New Covenant

Relevant Bible Verses

1) Gal 2:16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

2) Gal 3:25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

3) Rom 8:2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

4) Heb 8:5 Who serve the example and shadow of the heavenly things,

5) Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second.

Someone once asked me why I still quote Old Testament verses in my blog if I claimed that Christians today are no longer bound by the law (Mosaic Law).

Well, in order for us to fully understand the purpose and the complete vision of God’s eternal plan, we need to see the whole spectrum of the Kingdom of God. In other words, we need to know the past so that we can appreciate the presence and the eternity future. The Alpha (α) and Omega (Ω).

The question here is if believers of Christ are still under the law of the Old Testament, i.e. Mosaic Law.

In Galatians 2:16 and 3:25 the apostle Paul was very clear about this issue. He said that we are not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Christ. Christ through His coming, human living, dying on the cross and resurrection had been completely perfected, equipped, and qualified to be our divine High Priest (Heb 7:28). By our first step of faith in accepting Christ as our Lord and personal Savior, He has already set us free by the renewing in the Spirit of life, redeeeming us from the bondage of sin and death.

The writer of Hebrews has taken a great deal of time explaining in detail that the old system (law) is but only a “copy and shadow of the heavenly things,” (Heb 8:5). In this passage he further said it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away the sin forever.

Under the old covenant the people of God practiced sprinkling of the blood of bulls and goats in the Holy of Holies through the high priest to cover their sins. This they repeated endlessly year after year. It is known as the atonement of sin, i.e. covering but not the redemption of sin (see article Atonement vs Redemption). Christ came to replace the old covenant with the new covenant. In the new covenant, the Lord is our God not according to the law of letters whereby knowledge of the law was recognized. God through Christ has achieved the abundance of eternal life by inward ability of life and faith. If the first covenant (Mosaic Law) was perfect, there was no need for Christ to introduce the new covenant (Heb 8:7).

Many Christians today are still holding on to the law and thereby neglected to recognize the power of the blood of Christ. Christ came to complete the law and takes away the “first that He may establish the second. By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”. (Heb 10:9-10). When the priesthood is transferred, there comes into being the transfer of law as well (Heb 7:12).

I wish many Christians could really understand what the writer of Hebrews was pointing to here and apply it to the whole Mosaic Law, they would be free indeed! No more under the bondage of the law which lead to death but faith which leads to eternal life. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6)

We should simply take Christ and enjoy them. By taking in Christ, we allow God to impart life into us. Praise the Lord! Sin has been put away once for all, and we are regenerated with the divine life of Christ. It is a matter of inner life, not a matter of the outer knowledge. Under the new covenant, God does not deal with us according to the outward regulations but according to the inward laws of life – sense of life.

We must proclaim, “O Lord Jesus, You are my Savior. I believe in You. Thank You for Your blood and for Your washing.”

The law is only a copy and shadow, but Christ is REAL!