The Universality of Bible Teaching

As Paul and the other New Testament writers and leaders continued their struggle against Judaistic influences in the early church, they left us a legacy of Gospel and epistolary writings. These had special meaning to those who first received the writings, but the teaching of the New Testament applies to us as well. The scriptures relate to all times and peoples. The Bible, especially on issues of morality and theology, has a perspective that transcends its time and place of authorship, because the ultimate Author is He who transcends time and place. Rather than viewing the theological struggles of first-century Palestine and environs as a unique niche in history, we see it as a portrayal of human nature relevant for everyone, whenever and wherever they live or lived. Paul taught the universality of legalistic tendencies when he referred to rules-making as part of the "basic elements of the world" (Col. 2:20). Far from being just a Pharisee issue or a Jewish issue, legalism is a people issue. Therefore, we read what the New Testament says about legalism not just as history, but as relevant instruction to ourselves today.

So don’t look at the Pharisees as abnormal or unique. Look at them as a caricature of the excesses of the same human tendency we all have. We will lose valuable exhortation and instruction if we see the Pharisees and legalism as a "then and there" issue rather than as an illustration of our own situation, though highly magnified so we can’t miss the lessons.

Another thought concerning viewing the Pharisees as "an example for us" -- under the Old Covenant, we would expect the expansion of legalism, since the Old Covenant had, at its basis, a code of behavior. It shouldn’t surprise us that the Law only bred more laws (not righteousness) in its adherents. Extrapolating, clarifying, defining, limiting and all the other activities of the lawyers and Pharisees at least came as the natural outgrowth of the system under which they lived.

However, we face a much graver situation when we attempt to redefine the New Covenant into rules and rituals. What can we say of the New Israel when we propose to codify the covenant of grace?

It is from this perspective that we commence a theological study of legalism, and how we can avoid the tendencies of our human nature. We want to preserve the truth, in the real New Testament meaning of "truth:" the reality of God’s revelation in Jesus (John 1:18) versus the shadows of the law. Reducing the truth to behavioral prescriptions and proscriptions places us back under the law, a position in which we have crucified the Son of God anew (Heb. 6:6), and removed ourselves from the grace that brings salvation (Gal. 5:4).

A New Wineskin

In his brief parable about putting new wine into new wineskins (Mt. 9:17, Mk. 2:22, Lk. 5:37-39), the Lord Jesus addressed perhaps the most fundamental issue separating the divergent world views of legalism and faith. Jesus gave this little lesson in tandem with another, just as brief, about sewing a new patch of cloth on an old garment. In context, this pair of mini-parables came as part of the Lord’s answer to his disciples’ question regarding fasting. They had just been to a feast at Levi’s (Matthew’s) house, but some scribes and Pharisees present abstained from eating and rebuked them for their participation. The Pharisees complained about Jesus’ eating with "tax collectors and sinners." The Lord replied, "Those who are well have no need of a physician," meaning that he came to call [those who recognized themselves as] sinners. He also added (in Matthew) the New Covenant prophetic quotation from Hosea, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

John’s disciples puzzled
The next question came from John’s disciples asking why they and the Pharisees fasted, but Jesus and his disciples didn’t. The Lord’s reply here used the imagery of a wedding feast and the two brief analogies about new patches on an old cloth, and new wine in old wineskins. Evidently, this query came from Pharisees who had submitted to the baptism of John (Mt. 3:7) but had yet to understand the New Covenant fully.

Still stuck between Pharisaic ritual fasting and learning the principles of faith, they probably represented a frequently encountered position. Well into the apostolic era, and even today, we deal with the same issue. However, then and now, the old wineskin, representing the domain of law, cannot contain the new wine of the New Covenant.

No new law code
That is to say, Jesus did not give his life to usher in another code of law. He didn’t replace one system with another on the same level, albeit a superior one. No moral code, liturgy, or prescription of ritual could contain his covenant. Any attempt to shove the New Covenant into the same structure of the Old would fail, bursting the container and spilling the contents. One cannot patch up the Old Covenant with some moral teachings, nor can one store true morality in a vessel of laws. Jesus’ lesson to the bewildered Pharisee/disciples of John suffices for our warning: don’t attempt to ritualize the covenant of grace.

If the wine represents the New Covenant, then what is the new wineskin? We can use a parallel analogy to start our thinking. If the old wine represented the law, then the old wineskin was the realm in which law could exist. That realm dealt with the tangible, the concrete, and the observable. It dealt with externals, that is, things and what people do with things (Col. 2:22, Heb. 9:1-10, etc.). It dealt with jugs and houses and trees and animals. It dealt with how long you could keep a slave, and what would happen if someone committed adultery or practiced sorcery. The law could only exist in the realm of the humanly observable and measurable; it could not deal with intangibles such as motivation, values, attitudes, and intentions.

A new realm of spirituality
The realm of the intangibles, therefore, is the realm of the New Covenant. It is the realm where God sees into the heart (I Sam. 16:7). The New Covenant, based on grace, cannot fit into an old wineskin. We cannot measure Grace anymore than we can measure a person’s faith. We can see a good work, but we don’t know the motivation. We can measure behavior, but not intention. We can make rules about tangible items such as clothes and food and animals, but sin or righteousness cannot reside in those (Rom. 14:17).

The New Covenant must live in a wineskin that has room for all its imponderables and ambiguities. It is not the wineskin of the observable and measurable; it is the wineskin of the mind of God, searching the deep things of our hearts with unimpeachable exactitude (Heb. 4:12). It is the realm where only He, the Creator, can judge, not with human eyes or ears, but with righteousness (Isa. 11:3-4).

So we find that the New Covenant must go into a new wineskin. It’s not just a better set of laws or commands, but something of a higher order altogether, a new dispensation requiring a new way of ascertaining godliness. The Old Covenant dealt primarily in two realms: the physical world of objects and things, and the measurable and observable world of human behavior. The New Covenant abides in the realm of character and values and attitudes, intangible to humans, but known perfectly by God. The Old Covenant asks the question, "What did you do?" The New Covenant asks, "Who are you?"

Levels of Measurement

We can assign levels of importance to our human experience. Imagine a four-story building with a basement. Each floor up represents a higher level of importance of our existence. We’ll start in the basement, which really doesn’t represent anything about us per se, but about our environment -- where we live, the ecclesia to which we belong, our home, our workplace, etc. Not actually part of the living area of the house itself, the bottom level represents all those people and things which we contact daily. Our surroundings affect us, but we aren’t our environment.

First floor - behavior
The first floor represents what we do, our behavior. This level only represents our actions, not anything concerning our motives for doing what we do. The sinner and the Pharisee about whom Jesus told the parable exhibited the same behavior in the same place; both prayed at the temple (Luke 18:10). Likewise, two people can attend meeting (same behavior and environment) but have vastly different thoughts. However, at this first level of the house, we’re only talking about observable behavior: where we go, what we do at work, what we do at home, etc.

Second floor - knowledge
Let’s go up to the second floor, which represents our knowledge. Knowledge comes from life’s experiences as well as our Biblical and secular studies. We learn in many ways, and we can become greatly learned, but yet not do much with what we learn. Again, at this level we’re only talking about our knowledge, that is, what we know.

Knowledge can change our behavior, but it doesn’t always. Many people have learned, for instance, that smoking is bad for their health, but they continue the behavior of smoking. Spiritually, we all do things from time to time we know are wrong. Bible knowledge gives us the possibility of better spiritual lives, but it’s not the whole of spiritual living. However, we still have two more floors to go.

Third floor - attitudes
Ascending another flight, we come to the level that represents attitudes, values, and beliefs. These come from our knowledge also, but at this level knowledge has taken hold in our minds. The difference between knowing something, and truly believing something comes when we have personalized that knowledge through experience. For instance, the Bible teaches us to use forgiveness to repair interpersonal wrongs (e.g., Col. 3:13). We’ve all read this dozens of times. Yet, until we have experienced through forgiveness the restoration of a damaged relationship, it remains an academic issue. All of our faith remains academic until we act on it, experience it, and find its place in our lives. This is why our many powerful beliefs come not from book learning, but from personal experience. Have you ever tried to talk sense about the devil to someone who believes they have personally encountered the devil? In both positive and negative ways, we live out our beliefs about ourselves, God, and the world in which we live.

If we have negative experiences at an early age, we may have beliefs about ourselves and the world that make it very hard for us to function. Some people have experiences that make it very hard for them to trust others, or to trust God. Some people have never experienced love and affection. They may read and learn about these ideas, or know that other people experience them, but find it very hard to relate to the ideas themselves. So we want to nourish each other, especially our children, with positive experiences congruent with God’s love for us, and our love for God.

Fourth floor - identity
The top floor of our house represents what we could call the sum (though it’s really more than that) of our beliefs, values, and attitudes. We call this level our identity. Identity holds the most strategic position in our minds, and will have more impact on our behavior than any single belief or bit of information. We can think of ourselves as "a child of God," or "a disciple." Or, we can think of ourselves as "a loser," or as "a victim." Our identity shifts slowly, and is far more than the sum of what we do and where we do it. Someone once remarked, "We are human beings, not human doings."

Whatever we think of ourselves will guide our lives. God sees us at this level, as He does not measure our behavior or even our attitudes separately. He only sees a whole: a sheep or a goat. There’s no such thing, in God’s eyes, as "a pretty good goat," or a "not-so-good-sheep." He judges, completely and ineffably, at the identity level. Either we are disciples, or we are not. Identity is the most important force in determining our lives. Even more important, God’s assessment of our identity will determine our eternal destiny.

All factors interact
Obviously, all these levels interact with each other; we do have stairs leading up and down in our house. As our knowledge changes, so can our beliefs, and so should our behavior. Also, changes in behavior can lead to new beliefs. For instance, if you practice a skill, such as public speaking, until you master it, you might develop a new belief about your efficacy as a teacher. You might move from "I hate giving talks" to "I love to build others up through the spoken word" by practicing that behavior. Knowledge of the principles of preparing and delivering a talk can help shape the behavior, which in turn can help shape one’s attitude. Conversely, a negative experience (which could be at the environmental or behavioral level) giving a public address could adversely change one at the attitudinal level.

The two wineskins
What does all this have to do with wineskins? The Old Covenant dealt only with the two lower levels: what one did, and where one did it. It had no basis of relationship to values and motivation and identity. Only the wineskin of the New Covenant can accommodate the higher levels. This is not to say that the lower levels are of no importance; however, they only have importance relative to the attitudes which dictated them.

Moving from the Old Covenant to the New requires not only an appreciation of the higher levels, but the realization that we can’t move them down to the first floor or the basement. In other words, to live in the New Covenant, we need to live in the less tangible world of values and attitudes, and search for a personal identity congruent with the values of the Kingdom of God. We must not attempt to ritualize our faith, or think that we can assess anyone’s faith by what we observe in their lives.