Many/most Christians believe that with the establishment of the New Covenant, God's Law has been done away with. At least - it's not applicable to THEM. However, this view stems from a lack of knowledge of what the New Covenant promise is.
Jeremiah 31:33“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “
I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Hewbrews 8:7-13 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”c]">[
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13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.
Matthew 5:17-18 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
The above passages make clear that note only was the Law never done away with - it is an essential component of the New Covenant. The Law is supposed to be written on our very hearts and minds.
Of course, that doesn't mean that every part of the Old Covenant was carried along with this law - as with the requirement of circumcision of the flesh. Also, animal sacrifices have been rendered irrelevant. As such, it becomes important to differentiate the Old Covenant and Jewish Traditions and Culture from the Law spoken of above.
Circumcision, for instance, was part of the Covenant with Abraham -established long before the Law was given to Israel (Genesis 17).
Other aspects of the Law - like what you are allowed to eat, and animal sacrifices - have been addressed by Christ's sacrifice. These aspects of the Law were conditional - but the conditions have changed so that the specific practices prescribed therein are no longer necessary for us.
When these things are removed, there are things which are not conditional, which always apply. These are often referred to as the Moral Law. Jesus summed the Law up with the two Greatest Commandments: 1. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and 2. Love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus placed a greater commandment upon his followers: Love others as I have loved you. ie, Give up your life for the sake of others.
If you believe that the Law is irrelevant to Christians, please explain what you think of the passages above and why the Law has been abolished.