Free From Sin (Dutch) — Zac Poonen

So, brothers and sisters, I'm very happy to be here with you. I came to Kroosendam the first time in 1971. That's before many of you were born. And I spoke at a conference right here. Brother Arjan has asked me to say a few things about myself, because many of you don't know me.

I was an officer in the Indian Navy. And I was converted when I was in the Navy. At the age of 19. That was 57 years ago. And the Lord called me to leave my job. And exactly 50 years ago, I left my job to serve the Lord.

And since then, I've been traveling, preaching God's Word. And planting churches in India, in the villages, in the cities, and in many other countries as well. I've also written a number of books by the grace of God.

And I'm married, I've got four sons. They're all married too, and they're all following the Lord. And most of them are also elders of churches. So, we are very thankful for what the Lord has done in our family.

And also for what the Lord has done in many thousands of believers in our country. For the last 40 years, we've been traveling, planting churches especially. For the last 40 years, we've been traveling, planting churches especially.

The Authority of Scripture and the Need for the New Birth

All of us believe in Jesus Christ. But from where did you get your information about Jesus Christ? Maybe from your church, from your parents. There are so many thousands of churches. How do you know which one is true?

This is one of the things that puzzled me when I was a young Christian, 19 years old. I was born into an orthodox church. They never talked about being born again. They sprinkled some water on my head when I was a baby.

And told me I was a Christian. But I was not a Christian. I was just a lost sinner like everybody else in the world. But I used to go to church, read the Bible. Every morning I prayed before getting out of bed.

But I was not a child of God. Jesus told Nicodemus, unless you're born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. So our knowledge of Jesus must come from the Bible. Not from our parents or from some church.

So when I was born again, one of the first things I did was I started reading the Bible. I found many things which were taught in my orthodox church were not according to the Bible. Just like when Jesus came to earth, there were many things being taught by the Pharisees which were not according to the truth.

There are billions of books in the world. But there is only one book that God wrote. Do you believe it? That's the Bible. I'll tell you how you can know whether you believe that or not. All of us have read different types of books.

But if you really believed that the Bible is the only book that God wrote for man, you would read it, you would study it. If you don't read it and you don't study it, then you don't believe that that is the only book God has written.

When I was born again 57 years ago, and Christ came into my heart, I believed that the Bible was the Word of God. So the first thing I did was I said, Lord, I want to read this whole book as soon as possible.

So I read the whole book from Genesis to Revelation in six months, just to get an overview of what was written in the book. Many things I didn't understand then. Then I started studying it every day. While I was working on the ship, every time I had some spare time, I'd carry a little New Testament in my pocket.

And I would read it and study it because this was the Word of God. And this is the only book in the world that God had written. So I said, I want to know what this book says. And I spent seven years studying this book while I was in the Navy.

And then God took me out to preach the Word. I want to ask you something. You know, nowadays there are a lot of people who say they went to heaven and came back. I don't believe all of it. And there are people who say they see angels.

Some of those angels could be the devil, because the devil comes like an angel, you know. But supposing a real angel came to you one day and said to you, the Bible is the truth. You must read it. Jesus is the only way of salvation.

And everything written in the Bible is the Word of God. Would you start reading it if an angel told you that? And if an angel came and told you, unless you repent, you will go to hell? Would it make a difference to you?

The Rich Man, Lazarus, and the Necessity of Repentance

You know, Jesus told us a true story of a man who went to hell. He was a rich man, his name is not mentioned. It's in Luke chapter 16. It's not a parable. It's a true story. Because in a parable, Jesus never mentioned anybody's name.

Jesus spoke many parables, but he never mentioned anybody's name in a parable. But here he mentioned two names. A poor beggar called Lazarus, in Luke chapter 16, and Abraham. And the rich man's name is not mentioned.

That was out of kindness, because the rich man's relatives were still on earth. He didn't want to mention his name. But Jesus said that rich man went to hell. Now let me tell you something. That rich man is in hell even today.

He's been there 2000 years. And Lazarus went up to be in paradise with Abraham. So the rich man, from hell, he could speak to paradise. Remember, this is not a parable, it's a true story. The only person who walked on this earth, who knows everything about hell and paradise, was Jesus Christ.

And Jesus was telling a true story here. This rich man tells Abraham, in Luke 16, 27 and 28, please send Lazarus to go down to earth and tell my five brothers to repent. To warn them. And he says, and Abraham says, no, there's no need for Lazarus to go there.

There is no need for an angel, there's no need for Lazarus, anybody to go. Why? Verse 29, they have got the Bible. They have got the Bible. They've got the Bible, why do they need somebody angel or Lazarus to come down and tell them?

Take that word seriously. You have got the Bible. When he talked about Moses and the prophets, that's the Old Testament Bible they had those days. And so Abraham is saying, I don't need to send anybody from heaven to go and tell them.

They've got the Bible. Let them read that. That is the truth. And then the rich man says, no father Abraham, if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent. What does he say from hell? They must repent.

He knows why he went to hell. Now he was a Jew. He was a descendant of Abraham. He calls Abraham, father Abraham. But he went to hell. Because he did not repent. He knew that. And he knew he had five brothers on earth who had not repented.

He knew that all the Saturdays he went to the synagogue did not help them. He knew that all the tithes that he had paid did not help him. He was lost in hell because of one reason. He did not turn from his sins.

He may have heard John the Baptist preaching. Repent, repent, repent. But he didn't think, oh that's not serious. Abraham is my father, I'll go to heaven. And what a surprise he got when he died. That he did not go to heaven.

Even though Abraham was his father. Why? He knew it. He did not repent. And so he said, please warn my five brothers. Otherwise they will also come here. They have not turned from their sins. They go to synagogue, which is like our going to church.

They may be reading the Bible. But they have not repented. That is the condition of many Christians today. And every person who has not repented, finally joins this rich man in hell. We may not believe it, but the rich man believed it.

So he says, please send Lazarus to go and warn them. And look at Abraham's answer. This is very, very important. Verse 31. If they don't listen to what is written in the Bible, they will not be convinced, even if someone goes back from the dead.

Let me read that again. If they don't listen to what is written in the Bible, even if somebody comes from heaven, they will not believe it. What does that teach us? That what is written in the word of God is more truthful, than even if somebody came from heaven and told us.

And that is why it is so important to read the Bible. You may not believe it, but the devil knows it. And that is why he has succeeded in raising up a generation of people today who do not know the scriptures.

Today's young people know more about television than they do about the Bible. Today's young people know more about television and movies than they do about the Bible. And they think that God is happy with them, just because they go to church.

Listen to the voice that comes from hell. A man who has been there 2000 years already. What is he saying from hell? If they do not repent, they will join me in hell. And that applies to all of us. Don't think, just because I believe in Jesus, everything is okay.

The devil also believes in Jesus. The devil believes the Bible is the word of God. The devil believes God is a trinity. The devil believes that Jesus is the only way of salvation. You also may believe that.

But the one thing the devil does not do is turn from his sin. John the Baptist was sent as a forerunner for Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said that John the Baptist was the greatest prophet ever born on earth before Christ came.

But do you know that the greatest prophet, John the Baptist, never did a single miracle? Some people think if you are a great prophet, you will do miracles. The greatest prophet never did a miracle. There were some prophets like Elijah and Elisha who did miracles.

But there were many other prophets in the Old Testament who wrote the prophecies in the Old Testament who never did any miracle. And John the Baptist, the greatest prophet, never did any miracle. But one thing John the Baptist did, he preached repentance.

Turn from sin. And all the prophets preached turn from sin. So the one common thing of all the prophets was not that they did miracles, but they all preached repentance. You read all the prophets in the Old Testament.

They all preached to Israel to turn from sin. Most of Israel did not listen to those prophets. They persecuted them, tortured them and killed them. There were also a lot of false prophets in the Old Testament.

The false prophets never preached against sin. They probably preached like a lot of false prophets today. God is a good God. He loves you and He will take care of you. I want you to see what John the Baptist preached in Matthew chapter 3 and verse 2.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. And you know that King Herod got angry with John the Baptist and locked him up. So when that one voice that was preaching repentance was silenced by being put in a prison.

See what happened in the next chapter. Chapter 4 verse 12. Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody. So what did Jesus do? Verse 17. He began to preach, repent, the kingdom of heaven is near.

So when one prophet was silenced by being put in prison. Jesus took the same message. And he preached the same thing. Repent, turn from sin. That was the message of the prophets. And that's what Jesus preached.

And when Jesus died and went up to heaven. Somebody else had to preach that message. So you read on the day of Pentecost, Acts chapter 2. After Peter preached the gospel. All the people were convicted, Acts 2 .37.

And they asked Peter, what shall we do? And Peter says, repent. You see how there's this continuous message that God has through his prophets. Repent means turn from sin. The kingdom of heaven is near.

See the Israelites had been spending all their life seeking things on earth. So repentance was not just turning from sin. It was turning from being preoccupied with the things of earth to begin to think of the things of heaven.

John the Baptist said, turn around from being occupied with earthly things and think of heaven now. So when John the Baptist finished his ministry, Jesus began to preach the same thing. And when Jesus finished his ministry, then Peter began to preach the same thing.

And another great apostle was Paul. See what he says in Acts 20. He had spent three years in Ephesus and he's called the elders in Ephesus and told them this. Acts 20, verse 20. He says three years in Ephesus and he's called the elders in Ephesus and told them this.

He says, three years I was with you. And he says, I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable. And publicly and from house to house, I preached the message. To everybody, the same message, Jews or non-Jews, same thing.

What was it? Turn towards God and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. There were two things in the message that the apostles preached. Turn from sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is what God has joined together.

You know, we say in marriage, what God has joined together, let nobody separate. And just like the devil has succeeded in bringing divorce in so many marriages. He's also brought a divorce in the message of the gospel.

God has joined repentance and faith in Christ together. But the devil has brought a divorce there. And you don't hear much about repentance now. It's mostly about believe, believe, believe. And that's a deception.

Because if you believe without repentance, you're not going to be saved. But most people today have tried to believe without repentance. And what is the result? They live in sin. And think, I'm on my way to heaven.

That is a deception. God hates sin. And we need to understand how serious it is to be living in sin. You see, for example, we know that Adam and Eve were sent out of Eden, which is a paradise, because of one sin.

How many sins did they commit? One. And they couldn't be in God's presence. Right at the beginning of the Bible, that story is written to show us that one sin is enough to bring us to heaven. That story is written to show us that one sin is enough to cut you off from God's presence.

Just remember this. This is how the Bible begins. One sin is enough for God to send you out of His presence forever. That is the message right at the beginning of the Bible. But do you think most Christians believe that?

How many Christians believe that one sin in their life will cut them off from fellowship with God? It's like if you cut this electric wire, the electricity stops immediately. Just one cut and it's gone.

The lights are gone. That's why we need to see the seriousness of sin. Only when you see the seriousness of sin, you will see the importance of repentance. And the greater proof of the seriousness of sin is what we see in Calvary's cross.

Many of us have not meditated sufficiently on the cross of Calvary. What was it that held Jesus to the cross? It was not the nails. Nails can never hold Almighty God on a cross. We need to see it was your sin and my sin.

If our sin was not there, Jesus would have come down from the cross. It's a wonderful thing when you see that it was your sin that kept Jesus on the cross. Then you see how serious sin is. And you see how much He loved you to be willing to pay the price to save you from that sin.

Salvation From Sin, Not Merely Forgiveness

Do you know that Jesus loved you so much that He hung on the cross to pay the price for your sin? Did you know that Jesus did not come to take us to heaven? Most Christians are told, don't go to hell, come to heaven and believe in Jesus.

If you come to Jesus to escape hell, you will not be saved properly. If you come to Jesus merely to go to heaven, you will not be saved properly. I'll tell you why. We use the word saved, saved, saved so often.

It's a very common word used by all believers. Do you know where the word saved comes for the first time in the New Testament? I want to show it to you. It is not to save us from hell and it is not to take us to heaven.

Turn to Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21. The angel comes to Joseph and says, Mary, your wife is going to have a baby conceived by the Holy Spirit and she is going to have a son. And you must call his name Jesus.

Why should you call his name Jesus? Do you know the reason? Read it. Matthew 1 .21. That is the first promise in the New Testament and it's the first time the word saved comes in the New Testament. You shall call his name Jesus because he is going to save his people from their sins.

So the first time the word saved comes in the New Testament has got nothing to do with hell. It's got to do with being saved from sin. If you are not saved from sin, you are not going to be saved from hell.

Jesus, his name is Jesus, not because he came to save people from hell, he came to save people from their sins. That's the first promise in the New Testament. It's the first time the word saved comes.

It's the first time the word saved comes. So, when you say you are saved, I hope it means you are saved from your sins. Not saved from hell. The Bible always speaks about being saved from sin. I was telling you how when I was first converted, I saw all these hundreds and thousands of churches and all these churches have the same Bible.

They all say, we've got the truth. The Roman Catholics say, we've got the truth, we've got the Bible. The Protestants say, we've got the truth. The Reformed Church says, we've got the truth. The Church of God says, we've got the truth.

The Baptists say, we've got the truth. The Charismatic say, we've got the truth. And the Jehovah's Witnesses, they say, we've got the truth. And the Mormons, they say, we've got the truth. How was I to know which is the truth?

Because they're all holding the Bible. And the Lord showed me one verse. I want you to see that. John chapter 8, verse 32. This is how to know which is the truth. John 8, verse 32. Jesus himself said, You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

So how to know whether we've got the truth? We will become free. But they said, we're not a slave to anybody. What do you mean we are free? We are already free. No. You may say, I'm in a country that's free.

Jesus said, What type of freedom am I talking about? Truly, truly, I say to you, verse 34, If you commit sin, you are not free. You're a slave. You're a slave of sin. You're not free. So he's not talking about a country becoming independent.

He's not saying we are a free country. You see, I'm not a slave. But Jesus said, Read these words of Jesus. Verse 34. Does that include you? Everyone who commits sin, is the slave of sin. And there's only one way to be free.

Verse 36, if the Son of God makes you free, you'll really be free. So I realized something from there. Here are all these churches holding the Bible and saying, we've got the truth. Which is the truth?

That church, which helps me to be free from sin in my life, that church has got the truth. That church, which helps me to be free from sin in my life, that church has got the truth. But I went to so many churches and they only told me how to be saved from hell.

You shouldn't go to hell, they said. Don't you want to go to heaven? Believe in Jesus. He'll take you to heaven. And I met so many people like this. Who say, yes, I asked Jesus to come into my heart. But they live the same defeated life they were living all their life.

They watched pornography when other people are not watching them. Just like those unconverted non-Christians. What is the difference between an unconverted non-Christian watching pornography on his smartphone and you watching pornography on your smartphone?

No, no difference. He's a slave to pornography. He's a slave of sin and you're a slave of sin. He's not a Christian and he's a slave of sin you call yourself a Christian and you're a slave of sin. He's not a Christian and he's a slave of sin you call yourself a Christian and you're a slave of sin.

Do you think a slave of sin is going to God's kingdom? Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit has come you will be my witnesses. What does it mean to be a witness for Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be a witness of Jesus Christ?

Not bearing witness, but being a witness. Bearing witness is like you go into a court and you witness and tell the judge what you saw, what you heard. So, if Jesus said you're going to bear witness, then it is just a question of preaching the gospel.

But in Acts 1 .8, Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall be my witnesses. He said in Matthew 5 .14, you are the light of the world. Not you will speak the truths which are the light.

You are the light of the world. Jesus first said, I am the light of the world. Do you understand that? He said in John 8 .12, I am the light of the world. He didn't say, I just speak truth which is light.

I am the light of the world. How long was he the light of the world? Read John 9 .5. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. This is so clear, even a little seven-year-old child can understand it.

You ask a seven-year-old child, when was Jesus the light of the world? Read that verse. When Jesus was in the world, he was the light of the world. He's not in the world today. He's gone up to heaven.

He said that in John 17. Father, I'm no longer going to be in the world. I'm coming to you. But he was the light of the world only when he was in the world. So who is the light of the world today? People say Jesus Christ.

But John 9 .5 says he was the light of the world only when he was here. Then who is the light of the world today? Read Matthew 5 .14. Jesus looked at his disciples. And he said, you are the light of the world.

That is, when Jesus came into them, and filled them with the Holy Spirit, they became the light of the world. Remember, these are the words of God. So if somebody were to ask me, who is the light of the world?

When I say me, you'd say, what a proud man. No, no, I'm not being proud. I'm just quoting Matthew 5 .14. Why are you afraid to say that about yourself? Do you believe what Jesus said, you are the light of the world?

Why are we afraid to take that responsibility? Because we live with so much darkness in our life. We know there are secret sins in our life. Husbands and wives are fighting with each other at home. They get angry.

They speak rude words. How can they say, we are the light of the world? They have to say, we are darkness. That's why the devil has succeeded in ruining Christian testimony. That's why we need to come back once again to hear that truth, which says, the truth will set you free.

And we need to hear what Jesus said, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And we need to hear again what Jesus said, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. It is a great deception of the devil. When he says, Jesus can forgive your sin, but he cannot set you free from your sin.

Then you are quoting Matthew 1 .21 wrong. Matthew 1 .21, supposing it read like this. You shall call his name Jesus, because he will forgive people their sins. No, that is not true. Because forgiveness of sin was there in the Old Testament.

Forgiveness in the Old Testament and Christ’s Saving Work

Let me tell you something that was written 1 ,000 years before Christ was born. Psalm 103, written by David, 1 ,000 years before Christ came to earth, David says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

And O my soul, verse 2, don't forget all his benefits. And verse 2, my soul, don't forget one of his benefits. Number 1, verse 3, who pardons all your sins. And you ask David, hey David, are all your sins forgiven?

Yes, yes. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he wrote Psalm 103, verse 3. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he wrote Psalm 103, verse 3. He knew forgiveness of sins. See what he says in Psalm 32.

David again writes there. Psalm 32, how blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute any sin.

And you say, David, you mean the Lord does not impute any sin to you? He'll say, yes, my sins are forgiven. And he'll say, yes, my sins are forgiven. Do you mean that you believe in Jesus? Then David would have said, I don't know who Jesus is, but Yahweh has forgiven all my sins.

And that is a thousand years before Jesus came. So if Jesus can only forgive sins, then we would say, that's not special, Yahweh did that to David. That's an old covenant. Lord Jesus, what is the special thing you are bringing?

He will save his people from their sins. Let me use an example. Supposing I have a six year old boy. And I tell him, be careful, they are digging the road outside, don't go near there, there's a ten foot pit there, you'll fall into it.

But he disobeys me. And he goes there and he falls into that ten foot, three meter pit. And he cries out, daddy, daddy. And I go to him and say, what happened, son? Daddy, I'm sorry, I disobeyed you. Please forgive me.

Okay, forgiven, goodbye. Have I forgiven him? Yes. Have I saved him? No. You see how you can forgive someone and not save him? You know, a lot of people say, Jesus is my savior. So I ask them a question.

What has he saved you from? Has he saved you from getting angry? No, they say no. Has he saved you from having dirty thoughts? No, no. Has he saved you from pornography? No, now and then I watch that.

Has he saved you from bitterness against people? No. Has he saved you from the love of money? Has he saved you from being jealous of others who are better than you? Has he saved you from jealousy? Has he saved you from pride?

No. He hasn't saved you from anything. What has he saved you from? Well, he says, well, I get angry, but then I confess, he forgives me. And I have plenty of dirty thoughts, but I confess them and he forgives me.

I shout at my husband every day, but he forgives me. I shout at my wife every day, but God forgives me. I say, then Jesus is not your savior, he is your forgiver. Don't call him savior, because he saved you from nothing.

But he has forgiven you. Call him by the right name, forgiver. But he didn't come only to forgive. That is an Old Testament blessing. You shall call his name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

Who is he going to save? Those who are desperately eager to be saved from the filthy, sinful things in their life. The filthy things in their life. The Old Testament was called the law. And the New Testament message is called grace.

True Grace and Freedom From Sin

How can we know if we are under the law or under grace? Then you can say, yes, because I believe in Jesus, so I am under grace. But the devil also believes in Jesus. How do you know if it is a belief of your head or a belief of your heart?

There is a lot of belief of the head in Jesus. There are a lot of people all over the world who do believe in Jesus rationally. But a belief of the heart is something different. How do we know that we are not under the law, but under grace?

You know, the Bible speaks a lot about being deceived. In Revelation 12, verse 10, Satan is called the deceiver of the whole world. Sorry, 12, verse 9. He is the deceiver of the whole world. So, one of the areas where he deceives us is, he can tell you that you are under grace when you are not under grace.

Here is a verse that will tell you whether you are under law or under grace. Remember, this is the only book that tells us the truth, the Bible. Romans 6, verse 14. I want to tell you one thing before I read that verse.

When you read God's word, if it says something different from what you have always believed, are you honest enough to say, Lord, I am willing to change my mind? Or, are you going to say, No, what my church has taught me for hundreds of years, that is the truth, not the Bible.

I have heard many Roman Catholics say that. When I share the word of God with them, they say, no, no, no, no, our church teaches the truth. And what the Pope says is the truth. There is no point in showing them the Bible then.

But there are many Protestants like that too. No, no, no, what the church has taught us is the truth. Do you know, about 150 years ago, all the scientists in the world believed that the atom cannot be split.

Every scientist in the world. And about 600 years ago, all the people in the world believed that the sun goes around the earth. It was here in Holland, a man called Copernicus decided to check it out.

Thank God, he checked it out and discovered it's wrong. So some things that people have believed for a long time, from the time of Adam to the time of Copernicus, more than 5 ,000 years. Everybody believed the sun is going around the earth.

Because it looks like that. But everybody was wrong. Somebody decided to check it out. Much more in relation to the Bible. Don't think that what you have is wrong. Don't think that what you heard from your church is necessarily true.

Or what your father or grandfather believed is true. Jesus said, heaven and earth will pass away, my words will not pass away. So here is what the Bible says. Now when you come to there, you've got to forget about what everybody else says.

You don't even believe me, but believe the Bible. Romans 6, 14. Sin will not rule over you because now you are under grace, not under law. Now, you give that verse to a 10-year-old boy who has never read the Bible, say a non-Christian, but someone who can understand your language.

You say, son, can you read that verse? Can you tell me what that verse says? Just from that one verse, can you tell me who is under law? Even a 10-year-old will say, if sin rules over you, you are under law.

And you say, son, how do you know whether you're under grace? Say, sin will not rule over me. Have you understood that? Even a 10-year-old can understand it. Sin shall not rule over you when you're under grace.

And you're not under law. You're not under law. You know, I was born again, I told you, 57 years ago. I believe Jesus had forgiven me. But I was defeated. Year after year after year, I knew Jesus as forgiver.

Every time I sinned, I was really sorry for my sin. But Lord, I said, I can't get victory over my anger. I can't get victory over my dirty thoughts. I love money. But I love you, Jesus. Every time I sin, I say, Lord, forgive me.

I lived like that for many years, just like most believers. Because I thought there's no better life than this. Jesus forgives, but he cannot save. I didn't realize what an insult it is to Jesus. Because I was saying, the devil is more powerful than Jesus Christ.