True Spirituality - Doing the Will of God — Zac Poonen

The Judgment of Believers’ Works

Let's turn to God's word in 1 Corinthians and chapter 3. When we read the word of God carefully, which I have discovered is not a practice followed by most believers, we will discover some amazing things.

For example, here is a passage like that. In 1 Corinthians 3 it says, that day when Jesus Christ will come back and we will all stand before him, we may be born again, our sins are forgiven, but it says here in that day, even though we have built our life on the foundation of Christ, verse 11, it says on that foundation, here it's not a question of the foundation, here it's a question of the superstructure.

Verse 12, if any man builds upon that foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, that's one alternative, or with wood, hay and straw, each man's work will become evident, for the day will show it, and that's referring to the day when Jesus comes again, because his work will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work, notice the word quality, quantity, unfortunately we assess people in Christendom today by quantity, statistics of a man's work, or of the results of an evangelist's labors, or of the ministry of a church, are always in terms of numbers, here it doesn't say anything about quantity, it says the fire will test the quality of each man's work, and if any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward, but if any man's work is burnt up by that fire, he shall suffer loss, he himself shall be saved, so here it's not a question of whether you go to heaven or hell, it says the man himself is going to be saved, he's going to get into God's presence, and all those believers whose only ambition in life is to get a last seat in heaven, need not worry about this passage at all, they need not hear anything for the next three days, I'm speaking for those who are not satisfied with getting a last seat in heaven, I want to speak to those who don't want to do just the bare minimum for the Lord Jesus Christ, to scrape in by the skin of their teeth into God's presence, I want to speak primarily to those who are so gripped with gratitude for what Jesus Christ did for them on Calvary's cross, that they say, Lord, what's the maximum I can do for you on earth before I leave this world, not what is the bare minimum I need to do to somehow or the other get into your presence and live eternal ages with you, having lived a selfish, self-centered life on earth, so the people I'm speaking to I hope becomes clear now, and I believe it's to such people the Bible speaks, Jesus did not call people who wanted to somehow get into heaven by the skin of their teeth and get a last seat there, he called people who were willing to forsake everything, deny themselves every day, because they were so tremendously gripped by gratitude to Jesus for what he has done, once Jesus was in the house of a Pharisee, and there a sinful woman came to wash his feet with her tears, and Jesus told a parable to the Pharisee there when he was inwardly judging the Lord for allowing this woman, this sinful woman to even touch his feet, and he said there were two people who were forgiven, one let's say 500 pounds and the other 50 pounds, and who will love more, and Simon the Pharisee said obviously the one who is forgiven more, and Jesus said the one, you see this woman she is forgiven much, she loves much, how much we love the Lord depends on how much we recognize we have been forgiven, how much we have been actually forgiven, because actually nobody has been forgiven little, you may think you have committed very few sins, one day when the Lord comes you will discover nobody has been forgiven little, everybody has been forgiven a tremendous lot, much, but the awareness of how much we have been forgiven varies, there are many people who have been forgiven much who think that they were not so bad as others, who therefore think they have been forgiven little, but there are others who have a greater understanding of God's purity and holiness, and recognize that in the light of that purity and holiness they have been forgiven a tremendous lot, and the proof of that is they love much, they don't find any comfort in this verse which says even though their work is burnt up they shall still be saved, they don't find any comfort in that and they are not basing their life on that verse either, they say Lord that's not for me, that's for all those people who feel they haven't been forgiven much and who are ungrateful, but I am not one in that category and I hope none of us here are in that category, I hope our singing thank you to the Lord in our songs will manifest itself in seeking to do the maximum for Him before we leave this earth.

Spirituality Versus Religiosity

I thought it would be good if in these three sessions we consider the difference between spirituality and religiosity, a lot of people are religious but think that they are spiritual, there is a world of difference between being religious and being spiritual, you know the Bible speaks in 2nd Timothy 3 .5 of those who have a form of godliness without the power, that's what I mean by religiosity, having a form of godliness, form can consist of going to meetings, reading the Bible, praying every day, giving permissions, a lot of emotion in our singing, without the inner power that makes a man truly spiritual, here is an example of a man who is religious, he doesn't go to hell, he has got his foundation right, he has trusted the Lord for his salvation, he has spent his life, his time, his money, his energy, his talents, his gifts, his opportunities building cave and straw, maybe quite a lot of work, statistics wise very impressive, but when wood, hay and straw is put into the fire, there is nothing left, because the fire is not impressed by the size of the wood or the amount of the hay or the straw, it tests the quality, this is good for nothing, it's burnt out, imagine the sorrow and the regret that a lot of believers, for remember this is not speaking about unbelievers, it's speaking about people who are saved, life's work is burnt up, who are going to stand in eternity, recognizing they have lived for themselves, thank you songs in the meetings were empty, because it did not produce any self-denial in them, they were just plain religious, but because multitudes of Christians around them did not have discernment, they got along pretty well, maybe they were even elders in churches, I believe lots of people in spiritual leadership are not spiritual, they are religious, so it's good for us to focus on this, what does it mean to build with gold, silver and precious stones, gold, silver and precious stones into the fire and it remains, even if it's very little, I'd rather have a little gold in the final day than tons of wood, hay and straw, I want to turn in that connection to a verse in Romans, so that we can try and understand what is the difference between gold, silver and precious stones on one side and wood, hay and straw on the other, Romans chapter eleven and verse thirty-six, in Romans eleven thirty-six is a little verse which says, from God and through God and to God, all things on earth are not from God and through God and to God, a lot of things on the earth, in fact most things on the earth are from man, through man and to man, but here it's referring to things which are going to abide for eternity, things that have eternal value, we could read it like this, that all the things that are going to last forever are the things that have originated in God, that have been done through God's power and that have been done unto him for his glory, everything else which originated in man's brilliant mind and done through human power and all the abilities man has and which was done for the glory of man, will not last for eternity, so there we see, this is gold, silver and precious stones, what was in the will of God, by the power of God, that's gold, silver and precious stones that will remain for eternal ages and all the rest, for example, even Christian work, which was done without seeking the will of God, which was done through the power of money or emotions or hypnosis or anything like that and which was done for the honor of the preacher or the honor of the organization or for the promotion of a particular church or denomination, will all be burnt up in the final day, it's good for us to know it now, so that we don't waste our time building with wood, hay and straw, there's an example of this in the Old Testament, in the book of Genesis chapter 11, in Genesis chapter 11, we read about the building of the tower of Babel, the tower of Babel is the origin, is the beginning of what finally ends up in the book of Revelation as religious, which is called in Revelation 17, the mother of harlots, spiritual harlotry, what is spiritual harlotry?

Babylon and the Danger of Humanly Generated Religion

James says, know ye not brethren, he who loves the world is an enemy of God, he who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God, and he says you can be an adulteress, in fact he calls them adulteresses in James 4 .4, know ye not that friendship with the world is to be the enemy of God, that's how a person becomes a spiritual harlot, when he claims to be the bride of Christ, and during her engagement period, fools around with another man, called the world, while waiting for her bridegroom to come, but the origin of that whole religious system of spiritual harlotry begins here in Genesis chapter 11, with Babylon, and how does it begin?

How did Babylon begin? It's a whole lot of people who were united, let's remember one thing here, all unity is not necessarily from God, these people were united, but they were united against God, and they thought up an idea, this did not originate from God, it originated in man's brilliant brain, they said come, let us, Genesis 11 .4, build a city, they had a plan, they didn't need to see God, it was from man, it was through man, with their energy and their strength, they did not need God's power for any of these things, and it was to man, it says here in verse 4, let us make for ourselves a name, brothers and sisters, that is the fundamental principle of Babylon, of religiosity, it is Christian work, Christian service, which originates in man's fertile mind, without studying the scriptures, without seeking to understand God's way, without seeking the will of God, which does not need to wait before God in prayer, the cleverer we are, the less we pray, the less we need to pray, because we are capable ourselves, if we are wanting to build Babylon, that which originates in man's mind and is done through man's power and for man's glory, we can look at it another way, Saint Adam, into the garden of Eden, there were many trees there, but the two trees particularly mentioned, you know them, one is the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, and the other is the tree of life, have you ever wondered, God said to Adam, that if you eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will die, why is the knowledge of good and evil bad, isn't it a good thing to know good from evil, to do evil, I mean if God had said, if you do evil, you will die, that we can understand, but to know good and evil, what's wrong in that, and yet the Lord said, if you go and eat from that tree, you will die, was the knowledge of good and evil something that led to spiritual death, you see these two trees symbolize two principles of living, one is a way of life where I have the knowledge of good and evil resident within myself, I have eaten of the tree, of that fruit, it has come inside me, I don't need God now, I hadn't eaten of that, and I go to the tree of life instead, that speaks of another way of life, where every time I want to know good and evil, I have to go to God, that knowledge is not resident within me, I have to go to God and say, Lord what's your will, but once I eat of this tree, I don't need to go to God anymore, I got it all within me, it speaks of two ways of life, one is a way, a life independent of God, not doing evil necessarily, but not referring to God in wanting to know His will, do you know that there are a lot of things, which look good to the eyes of man, but which are not the will of God, twice in the book of Proverbs, once in chapter 14 and second time in chapter 16, it says, there is a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is death, and it's interesting that the Holy Spirit has recorded it a second time in chapter 16, just in case you missed it in chapter 14, that is, there is a way that seems right to a man, there are a lot of things that seem right to us, but the end thereof is death, you see, just because a man is religious, doesn't mean he is hungering after God, man is basically religious, we see that in all the religions in the world, they are not seeking after God, but man is basically religious, just like he feels hungry and wants food, just like he feels sleepy and wants to sleep, he also is religious, when a person in a false religion is religious, we identify that as, that's not spirituality, but when a person is religious in the name of Jesus Christ, we automatically think he is spiritual, not necessarily, it may be the same motivating power and force that motivates that person in the false religion, that motivates this man to do things in the name of Jesus Christ, it may have nothing to do with spirituality, and yet, he may be very upright, he may be a Hindu, in many ways, haven't we heard many people say, boy, that man may be a Hindu, but he is such a good man, he is such an upright man, and there are people who are upright, they have the knowledge of good and evil resident within them, their forefather and our forefather Adam has eaten of that tree, and we have got that knowledge resident within us, whatever religion we may be, we know good from evil, and we can be upright, but we are not necessarily spiritual, so there again we see, those who live by the tree of knowledge of good and evil can be extremely religious, it's a life under the law of rules and regulations, let me use another illustration, the Bible says in John 1 .17 that the law came with Moses, but grace came through Jesus Christ, the law is pictured in that tree of knowledge of good and evil, what could the law give people, it couldn't give life to anyone, it couldn't give eternal life, it was never meant to give eternal life, it did teach people what was good and what was evil, but the Bible says in the book of Hebrews chapter 7 and chapter 8 that the old covenant has been abolished, God has brought in a new covenant through Jesus Christ because the old covenant could not lead a man to become spiritual, the law could never make a man spiritual, it could only make a man religious, and that's why the Apostle Paul says in Philippians chapter 3, I don't want the righteousness of the law, he says I want the righteousness of God, or if I were to paraphrase his words using the words I am using right now, what Paul is saying there in Philippians 3 verse 9 and 10 is, I don't want to be religious, I want to be spiritual, I don't want a religion of external correctness, you see the righteousness of the law is an external correctness, which gives me a good testimony before men, righteousness of God is love, deep within the heart, a fervent love for God, whether I read the Bible or not, a fervent love for God, remember people couldn't read the Bible for 13 -14 centuries when the Bible was not printed, today we have the printed Bible for 14 centuries, there was no printed Bible, I am not despising Bible reading, but I am saying it must be based on a love for God, a fervent love for God and a love whether they agree with me or not, true spirituality, I wonder why God did not make certain doctrines more clear in the New Testament, I find believers for example who are baptized as children and others who are baptized as adults, I am both born again, I find some believers who don't speak in tongues and who think it's of the devil and other believers who do speak in tongues and know it's from God, I thought you know they both use the same Bible and they come to two different conclusions, on baptism, on speaking in tongues and on many other things, on the tribulation, whether the church will go through it or not go through it and we could name so many other doctrines like that and I thought in a Bible which contains more than a thousand pages, God could have added one more page just clarifying these controversial doctrines which he knew would arise in the future, God knew the future and he could have said, this is the correct form of baptism and this is the right doctrine about speaking in tongues and this is the right doctrine about the tribulation, just three verses, I mean there are already 31 ,000 verses in the Bible, three more verses wouldn't have made much of a difference, why didn't God put it in?

Divine Love Amid Doctrinal Disagreement

Is it because he didn't know? I hope you don't think so, he knew everything, he knows everything from the beginning till the end, why did he not put it in? Now I have understood, when I was a younger Christian I didn't and the Lord showed me my own life, the Lord said, if all of you, my children agreed and saw eye to eye with each other perfectly in every doctrine, you would never know whether your love for one another was human or divine.

Human love can easily love people who see eye to eye with them, whether they are communists or naxalites or Christians or anything, provided you see eye to eye with me, brother, I lay down my life for you, but the moment you disagree with me on something, boy, then you will see my true colors, that's human love, but when it is divine love, it has got nothing to do with whether you see eye to eye with me or not, it has got to do with the fact that I have partaken of God's nature and I believe that is the reason why, anyway one reason, why God has allowed some of these doctrines to be a little vague and you find a whole lot of people who are so dogmatic that they are absolutely right and everybody else is wrong.

Paul himself, the great apostle who wrote scripture said in 1 Corinthians 13, we see through a glass darkly, but some believers say we see clearly, Paul may have seen darkly, but we see clearly, that's the problem, and the other group in the other denomination says we also see clearly and you are 100 wrong.

It's good to be a little humble and say we don't see so clearly concerning so many things. If we love, we have got the most important doctrine right. How to humble ourselves like Jesus Christ and become a servant of one another, then we have understood the main thing in the Christian life.

You see how easy it is for us to be religious, to be fervent in our religiosity and not be spiritual at all and our labours will build Babylon, two men with all our doctrines and all our Bible knowledge.

Living in the Will of God

So, let's look at one of these things today. From God are all things of eternal value. That means God wants us to live in His will. The important thing is not what I do for Him. I can do a whole lot of things for Him which God may not want me to do.

Do you remember that prayer which Jesus taught us to pray? Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done. That's not all. The latter part of it is the most important part.

Thy will be done on earth. It is done in heaven. Now when you read a verse like that and it's the Lord's prayer which many people repeat, I want to ask you my dear brothers and sisters, how many of you have spent even two minutes thinking about how is God's will done in heaven?

I must confess I prayed that prayer for many, many years before I even sat down and thought, what does that mean, as it is done in heaven? Let me think how is God's will done in heaven? Then I got some light on that verse which I never got before.

I thought well, how do the angels do God's will in heaven? Do you find the angels always thinking up bright ideas to do something for God and running around here and there doing something for God? Like people say, I want to do something for God.

Well the angels are not doing something for God. They are waiting in God's presence. Gabriel for example, he doesn't suddenly think of a bright idea to go down to earth and do something for God. No. He waits in God's presence.

And God says, Gabriel, I want you to go down and do this. He goes and does it. It's not his own will. It did not originate in his brain. It originated in God and he just did what God told him to do. You know the story of Mary and Martha.

Mary, Martha, and the One Thing Needful

Another clear picture of spirituality and religiosity. What was Martha doing? Selfishly working in the kitchen, facing all the heat of the whatever type of fire they had those days. Not for herself. For the Lord and his disciples.

Can you think of a more unselfish act than that? To slog away in the kitchen, cooking a meal for fourteen, fifteen people? And what was Mary doing? Just apparently, lazily, sitting at the Lord's feet, listening.

Now I think if you and I were there, we would have thought Martha is the one who is really spiritual. Because Mary is just sitting here doing nothing. Because we think activity and a lot of sacrifice is spirituality.

Not necessarily. Martha also thought that and she came to the Lord and said, Lord, please tell this lazy sister of mine to get up and help me. And she thought the Lord would rebuke Mary and on the contrary, the Lord rebuked Martha.

Can you understand that? What did Mary choose? Just to wait at the Lord's feet, like the angels in heaven, to do God's will, as it is done in heaven. Waiting for the Lord to say, Mary, I want you to do this.

Then she'd get up and do it. And Jesus said that is the one thing needful. He's not looking for people who will be restlessly active, like Martha. You may find in the final day, with all your restless activity, when you stand before the Lord, the Lord may have to say to you, my brother, sister, you're careful and troubled about many things.

The one thing I wanted you to do, you never did. Because some of these bright ideas we have actually hinder God's work. Consider the example of Jesus himself. He came to earth to do the Father's will.

Jesus’ Obedience to the Father’s Will

He knew the entire scriptures better than anybody in Palestine at the age of twelve. And if knowledge of the scripture, and in addition he had a totally pure life, he'd never sinned once in thought, word, deed, attitude, motive, for twelve years.

If knowledge of the scriptures and a pure life is enough for a man to serve the Lord, Jesus was ready at twelve. Why didn't he go on? There was a world around him dying in sin. If he waited till the age of thirty, there'd be some people who'd die in the next eighteen years who wouldn't hear the gospel.

There are a lot of logical reasons why Jesus should have left at the age of twelve, and like these boy preachers have been one of those boy preachers who've gone around preaching. Why didn't he do it?

When he had the qualifications, the ability, and there was a needy world around him, from every logical standpoint, he should have gone. And he didn't go. Not just for one or two years, he didn't go for the next eighteen years.

And amazing thing, he spends his time making stools and benches and tables, while the world is dying in sin. He doesn't seem to have much missionary zeal, when the world is dying in sin, to be making stools and tables and benches.

When we look at Jesus, we understand what spirituality is. He said in John chapter six, John's gospel chapter six, he said in verse thirty-eight, I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

I believe that is one of the most important verses in all the gospels that describe what Jesus came on earth to do. Many of us think of Jesus having come to earth to die for our sins. That doesn't say it all.

That's part of the truth. If you want in one sentence, the entire truth, why Jesus came from heaven to earth, here it is in this verse. He came from heaven to earth not to do his own will, but the will of his father.

Part of which was dying for the sins of the world. But there were a lot of other things also, in the will of the father, which he did. And so we see here, he came from heaven, not to do his own will, but the will of his father, and he calls us to follow him in the same way.

Why has God placed us here on earth? Jesus said to his disciples, as the father sent me, John chapter twenty, so send I you. And I believe we can apply those words to ourselves in our day. As the father sent Jesus to this earth, he sends us into the world.

To do what? We don't have to think of bright ideas to do something for God. We need to wait on the Lord a little more. Twentieth century Christians find so difficult to do. It tests our patience when we have to wait on the Lord.

We say, why do we need to wait on the Lord? There's a world in need, and I've got so many bright ideas, and I've got the money, and if I don't have the money, I can get people to give the money, and I can do this, that, and the other for the Lord.

It will end up like Martha. It will end up like the Tower of Babel. It will end up as wood, hay, and straw. Jesus would not serve like that. He waited on the father, and the carpentry shop, till I tell you to leave.

And he worked in the carpentry shop. What was he doing in the carpentry shop? The will of his father. We think it is more spiritual to preach the gospel than to work in a secular job. Lots of Christians have that idea.

In other words, if that were true, then we have to say for thirty years Jesus sort of did some unspiritual work, and then only for ten percent of his life he did anything spiritual. Is that true? Can we accuse Jesus of that?

Everything he did was spiritual. When he helped his mother at home as a little boy, he was spiritual. That was the most spiritual thing to do. When he earned his living with his own hands, it was spiritual.

He didn't do it for himself. He did it because he had to be an example for us. Not only our savior, but our forerunner, our example. He knew that we would have to earn our living by the sweat of our brow and working with our hands.

As our forerunner, he went that way himself. And when the father called him to leave, he left. I meet lots of young people, say, I want to serve the Lord. I have seen a lot of people who go out like that and make a mess of their lives.

So I spend most of my time restraining them. I say, hang on. I say, I am not against the Lord calling. The Lord called me. Now I have been serving him thirty years since he called me and I know very clearly that the Lord calls.

But I said, if you go on the basis of your seeing a need and you are wanting to do something for God, I can give it to you in writing today, you are going to end up frustrated, accomplishing nothing. Maybe accomplishing something that impresses men, but nothing of eternal value.

If you wait and let God call you and tell you what to do, in a short time you will do much more than with all your restless activity. But it is very difficult to get twentieth century believers to understand that.

Very, very difficult. We live in such a fast-paced world that we feel that if I am waiting on the Lord, that is a waste of time. We haven't understood how God's will is done in heaven. We repeat it, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven, but it doesn't mean anything to us.

The Tabernacle and Obedience to God’s Pattern

That is gold, silver and precious stones. From him are all things. I thought of Moses building the tabernacle. The Bible says Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. And remember the Egyptians built pyramids in those days which even today's engineers marvel at the way that those were built, the construction of those pyramids.

And Moses lived at that time. He studied the building of pyramids, these fantastic structures. And then he went out into the wilderness and God told him to build a tabernacle. And if you were to look at the pattern of that tabernacle, this is the most unimpressive structure that you can think of.

Just a little white sheet around a compound and some animal skins put over some poles. You know if Moses were the old Moses at the age of forty, he would have told God, leave it to me Lord, I have been trained in the academies of Egypt, I will make a structure which all the Philistines and the Canaanites will stand back and wonder.

But he wasn't the same old Moses. When he was eighty years old, God had thrashed out all the chaff of Egypt's wisdom out of his brain and he humbled himself and said, Oh Lord, I'll do it exactly as you say.

He did the Lord's will and the glory of the Lord came upon that tabernacle. That is the secret Old Testament or New Testament. When we do things according to God's will, the glory of the Lord comes upon us and upon our labors.

Daily Self-Denial and Following Christ

Jesus came to deny himself to do the will of his Father. We read in Luke's Gospel chapter nine, Luke nine and verse twenty-three, Jesus said, If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.

I believe that it is central to spirituality to understand this verse. It is impossible to follow Jesus if we don't deny our self every day. Self has got its ideas, we got to deny that. Self has got its power, we got to deny that.

Self seeks its own honor, we got to deny that. Every day. This is not once for all. I can't finish with it once for all. Every day and take up my cross means I have to die. To what? To my own will, to my own choices if I want to follow him.

Now it is possible for us to read the Bible every day, to be very fervent in religious activity, to go to five, six meetings a week, to support missionary work very sacrificially and yet not deny self a single day.

That's what makes people religious and that's what made the Pharisees religious in that time. When you contrast Jesus with the Pharisees, you see the clear contrast between spirituality and religiosity.

The Pharisees: Correct Doctrine Without Self-Denial

The clearest example of religiosity is the Pharisees. They didn't have any of their doctrines wrong. Their doctrines were all right. They were evangelical, fundamental in their doctrine. People think if a person is all right in his doctrine, everything is okay.

In that case, the Pharisees were okay too. Jesus said very clearly to his disciples in Matthew 23 verse 2, the Pharisees are sitting on Moses' seat, all that they say to you, do. Have you read that verse?

Jesus told his disciples to do everything that the Pharisees taught. Why? Because their doctrines were correct. He wouldn't say the same about the Sadducees. The Sadducees were another group. They did not have their doctrines right.

They did not believe in the resurrection. They did not believe there were angels. They did not believe there were spirits. Jesus would never have told the disciples, all that the Sadducees say unto you, do.

No. The Sadducees were the liberals of that day. The Pharisees were the evangelicals of that day. But it was to the evangelicals of that day that Jesus turned around and said, you generation of vipers, how will you escape the damnation of hell?

Why? Because their life did not match up to their doctrine. Their religious activity had no cross in it. It had no self-denial. It had no sacrifice. It had no death to sell. It was activity. Perhaps a lot of sacrifice.

You know one of the things that the Pharisees did? Jesus said in Matthew 23, you cross land and sea to make a proselyte. And the Pharisees how did they cross land and sea? They must have given up their jobs.

They must have become full-time workers. They must have become missionaries, supported by some missionary organization back home. They crossed land and sea to make converts. And Jesus said, what type of convert do you make at the end of it?

Someone who is two-fold a child of hell like yourself. Jesus had pretty strong language. He loved people so much. That's why he spoke with such strong language. We don't love so much. That's why we don't speak with strong language.

I've been challenged. I try to use strong language, but I don't love enough. Jesus loved people far more than me. And he used strong language. Today we live in the midst of multitudes of Christians who use such mild language and will send people to hell.

They don't love them enough. Will allow people to build with wood, hay and straw all their life and destroy their life. They don't love them enough to tell them the truth. Jesus was not like that. He loved people so much that he would use language like that.

He would say, if you lust after a woman with your eyes, cut off your hand, pull out your eyes. It's better to go to heaven with one eye and with one hand than to go to hell with two eyes and with two hands.

Who would preach like that today? We'd think such a man is crazy. We'd say to such a person, brother, you don't believe. Salvation is by faith. Whether you lust with one eye or two eyes makes no difference.

So long as you believe, you're okay. Perhaps the Pharisees said that to Jesus in his time too. Jesus said, if you call a man a fool, an empty head, you're in danger of hell. If you're angry with your brother.

Who preaches like that today? We don't love people enough. We think that people are spiritual just because they're religious. The Pharisees are the clearest example of religious people. Turn to that parable in Luke chapter 15.

The Elder Brother and the Religion of Self-Interest

Luke chapter 15. This is well known in Christian circles as the story of the prodigal son. But it's not actually the story of the prodigal son. It's the story of two sons. And I believe we have a lot more to learn from the elder son than from the younger one.

The younger one was really worldly. He lived in sin. The elder son was not worldly. He lived in the father's house. He's a picture of a Pharisee. Religious, doing all the right things externally, but inwardly having a grouse in his heart against his father, which comes out in a moment of provocation.