Hey everyone. I have a couple of questions which are related. Firstly, the New Covenant fulfills the Old Covenant, right?
Secondly, I read that the New Covenant does not void the Old Covenant but that both are still valid and in effect. If that is the case then why aren’t we bound by all of the Old Testament laws?
I tried reading a Catholic Answers article and a blog about this but I still do not understand it. Granted I am really tired and so I am not thinking very well. Please help me to understand this. Thanks in advance for your help. This is all so confusing to me.
The New Covenant does fulfill the Old Covenant but it does not void it. There are, however, some Old Testament laws that have been repealed. Sorting through what’s what in all that can be tricky, but here are a few principles to keep inmind:
(1) A fulfillment does not by itself mean a repealing. When I make someone a promise, and then I follow through on that promise, that’s a fulfillment. And it doesn’t mean the promise was false but that it was true.
(2) The moral laws of the Old Testament like Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not commit adultery remain valid for all time, but not because they’re in the Law, it’s because they’re true by their very nature. Jesus did not repeal them, but reinforced them. The Jews are still bound by them, but not just Jews: all Christians and non-Christians can know the moral law because morality is written on the heart and we all are supposed to live according to morality.
(3) The religious laws of the Old Testament laws are promises of something else, imperfect pictures of what the Christian religion would bring. These are the laws Jesus repealed. And that doesn’t mean He voided the Old Testament, which was so much more than religious laws like circumcision and dietary restrictions. Those things are pictures of the way we need to be separated from the culture and “holy to the Lord.” They have an important spiritual meaning and the literal acts they describe were in fact meant to be temporary, to prepare the Jewish people for the arrival of the Messiah. The prophets promised that one day the old ways would disappear and a new way would come to pass. So when Jesus does that, He isn’t voiding the promise, He’s doing what the Law said would happen.
Anyway if you keep those principles in mind it helps to identify what’s changed and what’s stayed in place. I hope it helps and if you need more details about specific laws, just ask.
God bless!
