Scripture: Mark 2 v 21-22: "No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from the old, and the rent is made worse.
22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles."
These are the words of Jesus - He was comparing the Old Covenant under the Law of Moses with the New Covenant which would start with His death and resurrection. He was making a total separation between the two. The Old Testament or Will was made redundant and replaced by the New Will and Testament. If I have a will and want to change it, make a new will, my old will is null and void.
He likened the Law to "old cloth" and "old bottles" into which a piece of new cloth or new wine would not fit or be right. The old wineskin is stiff and rigid, the bubbly, freshly fermented wine needs a soft supple container.
Jesus is the new wine as He referred to Himself at the Last Supper - this is the new wine in My Blood drink all of it. The new wine are those people who are born again believers, dead to Moses' Law, dead to sin, but alive in Christ bubbling with joy.
The Law will always be with us but if we are filled with the Holy Spirit as in Galatians 5 v 22 - 24: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
Then there is no law against us, the power of the Holy Spirit keeps us living righteous lives. We have forgiven everyone that has hurt us in any way. Jesus says that unless you forgive from the heart those who have sinned against you, neither will the Father forgive your sins. This is a huge stumbling block to many Christians who have never forgiven the people or situations that have hurt them or caused pain and bitterness.
It is a requirement for salvation. If you are struggling with issues and not getting answers to prayers, audit your heart for those you still blame for some wrong. Refusing to forgive relegates you back to the rigid, hard wineskin of the Law, filled with tradition, religion, works, guilt and punishment. This is a choice we all have to make. If you want God's forgiveness you must do likewise. And it must be more than mental assent to forgiving them, it must be total, from the heart forgiveness.
If we try to justify our stance, the old wineskin would burst open and the new wine be lost. So it is with the gospel of truth and our souls. The Old Testament Law was strict and rigid, but the New Testament of Grace and love flows spontaneously.
So God is saying that a person who is born again, baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit would be a pliable flexible wineskin able to contain the new wine without bursting open. If it bursts open the new wine is lost, a very serious matter.
In Galatians, Paul said, Who has bewitched you to return to the old ways and deny your salvation? Plus he emphasized that the law cannot save anybody, so if you have gone backwards into Judaism you have lost your way.
I have pleaded with some truly lovely Christians who turned back to the law and tried to persuade me to join them. Their parting shot was that God does not favour me with the revelation and enlightenment they have received under the Law. I noticed that they live in fear, needing bodyguards and guns for protection! The blind leading the blind.
Jesus writes His commands on each heart and they are tailor-made for each person, and not on tablets of stone, when the same commands are applied generally to everyone. He has an individual plan for each one of us and He expects us to adhere to His righteousness at all times.
When He writes a command on my heart it is something specific He wants me to do. But if I relay it to everyone as something they must all do, I have made a new religious law. It has become my command and not His Word anymore. It resurrects that old rigid wine skin that is no longer applicable.
When Jesus died His last words were "It is finished" and He meant the Law was finally done away and we are forgiven of all sin. The time for the New Wine has come in His Blood. At the moment of His death there was an earthquake that caused the four inch thick curtain with interwoven gold that hid the Holy of Holies in the Temple, to split from top to bottom.
The Law kept the Holy Place away from all except the Jewish High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement. The New Covenant opened it wide and made it inviting to all who would believe in Jesus. How wonderful is this? We are the Royal Priesthood who can enter the Holy of Holies at will. We have access to our Father upon His Throne.
No other religion has this relationship with their God. They bow down to idols of stone or clay. The chant their prayers to a god that cannot hear or help. When we talk to God we can feel in our hearts that He hears us.
1 John 5 v 14 - 15: "And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
The important phrase in the above verses is to ask according to His will. So if its nor offensive, illegal or sinful we will get what we asked for. Pray for needs not greeds. What you pray for others will be done for you.
The new Ark of the Covenant is Jesus Christ Himself. All who are in Him are as safe as those who were on Noah's Ark. We are part of His Body and He cherishes us. He rejoices over every one of us when we are joined to Him. He is not willing for any to go astray.
All those outside of Him will perish....He said as it was in the days of Lot, and Noah so shall it be at the end.
In Lot's day the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone. In Noah's day, the whole world perished in The Flood. Those who think God will be all merciful and forgive everyone should pause to consider that if that were true Jesus would not have been crucified.
We are partakers of the New Wine because we are forgiven of sin and following the Lamb of God. This invitation is for everybody.
Prayer: Heavenly Father thank You that the Law is past and we can live by Your Grace. Please confirm to me that I am truly a new wineskin ready to be filled with Your bubbly new wine. May those who have wandered back to live under the Law, or are in bondage to wealth and entertainment in the church, repent and renew their salvation. In Jesus' name. Amen.