Actually, it was a covenant, and the difference is important.
But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.
....
By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. --
Hebrews 8
There is in fact a new covenant in place at this time.Does this mean nothing in the old covenant is applicable in the new?The writings of the apostles and statements and actions of those following the Lord Jesus are revealing.
In the book of Hebrews the following was said about the new covenant:
Hebrews 10:
16This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord,
I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Which laws are these?Are they new laws or laws which were in the old covenant?
The writings of the apostle Paul gives some indication of what they are.He says:
Romans 13:
8Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
9For this,
Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
10Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
These are all laws/commands contained in the old covenant which Paul is saying Christians should now observe.
He also speaks of another command from the old covenant in this fashion:
Ephesians 6:
1Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
2
Honour thy father and mother; (which is
the first commandment with promise)
3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
This implies the command and the promise attached to it are still relevant in the new covenant.
James also refers to the law as being relevant to the believer and refers to the command to love thy neighbour in a similar way as Paul did:
James 2:
8If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
11For he that said,
Do not commit adultery, said also,
Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Hence the believer is expected to observe all of the royal law which is summarized as
"the royal law according to the scripture,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"
Again this and its expansions were also contained in the old covenant.
Where eating is concerned the same pattern is seen in the book of Acts.Here the believers of Gentile origin are instructed directly from the old covenant as to what is expected of them in the new.
In
Acts 15:20 we see the Gentiles, who had turned to God, being directed, by the apostles, to be careful about what they eat. They should not eat of that which had been offered to idols, animals which had been strangled, (or died of itself) and to abstain from blood. If we could eat anything then they would not have been given these instructions. In fact these instructions are found in
Leviticus 17: 13-16 and were given after it was known which animals could be eaten. Hence these instructions which
were taken from the law [
See Acts 15:21] and which came after it was known which animals were fit to be eaten, must also have been given after the Gentiles had knowledge of what is fit to be eaten. The prophecy of the Gentiles being called to serve God in Jeremiah 12:14-17, also shows that they are called to learn the righteous ways of Israel, not some new way or to come with their own ways. It is to be noted that these instruction about what to eat, given by the apostles, are not widely observed by Christians since they, in error, say; "Nothing you eat will defile you", contrary to the Apostles instructions.
The fact that James referred all to Moses, being read in the synagogues on the Sabbath in every city, shows he was not rejecting the whole of the law, as some claim about this passage.All the things, the apostles said the Gentiles should abstain from, are those things proscribed by the law i.e these things were a part of the old covenant. [See Acts 15:20-21]
There was one important practice which was not relevant anymore and this was the main point in the Acts 15 discussion. The main dispute in Acts 15 was the vexed question of circumcision. Certain disciples were of the view that to be saved, Gentiles had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses i.e. they had to keep all the commands in the Law.Note that an uncircumcised person could not take part in the Passover in the Old Covenant.[Exodus 12:45-48]
It was being explained by Peter that both Jews and Gentiles will be saved through grace i.e. God's love in allowing His Son to die for us, rather than by the sacrifices and ceremonies of the old covenant. [See Acts 15:7-11; Ephesians 2:8-13; Hebrews 9:11-14] Notice that the things mentioned in the Acts 15 discussion are closely linked to either the sacrificial systems of the Jews or that of the Gentiles and to make it clear what is expected of the new converts then these things were mentioned.This was not a comprehensive list of all that is to be practiced in the new covenant.