Matthew 9:17 (ESV)
Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it
is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But
new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
I
read a Facebook post this morning that said, “You cannot raise your children
like your parents raised you because the world they raised you in no longer
exists.” That is a profound statement. Jesus was calling his disciples and the disciples
of John to recognize that they were experiencing a profound change in their
world. They were there to see the shift from the Old Covenant to the New
Covenant, from Law to Grace. His statement above was in response to their
questions of why John’s disciples fast but Jesus’s disciples do not fast. Jesus’s
answer was that it was a different time. The Bridegroom had arrived. This was
the time to celebrate, not fast.
That
has at least three significant implications. First, since the Bridegroom came, Law
is no longer the way we serve God. Rules and regulations only exposed our
brokenness. They can never change our hearts. Now it the time for the grace of
the Gospel. Law is the old wine. Grace is the new wine. Don’t slip back into
the old ways of thinking about your relationship with God.
Second
is the need for great discernment. How do we know when it is time for something
new? John’s disciples were still stuck in the old. They had a heart for God.
They passionately proclaimed John’s message of repentance. But they failed to
discern what John himself had told them. The one who came after him was greater
than him. It was time for something new.
That
brings us to the third implication which is, don’t copy. Just because John
fasted doesn’t mean that you should fast. Just because Corner Church does
things a certain way and it seems to be working for them doesn’t mean that we should
do what they are doing. What is it that God has called us to? I just read this
morning about an incredible ministry in Iquitos Peru. I am familiar with the
ministry, and with a sister ministry in the city. What I love is that they are
helping each other, but not trying to copy each other. One is not trying to
clone the other. Discernment is not as easy as simply copying, but there is a
need for discernment.
Don’t
copy, discern. Be open to what God is doing, not what has always been done. But
above all, the thing that does not change is the need to be gospel centered,
not law focused no matter what we do. Let’s not put new wine in old wineskins.
Stay gospel centered, but don copy. Discern.
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