Bible Studies

Why Christians Are Exclusively Under the New Covenant of Grace and Truth

by Michael Edwards 
06/22/26
Free to Share

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

"And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.'" Luke 22:20 NASB

Believers who deeply love God’s Word frequently wrestle with a profound tension: How exactly do the Old Testament law and New Testament grace relate in the life of a Christian today? Am I still required to keep the Ten Commandments and other laws given through Moses? Didn’t Jesus say He came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it? Are we perhaps under a mixture or combination of both covenants? These are honest, heartfelt questions that deserve clear, Scripture-saturated answers. The Bible does not leave us in confusion or partial bondage. It declares with apostolic authority that Jesus has inaugurated a better, permanent covenant. Those who are in Christ by faith are no longer under the Old Covenant law of Moses in any binding sense. We are exclusively under the New Covenant of grace and truth. Any attempt to mix the two systems makes grace of no effect and robs believers of the radical freedom, peace, and power Jesus shed His blood to provide.

The Biblical Distinction Between the Two Covenants

From eternity past, God planned a new and better way. The Old Covenant was established with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai through Moses. It was a conditional covenant based on obedience to external commands written on tablets of stone. It encompassed moral directives (including the Ten Commandments), ceremonial regulations (sacrifices, feasts, clean/unclean laws, priesthood), and civil statutes for governing the nation. While holy and good in revealing God’s character, it was temporary and weak through the flesh.

The prophet Jeremiah received a clear promise of something greater: “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34 NASB).

This magnificent promise found complete fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. On the night He was betrayed, Jesus instituted the New Covenant with these words: “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’” (Luke 22:20 NASB). The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins permanently, but the precious blood of the Lamb of God could and did.

The epistle to the Hebrews develops this truth in rich detail. Jesus “has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second” (Hebrews 8:6-7 NASB). Because the first was not faultless, God announced a new one, thereby making the first obsolete: “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear” (Hebrews 8:13 NASB). This obsolescence is comprehensive. The entire Old Covenant system—its law, priesthood, sacrifices, and temple—found its fulfillment and end in the person and work of Christ.

Why the Old Covenant Law Was Given and Why It Ended for Believers

The apostle Paul provides extensive explanation of the law’s purpose and duration. “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made” (Galatians 3:19 NASB). The law functioned as a tutor or guardian: “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Galatians 3:24-25 NASB).

The law could never justify, give life, or produce righteousness. “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them’” (Galatians 3:10 NASB). “For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law” (Galatians 3:21 NASB). Instead, “through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20 NASB), and the law actually increases transgression (Romans 5:20 NASB) while stirring up sin in the flesh (Romans 7:5 NASB).

At the cross, the decisive shift occurred. Jesus perfectly fulfilled every demand of the law on our behalf. “Having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14 NASB). The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, signifying full access to God and the end of the old system. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4 NASB).

Believers have been crucified with Christ and raised with Him into newness of life. Therefore Paul can say, “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:19-20 NASB). We have been released from the law: “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” (Romans 7:6 NASB). “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Romans 8:2 NASB).

The Change of Priesthood Necessitated a Change of Law

One of the most decisive arguments in all of Scripture is found in Hebrews 7. The writer is proving that Jesus is our eternal High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek rather than the order of Aaron.

This is not merely a change in personnel. It is a change in covenant administration.

Hebrews 7:11-12 (NASB)

"Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also."

Notice that the Law and priesthood are inseparably connected. The Mosaic Law governed the Levitical priesthood. Once Christ became our eternal High Priest, the legal system attached to that priesthood could no longer remain in force.

The writer continues:

Hebrews 7:18-19 (NASB)

"For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God."

The former system was not repaired. It was set aside because Christ accomplished what it never could.

Christians Have Died to the Law

Many believers understand that they have died to sin through Christ. Fewer realize that Scripture also teaches they have died to the Law itself.

Paul writes:

Romans 7:4-6 (NASB)

"Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."

Paul's language could hardly be stronger.

We have:

• died to the Law


• been released from the Law


• serve in the Spirit rather than the letter

The Christian's covenant relationship to the Mosaic Law has ended because of union with Christ in His death and resurrection.

The Ten Commandments Were Part of the Covenant That Passed Away

Many teachers attempt to divide the Mosaic Law into moral, ceremonial, and civil categories. While these categories can be useful for discussion, Scripture itself never divides the covenant this way.

Instead, Paul specifically identifies the commandments engraved on stone tablets.

2 Corinthians 3:7-11 (NASB)

"But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory."

The law engraved on stone was the Ten Commandments.

Paul calls it:

• the ministry of death


• the ministry of condemnation


• that which fades away

This does not mean the commandments were sinful. The Law was holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). But the covenant administration connected to those stone tablets has been surpassed by the ministry of the Spirit under the New Covenant.

The Jerusalem Council Settled the Issue

Acts 15 records the first major doctrinal controversy in church history.

The question was simple:

Must Gentile believers keep the Law of Moses? Certain men insisted:

Acts 15:5 (NASB)

"But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying, 'It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses.'"

The apostles rejected this teaching.

Peter answered:

Acts 15:10-11 (NASB)

"Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."

The council did not command Gentile believers to keep the Mosaic Law. Instead, they affirmed salvation and Christian living by grace through faith in Christ. Had law-keeping been required under the New Covenant, Acts 15 would have been the perfect place to say so.

Instead, the apostles ruled the opposite.

The Law Was a Single Covenant Unit

One of the most common arguments is that only the ceremonial laws ended while the moral laws remain binding. The difficulty with this position is that Scripture consistently treats the Mosaic Law as a unified covenant.

James 2:10 (NASB)

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."

Galatians 5:3 (NASB)

"And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law."

Paul does not allow people to place themselves under selected portions of Moses. To accept one covenant obligation is to place oneself under the entire covenant system. This is why attempting to live under part law and part grace inevitably produces confusion.

No Mixing of Covenants – Grace and Law Are Incompatible Systems

A subtle but dangerous error is attempting to live under a hybrid of old and new. Scripture issues strong warnings against this mixture. Paul told the Galatians who were turning back to elements of law: “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you... Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3 NASB). Seeking justification or sanctification by law results in falling from grace: “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Galatians 5:4 NASB). “For if by grace, then it is no longer by works; otherwise grace is no longer grace” (Romans 11:6 NASB).

The two covenants operate on entirely different principles. The Old brought bondage, fear, and condemnation. The New brings adoption, liberty, and peace. “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15 NASB). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NASB). The law was a ministry of death and condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:7-9 NASB); the New Covenant is the ministry of the Spirit and righteousness.

Detailed Answers to Common Objections

Objection 1: “Jesus said He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it” (Matthew 5:17-18 NASB). This is true and crucial. Jesus perfectly fulfilled every type, shadow, and demand of the law. Once fulfilled, the shadow gives way to the substance (Colossians 2:17 NASB). In the same Sermon on the Mount, Jesus elevated requirements to heart level (anger = murder, lust = adultery), demonstrating that external compliance was never enough. He pointed forward to the New Covenant transformation of the heart. The old system passed away with the coming of the new age after the cross and the destruction of the temple in AD 70.

Objection 2: “The moral law, especially the Ten Commandments, remains eternally binding on Christians.” The entire Old Covenant, including the Decalogue engraved on stone, belonged to the “ministry of death” and “condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:7-9 NASB). Believers have died to that entire system (Romans 7:4-6 NASB). We are now led by the Spirit: “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (Galatians 5:18 NASB). The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us who walk according to the Spirit (Romans 8:4 NASB). Love is the fulfillment: “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law... Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:8-10 NASB). The Spirit writes God’s will internally with far greater power and effectiveness than external stone tablets ever could.

Objection 3: “Paul quotes Old Testament laws and commands, so at least parts of the law still apply.” Paul sometimes quotes the law for instruction, illustration, or to convict those under it, but he consistently declares that believers are not under the law as a covenant, rule of life, or means of justification/sanctification. Key statements include: “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14 NASB); “But now we have been released from the Law...” (Romans 7:6 NASB); and the extensive argument in Galatians 3-5 that we are no longer under the tutor of the law. We live under the “law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NASB)—the royal law of love empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Objection 4: “Teaching freedom from the law promotes antinomianism and lawlessness.” This objection is directly answered by the apostle himself: “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!” (Romans 6:15 NASB). Grace is not a license to sin; it is the divine empowerment to live above sin. “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12 NASB). The New Covenant provides superior power through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who produces fruit against which there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23 NASB). Sin has no dominion precisely because we are under grace (Romans 6:14 NASB) and sins are not imputed (2 Corinthians 5:19 NASB; Romans 4:8 NASB).

Objection 5: “What about passages on holiness, obedience, warnings, and judgment? Don’t they require law-keeping?” All Scripture must be interpreted in light of the New Covenant. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin but convicts believers of righteousness (John 16:8-10 NASB). God disciplines His children as a loving Father, not as a condemning judge (Hebrews 12:5-11 NASB; Romans 5:9 NASB). Warnings against falling away primarily address unbelief, apostasy, or returning to law-based righteousness, not the loss of salvation for those abiding in Christ by faith. The New Covenant provides both the call to holiness and the power to walk in it through union with Christ.

Objection 6: “If we are dead to the law, how do we know what sin is or live righteously?” The indwelling Holy Spirit and the law of love provide clear guidance. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23 NASB). We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16 NASB) and the Spirit who guides into all truth (John 16:13 NASB). Righteousness is now a gift we walk in by faith, not a goal we strive for by law.

The Glorious Practical Reality of Living Under the New Covenant

Under the New Covenant, sin is not imputed to the believer (2 Corinthians 5:19 NASB). You are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB), perfected forever in your spirit (Hebrews 10:14 NASB), holy and blameless in God’s sight (Ephesians 1:4 NASB), and seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6 NASB). The Holy Spirit lives in you, producing the very righteousness the law demanded but could never produce. Peace rules your heart (Philippians 4:7 NASB). Love motivates obedience. The entire burden rests on God, the faithful Promise Keeper.

This produces genuine, effortless holiness—not from fear of punishment or endless rule-keeping, but from gratitude and the transforming power of grace. Daily renewal of the mind to these New Covenant truths is essential (Romans 12:2 NASB). Reject every teaching that mixes law and grace. Fully embrace the New Covenant sealed with the precious blood of Jesus.

The Old Covenant has passed away. The New Covenant has come in fullness. Live in the glorious liberty of the children of God, reigning in life through the abundance of grace (Romans 5:17 NASB). Your heavenly Father loves you with the same love He has for His Son. Rest completely in His finished work. Walk by His indwelling Spirit. Experience the abundant life Jesus promised: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10 NASB).

This is the better covenant with better promises. Receive it fully by faith. The freedom is real. The peace is profound. The victory is yours in Christ.

Many more New Covenant Bible Studies HERE. Jesus poured out His blood for the New Covenant of grace and truth, replacing the Old Covenant law of Moses. Believers are exclusively under the New Covenant, the last will and testament of Jesus that began after the cross. "And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood.'" Luke 22:20 NASB