The only part I disagree with is, this thing called a 'new covenant'.
There was no 'new' covenant, but a ReNEWal of the old covenant.
Jeremiah 31
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Israel had to return to God and allow His Commandments to be written on their hearts and minds. Israel needed a Covenant Renewal of their Sinai Covenant. They needed to repent and return to God through obedience to His Laws thus being a witness and an example to the nations. Only by being such a righteous priestly nation, and example, could they hope to be the catalyst that merits the arrival of the Kingdom of Heaven and its King. Here it was promised that the spiritual infirmity of Israel would be helped by the intervention of God.
God allowed them to RENEW their 'lease'. But, this time, it was not written on stone, but written WITHIN THEIR HEARTS.
IF..... IF.... there was a new covenant, then why is it that one of the promises of the old covenant (Isreal would regain their homeland) was fulfilled in 1948, when Israel became a nation???
It's the same covenant, just put forth more forcefully, imo.
The only thing there might be a difference on is the terms. The new convenant was established by Christ:
Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.
He affirmed the covenant at the last supper:
Mat 26:28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
I agree though that it could just as well be thought of a renewal because God's promises never changed...but he actually did add on to his promises by now adding in eternal life, which wasn't in the old covenant.
But as far as the law it's exactly right...nothing in the law changed except that which was specified in scripture. Israel broke the original covenanat, not God.
God in his mercy made it in a sense easier for us to fulfill the terms by giving us the gift of his holy spirit to live in and through us and enable us to grow in righteousness. With the sacrifice of Christ it no longer became about us trying to keep the law...it became about Christ indwelling in us and living through us to do so and covering our sins while we grow in faith. The outward appearance is that we are keeping the written law. This is how I believe the law is written on our hearts.