are included in and enlarged
upon in the New Covenant. They apply to
Christians, not because they were in the Old
Covenant, but because they are commanded of
us in the new.
Christians are not without a law to live by. In fact, we
live by a higher law, the Law of Christ. The
moral obligations of the New Covenant are
superior to the Old Covenant in every way.
1 John 3:15 says, “Everyone who hates
his brother is a murderer, and you know that
no murderer has eternal life abiding in
him.”
The Apostle John was in
agreement with Jesus’ teaching that outward
conformity to God’s commandment, “You shall
not murder,” is not nearly enough (Matt. 5:22-28; cf. Exodus 20:13). What matters is
what is going on in our hearts! When you
hate someone it violates the command not to
murder just as if you had already taken that
person's
life. And 1 Peter 4:15 says, “But let none of
you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an
evildoer or as a meddler.”
Remember,
we are not saying there is no covenant
anymore; what we are saying is we are under
a completely different covenant than Israel
was that has a different set of laws
altogether.
Christians are
told to keep what Paul calls, the “law of
Christ.”
Paul says in his epistle to the Galatians
that the law given to Israel on Mount Sinai
has no authority over anyone who believes in
Jesus Christ, either Jew or Gentile (Gal. 2:15-21; 3:10-14; 3:23-26; 4:4-5; 4:21-5:6).
Next, Paul told the Galatians to act
ethically and walk by God's Spirit (Gal. 5:16-18; 5:25; 6:8). Finally, Paul said in
Galatians 6:2 that we are to, “Bear one
another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ.”
The law of Christ is what
Jesus said were the two greatest
commandments in Mark 12:28-31, “Which
commandment is the most important of all?”
Jesus answered, “The most important is,
‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord
is one. And you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your
strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall
love your neighbor as yourself.”
The law of Christ then, is to love
God with all of our heart's and to love our
neighbors as we love ourselves.
The law of Christ is the only
legally binding law for the New Covenant believer (Gal. 6:2; Rom. 6:14; 1 Cor. 9:19-23). It is
made up of the law of love (Matt. 5:44; Gal. 6:2; James 2:8; Rom. 13:8-10), Christ’s
commands and teachings (John 13:34; Phil. 2:4-12; Matt. 28:20; 2 Pet. 3:2), and the
commands and teachings taught by Christ’s
apostles in the New Testament epistles (Acts 1:1-2; 2 Pet. 3:2; Eph. 2:20; Jude 1:17;
1 Jn. 5:3).
Christ has done it all
for us! Jesus made a complete
remission of sins for all those who trust
in Him alone for their salvation. He paid the price for our redemption
with His own blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19) and
freed us from sin's curse and the demands of
the Old Covenant Law to become the children
of God when we accept Jesus Christ as our
Lord and Savior (Gal. 3:13; 4:5). The Old
Covenant sacrifices were unable to
completely atone for a person's sin; the sacrifice
Jesus made sets aside all of the Old
Covenant practices and secures the total
forgiveness and sanctification for all those
who believe (Heb. 10:1-18).
The Old Covenant law was a burden too heavy
for anyone to try to bare.
Matthew 11:28-30
says, “Come to me, all who labor and are
heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I
am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will
find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus
invites everyone who is weary and burdened
to come and follow Him to find rest for
their souls. His yoke is much easier to bare
than the legalistic religion of the scribes
and Pharisees (Mark 7:2-8; Acts 15:1-10;
Gal. 5:1-6). If you put your trust in Jesus
Christ and keep His commands, He will give you rest
from the heavy burden of sin and the
impossible demands of trying to keep the Old
Covenant law.
God’s desire is
to transform us into Christ’s likeness.
Second Timothy 1:9 says, God ”who saved
us and called us to a holy calling, not
because of our works but because of his own
purpose and grace, which he gave us in
Christ Jesus before the ages began,” And
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 says, “But we ought
always to give thanks to God for you,
brothers beloved by the Lord, because God
chose you as the firstfruits to be saved,
through sanctification by the Spirit and
belief in the truth. 14 To this he called
you through our gospel, so that you may
obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The righteous requirements of
the law are fulfilled in us when we walk
according to God’s Spirit.
Romans 8:1-4
says, “There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life
has set you free in Christ Jesus from the
law of sin and death. 3 For God has done
what the law, weakened by the flesh, could
not do. By sending his own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he
condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that
the righteous requirement of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not according
to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is the one
who empowers us
to live lives pleasing to God!
John 15:10 says, “If
you keep my commandments, you will abide in
my love, just as I have kept my Father’s
commandments and abide in his love.”
Remember, love is the fulfillment of the law
(Romans 13:8-10).
References:
1.
A List of the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments)
2.
The 1050 New Testament Commands
3.
A word study on the Greek words, “nomos” and
“entolē”
See also:
The People of God in History
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The Sabbath In the Old and New Covenants
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The End of the Law |
The Old Covenant Law has Come to an End
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The Old and New Covenants are not the same
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Christians are Told to Live by the Law of
Christ
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