Perhaps you are among many Christians who believe that since you live under the terms of the “New Covenant,” the Ten Commandments and other laws God entreated the people of ancient Israel to obey are not applicable today. But is that true according to the Bible? In answering this question, it would be important to first define what a covenant is. The dictionary describes it as “an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified.”

Following the Israelite’s Exodus into the Sinai desert from bondage in Egypt, the patriarch Moses informed them of God’s desire to establish a covenant with them (Exodus 34:10). It was His intention to bless, guide and protect them if they obeyed His commandments and statutes (Exodus 20-23; Deuteronomy 11:1; 28:1-14). How did the people respond after Moses told them the terms of the covenant? They said, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:7, emphasis added throughout).

It’s important to note that while God’s laws formed a foundational component of the Sinai covenant, they were not the covenant itself. Again, the covenant involved God’s commitment to bless the Israelites if they diligently obeyed Him. But why did God offer this covenant? He wanted Israel to be His special people, and it was His desire to fulfill the promises He had made to their faithful forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Additionally, He wanted Israel to become a model nation—showing other nations how they, too, could be blessed if they obeyed His commandments (Deuteronomy 4:5-8).

Sacrificial system did not alter the Sinai covenant

But what happened shortly after the Israelites agreed to the provisions of the covenant? Sadly, they failed in their commitment to obey God by producing and worshiping a false god—a golden calf (Exodus 32:1-35; Ezekiel 16:59). Over the course of a year after that incident, God instituted a system of animal sacrifices and offerings to remind the people continually that the penalty for sin was the shedding of blood. Moreover, the sacrifices foreshadowed the future sacrificial death of the Son of God for the sins of all humanity (1 Timothy 2:5-6).

Galatians 3:19 says: “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come [that is, Jesus Christ] to whom the promise was made.” The “law” that was added was not the commandments previously revealed, but the whole system of rituals and sacrificial offerings (compare Hebrews 10:1, 8).

And it’s important to realize that the establishment of the sacrificial system did not alter the terms of the Sinai covenant since it had been fully ratified prior to the golden calf incident. As Jeremiah 7:22-23 states: “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people.’”

Moving forward hundreds of years in biblical history, the prophet Malachi foretold John the Baptist announcing the first coming of Jesus Christ: “‘Behold, I send My messenger [John], and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek [Jesus Christ], will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight” (Malachi 3:1). Hebrews 8:6 further states of Jesus, “He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.”

Finding fault with the people—not the laws

But why did Christ come as the herald of this better covenant? What was wrong with the Old Covenant so that a new one was needed? The common assumption among many Christians is that the commandments God gave the Israelites were the problem. But Scripture reveals that this supposition is incorrect. The actual fault in the Old Covenant was not with God’s laws but with the people! Hebrews 8:7-8 says: “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.’”

The Old Covenant failed because the Israelites “did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord” (Hebrews 8:9). The reason the people were unsuccessful in keeping the covenant was that it was not in their hearts and minds to obey the laws God had given them for their good (Deuteronomy 5:29; 29:4). As Romans 8:6-7 says: “The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace. Because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Berean Standard Bible).

What did God do to resolve this issue? Was it to cancel His laws? Was it, as some have said, because Jesus Christ had instituted new, different and better laws? The answer is absolutely not! Rather, God said, “I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Hebrews 8:10).

The New Covenant does not eliminate God’s commandments; it makes them a very part of the minds and hearts of those who accept Christ’s sacrifice, repent of sin and receive the gift of God’s Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:2; Acts 2:38). It is through the power of God’s Spirit that obedient individuals can have the desire and capacity to comprehend, appreciate and obey God’s laws—which the ancient Israelites did not have. Having one’s mind imbued with God’s Spirit can empower a devoted individual to replace damaging thoughts and attitudes with a strong and sincere willingness to love and obey God and genuinely care for others (Romans 8:5-8; 2 Peter 1:4).

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law”

The New Covenant is “better” and delivers “better promises” (Hebrews 8:6) because it provides forgiveness of sin through Jesus’ sacrifice, the Holy Spirit to empower obedience and develop God’s character, and ultimately salvation and eternal life—which were not promised under the Old Covenant. God says: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Throughout His earthly life, Christ set the perfect example as to how people should live by His full and faithful obedience to His Father’s commandments (John 14:21, 23). He came to “exalt the law and make it honorable” (Isaiah 42:21). Furthermore, Jesus plainly stated: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle [the smallest written marks] will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:17-18).

Finally, God’s commandments are described as “holy and just and good” (Romans 7:12). Therefore it’s clear that the New Covenant does not cancel out God’s laws. Instead, Christians must diligently apply the words of Jesus Christ, who said in John 15:10, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”