An Apologetical Explanation of the

Old Law and the New Law

How does the New Law in Christ differ from the Old Law of Moses?

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.”  (Mt 5:17)

He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred which redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.  (Heb 9:15)

The Old Law prepared for the New Law, which in turn perfects the Old Law.

After the Fall of Adam and Eve, God unfolded his plan of redemption gradually.  An early part of this Revelation was the Old Law, the moral and liturgical precepts given to Moses and the Israelites.  The Old Law is aptly summarized in the Ted Commandments, which encourage dispositions that guide humanity to live according to this love and proscribe behaviors that contravene love for God and neighbor.  In this way, the Ten Commandments and the Old Law served to illuminate the consciences of humanity.  (Cf. CCC 1962-1963)

In this way the Old Law prepared the way for the coming of Christ and the establishment of the New Law embodied in the Gospel message of Christ.  The images and prophecies within the Old Law prefigure elements in the New Law; where the Old Law underscored the dangers of sin and its consequences, the New Law freed us from the burden of sin by showing us the way of forgiveness, love, grace, and salvation.  Where once God’s people were motivated more by fear of punishment under the Law of Moses, they could live now with their eyes on eternal happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven under the Law of Christ.  (Cf. CCC 1963-1964)

 The New Law perfects the Old Law.  It completes the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament and fulfills its Commandments by revealing the very root of all its moral prescriptions–the Law of Love–and seeking to convert the human heart by teaching the human person to seek perfection according to the example of Christ.  All that the Old Law had done in preparation is now directed toward the ultimate goal of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Without negating the Old Law in any way, the New Law summarized its moral prescriptions in a single New Commandment: that we love one another as Christ loves us.  (Cf. CCC 1965-1970)

Not only is the New Law a Law of Love but also it is the Law of Grace because of the divine gifts available to us through faith and the Sacraments of the Church; it is also a Law of Freedom because we can fulfill the letter and spirit of Divine Law by acting always out of Christian love in keeping with our identity as adopted sons and daughters of God.  (Cf. CCC 1972)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraphs 1982 and 1984.

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