As you likely know, your Bible split into two parts:
(1) The first part is called the Old Testament, and takes up about 2/3rds of the Bible.
(2) And the second part is called the New Testament, and takes up about 1/3rd of the Bible.
HERE’S WHY THE BIBLE HAS TWO PARTS
The reason the Bible is split into two parts is that the Old Testament part centered around an Old Agreement (you could also say “Old Covenant” or “Law of Moses” or simply “Old Testament”) that God made long ago with only one small nation: Israel.
On the other hand, the New Testament part centered around a New Agreement that God activated at the moment Jesus died on the cross (which also deactivated the Old Agreement). But this Agreement wasn’t just between God and the small nation of Israel—it was between God and the entirety of humanity, including Israel.
Not to get too detailed (and thus too DErailed), but that word “covenant” (translated from the Biblical Greek διαθηκη, pronounced die-ah-THAY-kay) primarily refers to a “last will and testament,” but is often used in the Bible as simply a “covenant” or even more simply an “agreement” between two parties. (I’ll often call it an Agreement because that’s probably the most basic idea of what it is.) But the “last will and testament” aspect of diatheke is certainly valid, especially when it came to Jesus’ death on the cross which brought the New Testament Agreement into effect. As you know, “the last will and testament” of a person, or simply a “will,” is what people make to instruct others on how they want their possessions to be distributed after they die. And with respect to Jesus’s death on the cross, His death activated God’s/Jesus’ instructions and conditions for how anyone on earth can take part in the greatest inheritance possible: Eternal Life in heaven (see Heb 9.15-18 for more details). Therefore, if you want to be part of Jesus’ inheritance, you absolutely MUST become intimately familiar with the teachings of the New Testament — because that’s where those instructions and conditions are. And that’s exactly what the first Christians did—they immediately upon becoming Christians DEVOTED THEMSELVES to the Apostles teachings, to fellowship (with other Christians), to the Lord Supper (Mt 6.26), and to prayer. They also put the Apostles teachings into practice (Acts 2.47; Mt 26.26, 7.21-27; James 2.14-26).
Now—I am going to make a statement first, and then let’s back it up with the Bible.
It is this: God totally replaced the Old Agreement with the New Agreement, such that no person alive today is bound by the Old Agreement that God had with Israel (even modern Israelis). All of the Old Testament’s commandments and regulations have gone away, including the Ten Commandments and the Sabbath Day. (Of course, several concepts of the Old Agreement, especially from the Ten Commandments, were repeated in the New Agreement, like “don’t steal, murder, commit adultery, worship false gods, etc.” Plus, there are many historical facts we can learn from in the Old Testament, such has how we got here, the Creation, Flood, genesis of civilizations, etc. But many rules of the Old Agreement were eliminated and replaced by those of the New Agreement.)
Now let’s prove it. Here are 2 Reasons why the Old Agreement has been deactivated by God.
REASON #1—BECAUSE THE BIBLE PLAINLY SAYS SO
Please consider what the Bible says in Hebrews 8:
Hebrews 8:8-10—Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make [establish] a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…(and with all humanity as well, please read these verses).
In no uncertain terms, the Bible declares that the “Old Covenant” (implied by the context) would be replaced by a “New Covenant” (stated), for Israel, and for all humanity (again, per these verses).
Therefore, we ALL are now under a “New Covenant.” Which means, by default, the “Old Covenant” is gone (noticed shortly in REASON #2).
Furthermore, the coming of the New Covenant for all humanity was not just an afterthought of God, it was His Plan of Salvation for the world from the beginning (in other words, formulated before the very foundation of the world – see Eph 1.4-14). Phase One of God’s Plan of Salvation would introduce God’s basic requirements to a single, small nation (Israel). And Phase Two—through the blood of Christ at the cross—would expand it to include the entire world.
(Incidentally, in the Old Testament, those who were not Jews and therefore not under the Law of Moses were governed by the so-called “Law of Conscience” – described by Paul in Romans 2.14-16. Basically, everyone is born with good a conscience, a sense of right and wrong; and the Gentiles (non-Jewish) nations who lived in that day—having no written Law from God to live by—were allowed to be governed by their “good” consciences. Of course, when one ignores his/her initially good conscience, it can become hardened, or “seared” [see 1 Timothy 4.2], permitting a person to live an evil life conscience-free.)
So—the New Agreement was for the entire world. And when it came, the Old Agreement/Covenant was permanently deactivated. God’s written instructions (the Bible) no longer apply only to the tiny nation of Israel (which today is said to consist of less than 20 million people)—but to our entire world of almost 8 billion people (including the Jews).
BUT WHEN WOULD THE NEW COVENANT COME INTO EFFECT?
You might be wondering when the New Agreement God made with humanity came into effect. To answer this, please consider the following verses that were made by Jesus during His Last Supper with the 12 Apostles:
Matthew 26:28—For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed [poured out] for many for the remission [forgiveness] of sins.
Luke 22:20—This cup [of Communion] is the New Covenant in [brought into effect by] My blood, which is shed [i.e. poured out] for you.
1 Corinthians 11:25—[Paul said]: In the same manner [Jesus] also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
SO, WE SEE THAT JESUS DIED ON THE CROSS TO USHER IN THE NEW COVENANT WHEN HIS BLOOD WAS SHED ON THE CROSS—AN UNPRECEDENTED ACT THAT PERMITTED, BY GOD’S GRACE, OUR SINS TO BE FORGIVEN.
And “ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3.23)
Therefore, the phrase “for the forgiveness [remission] of sins” is of gigantic importance to anyone who seriously intends to obtain God’s eternal inheritance (eternal life)—which is the most vital pursuit of our existences (Jesus said: ”…what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” – Mt 16.26).
FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS IS THE CENTRAL ASPECT OF RECEIVING OUR HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE. Paul would say this about that New Covenant which began when Jesus poured out His blood for the forgiveness of our sins:
Romans 11:27—For this is My [New] Covenant with them, When I take away their sins.
Plainly, the New Agreement through Jesus Christ had the power to completely remove sins—unlike the Old Agreement. The Hebrew writer would say:
Hebrews 9:22-28
22—And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness/remission of sins. [These foreshadowed Jesus’ Ultimate sacrifice on the cross.]
23—Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24—For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
25—not that He should offer Himself often [over and over again], as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another—
26—He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the [Patriarchal and Mosaic] ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27—And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28—so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
And Paul said this in Colossians 2:
Colossians 2.13-14…16-17
13—And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
14—having wiped out [canceled] the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us [a reference to the Old Law of Moses…God canceled the Old Covenant and it’s legal commandments]. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross [i.e., the legal demands of the Law of Moses were terminated at the cross].
16—…So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,*
17—which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance [reality] is of [belongs to] Christ. *[These were the holy days of Israel under the Law of Moses, under the Old Covenant; note that the SABBATH DAY was also terminated at the cross. Read more detail here.].
PAUL SAID THAT THE LAW OF MOSES WAS ABOLISHED
Also, just two Bible Books earlier, Paul further nailed home the fact that the Old Covenant is finished when he said this in Ephesians 2:
Eph 2:14-15—For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances [i.e., the Law of Moses], so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace…
Not to get too technical, but that word “abolishing” is translated from the Greek καταργέω which means “to render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative.”
So the Bible here plainly states that the Law of Moses—along with its commandments and statutes (ordinances)—has been ABOLISHED. It has been deactivated. It has been rendered unemployed. It is no longer in operation.
By the way, since the Law of Moses has been deactivated, this means the Sabbath Day has also been abolished along with all the other Old Testament commandments and regulations. It too is no longer in effect. (I say this because some today believe that it is; here is a closer look at why the Sabbath Day is not required of Christians.)
BUT DIDN’T JESUS HIMSELF SAY THAT THE OLD AGREEMENT WOULD NOT BE ABOLISHED??
I hope you will agree with me that everything so far demonstrates complete harmony in the Word of God, which is exactly what we must expect because God cannot lie (Titus 1.2), and—as you undoubtedly know—the Words of the Bible are the Words of God Himself (2 Timothy 3.16-17).
Which brings us to a verse by Jesus that appears to contradict the rest of the Bible—Matthew 5.17—which says this:
Matthew 5:17—Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy [esv, nasb, niv: abolish] but to fulfill. [i.e., fulfill their purpose]
Now remember, Jesus lived in a day when the Law of Moses (the “Old Law” or Agreement) was still in effect. And he plainly states that He DID NOT COME TO ABOLISH THAT OLD MOSAIC LAW. Which seems to suggest that the Law of Moses is still in effect—to this very day. But is it?
On the surface this certainly sounds like a Bible contradiction, since Paul said that Jesus abolished the Law of Moses; meanwhile, Jesus Himself plainly said that He did not come to abolish the Law of Moses at all.
So which is it? Did Jesus—or did He not—come to abolish the Law or Moses?
The answer to this “dilemma” is that Paul used a different Greek word in Ephesians (καταργέω)—to what Jesus used in Matthew (καταλύω). Unfortunately, instead of disambiguating these Greek words to fitting English equivalents, the translators translated them using the exact same basic English word (“abolish,” “abolishing”). Hence the confusion.
Paul used καταργέω which means: “to render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative.”
Meanwhile, Jesus used καταλύω which means: “to dissolve, disunite, destroy.”
When Jesus said, “I have NOT come to destroy / dissolve the Law of Moses and the Prophets of the Law of Moses…”, what He meant was that they would not be utterly destroyed in every sense of the word. Even today we can still learn many things from the Law of Moses. For example, several commands of the Law of Moses were repeated in the New Agreement. And, of course, the Old Testament history and prophecies are timeless. (It’s a little bit like an obsolete plane from World War II being preserved for historical/educational purposes, rather than scuttled.) In fact, Paul implied in 1 Corinthians 10.5-6 that what happened to Israel should serve as sobering lessons for Christians today:
1 Cor 10:5-6—But with most of them [the Israelites in the desert under Moses’ leadership] God was not well pleased, for [their bodies] were scattered in the wilderness.
Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust [desire] after evil things as they also lusted.
Romans 15.4—For whatever things were written before [in the Old Testament, see v. 3] were written for our learning [instruction], that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Virtually all, if not all New Testament authors referred back to Old Testament examples (like the one in 1 Cor. 10.1-5) and quoted prophecies that were fulfilled in Christ under the New Covenant, for the Old Agreement was a shadow of things to come (Col. 2.17).
So, we can learn from the lessons of the Old Testament (it hasn’t been destroyed completely), but we are not keeping it’s commandments today, for the ones not specifically repeated for us to obey in the New Agreement have passed away (rendered “unemployed”).
So, REASON #1 why the Old Agreement is gone is that the Bible plainly says so.
REASON #2—BECAUSE THE NEW AGREEMENT WAS FAR BETTER THAN THE OLD ONE
Please recall what the Hebrew writer said about the New Agreement that would be replacing the Old Agreement:
Hebrews 8:8-10—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—not according to [“not like”] the [Old] Covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt [under Moses leadership]; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.
For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: 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.
Please realize that the New Covenant would not be like the Old Covenant. It was going to be different. In fact, it was going to be far better.
For example, we just saw from Hebrews 9.22-28 that the sacrifices offered under the Old Agreement were far inferior to Jesus, Who offered Himself—the very Son of God—as the final and Ultimate sacrifice, not for only the Jews, but for all humanity.
But the superiority of the New Agreement over the old one certainly didn’t stop there:
Hebrews 7:18-19, 22, 25
18—For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness [uselessness],
19—for the law [of Moses] made nothing perfect [i.e., “was incomplete”]); on the other hand, [there is the] bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God…
22—[and] Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
25—Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
So, the Bible repeatedly and clearly describes the vast superiority of Christ’s Law over the Law of Moses. And yes, HUMANITY IS CERTAINLY UNDER LAW TO GOD AND TO CHRIST– in spite of what modern Christian leaders are telling their followers. Paul said:
1 Cor 9:20-21—…to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law [of Moses], as under the Law [of Moses], that I might win those who are under the Law [of Moses];
to those who are without [the] Law [of Moses], as without [the] Law [of Moses] (not being without Law toward God, but under Law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;
CONCLUSION
So, in conclusion, the Old Agreement is finished for two proven reasons: Because the Bible plainly and repeatedly said so, and because the New Agreement is far superior. It is the final Phase of God’s Great Plan for the Salvation of humanity.
NOTE: All verses quoted from the NKJV unless otherwise indicated.
RECOMMENDED READING:
Here’s Why the Sabbath Day Isn’t Binding on Christians Today
Here’s why First Century Miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit have passed away
Here’s why Apostolic Succession is a Myth
List of New Covenant Verses