The Root of Sin — Zac Poonen

Turning from Earthly Things to the Kingdom of Heaven

So in the last study, we were looking at Matthew chapter 3, trying to understand what the new covenant is all about. Matthew 3, we read, we saw these words, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

And we saw how the preparation for entering into the new covenant was a turning around and a turning away from the kingdom of earth to the kingdom of heaven. So turning around from the kingdom of earth to the kingdom of heaven.

If we don't do that turn around and we try to receive the message of the new covenant, it will be exactly like putting a patch onto an old garment and the whole thing tears. And this is one of the main reasons why many Christians do not enter the new covenant.

Because they are trying to receive it without turning around from the kingdom of earth. So, I mean I have to make that very plain to you that as long as your mind is set on earthly things, I'm not saying that we shouldn't think about earthly things.

If Jesus thought about earthly things, what do you think he was thinking about when he was making chairs and tables in a carpenter shop? He had to earn his living and he was in a poor home, a lot poorer than most of us.

So he had to think about earthly things but his mind was not set on earthly things. So when I say we have to turn around, I'm not saying that we should never think about earthly things. We have to for the sake of our work, for the sake of our home, family, so many things.

But it must not be set. And I have often used this example in that connection, which I think is one of the best examples I have found. And that is the example of a rubber band. If these are earthly things down here and up here is the heavenly things, your rubber band must be tied here, the heavenly things on top.

And whenever you need to think about earthly things, it may be 8 hours a day, it may be 12 hours a day, and in some cases maybe 15, 16 hours a day some days. We stretch it and it's there for 16 hours or 12 hours or 8 hours.

And once our work is over, we release it, it comes back here. But with many Christians it is exactly the opposite. The rubber band is tied and the earthly things stretched on Sunday morning, Wednesday evening for heavenly things.

And then back again, when it's released, it's back again. In other words, their mind is set on earthly things. And occasionally we think about heavenly things. Now there's a world of difference between such a brother and sister and another brother and sister whose mind is set on heavenly things and who stretches it for maybe many hours a day to earthly things.

So if you can understand that, you can know where your mind is set. In other words, when you are released from the cares and burdens of earth, where does your mind go? We need to think about that. What is your primary goal?

Like someone said, the way to determine whether somebody is a sinner or a saint is to find out what your goal in life is. Not what you do every day. No. A lot of things that sinners and saints do every day may look very alike.

If you had gone to Nazareth and you'd seen the most sinful carpenter and Jesus, you'd be seeing both of them spending many, many hours on earthly things. But there's a world of difference between the two.

So it's the goal for which you live, the goal for which you're living, is what determines whether you're a sinner or a saint. Not the church you go to, whether you read the Bible, whether you come to the meetings, but what is the goal for which you live.

And if there is a difference between believers in the same church like this, it's because even though they do the same things, the goal is different. See, it's not enough just to say, well, I don't commit certain sins.

I think if you make a list of all the sins you don't commit, there'd probably be a few non-Christians at least who don't commit those sins also. I'm sure. And you may find some of those non-Christians that don't commit some sins that you commit.

That's not what determines whether you're a sinner or a saint. It's a question of what is the goal for which you're living. And I want to say this to those who want to rise up higher to a new covenant life.

Decide that the goal for which you're living is going to change. Not just a few patches here and there. And maybe this is the thing that's going to liberate you and explain why things have been going so slowly.

Rejecting Religious Associations and Cutting Sin at the Root

So, that's what it means to turn around. The other thing that John the Baptist said here was in preparation for the coming of Christ was in verse 10. You know, they said, we've got Abraham for our father.

And John the Baptist said in verse 9, don't suppose that you can say, we have Abraham for our father. That means nothing. See, it's a very common mistake that a lot of Christians make to claim association with some respected man of God.

That's the point here. We are associated with Abraham. Or we are associated with so and so, who is respected. And John the Baptist says that doesn't mean anything. See, you can claim to be associated with a church which has some respect in society.

That's the point here. It doesn't mean a thing. Don't ever glory, John the Baptist is saying, in your associations. You know somebody. You're associated with somebody. You go to some church. You listen to some preacher.

It means absolutely nothing. Even if your father is somebody. We have Abraham for our father. So what? He said, you still go to hell. Because God can raise up children from the stones. So he said, what you need is, verse 10, the axe to be laid to the root of the tree.

There's a tree inside us, which we can say, use another word, our nature. What we have inherited from Adam. And all of us have it. And this flesh doesn't really go away when we are converted. It's the old man that's gone away.

The old man is the will to sin. That means I had a will to sin, to sin, to sin. That is killed. You're born again. You don't really want to sin. But the flesh, which has all sort of desires to sin, temptations, those temptations still are there.

They don't change. So it's a conflict between this new man who has no desire to sin and those temptations from the flesh. And this new man is in part by the Holy Spirit now, when we are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit and that is in conflict with this flesh.

But this nature is there. And the Bible says that Jesus has come to lay the axe to the root. Now that's also something new. There was no possibility of the axe being laid to the root under the old covenant.

In the old covenant we can say all that God did was cut off the fruit. You know, here's a bad tree. It's always producing bad fruit. As soon as it comes, snip it off. As soon as it comes out, snip it off.

As soon as it's beginning to bud, snip it off. It doesn't come out. That's what the law did, you see. The law said, you know, the whole commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal.

These are the fruits that would come out, but the law was like a pair of scissors that immediately snipped it off as soon as it was coming out. But it could snip it off only when it came out. It couldn't change the nature of the tree.

That was the problem with the old covenant. And when the Bible says in Romans 8 verse 3, that there was something that the law could not do, but which God did. What was it that the law could not do? The law could cut off the fruit, but it could not lay the axe to the root.

So John the Baptist, in preparation for the new covenant, says, well now, Jesus is coming to lay the axe to the root of the tree. So, if we don't understand what the root of the tree is, we're still going to spend our life as Christians, even in this church, just cutting off the fruit.

And the thing is, if you're very careful in cutting off the fruit, you'll have a very good testimony in the church, people will think you're a very fine believer. Because there's no bad fruit coming out.

I think with many of us, our lives are so good, we are so careful to cut off all this bad fruit that nobody ever sees it, that many of us have got a very good reputation in the church. But when you look at the thoughts that go on in your heart, and sometimes those thoughts come out in dreams at night, you know that inside, very little has changed.

You're careful to maintain a testimony on the outside, but the inside is still the same. And by great effort, by constant watchfulness, you keep your scissors ready, as soon as the fruit is coming out, you snip it off.

And nobody ever sees, when they come by your garden, anything bad on that tree. And they say, boy, what a spiritual brother, what a spiritual sister. Not at all. We can say, a person who's got the righteousness of the Old Covenant, that's all you are.

But because those other believers, 95 of them don't themselves have any discernment between Old Covenant and New Covenant, they think you're very spiritual. But a spiritual man, who's entered into the New Covenant, sees through all that.

He's not easily fooled. Because he can taste your spirit. You know how if you've got a very sensitive nose, you can pick up bad smells? That's one reason not to have a very sensitive nose in the world.

Otherwise you're picking up everything. But spiritually, we need that. And spiritually, we're discerning. Our spirit can pick up bad influences, bad spirit in a person, etc. So what I want to say is, the bad fruit, avoiding the bad fruit, is seeking the testimony of men.

Old-Covenant Righteousness Versus Righteousness in Christ

Now Paul said in Philippians 3, I want you to turn there for a moment, Philippians 3, he's contrasting the righteousness of the Old Covenant with the righteousness of the New Covenant. Now many of us have not understood this.

Many of us only know the difference between sin and righteousness. You're either sinful or holy. No. You can be sinful, or you can have the righteousness of the Old Covenant, or you can be holy. There are three options.

And with many of us, we may not be sinning, but we may be having only the righteousness of the Old Covenant. And I'll tell you something, the righteousness of the Old Covenant is pretty good. And it'll enable you to be accepted in most churches in the world.

Almost 100 of churches would accept you. You can be a member in good standing, you can even be an elder brother. In almost every church in the world, with the righteousness of the Old Covenant, in other words, the righteousness of the Pharisees.

I think if a lot of Pharisees were alive today, they would become elders in many, many, many good Christian churches. Because the people in those churches would not have the discernment that Jesus had to see that this guy has only got an external righteousness.

That's all that a lot of churches look for. That's not being spiritual. That's Old Covenant righteousness. So Philippians chapter 3, he says, according to the Old Covenant standard of righteousness, verse 6, the last part, I was absolutely blameless.

Or as the message says, a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law. Imagine if you were a meticulous, meticulous means a very careful observer of every commandment of God. Don't you think you'd get a very good reputation in most churches?

I'd say in almost every church, except with a truly spiritual man who would see through you. But that's only about 1 of Christians, so you're lucky. Most people won't be able to see through you. So that's why I want to say, don't ever be satisfied with the testimony of man.

It's fit for the trash can. Throw it away. So Paul says, all these things which I counted gain is all lost for me. And what does he call this righteousness of the Old Covenant in verse 8, last part? It is rubbish.

Have you ever thought of calling righteousness rubbish? Isaiah 64 and verse 6 says that our righteousness are like filthy rags in God's sight. And the original word for filthy rags is this type of rag that you never think of washing again and using.

You know there's some filthy rags you can wash and use again. But this is one of those filthy things which you just throw away. You don't want to touch it anymore. It's that type of thing. What? Not our sins, but our righteousness.

Paul got light on it. And I'll tell you something, you can't enter into the New Covenant until you get light on this. That my external righteousness is rubbish. It only brings me honor before men. And so he says, I counted rubbish, I want Christ.

And he says, I'm willing to lose everything. And I want to be found in Christ. Verse 9, now listen to this contrast. Not having a righteousness of the Old Covenant, but the righteousness of the New Covenant.

Let me put it like that. I do not want this righteousness which comes from the law. I want the righteousness which comes by dependence upon Christ. Faith means dependence. One of the best examples of faith is the one Jesus himself gave.

Of the branch in the tree. You want a picture of faith? A number of pictures of faith Jesus gave. One he said was drink. Faith is to drink. Come to me, open your mouth and drink. That's faith. Another example Jesus gave was the branch in the vine.

It doesn't do anything. It just depends on the vine, the tree for all its supply and its producing fruit is effortless. Do you know that the Christian life in one sense is supposed to be effortless? The production of fruit in our Christian life.

Whether it's love, joy, peace, patience, forgiveness, humility, self-control, faithfulness. And even the exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are supposed to be effortless. It doesn't mean there's no wrestling.

We wrestle with Satan. We have to discipline our bodies. Fight against the lust in our flesh. All that is true. But when God gives us something, when it comes forth from us, it is effortless. Now in the beginning it isn't.

Because, you know, we're in a transition stage. It's like a brother said, and I've never heard it put better than this, a very godly brother once said. He says, when I was unconverted, I could only tell lies.

Very easy for me to tell lies. But very difficult to tell the truth. Then I got converted, I came to stage two. Where with a great battle, I would not tell a lie. And I spoke the truth. But then he says I moved on to stage three.

Where it became impossible to tell a lie. Just like it was so easy to tell a lie in the beginning, now it's so easy to speak the truth. And the same way he said, when I was unconverted, it was very difficult to love people.

Very easy to hate them, get angry with them, get upset with them. No effort at all. Then I got converted. Stage two, where with great battle I would control my tongue. And not get angry, and with a great battle I would love people.

Great battle I would forgive people. Good. But he says, then I moved on to stage three. I cannot hate anybody. It's just love flowing out. You see, that is what I mean by the effortless stage. Now we don't get there overnight.

But that is the real new covenant life. You remember how Jesus said, I've come that you might have life and have it more abundantly. That's stage three. There's death, which is stage one, unconverted.

And there's life, stage two. And then there's abundant life. You see, one is where you have a cup of water. The other is where you have rivers of water. Flowing out. And you know, a river flowing is just sort of effortless.

There's no effort at all in a river flowing out. So, that is the type of life that, it says here, the righteousness which comes by my dependence upon Christ. The righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.

The righteousness which comes from God giving me his nature. You know, a branch has got the same nature as the tree. The tree is supplying its nature to the branch. And that's why in a branch, the nature of the tree comes forth.

If it's oranges, oranges. If it's apples, apples. If it's grapes, grapes. It doesn't produce some other fruit from the nature of the tree. So, that's the meaning of faith. He says, when I'm rooted in Christ and I'm dependent upon Christ, his life flows into me.

And the righteousness which comes forth from me is the righteousness of God. In other words, it's from within. The wonderful thing about the New Covenant is it's from within. So, that's the righteousness of God.

Whereas the righteousness of the law is external. Please remember this. That everything in the Old Covenant was external. And everything in the New Covenant is internal. If it doesn't come from within, it's not New Covenant.

It may be good, but it's not New Covenant. If you smile at somebody who hates you and spoke an evil of you, is that good? I think it's good. But it's not necessarily New Covenant. If it doesn't come from within, you know how easy it is to smile at someone just on the outside.

To appear to have forgiven somebody. That's good. But you may hate his guts inside you. So, I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying it's Old Covenant righteousness. And God doesn't want us to live in the Old Covenant.

And that's why I say 95 of believers are living under the Old Covenant because they don't have a clue that there's a better life. That God has provided for them a better life. If I always take the example of a father who is a multi-millionaire, who has written a will for you, one of his sons or daughters, to have, you know, a lot of big houses.

It's yours. Father built it, he's written it in his will for you. But some lawyer in between has cheated you of that, and you live in a little hut. In a rented hut. Not even yours. Well, you don't have to live there.

You've just got to get your eyes open to see that there's an inheritance. But you can't get it easily. You remember the story of the widow? Jesus said in Luke 18, whose inheritance was stolen by an enemy.

Maybe her neighbor or somebody stole that inheritance or a lawyer or somebody. And she went to the judge and said, hey, I need my inheritance. Give me justice against my enemy. The judge said, no, I don't have time for you.

She went on and on and on and got it. And Jesus said, think of that evil judge. You think a loving father in heaven will not give you your inheritance? If you cry day and night to him. Those are his words.

Luke 18, verse 7 and 8. If you cry day and night to him. But tell me, how many people in the world, how many Christians in the world do you think are crying out to God day and night? Oh God, make me holy.

Make me holy like you are. I think very few. If you were to go to heaven and listen to how many believers around the world are crying to God day and night. God, make me holy, make me holy. I think there are very, very few.

Lots of people who sing songs and say wonderful things on Sunday morning, etc., etc. But those who cry day and night, like Jesus said in Luke 18, very, very few. But no wonder they don't get their inheritance like that widow got it.

And she just pestered that judge till she got it because she knew that's mine. That guy's got no right to have it. Do you know that there's something that's yours, that your father has written a will for you and Jesus sealed it with his blood?

Why do you let the devil take it? Do you remember in India we had a... Some years ago, Pakistan came and occupied a place called Kargil. In the mountainous regions of Kashmir. Hardly anybody lives there, it's just a mountain.

But do you know what the Indian government did? They said, we're not going to let that bit of mountain go to that enemy. We're going to fight. And they lost a lot of soldiers and they fought and got it back.

And as it were, taught the enemy a lesson. We're not going to let you take any bit of our property even if it's a little mountain. I said, boy, I want to be like that towards the devil. You're not going to take a single thing from me.

Which my heavenly father has written in the will for me. And I'll tell you something your heavenly father has written in his will for you. 2nd Peter chapter 1. In 2nd Peter chapter 1, we read like this.

God's power, verse 3. 2nd Peter 1 verse 3. Divine power means the power of God. Has given us everything. Not in relation to money and poverty and comfort and ease. No. Everything relating to life and godliness.

Everything you need for eternal life and for a godly life on earth has been given by God's power. It's in the will. Sealed by the blood of Jesus. Whether you have it or not is another thing. You may be sitting in your little hut.

Because you don't know your inheritance and allow the devil to steal everything which should be yours. You know that the children of Israel even after they entered Canaan's land. They allowed the Canaanites to live in most of it.

And then later on some other people would come. The Moabites would come. And somebody else would come. And they would just occupy the place. And Israel would say well we got a little corner here. I got a little hut here.

Isn't that enough for me? God said no. This whole land should be yours. It's for me. And you just allow these enemies to occupy it. And that's exactly what the devil, what God says to you today. This body of yours is the land of Canaan.

Are there giants living there? That body is supposed to be for God. 100 from head to foot. No giant should be living in this land of Canaan. You know that your body is the land of Canaan? And if a single giant is ruling any part of your body.

Your eyes or your tongue or your ears or anything. Telling you what to do. Telling you what to read and watch on the internet. Telling you what books to read. Telling you what to do and how to speak and everything.

Boy, that giant needs to be killed. But that's it. You read the book of Judges. That's exactly what the Israelites never did. God has given us His power. God in the book of Joshua, God is willing to stop the sun for 24 hours to make His people overcome the enemy.

What does that teach me? It teaches me that God is willing to do anything to help me to overcome every sin in my flesh. Imagine if you believe that. That God will even stop the sun to help me to get victory.

I believe that. God will do everything. That's the meaning of this verse. His power has given you everything needed for a godly life. Through the true knowledge of Him who has called us to glory. You see, there's a true knowledge of God which means all this is not Old Testament stuff.

This is New Testament stuff. And I'll tell you, this is not great philosophical stuff. Do you know who wrote this? The fisherman. Who probably failed in a few classes in his school. He wasn't as clever as you.

He wasn't a graduate. He was a fisherman, but he had the revelation of the Holy Spirit. And that's what we need. That God has given us His power through the true knowledge of Him means to know what a wonderful God and Father He is.

How He wants to give me everything. That's the true knowledge of Him. The devil's told you that God's not interested in you or He won't listen to you. Or you're so insignificant and you're not important and you listen to all those lies.

Then you don't have a true knowledge of God. No wonder you don't have His divine power. He says this divine power comes through the true knowledge of Him who called us. Know Him as one who loves you intensely far more than you realize.

You know, I'll tell you something. I believe one of the greatest shocks and surprises you are going to get when you see Jesus face to face is how much He loved you. Say, Lord, You love me so much. Oh, I wish I'd known that on earth.

You see the Father and you'll be shocked when you discover how much He loved you. And how much He wanted to do for you. And here you are on earth always condemning yourself and thinking God's angry with you and God's upset with you over something here and something there.

And you live like that, miserable, listening to all the wretched lies of the devil and making your life miserable. I'm not throwing stones at you. I was like that myself for many years. I finished with that.

The devil can't fool me about God anymore. I know my Father. The true knowledge of Him. That's the way. And by this, verse 4, He has granted to us, granted means it's a gift, His wonderful promises. Promises of God are all magnificent and precious.

And the purpose of all these promises is that through those promises you can partake of the divine nature. I told you about the nature of the tree coming into the branch. You ask that branch, How in the world do you produce such lovely apples?

Oh, just surrender to the tree. The nature of the tree comes in. And that should be your answer. How did you become such a sweet, humble person? I don't know. I just stayed in Jesus and He just let His life flow into me.

How is it you're not a proud, arrogant person like all the other people in the world? I don't know. I just stay in the tree. That's all. It's just like an apple. I mean, do you think that branch thinks, Oh boy, look at me producing such wonderful apples.

Not at all. It doesn't have any such high thoughts about itself. Because it knows if it's cut off from the tree it will stay even for one second. As the end of it is producing anything. So my dear brothers and sisters, When John the Baptist said, An axe has to be laid to the root of the tree.

He was telling us that something fundamental has to be hit right inside. Right inside. Jesus has come. The Holy Spirit has come to hit something inside. And what is that? What do you think is the root of sin?

Identifying the Root Beneath the Deeds of the Flesh

The fruit we know. Telling lies. Adultery. Lustful looks. Hatred. Anger. Bitterness. Witchcraft. Strife. Conflict. This is all the fruit which comes out of the flesh. Well, what is the root? See, let me turn you to Galatians in chapter 5.

In Galatians chapter 5, it speaks about the deeds of the flesh. In verse 19. The deeds of the flesh. That means the fruit which comes out of this tree called the flesh. What are they? Immorality. Impurity.

Sensuality. Adultery. Sorcery. Enmity. Strife. Jealousy. Outbursts of anger. Disputes. Dissensions. Factions. Envy. Drunkenness. Carousing. And things like these. I'll tell you something. When I went through that list once, I said, yeah, I can understand all of these, but I don't understand this sorcery, witchcraft.

How does witchcraft come out of the flesh? I thought witchcraft was something else from outside. No, I believe God's word. Where does your anger come from? It doesn't come from outside, does it? Outbursts of anger.

It says your outbursts of anger. Where does it come from? There's something within you that wants you to get angry. Or take another example. Jealousy. Where does that come from? There's something in our nature that wants to be jealous.

You don't have to get it from outside. Or disputes. To get into a fight with somebody. I mean, there's something within you which wants you to fight with your husband or wife or somebody at home or a neighbor or any such thing.

Envy. Where does that come from? Verse 21. There's something within that comes out. What about idolatry? Worship of idols. Do you know there's something in man that wants to worship idols? You know, the Bible says it's not just something on the outside.

The idols may be of different types. One fellow worships an idol of wood and stone. Another fellow worships science or nature or money or his job. Something. But man wants an idol. And if you're not a wholehearted disciple of Jesus Christ, I can tell you in Jesus' name, you do have an idol.

Maybe your wife. Maybe your house. Maybe your job. Maybe your profession. Maybe something is an idol. It's from within. Man wants an idol because the devil is always trying to help him to find some other god to replace the real one.

And the same with witchcraft. From within, there's a desire for man to get involved with sorcery and witchcraft. You say, no, I don't have such desires. Well, you don't know. The Bible says these are the deeds of the flesh.

They are. That's why Harry Potter books have got such wide sales. How do you think it became the number one sales book in the world? Is it because of something godly in it? No. It's because of the sorcery in man's flesh.

And you can feed it, if you like. Just like you can feed pornography. I don't think there's any difference between reading pornography and reading Harry Potter. It's the same thing. It's just fruit on the left side or fruit on the right side of the flesh.

What does it matter? It's the same rotten thing. So, it's something here, which the Bible says, and if you read the Bible, the answers are all there. And John said, it's no use just cutting off all these.

It's no use just saying, OK, I stopped watching internet pornography. I stopped reading Harry Potter. I stopped doing this. Listen, there are many other manifestations. If branch 6 and 7 are cut off, there are still branch 1, 2, 3, 4, branch 25, branch 26.

What about all of them? When are you going to finish? No, a much better way is to get the axe to the root. So, if you understand what the root is and say, Lord, I want to see the root of sin and allow Jesus through the Holy Spirit to hit that.

Many of these things get solved. And now, to understand the root of sin, we've got to go back to Genesis 3. In Genesis 3, we see those two trees. The tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life.

And there are many ways we can look at these two trees. We can look at these two trees as a picture of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Where the Old Covenant gives you the knowledge of good and evil.

This is bad, this is right, this is wrong, this is bad, this is good. That's what the Ten Commandments did. Whereas the tree of life symbolizes God himself giving you his life. Now, another way to look at it is when Adam reached out for the knowledge of good and evil, why was it so bad that God said you will die as soon as you eat it?

In these two trees was the option that Adam had of two ways in which he could live. Two ways in which he could live. One was where you see man had a conscience let me tell you that first. Adam was created with a conscience.

When God made him out of mud he didn't have a conscience. But when God breathed into him he suddenly got what no animal had because God never breathed into any animal. God took mud and made the animals.

All the animals are made of the same mud. That's why you find the dogs have got kidneys and heart and liver and all just like you and I have. But God breathed into Adam and suddenly he got a conscience.

A conscience that made him sensitive and aware of God. Now in order to educate this conscience so that you don't do what is wrong. Conscience tells you don't do what's wrong. He wanted to have this knowledge from this tree within himself that I have got this knowledge now.

I can decide what is good and what is evil. I don't need anybody to tell me. Have you met good people like that? Who don't harm anybody and who don't cheat, don't tell lies, don't commit adultery, don't murder and you say well why doesn't God take them to heaven?

I'll tell you why. Because the knowledge of good and evil brings death. The point is not whether you are good or evil. Adam didn't get kicked out of Eden because he murdered Eve or spat on Eve's face or told a lie or nothing.

It was just that he decided I want to decide myself now what is good and evil. I don't want God to tell me that. Yeah, let him be in heaven and I'll acknowledge him as God but when it comes to good and evil I decide myself.

That is the root of sin. The other tree was where God says no no no no you be dependent on me and receive me as your life and I will tell you in every situation what is good and evil. These are two ways in which you can live.