Free From Sin by the Life of Christ — Zac Poonen

So yesterday we were looking at Romans and chapters 1 to 5 and we saw how people sink into sin when they are unthankful to God. One way to avoid backsliding is by being thankful to God for every little thing.

Don't take anything as though you deserve it. Please remember that the only thing you deserve is hell. Anything better than hell we must be thankful for. So there are many many things we can thank God for.

But I find that many Christians haven't learned that lesson. Like the ten lepers who were healed, only one came back to thank God. So only 10 of Christians know how to thank God for all that he has done for them.

Seeking the Holy Spirit Through Praise

I trust that some of you are seeking for the baptism in the Holy Spirit. I want to show you the example of the 120 who are waiting in the upper room. Luke 24, the Lord said to the disciples, verse 49, stay in the city until you are endured clothed with power from on high, verse 52, they returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

And listen to this, they were continually in the temple praising God. It is in that atmosphere that they were filled with the Holy Spirit. You stay in that atmosphere of continually thanking and praising God, and hunger after him and you will be filled with the Holy Spirit too.

There are many temptations around you to complain and grumble, and if you get into that habit like other Christians, you will never be filled with the Holy Spirit. So, we saw in chapter 5 how we are justified by faith, verse 1.

Saved From Sin by the Life of Christ

And verse 9 says we are justified by his blood. And in verse 10, we find a very interesting expression. One refers to our past, the other refers to our future. In the past, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son.

In the future, we shall be saved by his life. Have you ever heard a sermon on being saved by the life of Jesus? All of Christianity preaches about being saved by the death of Jesus. But see here it says we shall be saved by his life.

What does that mean? We are saved from the penalty, punishment of sin by his death. But we are to be saved from the power of sin by his life. Sometimes the songs we sing, the theology is not correct, there is a song I think it is in Malayalam also, there is power in the blood, power in the blood.

In English, one verse says like this, would you be free from your passion and pride? There is power in the blood. Totally wrong. There is no power in the blood to free us from our passion and pride. There is power in the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from all our sins.

But not to free us from sin's power. I don't know if it is translated exactly like that in Malayalam, but if it is, ask yourself how many times you must have sung it and never thought about it. See, this is the careless way in which we sing songs to God, and that shows a careless attitude towards the things of God.

Now, if you were signing a legal document which involved many lakhs of rupees, you would never read it carelessly. You will never miss out something like this 10 -15 times when you read it, never. So, I ask, how is it Christians can sing this song 10 -15 times and completely miss it?

They probably sang it a hundred times. They would never make such a mistake in a legal document even once, because that involves money. And I want to say to you very honestly, it is because money means more to you than the things of God that you do not grow spiritually.

When you start taking the word of God as more serious than a legal document that involves money, there will be tremendous spiritual growth in you. When you read His word, when you sing the songs, God is watching to see how seriously you take the words you read and sing.

And if He sees you don't even care for it, you care more for a legal document, you think God will meet with you? Never. Because He sees you don't take Him seriously. He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Why is it other believers who have known the Lord for less time than you have gone ahead of you spiritually? Because they have taken things seriously. I think of some brothers who have come to CFC Bangalore.

In 3 -4 years, those young brothers have gone ahead of at least a hundred older brothers in CFC. I believe the reason is they have taken God's word seriously. God is more important to them than money.

And God always honors that. If you are not making spiritual progress in your life, you need to stop and think why. We have to be saved by His life from the power of sin. We are saved by the blood of Christ from the penalty of sin.

It's all written in the scriptures. But because some person wrote a song, we assume it must be right. There are a lot of wrong things in many songs and I never sing them. For example, in English, there is a song called Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah.

Pilgrim through this barren land. I don't know whether it's in Malayalam also. But I never sing that. Because he is not a Christian. He is not Jehovah to me. He is my father. So I say Guide Me O My Great Father.

But I see so many believers singing Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah. Show me one verse in the New Testament where God is called Jehovah. That is in the old covenant. And I have learned something from that.

The New Covenant and Rebuilding What Christ Destroyed

That 90 of Onagian believers even in Pentecostal churches are living in the old covenant. They talk to Jehovah, they pay the tithe. It's all old covenant. And the pastor is like a Levite. How do you think God sees all this?

When God sees that Jesus died to destroy the old covenant and you still resurrect the old covenant, how will God see it? I hope in CFC we will be a little more careful. By reading carefully. See this verse.

Galatians 2 .14. If I rebuild what was once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. Galatians 2 .14. Chapter 2, verse 14. Chapter 2, verse 14. This is Malayalam. Oh that's Malayalam, sorry. 14 is, is it Galatians?

Yes. If I rebuild, oh sorry, my mistake. Very often when I think it is somebody else's mistake, it's mine. It's Galatians 2 .18, sorry. That's a lesson for me. My vision is not so good nowadays. Galatians 2 .18.

If I rebuild what was once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.

If I rebuild what was once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.

Jesus destroyed many things on the cross. He destroyed the Sabbath. But the 7th day Adventists still keep it. He finished with the law as a way of salvation. He finished with typing and finished with the old covenant completely.

And in the resurrection, he started a new covenant. Don't rebuild what Jesus destroyed. Another thing Jesus destroyed is on the cross, Ephesians 2. It is the distinction between different groups of people in the world.

Ephesians 2 .14 He broke down the dividing wall between the different groups. So, if you again make distinction between believers, you are rebuilding the wall which Jesus broke down.

So, if you again make distinction between believers, you are rebuilding the wall which Jesus broke down.

If you can fellowship only with people of your own social level and not with people of another social level, if you can't enjoy equally good fellowship with someone from a very low social level,.

If you can't enjoy equally good fellowship with someone from a very low social level, you are just working in the middle of the work. It's not like you are standing at a high place and talking to people from a low social level.

It's not like you are talking to a Dada. Genuine fellowship is unequal.

If we can't do that, we are rebuilding what Jesus destroyed. If you can't fellowship with Tamilians and Telugu's and North Indians and Anglo-Indians who are believers equally, something is wrong with you.

If there is a language problem, I can understand. I am not saying that you should marry across cultures and castes. That's not my teaching. I am talking about fellowship as believers. So, in the life of Jesus, many things are destroyed.

The Law of the Spirit and Freedom From Sin

So, when it says saved by his life, that's how we are kept from sin. See, when it says in Romans 8 .2, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. The law of Moses was ten commandments.

The law of the spirit is not the sermon on the mount. Jesus did not replace the ten commandments with the sermon on the mount. Listen, he replaced the ten commandments with the holy spirit. Moses went to the mountain and brought ten commandments.

Jesus went to heaven and sent the holy spirit. So, the law of Moses was ten commandments. But the law of the spirit, Romans 8 .2, is life in Christ Jesus. That is how we overcome. It is not by me struggling, struggling, struggling on my own.

All of you who are struggling to overcome sin on your own, you are under the law. To be under the law doesn't mean you are an Israelite following Moses. To be under the law means you are struggling in your own strength to keep God's commandments.

It is very good you are trying to keep God's commandments. But as long as you are struggling in your own strength, you are under the law. That is why you are defeated. And that was the last lesson that Jesus taught his disciples before he ascended.

The Fishing Miracle and the Limits of Human Effort

With a miracle. With a miracle. And that was in John 21. Where the disciples went fishing. And they were expert fishermen. And we read there they tried, tried, tried all night to catch fish and they did not catch fish.

That is the picture of life under the law. No matter how much you try, you cannot overcome sin. You may be able to overcome one or two sins with a little yoga type of exercise. But basically your boat will be empty even if you toil all night.

That is the perfect picture of law. They thought they were expert fishermen. And we hear about victory over sin in the church and we say I can do it. And we try. And we fail. And we try again. And we fail.

I tried for many years and I constantly failed. As a believer. Constantly defeated. Till Jesus met with me. And then Jesus filled the boat in a moment. And Peter had never seen so many fish in his life in one catch.

You know that expression in Ephesians 3 which says he is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or even think. So that is how Jesus saves us from sin. And keeps us from falling. In the early days when I got victory over sin, I used to say I got victory over sin.

And the Lord said don't say that. Say Jesus keeps me from falling. There is a lot of difference between saying I got victory over sin and saying Jesus keeps me from falling. Here is how the law of gravity pulls this thing down.

This is how sin pulls us down. You go to any place in the world it falls down. There is a law of sin in you always pulling you down. You can't overcome it. This pen does not have the ability to overcome the law of gravity.

And if the pen had a mind it would know that's true I can't overcome it. And you must recognize you cannot overcome the law of sin. But my life can make this pen overcome the law of gravity. See the law of gravity is pulling pretty strong here.

It would like to pull it down. But it's being overcome. Not by the pen. Another life. That's what it says here in Romans 8 .2. The life of Jesus Christ has set me free from the law of sin. So I hope you'll never forget this picture.

If you think by your struggling a few more years you'll overcome you can struggle another 50 years you'll be wasting your time. Seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. But that's not enough. You also need to walk the way of the cross.

The Holy Spirit, the Cross, and Pentecostal Renewal

The Holy Spirit leads us along the way of the cross. That's how we come to a really godly life. You know wherever the Holy Spirit has been outpoured it's always a move of God. That can affect thousands of people.

I've heard of the outpourings of the Holy Spirit in Wales. In the early 1900s. In Los Angeles. In near Pune the Ramabai Mukti Mission. In Kerala in the 1920s. And wherever it happened the devil knew this is going to be a tremendous power that is going to bring people to Christ and build a church.

I believe that when the Pentecostal movement started in Kerala in the 1920s it was a very powerful force that would have shaken the whole of India. Some of those early preachers were persecuted, beaten, they were poor.

Just like the early apostles. But they were powerful. And the devil watched it. And the devil said this movement will shake all of India. So let me corrupt it. It wasn't easy to corrupt the whole of India.

Not just them with women because Indian culture is a little more strict on those things. That type of corruption is more prevalent today. But the devil said I can corrupt them with money. So he sent their leaders to Sweden.

Not to preach the gospel but to collect money. And there were godly Pentecostal leaders there who did not have wisdom how to help people in India. As I have seen missionary work in India in the last 100 years, it is money that has destroyed God's work.

So they went and they came back. And then one of them bought a car. Now a car in 1920 only extremely wealthy people could have a car. But this Pentecostal pastor had a car. So the other fellow thought how did he get a car and I didn't get it.

The division. Who won? The devil. And the work that God wanted to do was quenched right there. Not with sin.

With the love of money. With the love of living luxuriously. With a lot of comfort and honor. When I was 23 years old,.

Simplicity, Financial Integrity, and Servanthood

I met and fellowshiped with one I believe was the most godly man I have ever met in India. His name was Brother Bhaktsingh. He was converted just like Sadhu Sundar Singh. In the year that Sadhu Sundar Singh died, he was converted.

So he was a much older man than me. 36 years older. But he loved me very much. Because when I was a little baby, 2 months old, my father brought Bhaktsingh to the house and asked him to dedicate me. So Brother Bhaktsingh laid his hands on my head as a little baby and said, God, please let this little boy grow up to be your servant.

And 23 years later, I connected with him. And we were very close. He was almost training me like a Timothy to work with him. But a lot of his other co-workers were very jealous of my ministry and gradually I got pushed out.

But I have nothing against them. Because they pushed me out, we started CFC. So that was good. But one of the things Brother Bhaktsingh told me as a young man, he said, I'll give you 3 bits of advice.

In your entire life, never, never make your financial needs known to anybody in the world. Only tell your father in heaven. I left the Navy 50 years ago and I followed that advice. Secondly, he said, live very simply.

Don't buy unnecessary things, luxurious stuff. And that also, I have followed for 50 years. God gave me a wife who had the same spirit. So, we learned to live very, very simply in our house. With simple food, simple needs.

I rode a scooter for 43 years in this country. It was okay, I used to take my 3 children to the school on a scooter. And the third thing he said was, if somebody attacks you, I mean with words and criticisms, just keep quiet and never reply.

Those are the 3 best bits of advice anybody could give me. And that also, I have followed all these 50 years. Many people have attacked me. But no weapon formed against me can ever prosper. And every tongue that rises up against me, God will condemn.

I say that for your encouragement. The life of Jesus is a very simple life. If you seek to really follow Him, and you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to follow Him, God will really fill you with the Holy Spirit.

If you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit to be a great preacher, you may never be filled with the Holy Spirit. Why not ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit so that you can live a simple life, without any luxuries, and without answering back those who criticize you, and to be a servant of people.

That's what the Lord told me. If you are to be my servant, you must be a servant of all people as well. That is the life of Jesus. That is the secret of victory. Saved by the life of Jesus. So, it says in Romans 6, part of this experience, leads us to understanding how we were crucified with Christ.

Crucified With Christ and Raised in Him

And it says here in Romans 6, our old man was crucified with Him. The body of sin might be done away with, that we should never serve sin anymore. Look at that expression. We should no longer be slaves to sin.

If you understand this verse, you will no longer be a slave to sin. That your old man was crucified with Christ. And now the resurrection life of Jesus replaces the old man. You say, how can that be, when Jesus died 2000 years ago and I am born only now?

How can that be possible in my life?

Ephesians chapter 1 says, verse 4, God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. I was born in 1939. I was born again in 1959. But God knew me before Genesis 1 verse 1. Before the worlds were created, before the angels were created.

God who knows the future, knew that in 1939, I would be born. He knew that in 1959, I would give my life to Christ. So when did He choose me? Not in 1959. Not even when I was born. Before the worlds were created.

Because He knew the future. That's a great comfort to me. To know that I was in God's mind, before He created the world. And if you are born again, you were there also. In God's mind. So as far as God is concerned, I was already there.

Zach Poonen was there, before the world was created. Not in a body. But in God's mind. There was this person called Zach Poonen. Tremendous honor to me to know that. And so, it says here, He chose me in Christ, before the foundation of the world.

So when did He put me in Christ? Not 1959. Before the foundation of the world. You ask me when was I in Christ? Before the foundation of the world, according to Ephesians 1 .4. So I was in Christ. See, this is me.

And this is Christ. I am in Christ. When? Before the world was created. Many thousands of years later, See, whatever happens to this book now, happens to whatever is inside. If the book is burnt, the pen is burnt.

If the book is sent in a rocket to the moon, the pen will also go to the moon. Because the pen is in the book. I am in Christ. When? Before the world was created. And one day, Jesus is crucified on the cross.

And who was in Christ? Me. I was crucified. He was buried. Who was buried? I was buried. He rose up. I rose up. He went up to heaven. Ephesians 2 .6 says, I am seated with him in the heavenly places. This is one of the great truths that will lead you to a life of victory.

Many of us think of Christ in me. That is mentioned in Colossians. But many believers don't think of me in Christ. Ephesians is full of that. We need to understand both these truths. Christ in me is what is mostly emphasized.

That's good. Because Christ is in me, greater is the one who is in me than he who is in the world. But to overcome sin, you must know that you are in Christ.

When he died, you died.

And if you are united with him, you must accept that when he died, you died. And that's why you cannot live for yourself. There are two reasons why Jesus died. One, he died for the sins of the world. There is another reason why he died.

2 Corinthians 5 and verse 15. He died so that we who live might never again live for ourselves. So, there are two reasons why Christ died. He died for our sins. That all understand. But this everybody has not understood.

Like a coin, you know. You see one side and the other side. Both must be there. He died that I might never again live for myself. But live for Christ. That's why he died. When you understand that, then you will understand what it is to be a new creation.

See, because of this statement, he died, therefore we all died with him. We all died with him. And now he lives, that I might never live for myself but for him. Therefore what? Therefore, verse 17, we are a new creation.

The old things are passed away, everything has become new. What is the meaning of this? Meaning is verse 15. The old attitude of living for myself has gone. Has it gone from your life? All things have become new.

A new attitude of living for him and not for myself has come in my life. That's the meaning of verse 17. So Romans 6 says, our old man was crucified with him so that we might never be a slave to sin anymore.

The Flesh, the New Man, and Growth in Holiness

Now when you get into chapters 7 and 8, you read about the flesh. The flesh is different from the flesh. The flesh is different from the old man. The flesh is not crucified with Christ. The old man was crucified with Christ.

So, let me explain that to you. The old man is like an unfaithful servant who lived inside your heart. And the flesh and its lusts are like a gang of robbers who come to steal something. They come and knock at the door of your heart.

They say, I have come to steal something. I have come to steal your purity. The old man says, come in.

Take it. I have come to take your joy, to make you miserable. The old man says, come in.

I have come in to make you a grumbler and a complainer. The old man says, come in. One day you get fed up of that life and you receive Christ. Then you realize that that old man was crucified with Christ.

God has killed that old man. He is gone. Now a new man has come in. You are born again.

The old man is gone. But the flesh is still there. Those are the robbers. Again they come to knock. But now the new man says, I am not going to open the door. See, that's the difference between an old man and flesh.

So the new man tells the flesh, you are not going to come into this door.

Then how does a believer sin? Because believers also sin. That is because they don't feed the new man properly. So he is so weak. He wants to shut the door, but he can't shut the door. He is not like the old man.

The old man will open the door and say, come in. But the new man hates the lust in the flesh. And he wants to keep them out. That's your experience if you are born again. But because you are not strong enough, you don't read the word of God, in other words you don't eat your food.

You don't seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit continuously. You don't have the strength to close that door. And then you can fall into every sin that an unbeliever falls into. But the difference is the believer does not want to fall into sin.

So you need to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Then it says in Romans 6 .14 sin will not rule over you.

Because you will be under grace.

What does grace do? Hebrews 13 .9 Grace strengthens my heart to keep the lust of the flesh outside. Grace comes to strengthen my heart to keep the lust of the flesh. So that's what grace does. Then sin cannot enter your heart.

That's why you need to humble yourself always because God gives His grace to the humble. Any of you fall into sin.

I want to tell you the reason is because you are proud. Any of you fall into sin. I want to tell you the reason is because you are proud. There is only one reason why you lose your temper because you are proud.

There is only one reason why you lust with your eyes because you are proud. There is only one reason why you don't forgive others or jealous of others because you are proud. Because if you were humble God would have given you grace to strengthen your heart and that sin would never have come in.

So whenever you sin go to God and say Lord I am sorry I was proud somewhere please show me where I am proud. That's why you didn't give me grace. So once we get past that in Romans chapter 7 it speaks about being free from the law.

Dying to the Law and Marrying Christ

This is a chapter.

Which many people have not understood. What does it mean to be free from the law? For the old man to be crucified is one thing but here it speaks about in Romans 7 .4 of dying to the law.

So I want to explain that to you with an illustration.

See picture your relationship with the old man as a marriage. In your unconverted days you were married to the old man. He was a very bad husband and you were married to him. Always telling you to do wrong things always telling you to lust and get angry and fight and quarrel and to steal and to love money and to do all types of wrong things.

He was a very strong husband and we all obeyed that husband for many years. But a time came when we were fed up of this husband and we didn't know how to be free. Then God killed him. You say hallelujah I am free now.

This terrible husband is dead. Now I can marry the right person and you go you want to marry Christ. And you see this very upright person who never does anything wrong never asks anyone to do anything wrong very upright 100 upright and you say ah this is Christ.

And you marry him and you discover later on that was not Christ. It was a law very upright never tells you to do anything wrong not like the old man. Here it speaks in Romans chapter 7 verse 2 the married woman is bound by the law to her husband.

And it says here about being married to the law and the law doesn't tell you to do anything wrong. He is a very good husband upright husband but he is very strict. It's a picture of how we struggle to please God.

You know we are converted now. We have given up all old habits. We are striving to please God. That is the picture here of married to the law but the law is very strict. For example he is a husband who says I want breakfast at 8 o 'clock not 8 .01 8 o 'clock.

When you wash the clothes they must be absolutely clean without a spark. All the clothes must be ironed perfectly. The house must be.

Spotlessly clean. He never asks you to do anything wrong. Like the old man everything is right. How many of your sisters would be like to marry a man like this. Everything must be perfect and your life is becoming miserable.

Your life is becoming a mess. You are a very lazy person. In the morning you make breakfast at 11 o 'clock but the law says 8 o 'clock 8 o 'clock you don't know.

How to wash the clothes properly you don't know. The house spotlessly clean. It was like this before now. I am not doing anything bad now.

But frequently condemned and discouraged because I am not able to come up to the standards. This is the experience of many born again people. They finished with the old man their husband but they married the law.

And now they are wishing this husband they are wishing that this husband will also die. But he cannot die because the law of God is perfect he cannot die. He has got no blood pressure no diabetes nothing.

So this wife thinks.

I am doomed now for the rest of my life. So what does God do. God has got a solution for everything he cannot kill.

The law because it is perfect. You know what he does. He kills you he kills the wife and when the wife is killed the marriage is broken. That is what is said here is verse 3. As long as the husband is living she cannot join another man.

But if the wife dies the marriage.

Is broken. So it says in verse 4 brethren you were made to die to the law you were made to die.

Verse 4 to read there. So brethren we are the ones and were raised by many servants of God. You too are made to the law. You are made to die to the law. Why. See what it says here. So that you might be married to another even Christ.

You are made to die. So now because the marriage of the law is broken now you can marry Christ. And when you marry Christ you find he is just as strict as the law. Breakfast must be 8 o 'clock. Clothes must be perfectly clean.

House must be perfectly clean. But there is a difference. He tells you let's do this together. So first day you produce breakfast only at 11 o 'clock and Jesus says don't worry we will do it we will work together.

It will become better. He works with you. He makes the breakfast with you and slowly your breakfast comes to 10 o 'clock 9 o 'clock. And one day you can make breakfast at 8 o 'clock and you can keep the house perfectly clean.

You know I I I why is that. Because Jesus does 99 of the job and asks you to do 1 Wouldn't your sisters like to be married to a husband like that who says let's do it together. You do 1 I'll do 99 everything.

You do 1 I'll do 99 This is the christian life. If we ask Jesus to do 100 then we are like robots. God doesn't want robots. He wants us to choose. See if God made Adam like a robot he would never have sinned.

If made Adam like a robot he would never have sinned. He would walk up to the tree of knowledge and turn around and walk away because the program the computer is to go away from there. If you were programmed like a robot you would never sin.

God is a father. He doesn't want robots. He wants children even if they are little naughty in the beginning they'll grow up to be good children. You ask any father here. Would you like to have an obedient three year old robot.

When you come home from work the small robot will come to you. Hello daddy. Can I bring you your slippers or would you like a naughty three year old robot. This is a partnership with Jesus Christ where he says take my yoke upon you like two bullets under a but he does 99 and I do not to him.

The Founding of CFC and God's Faithful Remnant

In 1983 I was invited to speak at a big Church of God convention and I was also invited to a small house meeting in Kottayam. So I told the Church of God that I can't come for your 12 ,000 member convention.

God has told me to go to this small fellowship because it was at the same time it was January 1983 so I went to this house in Kottayam. There were a few people were meeting together and we had three four days meetings and I dressed like everybody else with a munda and all I wanted to be like everybody else and I preached the good news of victory and some people were gripped by that message and they said we want to start a church here.

That is how CFC started. I'm so thankful I did not go to that big 12 ,000 member convention. And from that time God has added many many other churches and different brothers have come and gone. But with all that sifting God has kept behind a godly remnant that wants to be a witness for him.

See the most wonderful thing I've seen in India and in other countries is that God has raised up godly leaders. It's not. God's work is not dependent on me. He's got many many servants and he's got many in Kerala too.

You must pray for them. Let's pray heavenly father please help us to honor you in our life and that there will be a very powerful light shining for you in Kerala all over especially all these young people here lord.