“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (v. 16-17)

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (v. 35-36)

In this passage, Christ continues to do the works that He was assigned to do. He proclaimed the good news of the Kingdom and healed diseases. As I mentioned earlier, miracles were performed as a way to proclaim the good news. If anyone who heals diseases reject Sola Gratia, then that person is not from God. It is the good news because we are saved by grace of God alone. Anyone who boasts of works or preaches work-based salvation is not one of us.

In verse 16 and 17, Christ talks about new wine in old wineskins. Christ’s messages were considered new although they were exactly what the OT was talking about. We need the only one authorised teacher, Christ, to interpret God’s words. Christ says what He teaches cannot be contained in the old system. Christ did the very first reformation as we read in Hebrews 9:10

since they relate only to food, drink, and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. (Hebrews 9:10)

Similarly, the second reformation that happened in the 16^th century was also considered new. But it is more accurate to say that the reformers were talking about the old teachings of the Apostles written in the Bible. But their orthodox teachings could not exist together with the old system of the Roman Catholicism. The traditions became too hard to break. The Roman Catholicism based their theology on Anselm and Aquinas. It is well known that the decrees and the doctrinal statements of the Council of Trent is rooted in the teachings of Aquinas. Some say there are many things that Aquinas said right about God and there are similarities with the Reformed teachings. I’d like to warn them that God does not call something clean when it is mixed with dung. If you mix food and dung, it is dung, not food.

It was God’s will that we separate ourselves from the former unbeneficial systems. Therefore, it is considered treacherous when the reformers in the 17^th century England started to bring back the ideas from the Roman Catholicism, which were not orthodox. What God has separated, we cannot put them together again. Likewise, what God has joined together, we cannot separate.

Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate. (Mark 10:9)

We will make a monster if we put them together. And a monster came in the 17^th century, whose name was Oliver Cromwell. He was what the 17^th century reformation has created. What I read is that he feared of going to hell but was assured of salvation through the Protestantism. He was influenced by John Owen. He killed the king and became a king (although he said he was not a king). He wanted to make a Protestant nation and forced people a strict moral living influenced by the Puritanism. We must remember that we cannot condemn or kill someone just because they do not accept our message or live the way we think right. We never know when one receives the Holy Spirit and comes to know God. We never know who are chosen although we are given the authority to judge unlawful deeds by God’s authority within churches. The errors of Oliver Cromwell are not much different from those of the Crusades and the Roman Catholic authorities. God never said we should conquer nations that do not accept God or kill people because of their unbelief. The judgement was already announced before the time began. And the world goes as it is destined and planned by God before creation. It is not our job to go and kill unbelievers. And we never know there may be chosen people of God among unbelievers.

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)

When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and destroy them?” But He turned and rebuked them [and He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they journeyed on to another village. (Luke 9:54-56)

When we do not understand God’s words, we do not know God. And the Roman Catholic church did not want people to possess or read the Bible because the church authorities wanted to use only certain verses to control people. Now we have the Bible in our hands, but we do not read. We are satisfied with what we hear from preachers on Sundays. We are satisfied with a relatively moral living and think we are better than unbelievers. The ministers and theologians say they have the authority to interpret the Bible but not others. They say it is dangerous for uneducated people to interpret the Bible on their own. It is true in some degree. But saints must discern. Many Protestant ministers and theologians do not accept criticism when someone points out the treachery of the 17^th century reformers. Therefore, there are saints who are oppressed under the Protestant church authorities. It is not different from the time when Christ was on the earth. Many are harassed and helpless because they do not know where to go. They are thirsty for righteousness and for the knowledge of God. All they hear is how to live a good moral life. When a moral life becomes the focus of Christianity, one becomes his/her own judge and god. Interestingly, the film, the American Gospel, shows a shocking truth. It may appear in the film that one side is better than the other. But I think it shows where the issue came from. Those who say they are saved by grace only, they put their trust in Christ’s obedience to the Law. Those who appear to be the good people have their religious root in the 17^th century England. This is where the problem came from. What we see on the other side is the result of the original issue. I consider that both groups are in the same mud pit.

God has decided to separate us from those groups who think they are their own gods and are satisfied with their own definition of a moral living. Separation is a total and complete separation. We cannot be partners with those who hold on to the old systems and unorthodox teachings.