It is easy to assume that since the covenant is new, then everything is different. However, since we have already learned that the language is still the same, we must also be open to the likelihood that there are other aspects of the old covenant that have not changed. Indeed, in my study on the covenants, I have found that not everything has changed.
For instance, in the very beginning—the first mention of the covenant made with Abraham—God established that one of Abraham’s (and his descendants’) requirements for the covenant was circumcision. Many today believe that this requirement is no longer relevant. Yet, notice what Colossians 2:11 says: “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, but the circumcision of Christ.”
This says that there still is a requirement of circumcision—just not the kind we assume. Paul describes this “new” idea of circumcision more clearly in Romans 2:28, 29—“For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the spirit, not by the letter” (emphasis mine). He is describing an inward circumcision of the heart. And, believe it or not, this is what God truly desired in the old covenant. Consider these passages:
- “Circumcise therefore, the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (Deuteronomy 10:16).
- “And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).
- “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts…” (Jeremiah 4:4).
- “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh… all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.” (Jeremiah 9:25, 26).
God still desires that we are circumcised in the heart—removing the selfishness and pride in our lives—which means not being stubborn towards Him, but loving Him with all our heart and soul.
Of course, I found that in most discussions of the new covenant, one thing is consistently brought up as being done away with: the Ten Commandments. Typically, the argument is made that the law was nailed to the cross and we are no longer under the law, but under grace.
First, it is true that the Ten Commandments were part of the old covenant (Exodus 34:27–29 says they are “words of the covenant.” See also Deuteronomy 4:13). However, in the promise of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–33) we find the first chink in the armor of that argument: it does not mention that the new covenant will do away with the law, replacing it with grace, but instead, God says, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (emphasis mine). According to this, the new covenant does not remove the law. If anything, the law will become more a part of us. Instead of being written on stones kept inside an ark that few people ever see, He desires to write it inside us. It will become something we want to do.
What about the text that says that the law was nailed to the cross? The text in question is Colossians 2:14. Interestingly, it does not say that the law was nailed to the cross, but that “the record of debt” that stood against us was nailed to the cross. The Greek word translated as “record” or “handwriting” is cheirographon, and literally means “a handwritten statement, especially a record of financial accounts.” According to the original language of the text, what was nailed to the cross was our debts, and its legal demands (death–Romans 6:23)—the things that really stand against us—not the law. Which makes sense. Christ’s sacrifice for our sins could only cancel our debt (paid for our sins) and not the law (which reveals our sins—see Romans 7:7).
But we are under grace now and not the law, right? This is based on the passage—“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). However, this text does not say that the law has been done away with, it only says that we are no longer under it. Plus, we cannot ignore the next verse: “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15). In fact, an honest reading of Paul’s writings would reveal that, although we are no longer saved by keeping the law, the law still stands: “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law” (Romans 3:31. See also Galatians 3:17–19). Furthermore, Paul says that those who are not under the law are being “led by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:18), which still implies obedience.
Besides, if Christ death on the cross got rid of the law, why would He say, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17—emphasis mine)? Or, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15)? In Jesus’ own words, He did not abolish, or remove, the Law, but fulfilled it and asks us to continue keeping it.
John teachings also contradict this idea: “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3, 4). He also says that when we love God we will keep His commandments and “his commandments are not burdensome.“ (1 John 5:2, 3).
Finally, if the law was gone and no longer part of the new covenant, then why are the end-time people of God described as those “who keep the commandments of God” (see Revelation 12:17 and 14:12)?
No, Jesus’ sacrifice did not remove the law. His sacrifice paid the debt that the law reveals in our lives. Therefore, the new covenant has not changed the law either—it still stands. Again, it makes sense. A covenant always includes the requirements for both parties. In both the old and new covenants, God’s part is being our God; He will protect us and is saving us. Likewise, our part is still loving Him with all our heart (circumcision of the heart) and following Him (obedience). The new covenant did not change this.