New Wineskins
A Sermon on Wineskins from Matthew 9:16-17
Originally preached Feb. 11, 1962
Scripture
16No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. 17Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine …
Sermon Description
What is at the center of Jesus’s message? What is at the heart of all the parables and teachings of Jesus? In this sermon on wineskins from Matthew 9:16–17, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preaches that it is not the external ritualistic religion found in many churches today, nor is it the message of works righteousness. But at the heart of the message of Jesus is the truth that the gospel is the power of God to save. It is the truth that Jesus is the Messiah who came to die for sinners. By the working of the Holy Spirit, sinners can repent and believe in Jesus. They can be set free from sin and the wrath of God because of the gospel. The very presence of the gospel transforms people and confronts sin; it destroys the old life and breathes new life in Christ. What does this message mean for each and every person? The gospel is a call to believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. It is a call to experience the new life in Christ free from sin and evil. The gospel calls all to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus.
Sermon Breakdown
- Christianity is absolutely new and unique.
- It is unlike everything else in the world.
- It is like a piece of new cloth in contradistinction to an old cloth.
- It is like new wine in contradistinction to old wine.
- New bottles in contradistinction to old bottles.
- The disciples of John had stumbled because they had been brought up in Judaism.
- They thought the message of the Messiah was just going to be something that added on to, that, fitted into it, was just a direct continuation of it.
- Our Lord disabuses their minds and says it's different, it's unique.
- Everything about it is new and is different.
- What is different and new? Well, the first thing is he himself.
- This is a point he keeps on making, that he is unique.
- The Lord Jesus Christ stands alone.
- There was nobody in series before him.
- There has been no successor to him in series after him.
- He's alone. Here is something that the world has never seen before.
Sermons on the Gospel
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.