BRAND NEW

Sermon Summary, 1/21/18, “Brand New” (Mt 5”:21-24’ John 13:34-35; Gal 5:6, 14)

In 2015, Andy Stanley presented a “Brand New” series, the premise of which asked if Jesus be happy with Christianity’s 1000s of denominations, huge cathedrals, personalities, and divisive interpretation of the Scripture of today?  Would he believe that’s what he intended when in fact he gave us a way of living that was “Brand New”? 

To understand “Brand New” we need to understand the old, what Andy Stanley calls the Temple Model, which always had Sacred Places, and Sacred Texts, and Sacred Men (almost always men) to interpret the Sacred Texts and control the Sacred Places, and then there were the Sincere (or superstitious or scared) People. 

It was to be the old model, but unfortunately, it has crept back into our faith today.  We see it don’t we?  So Jesus came along with something “Brand New” based on a New Covenant (“this is my blood of the New Covenant poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins”), a new command (not hundreds but one, “to love one another”), a New Ethic based on the new command, and a new movement of people who lived out the new ethic to transform the world.

For 400 years Christianity lived the “Brand New” life that Jesus called us to.  Rather than a men, Jesus was the focus.  Rather than places, people were sacred (“love your enemies, pray for those that persecute you.”). Rather than a church, the New Movement was to “Go.”

In the fourth century, Constantine made Christianity the religion of he realm.  He built places that became sacred, the Bible was codified but could only be read by sacred men who thought the Bible too dangerous for the masses, and the sincere people became subject to the sacred men who interpreted the sacred texts and controlled the sacred places.

Even after the Reformation, when Luther and Calvin believed everyone should be able to read the Bible, we have weaponized our interpretations of the Text and used it against one another.  We seem to like the old way, but Jesus warned us that we can’t put new wine in old skins (next week), but maybe it was Paul who said it best when addressing the Galatians who had been told by others after Paujl, they had to follow all the old Jewish laws before they could become a Christian, including circumcision.  He said, “⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Gal 5:6)  The only thing that counts, the only thing is faith expressing itself through love!  Paul wraps it us with verse 14 “For the entire law is fulfilled in one commandment, that you love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus said everything hangs on it!  It was a “Brand New” thing.