Does the New Covenant Abolish God’s Law?

Whether the New Covenant abolishes God’s law has long been debated among Christians. Many believe that the advent of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross rendered the Ten Commandments obsolete.

Introduction

The establishment of the New Covenant is one of the most transformative events ever to impact humanity. It ushered in an era of infinite grace and redemptive power. Sin had completely overtaken our planet and alienated it from Heaven. We became the victims of Sin, bound by its rigorous and unyielding demands, unable to free ourselves from its death grip.

But where Sin did abound, God’s grace abounded evermore. The New Covenant completely remodeled the relationship between God and humans. The Covenant of hope, mercy, freedom, and everlasting life displayed God’s deep desire to restore and reconcile us to Himself.

The New Covenant symbolizes God’s ultimate triumph over sin. God Himself came down in human form in a stunning act of grace and faced sin head-on. He walked among us as the only human to live without yielding to sin’s relentless demands, securing a resounding victory over its power.

He paid the penalty for humanity’s sin through His blood, offering forgiveness and restoration. In doing so, He created a path to salvation, allowing all who believe to be reconciled to God and receive eternal life.

Christ came to redeem us from the punishment of breaking God’s Law – the Ten Commandments. He died in our place as an atoning substitute so that those who believe can be saved from God’s wrath against the transgressors of His Law.

Unfortunately, satan has created significant confusion among Christians by falsely claiming that through the New Covenant, Christ abolished the very Law that He died to uphold!

It is vital to clear the confusion and lies deliberately spread by our adversary, who has made it his mission to keep us out of Heaven. Satan despises God’s Law and is the instigator of the first rebellion against God. He deceived Adam and Eve to break God’s command, thereby inflicting sin and death on our world. He has caused many to misinterpret passages from the apostle Paul’s writings, such as:

• “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Colossians 2:14)

• “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances…” (Ephesians 2:15)

• “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14)

These verses are often used to argue that the Ten Commandments are no longer relevant. People claim that the New Covenant frees believers from observing God’s law entirely. However, these interpretations miss the deeper truth. Far from abolishing the law, the New Covenant magnifies its significance. This confusion arises from a deep misunderstanding of the Old and New Covenants and their relationship to the Law of God.

A correct understanding of the New Covenant reveals that Jesus’s sacrifice not only upheld God’s Law but enabled believers to live by its principles through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Much like the laws of gravity govern the physical world regardless of human belief, God’s moral law remains the foundation of righteousness and accountability.

The apostle James refers to it as “the law of liberty” (James 2:12), reminding us that God’s law is the standard by which we will be judged. This provides unmistakable proof that the Law has not been abolished but is still in force.

The widespread confusion about the relevance of God’s law often arises from a lack of clarity regarding the relationship between the Old and New Covenants. Many are misled into believing that the New Covenant abolished the law, but this could not be further from the truth.

This article will explore the covenants in detail, highlighting their distinctions and how the New Covenant, established by Christ, upholds and magnifies the Holy Law of God. We will also examine the deeper issue of human sinfulness and explain how Christ’s sacrifice offers forgiveness and empowers believers to live in harmony with God’s will through the New Covenant experience.

The Ten Commandments – The Everlasting Covenant between God and Humanity

A Covenant is a formally binding promise or oath between two parties to maintain peace and justice. In the Bible, God entered into covenants with His people to bless and guide them, with obedience being the condition for reward and disobedience resulting in punishment.

Throughout the Bible, we see that God is a covenant-keeping God. For example, He established covenants with Noah, Abraham, David, etc. This shows that God always enters a covenant relationship to safeguard, protect, and guide believers toward eternal life. However, people often miss the most important covenant that God made with humanity through Adam, the first man on Earth.

The original covenant was established in the Garden of Eden before Sin appeared. It was simple yet profound: Adam and Eve were to obey God’s instructions perfectly. If they obeyed, they would experience the reward of eternal life, abundance, and an unbroken direct fellowship with God. However, disobedience would lead to death and separation from God.

You might be asking, how do the Ten Commandments fit into this?

The answer lies in their deeper purpose: The Ten Commandments are not merely rules dictating what we should or shouldn’t do. They are not burdensome restrictions imposed by a God who wants to deny us joy and the pleasures of our flesh.

Instead, they reflect God’s holy character and embody the principles of Love, which serve as the foundation of His righteous, just, and loving governance.

To learn more about the role of the Ten Commandments in human salvation, please read the article “What are the Ten Commandments?”

The Ten Commandments, given at Mount Sinai, reaffirmed the principles already in place since Eden. Although formally given to Israel through Moses, the Ten Commandments have always existed right from Creation.

Exodus 34:28 explains that God wrote the Ten Commandments with His finger and gave them to Moses. The Ten Commandments are called “the words of the covenant” because they represent the core terms of the sacred agreement between God and Israel.

Jesus told the lawyer in Matthew 22:36-40 that the law of God was based on the principles of love. Although the Creation account does not explicitly list the full details of God’s law, its principles of Love for God and Love for others were applicable in the Garden of Eden.

Further evidence for the existence of the Law at Creation can be seen from the principles of accountability that God enforced on humanity through the forbidden tree test and the failure of Adam to adhere to God’s requirement, leading to a fall from grace into sin. The existence of sin presupposes the presence of God’s law because the Bible defines sin as the transgression of the law:

In Romans 5:12, Paul labels Adam’s disobedience as a sin. His sin brought death and separation from God into the world. His sinful nature passed onto all humans and resulted in everyone becoming a sinner.

And in Romans 5:13, Paul clarifies that we are not held accountable for sin if no law exists.

Yet Adam’s sin was imputed on him and others who came after him, as evidenced by the universal reign of death. This demonstrates that God’s law was already in effect at Creation.
In Romans 5:14, Paul explicitly describes Adam’s act as a transgression, and accountability to the Law brought death into our World.

Paul reaffirms in Romans 4:15 that transgression is only possible if there is a law to break:

This verse further proves that God’s law existed before the Fall, as Adam and Eve’s actions were considered transgressions. Without a law, their disobedience could not have been imputed as sin.

The following Benefits were given to Humanity as part of obeying the Everlasting Covenant of the Ten Commandments:

Humanity was granted dominion over the Earth.

In its original unfallen state, God designed the Earth to be a place of abundance, peace, and harmony, where humans were free from hardships and worry. Humanity was entrusted with stewardship over creation and would have been able to maintain this state of serenity if we had not broken the eternal covenant.

God freely granted the following blessings under the Adamic Covenant:

Humanity was given food without requiring hard labor

There was no need to struggle and toil to obtain food because the Earth provided readily available food.

Eternal life was given on condition of obeying the commandments of God.

God protected humanity in the Garden of Eden with no danger to life. There was no suffering, disease, or death. But all this changed when Adam disobeyed God’s will and ate from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:1-7).

If Adam had obeyed God and passed the test, he and his progeny would have been granted the right to the Tree of Life, thereby acquiring eternal life. But through disobedience, Adam broke the covenant and lost all the blessings of obeying God’s Law. The ground was cursed because of sin, and after the fall, humans had to labor through sweat and hard work to produce food from the Earth. The most devastating consequence was the spiritual separation of Humanity from God, which resulted in humanity losing access to the Tree of Life.

Fortunately, there is light at the end of the dark tunnel of Sin. And not all hope was lost for humanity, for God promised in the Garden of Eden that there would be healing and reconnection with God.

The last chapters of the Book of Revelation describe the restoration of humanity to its original state and explain how the effects of Sin will be reversed.

Interestingly, the tree of life reappears in the final chapters of Revelation right at the end of human disobedience, when humanity will be fully restored to God. We will again be granted free access to the Tree of Life due to Christ’s sacrifice. But notice that only those who keep God’s commandments can eat from the tree in the New Earth!

This means that the New Covenant does not abolish God’s Law and that keeping them is still required after Christ’s sacrifice!

Adam lost access to the Tree of Life through indulgence in sin. The right to eat from the Tree of Life would have been our natural right had Adam obeyed God.

It is incredible to note that even after Jesus’s atonement, overcoming sin by keeping God’s commandments is still a criterion for gaining eternal life! Jesus emphasized in Revelation 2:7 and Revelation 22:14 that living in obedience to God’s Commandments is still essential for entering Paradise and receiving the gift of eternal life.

Divine Judgment – The Consequence of Breaking the Law of God

The impact of sin extended far beyond Adam’s fall as humanity continued to violate God’s Everlasting Covenant. The enduring validity of God’s law can also be seen in the days of Noah. His generation disregarded God’s Law and lived in corruption and violence (Genesis 6:11-13). Their defiance led to divine judgment through the flood, which resulted from their collective disobedience.

Unfortunately, Isaiah 24:5 highlights the sobering truth that humans will continue to rebel against God’s law even at the end of time.

Scriptures are unambiguous that Humanity’s disregard for God’s commandments defiles the earth, and the breaking of His covenant brings judgment. Jesus Himself warned that the conditions of the end times would mirror those of Noah’s days:

The patterns of rebellion in Noah’s time echoed in Isaiah’s prophecy and Jesus’ teachings, serve as a warning for humanity today. The Ten Commandments remain an enduring standard of righteousness upheld and fulfilled through Christ.

Those who disregard this covenant face the certainty of divine judgment, but those who turn to God in faith find redemption and the power to live according to His law.

The Old Covenant = Salvation by works

The central idea of an Old Covenant mindset is that righteousness can be achieved through human ability by adhering to a prescribed set of laws, moral regulations, rituals, or sacrifices.

However, it is a fundamentally flawed concept because it assumes that eternal life or salvation is possible through the imperfect efforts of fallen human nature. The standard of God’s righteousness is so high that no matter how good an intention or conviction a sinful person has, they will never be able to please God and eradicate the stain of sin from their record.

Life is one of God’s most precious gifts to humanity. We instinctively protect, cherish, and strive to prolong it. From the youngest child to the oldest adult, people often do everything in their power to preserve their lives, whether through medical intervention, safety precautions, or simply by making choices that promote longevity.

But beneath this universal desire to live lies a deeper longing—a search for ultimate meaning, freedom, and a healthy, carefree, everlasting life. Unsurprisingly, humanity’s desire to survive and thrive goes beyond physical preservation. People are constantly seeking ways to secure their lives on earth and their eternal futures.

In many cultures and belief systems, this manifests as a drive to achieve salvation or eternal life through personal efforts, good deeds, or religious observances. These attempts to earn salvation through our efforts often stem from the philosophy of works-based righteousness, rooted in the Old Covenant, as the Bible refers to it.

Despite the devastating consequences of sin on the human mind and body, humanity often tries to save itself through an Old Covenant mindset. Throughout the ages, people have devised countless methods to bridge the gap between themselves and God—whether through rituals, sacrifices, acts of charity, or religious observance. But these efforts, no matter how sincere, always fall short. Why? Because sin requires a ransom that no human effort can ever pay. The price is too high, and our moral bankruptcy is too deep.

Once fallen, no one can keep God’s Law solely through their effort. No matter how hard we try, we will never be able to satisfy the high moral standard required by the Ten Commandments.

This is why the pursuit of salvation through works is futile. The very act of trying to “earn” salvation denies the reality that sin has left us in an unfathomable spiritual debt. We cannot pay the ransom ourselves because we are prisoners to sin, and no amount of good works can undo the chains that bind us.

Some people think that if God’s Law has been broken, and since God’s Law defines righteousness, then if they keep the Law, they can save themselves or somehow show God that they deserve to be saved. This, too, falls under the Old Covenant theology since this is, again, salvation through one’s work.

Unfortunately, no amount of good works can remove the stain of sin from us. A sinner can never become sinless in God’s eyes by keeping the Law. Because the Law only points out what sin is, it cannot convert a sinner into a sinless being.

The Inability of Human Flesh and a Carnal Mind to Keep God’s Law

Imagine you are merrily driving down the road and are suddenly pulled up by a cop claiming that you were wearing a blue shirt while driving and, therefore, broke the traffic rules.

And now you must pay the penalty for driving recklessly or be sent to jail for “breaking the law.” When you face the judge in court, you rightly argue that there is no such law demanding that a driver not wear a blue shirt, so how is it possible that you are guilty of transgression?

In a shocking turn of events, the judge dismisses your valid arguments as mere excuses and sentences you to jail. The police drag you away as you kick and scream that it’s unfair, protesting that no law deems your actions wrong, but your cries fall on deaf ears!

Was the judge fair and justified in jailing you for wearing a blue shirt while driving, despite no existing law declaring it a violation? Of course not. The same is true of God’s law. Many claim that the Ten Commandments existed only from Mount Sinai onwards and that they were never revealed or enforced before then.

In the article “What are the Ten Commandments?” we already discussed that the Bible defines sin as breaking God’s law. This means that the law was in force when Adam and Eve sinned because one cannot sin if there is no law, “for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).

How can Adam and Eve be punished for sinning if there was no law in place? It would be unfair, just like how it would be unjust for you to be arrested for breaking the law when there was no law to say that driving in a blue shirt is illegal!

But the Bible clearly states that the Commandments are the eternal moral standard for righteousness.

God’s Commandments are a reflection of His divine character, rooted in the principles of love for both God and fellow humans. These commandments were established and revealed as foundational truths in the Garden of Eden, even before Sin entered the world.

The apostle Paul explains in Scripture that every person who has ever lived is guilty of sin (Romans 3:23). This means we have all broken God’s Holy Law. God’s righteous judgment requires that we be punished with eternal death. (Romans 6:23)

The Only one who can save us from eternal death is the Eternal God Himself, whose Law we broke. God, due to His loving mercy and grace, made a plan to save us through the sacrifice of Christ under the New Covenant, but we humans, being sinful, have always worked at cross purposes to God in an attempt to save ourselves through our actions and good deeds.

Sin has affected every part of human nature, and attempts to achieve righteousness through our endeavors are doomed to failure. The Bible states that the law is “weak through the flesh” (Romans 8:3).

This is because the flesh is weak and incapable of producing the righteousness that God requires. No matter how sincere our good works or how disciplined our actions are, it is beyond our fallen nature to meet God’s perfect standard of holiness. The flesh lacks the strength to overcome sin, so our efforts fall short of what only divine grace can accomplish.

In Romans 7:12, Paul explains that the problem is not the Law because it is “holy, and just, and good,” and in Romans 7:14, “the law is spiritual,” but we are the problem because “I am carnal, sold under sin.” The law of God is spiritual and is meant for spiritual beings to maintain their uprightness before God and to define the boundaries that God has set for creatures.

Adam and Eve were created with a spiritual body and a spiritual mind, and were perfectly capable of keeping the Law of God. However, due to the fall, human flesh and mind degraded from a spiritual to a carnal state. In this sinful existence, no human could obey the spiritual requirements of the Ten Commandments.

The Bible explains that we are carnal and sold under sin, and Sin now lives within us.

Sin tempts and lures us through the desires of our sinful flesh, corrupting our minds and enslaving us to indulge in every evil, lustful, and animalistic instinct. As a result, Sin turns us into enemies of God, instilling hatred toward God and His sacred Law. Paul in Romans 8:7, 8 says that the carnal mind makes us rebel and resist God. Therefore, we can never please God or be reconciled if our minds are sinful.

A carnal mind is governed by base passions and driven to satisfy the desires and pleasures of the body. Sin, with its overpowering effect on the carnal mind and body, keeps us enslaved and shackled. It is like a virus that takes possession of a host and then feeds off relentlessly, only stopping once its victim is dead.

Paul vividly describes the struggle between the desire to keep God’s law and the inability to do so due to our sinfulness. He explains that even a sincere person, determined to follow God’s law, will fail if relying solely on human effort.

In Romans 7:23, Paul laments this inner conflict: “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

Here, Paul reveals that the sinful tendencies of the body wage war against “the law of the mind”—the genuine desire to obey God—and ultimately enslave it. The root of this struggle lies in our fallen nature. Our minds, corrupted by habitual sin, have become “carnal,” driven by fleshly desires that stand in opposition to God’s law.

In Romans 8:7, Paul declares, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” This carnal mind is not only resistant to God’s law; it is fundamentally hostile to it, incapable of aligning itself with God’s standards.

No matter how many sincere attempts we make, relying on our strength to win God’s favor or achieve righteousness through good works is futile. Human effort alone can never cleanse us from sin or satisfy the demands of God’s holiness.

Paul reveals that true righteousness is found only through faith in Christ, who fulfilled the law’s requirements on our behalf and provided the only efficacious atonement for our sins. Through His grace, we receive forgiveness and the transforming power to live a life pleasing to God, empowered by His Spirit rather than our limited abilities.

The New Covenant = Salvation by faith

The New Covenant, as promised in the Scriptures, is centered on salvation by faith rather than by works of the law.

It is based on God’s grace to save us through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Unlike the Old Covenant, which prompts fallen humans towards futile attempts to save themselves, the New Covenant is based on God’s promise to save us through faith in the perfect obedience, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Due to Jesus’s sacrifice, God can renew our spirits and write his laws upon them so that a change occurs within us internally.

In Jeremiah 31:31, God declares that He will establish a New Covenant with His people, writing His law in their hearts and minds, signifying a profound, internal transformation.

One key point from these verses is that the Law of God does not lose its importance under the New Covenant. Far from being nullified, God’s law is elevated to an even greater significance. Rather than being an external set of rules to follow, the Commandments are written directly on the minds and hearts of believers.

This internalization of God’s law signifies a profound transformation in the believer’s character, aligning their desires with God’s will. Through the New Covenant, God enables His people to naturally live in obedience, making His law the guiding principle of their lives.

The second important point is that the New Covenant is based on an infinitely better promise because God Himself ensures that the terms of the covenant are fulfilled. Unlike the Old Covenant, where the people continually failed to uphold their part of the agreement due to human weakness, the New Covenant is upheld by God’s faithfulness.

In this new arrangement, God takes the initiative, promising to forgive sins and transform hearts and empower believers through His Spirit. He ensures His people will not fall into sin, as He sustains them and leads them into righteousness.

As Ezekiel 36:26-27 affirms, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you… And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.” This beautiful concept is also explained in Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”

Through the Holy Spirit, God Himself ensures His people remain faithful, guiding them toward righteousness and upholding them through His transformative power.

This makes the New Covenant vastly superior, as it is grounded in God’s work to keep His people secure in a relationship with Him, guiding them continually toward His will and enabling them to live in true harmony with His Law.

The book of Hebrews highlights this truth in Hebrews 8:6-10:

In this passage, we see that the Old Covenant is insufficient because it depends on the people’s ability to keep God’s law on their own. The failure of Israel is a life lesson for the entire humanity to show us the need for a better covenant, one in which God Himself would take action to ensure obedience, not just by giving us a list of dos and donts, but by writing His Law of Love on the hearts and minds of the saved.

Salvation is free to all who believe in Christ, regardless of race, intellectual capabilities, physical abilities, or financial status. The giving of eternal life is not confined to a specific ethnic group or to those of a high social status. God’s grace is extended to all.

Paul captures this thought beautifully in Galatians 3:18

Christ’s sinless life broke down all barriers of division, making the path of eternal life accessible to all.

In the world’s eyes, wealth often signifies power and privilege, while poverty is seen as weakness and deprivation. But the Gospel creates a level playing field, turning this worldly perspective upside down by proclaiming that true riches are found in faith, humility, and dependence on God, where the wealthy and the poor stand equal before His grace.

Jesus famously exclaimed in Matthew 19:24, “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

In James 2:5, the Bible states:

It is essential to understand that eternal life is given freely through God’s grace and mercy under the New Covenant. No one can boast before God nor be proud because salvation is not earned by human effort or merit but is a gift made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ Teachings on the Law and Its Relation to the New Covenant

Jesus spoke a lot about the New Covenant, and His teachings were mainly focused on reorienting believers to honor God’s Law by embodying its true principles of love and compassion. His ideas were so profound and transformative that many overlook the fact that He did not teach a radically new concept but instead came to remind people of ancient wisdom that had been forgotten.

This idea of a “new” way of living in the Spirit wasn’t entirely new but rather an ancient concept that humanity had forgotten. For example, in the book of Deuteronomy, we see that God’s focus was not just on external observance of the Law but a heartfelt commitment to Him. Genuine love for God and others has always been central to God’s instructions for leading a righteous life.

Jesus came to guide the world in the correct way of keeping the Commandments. Jesus Himself affirmed the everlasting importance of the moral law. In Matthew 5:17-19, He said:

Many quickly seize verse 17 out of its context to claim that since Jesus claimed to have “fulfilled” the law, He meant it would be abolished because of His sacrifice and, therefore, no longer required to be kept. However, this is a wrong interpretation since the following few verses provide the context, showing that the opposite is true.

In verse 18, Jesus clearly emphasizes the enduring nature of the Law. He states that not even the minor aspect of the Ten Commandments can pass away until “all is fulfilled.” This was not a reference to the abolition of the commandments but to their ultimate fulfillment or goal in God’s redemptive plan.

To fulfill the Law in this context means that Jesus came to obey the requirements of the broken Law. The Law required the death of the sinner, and Jesus, being our representative, fulfilled its just requirement by paying the price of death on behalf of all humanity.

Furthermore, Jesus came to perfectly embody and live out the Commandments through a perfect, sinless life, setting an example for all of us. By doing this, He did not nullify the Law but exemplified it by living it to its full expression.

He showed how the Law is to be kept, i.e., not as an external obligation but through a heart and mind transformed by a Love for God and fellow humans. Jesus explained in no uncertain terms that till “heaven and earth” are destroyed, not even a tiny comma from the Law could be removed!

In verse 19, Jesus rebukes all those who claim that the Law is redundant and breaks even the “least” of all the commandments and encourages others to do the same. Jesus warns those who disregard and attack God’s Law that they will be considered as “least in the kingdom of Heaven”!

Jesus emphasized the unchanging and enduring nature of God’s Law even in Luke 16:17: “And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.”

According to Jesus, the Gospel does not abolish the Commandments. Their moral and ethical essence continues to hold weight and is not rendered obsolete under the New Covenant.

If the Law could be eliminated, then Jesus’s death would have been in vain because there would be no sin to atone for. Remember, Paul said in Romans 4:15, “…for where no law is, there is no transgression.”

When a rich young ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus responded, “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17).

This statement signifies the continued relevance of the Ten Commandments. They are not merely an Old Testament requirement but a timeless expression of God’s will for how we should live.

Jesus revealed the Spiritual Depth of the Law.

Rather than abolishing the Law, Jesus deepened its application by showing that it is not just about external actions but the state of the heart. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explained that anger without cause is equivalent to murder, and lustful thoughts are akin to adultery (Matthew 5:21-28). Jesus demonstrated that the law’s true intent is spiritual and reaches into our innermost thoughts and desires.

The New Birth: Entering the New Covenant

A crucial aspect of understanding the New Covenant is the concept of being “born again,” which Jesus explained in His conversation with Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Him by night. Jesus said to him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus was puzzled and asked, “How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” (John 3:4).

Jesus clarified, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6).

This new birth that Jesus spoke of is a spiritual transformation—a rebirth that marks the transition from the Old Covenant of human effort to the New Covenant of faith and divine empowerment.

God Gives Us a New Heart and the Mind of Christ

The new birth involves a radical change in our nature. Under the New Covenant, God promises to give us a new heart and put His Spirit within us. Ezekiel 36:26-27 describes this transformation:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

This promise is the foundation of the New Covenant. God’s work in us enables us to live in obedience to His commandments. The law is no longer an external code to be followed out of duty; it is written in our hearts, becoming a natural expression of our love for God and others.

In Philippians 2:5, Paul encourages us, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” Through the New Covenant, we are given the mind of Christ—a mind that delights in God’s law and desires to do His will.

Christ’s death and resurrection make this spiritual transformation possible. By accepting Christ, we are given a new heart and a new spirit, which enable us to live in obedience to God’s law. This is the essence of the New Covenant, in which God works within us so that we can keep His commandments.

The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit

The new birth or the born-again experience involves the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to live according to God’s will.

Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” The Holy Spirit works within us, transforming our desires and giving us the strength to live in accordance with God’s law.

This transformation is what allows believers to keep the law naturally and spiritually. Under the New Covenant, obedience is not about legalism or earning God’s favor but about living out the righteousness that God has already worked within us.

All three members of the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit work together for the salvation of every person who desires to be saved. This unity is beautifully expressed in the words of Jesus in John 14:16-17 and John 14:23.

This indwelling presence of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to keep God’s words expressed in His Ten Commandments and thus live in harmony with His will.

These words of Jesus clearly illustrate that the New Covenant is founded on better promises because all three members of the Godhead collectively work to fulfill the terms of the covenant, not only initiating it but empowering believers to uphold their part. This divine collaboration ensures God supports both sides of the covenant, making it truly transformative.

The Old and New Covenants came into existence at the Fall of Man.

To understand the concept of the Covenants, it is crucial to study the fall of Adam and Eve deeply. Right in the Garden of Eden, we can see the establishment of a work-based, self-reliant attitude towards salvation and another opposing idea of grace-based salvation that relies on faith and trust in a divine promise for salvation that involves a sacrificial effort from God.

In their sinless state, Adam and Eve had God’s commandments written on their hearts since they were created in God’s image. According to God’s original plan, humans were made with a spiritual mind and “soft hearts of flesh,” naturally inclined to obey the will of their Creator.

Adam and Eve did not know good and evil, and they were in perfect harmony with God’s Law since they had a genuine love for God and each other. But their life of innocence was cut short by their disobedience. As described in Genesis 3:7, their eyes were opened, and they gained knowledge of evil.

The fall had changed everything. Adam and Eve’s nature became corrupted and no longer sinless. Their inclinations were now toward sin, and as a result, neither they nor any of their descendants would be able to keep God’s law perfectly in their fallen state.

Being representatives of humanity, their wrong choices made the human heart “stony” and the human mind “carnal.” Sin contaminated human nature, making it naturally inclined towards hatred, evilness, and wickedness.

The first thing Adam and Eve realized after sin was that they were naked. In the Bible, nakedness represents unrighteousness and sinfulness, while white robes represent righteousness. Fig leaves often symbolize unrighteousness, an outward appearance of piety, and a life without the fruits of the Spirit.

Jesus demonstrated this symbolism in Mark 11:12-14, 20-21, where He cursed a fig tree with leaves but no fruit, representing the hypocrisy of outward religiosity without inner righteousness.

Similarly, in the parable of the barren fig tree (Luke 13:6-9), the absence of fruit signifies a lack of the Spirit’s transformative work in a person’s life. Using the fig leaves, Adam and Eve demonstrated that they had lost the natural righteousness God had gifted them at their creation.

In a hopeless attempt to hide their sin and the loss of the “spiritual fruits of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-23), they attempted to regain their “lost righteousness” by weaving themselves garments made out of fig leaves.

This profoundly symbolic reaction aptly represents a sinful being’s natural reaction to sin, which is to solve the consequences of sin through a human effort to make oneself appear holy.

It echoes the Old Covenant principle, in which sinful people try to atone for their sins and achieve perfection through their actions or perceived good deeds.

Genesis 3:7 states, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”

In contrast, God’s response to their sin showcases an opposite approach to atonement from sin.

Genesis 3:21 tells us, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

This act of clothing them with animal skins was not just a practical measure; it symbolized the shedding of blood, pointing forward to the sacrificial system that would be fully realized in the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The provision of garments involving the death of an animal prefigures the concept of substitutionary atonement, in which an innocent life is sacrificed to clear the guilt of another’s sin.

Hebrews 9:22 states, “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

By giving Adam and Eve garments of skin, God was teaching humanity the essential truth that forgiveness and redemption come through the shedding of Jesus’ blood.

This foreshadows the New Covenant, where salvation comes not through human works but through faith in the sacrifice made by Christ, who, through perfect obedience to the Law, made it possible for us to be saved.

Revelation 13:8 explains this concept when it declares Jesus as “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

This verse highlights that God’s plan for redemption was established from the beginning, indicating that the New Covenant was always part of His divine purpose.

The contrast between fig leaves and garments made from animal skins speaks volumes about the two covenants. The Old Covenant, symbolized by the fig leaves, shows humanity’s inadequate attempts to earn righteousness through deeds and rituals.

Isaiah 64:6 reminds us that human efforts alone can never genuinely cover sin.

Cain and Abel: The Two Paths to Salvation

The story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 reveals a profound lesson about the two covenants, one based on faith and the other on works.

Verses 5 and 7 indicate that Cain and Abel had been taught what is acceptable and pleasing to God. They would have learned from their parents about the lesson that God taught them that without shedding blood, there can be no forgiveness for sin.

Notice that Cain brought a sacrifice to God, so he was interested in earning salvation, but his approach was rejected because he did not seek to please God through faith.

He tried to earn God’s favor through his deeds rather than trusting God and relying on the sacrifice of an animal since it pointed forward to Jesus, who was the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

He used his human intellect and probably reasoned that it was logical, easier, and more efficient for him to bring the labor of his hard work, the “fruit of the ground,” as an offering unto the Lord.”

Cain tried to use his talents, achievements, and efforts to secure salvation. His way represented human effort and works-based righteousness, essential to the Old Covenant approach to salvation, which God did not accept.

Abel, on the other hand, brought “of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.” His offering was an act of faith, recognizing that sin required a substitutionary sacrifice.

He expressed his faith in God’s provision and acknowledged the insufficiency of human works. Abel’s faith demonstrates his understanding of the New Covenant principle by not relying on personal accomplishments for salvation but instead trusting in divine grace and God’s promise of salvation through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Hebrews 11:4, “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”

The Story of Ishmael and Isaac: A Lesson in Human Effort vs Divine Grace

The contrasting births of Ishmael and Isaac provide another powerful illustration of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant approach to salvation. These two sons of Abraham symbolize two opposing ways of pleasing God, one based on human effort and the other on divine promise.

Sarah had been barren for many years and was advanced in age, which made it seem impossible for her to conceive a child from a human perspective.

But God had other plans. Not only did He promise Abraham a son through Sarah, He also told Abraham that he would have descendants as numerous as the stars (Genesis 15:5)

But when the fulfillment seemed delayed, Sarah suggested that Abraham have a child with Hagar, her Egyptian servant. And in doing so, she demonstrated her impatience and lack of faith in God.

Thus, Ishmael was born because Abraham and Sarah tried to fulfill God’s promise through their efforts, reflecting the Old Covenant approach of works-based righteousness.

In contrast, Isaac was born because of God’s promise and power. Sarah was well past the age of childbearing, yet she conceived Isaac miraculously. His birth demonstrated that salvation is not achieved by human effort but by trusting in God’s provision and grace.

Paul elaborates in Galatians 4:28, explaining that believers, like Isaac, are the children of promise. Isaac symbolizes the New Covenant, where salvation is a gift received through faith in God’s promise, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Paul explicitly connects the story of Ishmael and Isaac to the two covenants in Galatians 4:22-26, proving that the two covenants existed long before the nation of Israel even existed.

He explains that Hagar represents the Old Covenant, given at Mount Sinai, as it demonstrates a human attempt to fulfill God’s promise of salvation. However, this approach is doomed to failure because it always results in human bondage to sin.

On the other hand, Sarah represents the New Covenant, which is based on the heavenly Jerusalem. It means grace and freedom where believers rely on God’s provision of salvation through Christ.

The Patriarchs were justified by their Faith

Faith, not works, justified the Patriarchs of the Bible, and their relationship with God was grounded in trust, humility, and reliance on His promises.

Genesis 15:6 states, “And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”

This principle of faith as the foundation of righteousness is echoed in Romans 4:3-5,

God’s covenant with Abraham was based on His promises, not human effort. In Genesis 17:7, God declared, “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.”

This everlasting covenant of faith, rooted in God’s grace, was extended to Isaac and Jacob. In Genesis 26:4-5, God reaffirmed the covenant to Isaac, saying,

“And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Likewise, the promise was passed to Jacob in Genesis 28:13-15, where God said,
“I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed… And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest.”

The book of Hebrews highlights the faith of these patriarchs as central to their relationship with God. In Hebrews 11:8-10, we are reminded of Abraham’s obedience by faith:

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

Isaac and Jacob’s faith is also commended in Hebrews 11:20-21: “By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.”

Their lives demonstrate trust in God’s promises and reliance on His faithfulness, which is the essence of the covenant God desired to establish with their descendants. Long before God ratified the Old Covenant with the children of Israel, He was already teaching and saving the forefathers of the Israelites through faith in His righteousness, not through works.

Are the Ten Commandments abolished under the New Covenant?

From Hebrews 9:15, 16, we learn that Jesus’s death was essential for establishing the New Covenant, also called the New Testament. The passage highlights Christ’s death to save us from transgressions under the First Testament.

The Bible further clarifies in Isaiah 53:5 that Jesus took the punishment for our transgressions upon Himself so that we might be saved.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a “transgression” is the act or process of breaking a law or moral rule. This aligns with Paul’s teaching in Romans 4:15, where he says that a transgression only exists when a Law is in place.

This raises an important question: Which Law did humanity break that required a penalty of death, which Jesus paid on our behalf?

We don’t need to guess because Paul explains in Romans 7:7 that the only way to know or define sin is the Law of God. He quotes the 10th commandment of the Law, which forbids coveting, as an example to clarify that the Law he refers to is the 10 Commandments.

This implies that Jesus suffered and died because humanity violated God’s Holy Law.

The healing and salvation that Jesus offers are based on His fulfillment of the Law’s requirements. Without the Commandments, there would be no standard to identify sin. If the Decalogue were abolished after Jesus’ death, sin would lose its definition, as it is known as the violation of God’s Holy Law.

Jesus came to defeat sin, not to remove its definition! It is essential to recognize that sin harmed us, not God’s Law. The fact that Jesus died for us proves the importance of His Law. He came to meet the demands of the Law, which required the death of humanity.

2 Corinthians 5:14 states that by dying, Christ died for all of humanity and thus fulfilled the ultimate requirement of the Law.

In fallen humanity, Sin became even more effective and deadly through the law and made us do more evil. Sin uses the Law as a beating stick to dig our grave even deeper into the pits of hellfire!

Thus, the Law becomes Sin’s weapon to ensure that a person remains spiritually dead. The Law, meant to help sinless beings maintain their righteousness, has become a lethal tool for humanity’s downfall.

So the question arises: Is the law to blame? Is the Law responsible for Sin? Is the Law evil? Should we get rid of the Law to solve the sin problem?

Since no one can fully keep the Law on his own, is the Law of God flawed and the source of evil? The apostle Paul answers this question directly in Romans 7:7,12,14,18

Paul clarifies that the Law is not sin but rather reveals sin. The Ten Commandments distinguish righteousness from iniquity, holiness from wickedness. They act as a mirror that exposes the sinfulness within us.

The Law is not some set of arbitrary and temporary rules God gave that can be changed or removed. It is not a list of dos and don’ts but a reflection of God’s Holy and eternal character. The Law reveals the depth of human sin and the impossibility of earning salvation through works, paving the way for God’s solution through the Gospel. Romans 3:20 states, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

God’s character is perfect, holy, and unchanging. And His Law reflects these attributes. In Leviticus 19:2, God says, “Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.” The Law is rooted in God’s holiness, showing us what it means to live in a way that pleases Him.

The Law reveals humanity’s sinfulness and tells the truth that we cannot save ourselves. It shows us that salvation through works is unachievable.

It forces us to look towards God and plead with the Holy One to redeem our souls!

Grace Establishes the Law

Romans 6:14-15 is often misunderstood as implying that the New Covenant has abolished God’s Law. However, when interpreted in context, Paul’s words reveal the opposite as true.

Paul writes:

To grasp Paul’s meaning, it is crucial to understand the contrast he draws between being “under the law” and being “under grace.” The phrase “not under the law” does not mean freedom from keeping the Law for that would mean a license to sin. Paul described sin as breaking the Law of God in Romans 7:7 and Romans 4:15.

The Grace of God empowers us to live in harmony with God’s Law and enables us to fulfil the righteousness that the Law requires through the promise of God under the New Covenant. Before living by faith, we were all under the condemnation of the Law, as Paul explains in Romans 3:19:

By contrast, to be “under grace” means to be freed from the condemnation and penalty of the law through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Grace is God’s unmerited favor that forgives sin, reconciles us to Him, and empowers us to live in obedience. Being liberated from punishment does not permit us to disregard the moral authority of the Law.

Paul elaborates on the nature of our freedom in Romans 6:20-22:

Before receiving grace, humanity was enslaved to sin, unable to live righteously or produce the fruits of holiness. To be “free from righteousness” is to be dominated by sin, living in rebellion against God’s law. However, grace transforms this condition. It delivers believers from the bondage of sin and enables them to live as servants of God, bearing the fruits of holiness and righteousness.

This transformation demonstrates that grace is not opposed to the Law but works in harmony with it. The Law reveals God’s righteous standard, and grace empowers believers to meet that standard not through their strength but through the work of the Holy Spirit within them.

Under the law, sin dominates because the law exposes sin but provides no power to overcome it. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.” Grace, however, breaks sin’s dominion by offering forgiveness and the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, enabling believers to overcome sin’s influence.

Under grace, the law shifts from a condemning judge to a guiding standard. In Romans 7:12, Paul affirms, “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” The problem is not with the law but with sin, which exploits it to bring condemnation. Grace restores the believer’s relationship to the law, enabling them to delight in it (Romans 7:22) and fulfill it through love (Romans 13:10).

Paul’s teachings consistently affirm the enduring validity of God’s law. In Romans 3:31, he declares:

Faith and grace do not abolish the law but uphold and establish it. The New Covenant fulfills the law’s purpose by writing it on the hearts and minds of believers (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10). Through grace, the moral requirements of the law are internalized, and obedience flows as a natural response to the love and salvation received in Christ.

Conclusion – The New Covenant Upholds God’s Law

The Old Covenant, emphasizing human effort, was never intended to bring salvation. Instead, it pointed to the need for a Savior, a need fulfilled in Jesus Christ through the New Covenant. This covenant, based on faith in God’s work, has always existed and was ratified at the cross, where Jesus paid the penalty for our sins and made it possible for us to receive His righteousness.

The New Covenant, established by Jesus Christ, does not abolish God’s law but fulfills and upholds it. Through the new birth, God transforms our hearts and gives us His Spirit, enabling us to obey His commandments. The Ten Commandments, far from being obsolete, remain the moral standard for Christian living, reflecting God’s eternal character and will.

The law is spiritual and was designed for life, but our sinful, carnal nature made us incapable of keeping it. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided a way for us to be reconciled to God, giving us a new heart and the mind of Christ so that we could keep the law through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If the law had been abolished, Jesus’ death would have been in vain. However, because the law is eternal, Jesus’ death and resurrection made it possible for us to live in accordance with God’s will, empowered by His Spirit.

In this Covenant of Grace, obedience to God is not about following rules or commandments in a legalistic manner to earn His favor or approval. Legalism focuses on outward compliance to the law, often believing that strict adherence is necessary to secure a right standing with God. This approach emphasizes human effort and performance.

However, through Divine Mercy, the emphasis shifts to a relationship based on faith and grace. Obedience becomes a natural result of the transformation that God performs within the believer. This is possible because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, who works to align our hearts and desires with God’s will.

Under the New Covenant, righteousness is not earned but freely given. The righteousness of Christ is imparted to believers, and it is from this righteousness that true obedience flows. The Law reveals sin and points to the need for a Savior, while grace provides the means of salvation and transformation. Together, they guide believers into a life that reflects God’s holiness and love.