STUFF ABOUT GOD AND CHRISTIANITY | Dr. Ron Braley
Many Christians say they’re “no longer under the Old Covenant Law.”
That’s mostly true.
However, the statement downplays the law’s importance and ignores the need to follow its moral teachings.
Here, we’ll examine both the Old and New Covenant laws.
First, why are laws necessary? Why do we have laws?
Boundaries are everywhere. Traffic laws help keep us safe on the road.
Others protect communities from harm. This is true even in the animal kingdom. For example, I saw an elephant herd temporarily expel a young male that was getting “frisky” with already spoken-for females.
Laws also helped Israelites honor God and love people.
Old Covenant Law
First, a better translation of “law” is “instruction.” The Old Covenant version consisted of 613 instructions, starting with the Ten Commandments. Second, there were three types of instructions: civil, religious and moral. Civil instructions addressed issues such as handling corpses, sexual immorality and other community safety measures. Religious instructions directed people to serve God, and an abundant life in ancient Israel depended on meditating on the law’s commandments and obeying them (Deuteronomy 30:8, Joshua 1:8).
Although New Covenant Christians are no longer bound by Old Covenant civil or religious laws (Romans 7:6, Galatians 5:18), moral guidance—such as most of the Ten Commandments—is still relevant. These principles continue to apply (in other words, you don’t have a green light to murder someone).
Old Covenant instructions served another purpose: to establish an impossible standard.
Breaking the rules became a sin that could cause physical or spiritual death, emphasizing the need for a remedy
(Romans 5:20-21, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57).
Now, there is a New Covenant Law that fulfills the Old Covenant’s civil and religious instructions and offers the cure for sin.
New Covenant Law
The relationship with God, as outlined in the old and new covenants, is a continuum from the old to the new. The new doesn’t erase the old (Romans 3:31) and offers the solution for our inability to perfectly follow the old law of God: Jesus, through whom grace and truth are made known (John 1:17). Through him, those led by the Spirit by faith are justified before God.
This isn’t achieved by merely following the Old Covenant’s civil and religious rules (Romans 7:4-7, Galatians 2:16 and 5:18). But don’t be fooled: Belief and action go hand in hand (Romans 2:13, James 2:14-26).
A belief that produces no results is worthless to God and will lead to wrath at the end of the world (John 15, Matthew 25:31- 46).
Summary
Christians no longer follow the Old Covenant’s civil and religious rules, but they still need to adhere to many of its moral principles. And the New Covenant’s instructions to honor God and love others (relational terms and conditions) must be obeyed … or else.
What’s next? Let’s address the one Old Covenant Law that New Covenant pastors often drag kicking and screaming into the church: tithing.
Blessings and peace.
Braley, a locally based minister, Air Force veteran, husband and father, earned a Master of Divinity degree from Regent University in 2018 and a Doctor of Ministry from the same school in 2021.
