Revelation and the Way of the Cross — Zac Poonen

Justification by Faith and the Danger of Legalism

One of the great truths that was restored to Christendom in general after many years of darkness was the truth of justification by faith. If you read Christian history, you know that Martin Luther stood against the entire Roman Catholic Church in the early 1500s because that church in that time anyway was teaching salvation by works.

And Luther himself was a monk who studied the scriptures and discovered that is not true. He realized it's Christ who is our righteousness that the most holy Righteous man in the world who's done the maximum number of good works and the holiest person is still not fit to enter God's presence because Even our righteousness is like filthy rags.

So that was a great discovery. That nobody could boast in his righteousness. I think all of us have understood that if you haven't understood it You'll never experience the joy of salvation to know that.

It's not because we have done so a lot of good things that we are accepted, but in Christ we are accepted. Now some people Right from the first century onwards have taken advantage of that and says well if it's in Christ that I'm excited doesn't matter how I live.

Paul speaks about that in some of his letters and Why does God allow that? God allows that. So that some people will be lost because of their insincerity and crookedness and taking advantage of God's grace.

We have to ignore them. So we're not going to change the message of God's grace. Just because we are afraid some people will take advantage of it. Some people have done that some churches and they end up as legalists and preaching a gospel of works that leads to condemnation.

So we don't do that, but we do preach holiness and we need to understand the balance between being justified by faith, which is the foundation and Holiness, which is the superstructure. It's because people confuse the superstructure with the foundation that People are confused.

Ephesians 2: Grace as the Foundation and Good Works as the Superstructure

So let me just say a brief word about that from Ephesians chapter 2. Paul said in his day when he preached grace people were accusing him of saying well, it doesn't matter how we live but when we preach.

That we had to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2nd Corinthians 7 verse 1 we are accused to the opposite that we are preaching salvation by works.

Well, people will always accuse there the devil's an accuser of the brethren and a person who's got an accusing mindset will His he's got a mind that's very sharp to pick out faults in people just like the Pharisees are waiting to catch people in adultery so that they could stone them and there are followers of such Pharisees in every church today.

But we can safely ignore them because they will destroy themselves finally. But we had to be careful that we're not like that. And Ephesians 2 it says here in verse 8 and 9 By grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves.

It is the gift of God never forget that. But not as a result of works. That no one should boast that's talking about the foundation. There is no works in the foundation. That's like saying in the foundation of a building.

You don't have doors windows. No, who places doors and windows in a foundation some crazy guy. There are no works in the foundation. But now you go to the superstructure in the superstructure. There are plenty of works see the next verse.

We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. You see the contrast no works in verse 9 plenty of works verse 10. No windows and doors in the foundation, but plenty of doors and windows in the superstructure.

If you understand that difference you understood Christianity properly in a balanced way. Otherwise, you'll be thinking there should be no doors and windows in the superstructure. Also, just make it like a cage and then others who will say that no.

We got to put doors and windows in the foundation to these are the extremes I've seen in Christendom in the last 57 years so the Bible says don't be children in your understanding in understanding be men and.

These are good works. Not any good works. We feel like doing Verse 10 but good works, which God prepared Beforehand that we should walk in them. There are good works that man can think of doing. Every religion has it.

Hinduism has it Islam has it and every religion has some type of good works. But this is not that a Christian does not just do any type of good works. You know, you can go out and start an orphanage. But that may not be what God wants you to do or you may can have a crusade against slavery or you know unjust political systems.

It may all sound very nice. But if that is not what God wanted you to do you can spend your entire life Wasting your life, you know the superstructure has to be according to what the Architect has drawn and designed and he does not design the same type of building for everybody.

So God has got a particular plan for your life. That's why it says not just any good words. You feel like doing We are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus for what purpose? We are forgiven without any works, but now for good works, which God Prepared beforehand that means long before you were born.

He planned some good works for you to do. And you to walk in them and I'll tell you this. And I'm very glad I discovered it. Maybe a couple of years after I was converted when I was baptized. Then God had a plan for my life.

I had already made a plan for my life. I was in the Navy but I discovered when I was 21 years old and God had a plan for my life and When I understood that I said Lord, that's what I want to fulfill. I Want to live where you want me to live?

And I want to do what you want me to do. And I want to spend my entire life as far as possible every day. Being where you want me to be. Doing what you want me to do saying what you want me to say and not being influenced by men.

Not being influenced by my own desires and Love of comfort or any such thing. I want because if I allow those things to Influence me. I won't be able to say at the end of my life that I have Finished the work God gave me to do.

Finishing the Work God Gives Us

Jesus said in John 17 for I finished the work you gave me to do. Paul said in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 79. I finished my course. And I said Lord, these are the only two people in the Bible who said follow me Jesus and Paul.

Jesus said follow me many times. Paul said follow me in 1 Corinthians 11 Philippians 3 and I want to follow these people particularly in finishing the work God gave me to do and I hope all of you have that passion.

We must teach our children from early in life. God's got a plan for your life. You must finish that and don't follow the Plans in the world if you follow worldly people and see a lot of Christians. They want to accept Christ they want to go to heaven.

But when it comes to living in the world, they train their children to have the values of the people in the world. Because they think that's good for them. In other words have the best on earth and the best in heaven.

Those are the people who miss the will of God. I don't want to do that. I don't want to train my children to do that either. We have to see Lord. What is the plan you made for my life and it's different for everyone.

Christ as Righteousness and the Need for Further Revelation

So Having said that I just want to clarify that we've understood that justification is by faith. We are declared righteous by God because we believe That nothing that I do like that song is a rock of ages.

We sing nothing in my hands. I bring Simply to thy cross I cling. That's the only way I can be saved. That's the only way I can be justified and accepted by God not only at the beginning of my Christian life.

I think a lot of people realize that Is the way we're accepted in the beginning, but even if I've been saved 50 -60 years I'm still accepted because I'm justified in Christ. There's no other way. Now in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 see I'll tell you this is what isn't was not emphasized In the Reformation in the time of Lutherans not been mostly emphasized in these last four or five hundred years.

There are truths in the Bible That have slowly come up as people have studied it more for example Luther Wesley great men of God mighty men have got much better than you and me. They never taught water baptism.

They were baptizing babies. And in fact, they persecuted the early Lutherans Persecuted the Anabaptists who baptized adults born-again believers so We can't say that because we've understood what a baptism we are better than John Wesley I think he was a hundred times better than godly man than any of us, but he didn't have light on it and Then later on, you know the Having titles even people like Wesley had the title reverend and Jesus said he must never take titles, but he didn't have light on it so we must recognize that this truth has been discovered as we.

As people have gone more and more into the scriptures the same thing with the baptism in the Holy Spirit. For so many years people never spoke about the baptism in the Holy Spirit and yet is there in Scripture every single all the first five books of the New Testament begin with Teaching on the baptism the Holy Spirit.

John the Baptist said it Jesus said in John chapter 1 acts 1 before he went up to heaven you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit and yet That was a truth that was not spoken of in many churches and even today it's not spoken of in many churches.

And where it is spoken of in some churches, they go up to some fanatical extreme which turns other people away. And that's exactly what the devil wants. He wants one group to go to some extreme of truth.

Even justification by faith people have taken it to such an extreme. They say one saved always saved. It doesn't matter how you live you're gonna go to him. That's one extreme of truth and the devil is happy with people who live there.

And then there are others who react against that and say that's dangerous to preach that so we must preach works works works works and You produce a bunch of legalistic Pharisees who look down on everybody else and the devil's happy with both groups the legalistic Pharisees on one side and the One saved always saved who live in sin on the other side.

The devil's quite happy about that the narrow way. Which Jesus said very few find it is a way in which there's a deep ditch on either side. Now I'll tell you something the only way you can walk on it is if you take the study of the scripture seriously and like I've often said if you know if you got a Bible in your language and You don't take time to study it then you deserve to be deceived.

You deserve to be deceived if you got a Bible if you don't have a Bible in your own language at least. Okay, we can understand but you have a Bible in your own language and you don't study it carefully to find out What God has taught about the most important thing on earth eternal life.

And I say you deserve to be deceived and if you're deceived you've got nobody to blame but yourself. If you just listen to preachers, I tell you there are multitudes of deceivers among preachers. So that's why I Say be like the Bereans.

Testing Teaching by the Scriptures

You read about the Bereans in Acts 17. The Apostle Paul spoke to them. It says they didn't just swallow it. They searched the scriptures daily To see if what Paul said was right. So I can imagine in a synagogue Paul got up and preach something and the those Christians say well praise the Lord brother Paul.

Good to hear you, but we don't believe you yet. We'll check it this week and go back and and remember they didn't have a Bible at home. Remember that also they couldn't go home the parchment Old Testament was only in the synagogue.

They had to come every day to the synagogue to check It would this thing that Paul said is it right or not? And they've come back next week and said Paul we agree with you. I Wish we had more people like that.

But we have a bunch of lazy Christians nowadays all over the world who are too lazy To study the scriptures and that's why they swallow whatever some preacher says and that's why their lives are so shallow.

They don't get a light on themselves. They're not growing in Christ likeness. They're not growing in effectiveness for the kingdom of God or they don't understand exactly what God wants them to do and the Tragedy of it is some of them are going to discover this only when Christ comes again.

And they stand before the Lord and say oh Lord I missed it. Maybe they were saved. Maybe they get to heaven. But that's not enough. Imagine I often think of this imagine spending all eternity in heaven, but with the regret That I did not live according to God's will in the one life.

He gave to me on earth. I Can sing for millions of years Lord? I love you. I love you. I love you. But I remember That on earth I did not prove that love By obedience to everything God wants me to do.

I believe such people will have regret. I know people say God will wipe away our tears but I personally cannot imagine that I can live as I like taking advantage of God's grace and Only desiring to go to heaven when I die and living for myself on this earth.

And then going to heaven when I die and thinking that I'll be happy forever. I I don't know about you I will not be happy. I Will look at Jesus and understand how much he loved me how much he gave himself for me and I love eternal regret eternal eternal regret That the one life God gave me I lived for myself And not for the glory of God.

I was gripped by that when I was 21. I'm very thankful. I'm 55 years ago. And I'm very very thankful. Otherwise, I'd have wasted a lot of my life. I'm not saying you got to be in full-time Christian work like me.

No God calls only one in a thousand To maybe go into Christian work full-time. Nine hundred and ninety-nine must work in their secular jobs like all of you. But even in our secular jobs God's got a plan for our life a specific plan and that's what you must fulfill.

And if you're committed To do the will of God alone in your life all this business of job security and all will disappear. How can somebody take away a job God has planned for you? How can you miss? Getting the appointment of the job God's planned for you impossible.

That's a wonderful thing of being in God's will that if you seek his kingdom first and his righteousness Everything necessary for life on earth will be provided for you and you say give us this day Our daily bread.

He taught us to pray that daily. There I'm saying Lord Let me paraphrase expand it Lord. Give me a job. So I can earn my living and earn my daily bread without being dependent on others and always waiting for a handout or a gift from someone and Lord, please help me to educate my children.

So that when they grow up, they will not be a parasite on society. They will not add we dependent on others as beggars. But they will be able to get that daily bread all that is involved in this simple prayer.

Give us this day our daily bread. Give me a job. Give me a house to live in and help me to educate my children is all in that one sentence. Give us this day our daily bread. God's interested in that. But if he can understand that he has a plan for our life and we live there.

It'll be wonderful. But I want to move on from there. I Want to show you something that was not emphasized sufficiently. I'm what I mentioned now is also not emphasized sufficiently, but another Thing which I've been thinking of this morning in 1 Corinthians chapter 1.

Boasting Only in the Lord

We read here by God's doing it speaks here in verse 29 that no one should boast before God. Why has God chosen verse 27 the foolish things. He's chosen the foolish things to shame the wise. And verse 26.

He says not many wise not many noble. Because God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. That's not what normal companies and corporations do. They don't choose foolish people. They choose clever people.

God doesn't is that in your Bible then God has chosen the foolish things. That he's chosen the weak things. The people who don't think too much of themselves who recognize they're weak. The base things once that are despised.

God has chosen The things that are nothing the things that are zeros. That he might nullify the things that are. And the whole purpose is so that no one should boast before God. One thing we can be pretty sure in eternity when you stand before the Lord.

No one will be able to boast. I Often picture that in my mind, you know, this great crowd saying worthy is the Lamb in Revelation and I picture myself sometimes lost in that crowd of Millions just one person among millions.

Here I often stand in the pulpit and people recognize me and esteem me but not there. In heaven, I'll be just one among the millions. Not Recognized not special. Not standing in front of anyone just one among millions standing and saying worthy is the Lamb.

Meditate on that frequently. It'll humble you any of you who have a problem with high thoughts or thinking you're very spiritual and Recognized by others as a leader or some stupid idea that God's that the devil's put into your mind like that.

This is a humble you if you picture heaven where everybody's singing worthy is the Lamb. Even Paul, where do you look look for Paul? He's also somewhere there in the crowd Paul and Peter and you and me.

It's only Jesus is going to be honored there. No one will be able to boast in God's presence in heaven and The more heavenly you are. You will not boast on earth either people who boast belong in hell.

I'll tell you that or people who are inwardly proud and look down on others. They belong in hell. They don't belong in heaven. There's not going to be one proud person in heaven. I can guarantee you that They've gone to hell long before that happens.

Because the devil is the author of all pride. That's how he became the devil. So no one should boast in before God. It's a very simple statement. But yet, you know if you look at so much of Christendom today, there's such a lot of boasting Churches boasting that we're better than others and the spirit of the Pharisee Lord.

I thank you that I'm not like other men. I Want to warn you be beware of that and God's been good to you. God's given you a revelation on things just humble yourself and give him the glory be thankful.

But don't let him don't let it ever go to your head. And then he goes on to say by God's doing We are in Christ Jesus. I didn't get into Christ by my own doing and you may say once I accepted Christ and I would say but remember it was God's doing and Christ has become to us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption and again, it says Just as it is written.

Let him who boasts boast in the Lord. So between these two statements about boasting in verse 29 and verse 31 No one should boast before God verse 29 and let him who boasts verse 31 boast in the Lord and not in himself.

Do you know the things people boast in. People boast in their accomplishments. There are even people who boast in their children. My children are have done so well in school or college or They've got such good positions or perhaps they're most so spiritual.

My son and daughter are so gracious and so humble and so loving. I Feel sorry for you, and I feel sorry for your children because they will imbibe that spirit from you. They will destroy themselves. Parents very often destroy their children with with the pride that they themselves have.

Or in their children and try to communicate it be careful all the Instruction you give them about Christianity can be cancelled out and wiped out by communicating pride to them. We have to be especially careful.

God in the final day is not going to judge how much they. What marks they got in science or mathematics? But how humble they were. Christianity, I mean in the final day human beings are going to be divided not according to their marks and academics.

But according who was humble and who was proud. And I hope we and our children will be on the right side on that day. And it's our responsibility as parents to make sure that I'm only preaching what I've practiced for years.

Now especially if your children do well, you've got to really work. To keep them their face in the dust. That no one should boast before God and if anyone does boast let him boast and what the Lord has done for me.

It's of him that I am in Christ. Keep emphasizing that to your children. Keep emphasizing that to yourself. I'm in Christ because of what God did for me. And if I had a desire to him it God produced that desire in me.

I can't boast over anybody else and He says here how in Christ. Christ has become my righteousness in verse 30 that we can understand it. That was what was emphasized in the Reformation. Christ has become my righteousness.

I'm justified in Christ. I have no righteousness of my own. That's acceptable before God. Christ has become my righteousness. So the you know the end of my life if I've served God faithfully for 70 years I have to still say Lord I'm damned.

But Jesus died for me. That's the only way I can enter heaven. Just like that thief on the cross who did nothing. I Rejoice in the fact that I enter heaven and exactly the same basis as a thief on the cross.

He did nothing. He didn't have an opportunity to do anything. I may have served God for 50 years, but I enter heaven on exactly the same basis. And I'll never forget it, and I never want to forget it.

He is my righteousness. But what I also want to share with you Is that Christ Jesus has become to us Wisdom and that is what has not been sufficiently emphasized in Christendom. Even during the Reformation or since then in most Christians.

I have met it's not been emphasized sufficiently. That Christ is you know Christ is my righteousness. I find most almost all evangelical Christians will accept. I have no righteousness of my own. Christ is my righteousness, but will you also say you have no wisdom of your own?

Christ is my wisdom. That's what it says here. He has become my wisdom. And I want to say that is the reason why I Find many Christians don't get revelation when they read the scriptures. They get bright ideas.

There's a lot of difference in getting bright ideas. You just got to be a clever person to get bright ideas from scripture or to prepare a clever sermon from scripture. You just got to be a clever person.

But to get revelation. For that You have to say Christ has become my wisdom. I have no wisdom of my own and there are very very few Christians. Particularly among the educated and the clever. Who will be willing to acknowledge that?

Humility and Spiritual Understanding

Now I want to tell you you miss a lot if you don't get revelation from scripture. If you're a clever person you can put together verses put a concordance together and produce a wonderful sermon. It may not be from the Holy Spirit at all.

I've heard a lot of sermons like that. There are clever politicians who can hold people spellbound for one hour because they are great orators and eloquent. That's not the way God speaks through his servants.

So just like you have I think all of you have recognized. That your righteousness will never qualify you for God's kingdom. But Christ is your righteousness. Let's learn also that My wisdom will only lead me astray in understanding the truth.

Or I may understand partially the truth, but all of the truth I must be willing to say I have. No wisdom human wisdom will not enable me to understand God's Word. Turn with me to Matthew 11 verse 25. Jesus said this Matthew 11 verse 25.

I Praise Thee O Father Lord of heaven and earth. Remember this is something Jesus is thanking God for. It's not just a statement. It's a statement he could have just made a statement. God has hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and revealed them to babes.

That's a statement. God has hidden things. The most important things in the Bible from clever intelligent people. Are you clever and intelligent? I want to tell you God has hidden things from you. It's unfortunate.

You've got a handicap. You're clever. You were born with intelligence. Sorry, you're gonna not understand God's Word. Isn't that sad? You say well, you mean God favors those who are foolish and dumb and stupid.

No. He favors those who are humble. The trouble with clever intelligent people is they're a little proud of their cleverness and intelligence. That's what makes them miss understanding God's truth. It's not that oh, you're clever.

So you can't understand the Bible then what's the hope for us? I think Paul was one of the cleverest men of his day. I He was a brilliant man, I think he would have been a top computer scientist or businessman or anything today, but How did he get so much revelation?

He laid his wisdom down at the feet of the Lord. So it's in other words The wise has to become like a foolish man if he wants to understand Scripture. That was a great revelation to me when I discovered it.

I first discovered that Christ was my righteousness that I had none of my own. That if I came with my righteousness and completely missed God's will. The second thing I learned pretty early in my life was that if I came with my human cleverness and I was clever I had to admit that God gave me a lot of intelligence when I was born.

That was not my making so I couldn't boast about it. I was just born with it. But if I began to think that that that would help me in the world it helped me in my school days it helped me when I was in the military, but When I come to the scripture I had to say Lord Here that intelligence does not help me at all.

It's worth zero so I don't want to come with that mind with which I study chemistry and mathematics to the scriptures. I'll go completely astray and that's why you find 1 ,000 or more 10 ,000 denominations each holding the Bible and saying we've got the truth.

Why is that? Because people come with their cleverness. Well you come with your cleverness you can produce a hundred thousand denominations. Each preaching different aspects of things. It's human cleverness.

That's how all the religions in the world came. People have never seen God. I've tried to talk about what God is like and gradually to get a following and start a religion. It's gonna be wrong. It's like you know if you go to a country where Nobody's ever seen an elephant.

Or nobody's ever seen a picture of an elephant either. And you tell all those students in the class. I want you to draw an elephant you think anybody would ever think of a trunk. Impossible because no animal has it.

They'll draw something like a lion or something or big one as the elephant and they'll be wrong. That is exactly how every religion in the world. None of them knew God none of them has seen God. They decided to talk about God, and they all every religion is false the only One that could speak about it is one who came from heaven and there was only one Was only one in the history of the universe world.

That was Jesus Christ, and that's why Christianity alone is the truth. There's nothing to compete with it because all the others were just men who had bright ideas and with clever men wise men trying to talk about God and Jesus said I thank you father.

You've hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent that explains to me Why there are so many religions? It's all a whole lot of clever people trying to explain God and the only one who could really do it properly was the one Who was God himself who came to earth and said this is what God is like.

But we need to remember this for ourselves. That there are things in Scripture Which I cannot understand if I use My brain as the primary source of understanding. There's a message. I spoke on Soulish or spiritual which is on the internet you could listen to it sometime on YouTube.

Where I mentioned a man is spirit soul and body and the mind is a part of our soul. We're not supposed to know God by our mind primarily, but in our spirit in the Old Testament tabernacle. There was the outer court the holy place in the most holy place.

Symbolizing body soul and spirit and God dwelt in the most holy place not in the holy place. Teaching us that God does not dwell in our mind. He dwells in our spirit, so it's from our spirit. That we need to understand God and if our spirit in the spirit we get revelation then we can use our mind.

We definitely need to use our mind. I'm using my mind right now, and you're using it right now to listen. But if it originates there you'll go astray. That's what I'm saying. We use our eyes. But we don't get revelation just by reading.

We don't not just the eyes not just the mind but the spirit and so The one who is pure in his spirit was kept a clear conscience. Who walks in holiness? Is even if he's not very clever Will know God better Than the person who is little impure but brilliant in his mind.

You know if you're teaching chemistry or physics or some worldly subject you can be an adulterer and Evil and you can be brilliant in your profession, but not not when it comes to the Bible. When it comes to the scripture your brilliant mind is no value a pure spirit and a humble spirit has tremendous value a Spirit that keeps itself in humility in purity and in love to all people for example if you have an unforgiving attitude.

Towards somebody just to take one example. You haven't forgiven somebody. You can be a brilliant professor in the top University. Easy because Your conscience has got nothing to do with your brilliance but When it comes to scripture you will not understand it.

With an unforgiving spirit if you hate someone. You look down on someone. You can still be a brilliant professor. But you won't understand the Bible, and you think you understand the Bible you're wrong.

I've had so many people come to argue with me about this scripture and that scripture. And I try to show them from scripture, and I found sometimes They're not able to see it. Even though it's crystal clear to me.

They don't see it. And then I realize The Lord must be seeing. Some pride some little thing there in their spirit that keeps them blind. But even if you explain it they can't see it. For example truths about the new covenant.

I find the vast majority of born-again believers have never seen it. Or a new covenant Church, what's a new covenant Church most people haven't seen it. What is a new covenant life most people haven't seen even though it's written plainly and you know they can hear my messages and Read it on the internet.

They think they've got it and they can teach it to others, but it is not true in their life. I mean if you're still defeated by anger and sexual lust in your thoughts and An unforgiving spirit you haven't understood ABC of the new covenant life not at all.

You can explain it because you understand in your mind and explain it to other people. That's just intellect. It's in the spirit. That we need to know God so remember this. So the particular thing which I wanted to show you that scripture speaks about is about picking up the cross a subject which is almost Not preached much anyway.

Taking Up the Cross and Denying Self

In most of Evangelical Christianity taking up the cross for me. It has been the central message of my ministry for 40 50 years. What does it mean to take up the cross. Let me show you. Everywhere in the Gospels where Jesus spoke about taking up the cross He said something else also in connection with that and then you'll understand it.

First of all Matthew chapter 10. I think this is almost the first reference for taking up the cross. In the New Testament Matthew 10 verse 38 He who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.

We want to go slowly in this. We really want to try and understand what it means to take up the cross because this is central. Jesus said you cannot follow me if you don't take up the cross you can come to church every Sunday and you can live a very good life and give to the poor and give permission work and do a hundred and one things and have your weekday meetings and Praise meetings and everything else, but if you don't take up the cross you cannot follow Jesus Christ.