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The Law Leads Us to Christ
Zac Poonen

Zac Poonen (1939 - ). Christian preacher, Bible teacher, and author based in Bangalore, India. A former Indian Naval officer, he resigned in 1966 after converting to Christianity, later founding the Christian Fellowship Centre (CFC) in 1975, which grew into a network of churches. He has written over 30 books, including "The Pursuit of Godliness," and shares thousands of free sermons, emphasizing holiness and New Testament teachings. Married to Annie since 1968, they have four sons in ministry. Poonen supports himself through "tent-making," accepting no salary or royalties. After stepping down as CFC elder in 1999, he focused on global preaching and mentoring. His teachings prioritize spiritual maturity, humility, and living free from materialism. He remains active, with his work widely accessible online in multiple languages. Poonen’s ministry avoids institutional structures, advocating for simple, Spirit-led fellowships. His influence spans decades, inspiring Christians to pursue a deeper relationship with God.
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Sermon Summary
In this sermon, the speaker discusses two parables from the book of Matthew. The first parable is about a king who invites people to his son's wedding feast, but they refuse to come. So the king invites beggars and people from the streets instead. At the gate of the king's palace, each person is given a wedding garment as a free gift. The speaker emphasizes that this parable teaches us that in terms of acceptance before Christ, there is no difference between believers. The second parable is about laborers who are hired at different times of the day. The speaker points out that the fundamental difference between the first four groups of laborers and the last group is that the first four groups made a contract with the employer, while the last group did not. The speaker relates this to the commandments given by God, highlighting that the first four commandments relate to our relationship with God, while the remaining six relate to our relationship with others. The speaker concludes by emphasizing the importance of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Sermon Transcription
Here he speaks about a mystery in verse nine. He has made known to us the mystery of His will. According to His kind intention which He purposed in Christ, throughout all the years before Christ came, people sought to find acceptance before God by keeping the law and trying their best to please Him. Even when the rich young ruler came to Jesus and he asked, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, go and keep the commandments. That was the answer from Jesus. When somebody wanted eternal life in the Old Testament, he had to keep the commandments. Of course, we know that nobody could keep them fully. And when he said, Lord, I've kept all of them. I mean, Jesus, I don't know whether you've noticed that Jesus mentioned only up to commandment number nine. He left out the tenth commandment when he spoke to the rich young ruler and he said, I've kept all that. Then Jesus spoke about the tenth commandment and he said, you love your money too much. You've got to give that up. And then, follow me. This is all to answer this question on eternal life. The reason why God put that tenth commandment was to test how many people would be honest to acknowledge. And what we read in Ephesians is how God fulfills that through what is called here a mystery. So let's turn for a moment to Exodus in chapter 20. In Exodus chapter 20, we read the ten commandments. The first one was, you must have no other God but me. I am Jehovah, your God. Exodus chapter 20, verse two and three. I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You must have no other gods but me. That was easy to keep. The second one, don't make an idol. Verse four, that was also easy to keep. Don't take the name of the Lord in vain. Verse seven, that was also easy to keep. Four, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Most of the Jews kept it. The fifth one, honor your father and mother. Notice there were four commandments. The first four related to God. The remaining six related to man. Four were written on one tablet of stone. The other six were written on the other tablet of stone. The two tablets represented two sections. One in relation to God, the other in relation to man. And Jesus summed up all that was written on one tablet. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and strength. And he said everything written on the other tablet can be summed up with love your neighbor as yourself. So the fifth commandment was honor your father and mother. Which is also easy to keep. Then six, seven, eight, nine. Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal and don't bear false witness against your neighbor. Notice the commandment was not you must never tell a lie. That would be very difficult. I mean even Christians find it very difficult today never to tell a lie. And God knew that. That's not the commandment. The commandment is that you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Meaning that you don't go to court and swear and tell a lie against your neighbor. That was easy. And then is the last one. And the last one, you see all these other nine commandments were external. On the outside. And all those things on the outside they could keep. Then God added one commandment right at the bottom. Which is the tenth one which is inside. And he said you shall not covet or desire your neighbor's house or desire your neighbor's wife or desire anything that belongs to your neighbor. Now here it was going inside and not talking about your grabbing your neighbor's house or wife but desiring it. Wanting your neighbor's daughter. Why didn't he make all ten external? He made only nine external and one internal. Because the whole purpose of the law was to show man how hard you try. That's why you read in the New Testament that the law was our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. As a schoolmaster or a tutor in the sense that it would show us how you just cannot come up to God's standards unless you come to Christ. That was the whole purpose of the law to show man his sin. To show man that no matter how hard he tries he can never come up to God's standard. And that was the reason with which God put this tenth commandment in. Because it was impossible for anybody to keep it. It would reveal to man something of the, I mean if a man really tried to keep it. It would reveal to him something of the tremendous corruption there is in his heart. And the heart is wicked. Very few people really would acknowledge that. In fact they said oh well take the tenth commandment seriously at all. The punishments were meted out for the nine commandments. Keep the Sabbath you'd be punished. If you didn't honor your father and mother you'd be punished. And all those things. There was a punishment for each of those commandments. But there was no punishment for the tenth commandment because there was no way to find out whether anybody had disobeyed it or not. I mean how do you find out whether somebody desired something. So it's good for us to know these things. Because of that the vast majority of, you know if for example for one commandment there is no punishment. That's the commandment that everybody is going to disobey. All the other ones they'll keep. So we find that all Israelites even the God fearing ones would basically imagine that because I've kept the nine commandments I'm a righteous person. I've kept all the commandments and now my conscience is clear. I'll show you an example of that in the New Testament. In Philippians chapter 3. Philippians chapter 3. Paul says according to verse 6. As to Zeal a persecutor of the church. And as to the righteousness which is in the law. I was found flameless. Now how could he say that? Nobody in the world could keep the tenth commandment. And yet he says here according to the righteous standard with the law required. No fault in me. I've kept it all. What did he mean? He meant that he had kept nine commandments. I'll show you another verse in Acts chapter 23. Paul says in verse 1. Paul looking intently at the council said brethren. I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day. Now this is speaking from the days of his childhood. From the days of his childhood he's lived with a good conscience. Right up to this day. It's amazing. What did he mean? Did he keep the tenth commandment from childhood? Was Paul someone who grew up without ever desiring anything? No. All Jews assumed that only those commandments that required a punishment were the ones they had to keep. That was nine commandments. That's all. Now turn to Mark chapter 10. You see here the story of a rich young ruler coming to Jesus and asking him in verse 17. Good teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And you see the Lord tells him. Now notice. Do you remember the ten commandments? Notice what Jesus mentioned here. He left out the first part related to God. The first four commandments. And then he started with the commandments related to man. Don't murder. Don't commit adultery. Verse 19. Don't steal. Don't bear false witness. And honor your father and mother. See that's five commandments. All related to man. And he left out. Do not covet your neighbor's wife. Even Jesus did not mention it. Don't desire anything that's your neighbor's. Because Jesus knew. Nobody could keep him to see that. And that's why he could say. I have kept all these things from my youth up. There's another man like Paul. Who could say I've lived in a good conscience. There were a few people like this in Israel. Paul this rich young ruler who from childhood. Had kept all the commandments faithfully. What was the difference between this man and Paul? How is it Paul ended up as an apostle. And this man wasn't even saved. It all depended on the tenth commandment. And it depended on being honest. So when Jesus said to him. Yeah there's one thing you still lack. And now he was going into the broader picture of the tenth commandment. There's one thing you lack. Essentially what he was saying is. You love your money too much. Go and sell everything you have. And give it to the poor. You'll have treasure in heaven. Follow me. And it says here his face fell. Verse 22 when he heard it. Because he was grieved. Because he had so much property. Imagine if he were a poor man. And he didn't have much property. He could have been saved. But he had a lot of property. And he went away. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples. Verse 23. How difficult it is for those who are wealthy. To enter God's kingdom. It really is difficult. In any area where we are rich. It's not only money. But when we are rich. It makes us proud and self-sufficient. It's very difficult. He didn't say it's impossible. If he had said impossible then. No rich person would be able to enter. And he said it's difficult to enter. When the disciples heard this. They were amazed. They further on they were so astonished. Verse 26. They said then who can be saved. He said how hard it is. Verse 24. To enter God's kingdom. Now today a lot of people are saying. It's very easy to enter God's kingdom. Jesus said. Notice his words. It's very hard. Verse 24. To enter God's kingdom. It's easier for a camel. To go through the eye of a needle. Than for a rich man. To enter the kingdom of God. We got to take Jesus' words exactly. You can't enter God's kingdom. Easily. A camel. Going through the eye of a needle. Man can never really enter God's kingdom. Unless he is God. So he was speaking about a poverty. How much money you have in your bank account. Poverty of spirit. Now I want to turn to Romans. In chapter 7. And you will see the difference. Between Paul. And this rich young man. You see this rich young man. Could have been an apostle. He could have been the one. Who wrote some epistles. But he didn't. He couldn't be that. Romans chapter 7. And you will see. Paul says. Concerning the law. Concerning the ten commandments. Romans chapter 7. Verse 7. What shall we say then? Is the law sin? May it never be. On the contrary. I would not have come to know sin. Except through the law. The bible calls in another place. In James 1. The law is a mirror. And when you look into a mirror. You see the dirt on your face. Or to use a modern illustration. An x-ray. It scans my inside. And if it were not for the x-ray. I wouldn't know what's inside. I would not know. So the law is like an x-ray. It shows me things I cannot see. That's what he is saying. Without the law. I would not have known. That there is sin in me. Without the x-ray. I would not have known. That there is a cancer there. Or a tumor. The x-ray revealed it. Because on the outside. It didn't look like that. And so he says. The law exposed my sin. And then he takes an example. Listen to this. This is very interesting. I would never have known. Let me paraphrase it. That coveting or lusting. If you have a margin. It says there lust. Covet and lust. Are the same. Earnestly desire something. God has forbidden. This is what happened to Adam and Eve. In the garden of Eden. Just the tenth commandment. They desired something. Which God had forbidden. That's how sin came into the world. Sin came into the world through. Disobedience of that. Same commandment. Which nobody else could ever keep. He says. When I read. He comes to the tenth commandment. With the law it said. You shall not covet. He says. The first nine was easy. But when it came to the tenth one. Sin. Verse eight. Taking opportunity through that tenth commandment. Produced in me. Lusting. Of every possible kind. What he meant is. That. I suddenly. When I realized that. Lusting was a sin. I discovered. All types of lusts in me. See Paul is being very honest here. Everything that God had forbidden. Like that. Forbidden tree in the garden. Everything that God said. I shouldn't desire. Paul says. I found all the desires coming up. For all those things. Just like Adam. And. Because of that. It produced coveting in me. Of every kind. And. Apart from the law. Sin is dead. Apart from the law. Sin is dead. Means. I wouldn't know there's sin there. And. When I don't know that there is sin. I'm not guilty. But. I was once alive. Apart from the law. Meaning that. I thought. I was in a good relationship with God. That's why he said. I kept. The law. I'm blameless as far as the law is concerned. But when this commandment came. Sin became alive. And I died. And the commandment. Which was supposed to. Result in life. Proved to result. In death. For me. Sin. Taking opportunity through the commandment. Deceived me. And through it. Killed me. And then further. Down in verse 13. He says. Sin. Through the commandment. Becomes. Utterly. Sinful. Now it's all related to the 10th commandment. All that I've said. We can be like that rich young ruler. The rich young ruler. Turned away and said. I mean these inner things. Seriously. And said. Boy. Full of sin. Who is this saying this? A man who has faithfully. A man who. Never committed. Did all those things. His disobedience to the 10th commandment. I want to say brothers and sisters. That is what makes the difference. Between us. This is what makes one man. Go in the footsteps of Paul. To greater and greater. Into the rich young ruler. Stirrings in our heart. Desires in our heart. Which a testimony. We glory in. To see. How many of us. Would really. Really be honest. He can never be a rich person. I mean in spirit. He will automatically be poor in spirit. One who has a. Awareness. Of his own. The law. As a tutor. And if you. Rely upon. Your external testimony. And the good life. You are living on the outside. Which gives you a good testimony. I want to say. You don't realize it. But you'll be far away from Jesus Christ. The thing that. The law is our schoolmaster. To lead us to Christ. Turn to that verse. In Galatians chapter 3. Verse 24. The law has become our tutor. To lead us to Christ. That we may be justified by faith. And once the faith has come. We don't need the tutor. Did you hear that? The law. Think of the 10th commandment. Which. Let's take Paul's example. He tried and tried and tried and tried. For years to keep it. And he found he just couldn't keep it. The more he tried to keep it. The more he discovered. All types of wrong desires. Not just one. All types of lusting. Coveting. In his heart. And. That helplessness. To keep the 10th commandment. Finally. Led him to Christ. That the only way. He can be accepted before God. Like it says in that verse. Is to be justified. Try all your life. And you'll never be able to get your. Makes a man poor in spirit. Which means. Self sufficient. Capable. Proud of. One's accomplishments. Feeling superior to other believers. Feeling superior to other sinners. Perhaps. Something like the older brother. And the story of the prodigal son. Looking down on his younger son. There's something of that in all religious people. They're rich. Rich in their self-confidence. And their. Esteem of themselves. And that's what hinders them from coming into God's kingdom. And that's because they don't take the 10th commandment seriously. Anybody who takes the 10th commandment really seriously. You shall not desire. Anything that is your neighbor's. When Jesus said you shouldn't lust after a woman. In your heart. That woman is your neighbor's daughter. How can you desire her? That woman is a neighbor's wife. Or a neighbor's daughter. One of the two. You're not supposed to desire. Your neighbor's house. You look at somebody else's house. Far better than yours. And you. Desire something there. You. It could be anything. It says anything that's your neighbor's. Desire. You don't do anything. You don't grab. Grab her or grab the thing. It's a desire. You shall not desire it. For yourself. Anyone who tries to keep that. And he'll. Be so desperate. How. Oh wretched man. This is what finally he says. You know. In verse 24 of Romans 7. Oh wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me. So the law becomes our schoolmaster. To lead us to Christ. That we finally realize. Hey. Can be accepted before God. In Christ. And the mystery that we saw in Ephesians 1. Is this. Turn to Ephesians 1 now. Verse 4. He chose us. In. Christ. Before the foundation of the world. That we should be holy. And blameless. Even as far as the tenth commandment is concerned. Before him. Not before man. But before him. Man looks on the outward appearance. He could have been blameless before men. But. To be blameless before God. Is to be clear in our heart. And how can I be that. When I see myself. In. Christ. It's perhaps true that. In our church. We have not. Thought sufficiently. About. The blessing of being. In. Christ. That's a tremendous blessing. To be in Christ. To be accepted. In him. It says here. In verse. Six. To the praise of the glory of his grace. Which he freely bestowed on us. In the beloved or. In the. King James version. I think it says. Accepted. In the beloved. That means in Christ. I'm accepted. I will never be accepted. In myself. Even after I'm born again. If I live for 50 years. Seeking to live a holy life. I still would not have. Got rid of my flesh. However much I may have cleansed myself. And however much God may have given me. His grace to live a holy life. I still cannot be accepted. Before God. And that's why in my dying day. I still need to say. 60 years. That's all we'll be able to say. Because it says in Ephesians 1.4. He chose me. In. Christ. Before the foundation of the world. That I should be holy. Finding our acceptance. I think there are some ways. One is. If we look down on other people. If we look down on other believers. We. Thereby prove that we're sort of. Accepted before God. Because we're better than them. You know I'm better than them. Therefore God accepts me. He doesn't accept them. That means God doesn't accept us in Christ. He accepts us. On the basis of me being better than him. That's why I look down on him. But once my eyes are open to see that. God's accepted me in Christ. I can't look down on anybody. You know that's the story. The story of the man. Who came into the wedding feast. Without a garment. Without a wedding garment that is. In Matthew chapter. 22. Jesus mentioned a number of parables. To show this. Matthew 22. He said the kingdom of heaven. Verse 2 is like a king. Who gave a wedding feast for his son. And you know the story. He invited various people. And none of them came. Then he said in verse 9. Go to the main highways. And get all the beggars. And everybody else on the streets. Now you know how beggars were. With torn tattered clothes. And much worse than beggars we see in Bangalore. Torn tattered clothes. They could not come into the king's. Wedding feast. Dressed like that. Oh that would be a disgrace. To the king's wedding feast. If he had all these people in tatters. Sitting over there. So it's not written here. But that is. The point of the story. That at the gate of the king's palace. Every person who came. Was given a wedding garment. Here is a free gift. Put this over you. And you know the dresses in those days. Were just one big robe. That went all the way down to your feet. So it was easy to put on. Here it is. And the beggars who were in tatters. They were delighted. Great. They had no problem accepting it. Because it covered all their. Tattered clothes. And they looked great. But there was some. There was a rich fellow who came along. Who probably was. Pretty well dressed. And he said. Hey I am not in the same category as these beggars. I am clothed. I am okay. I am not in the same category as these beggars. So when the king comes and looks at all the. Wedding dinner guests. In verse 11. It was easy for him to spot. This one man who didn't have a garment. Because all the others had. Whatever color the garment was. White or whatever it is. Here was another guy with a suit and tie. Or whatever equivalent of that. In the old those days. And he said. Hey how did you come in here. What's wrong with this. It's not dirty. It's ironed and pressed and new and everything else. And he says. Cast him out. Into the outer darkness. With his weeping and gnashing teeth. See he was thrown out. Even though he was the best dressed. Among all those people who came to the gate. He was rich. Of what he has accomplished. And you don't recognize. What have you got that you did not receive. You did without God giving you grace. Living in sin like the prodigal son. This danger faces those. Who are zealous. Who are going on with the Lord. There can be a little pride where we forget. That everything we have. Is given to us by Jesus. Everything we have. I mean if it's going to last for eternity. It's accomplished by the Holy Spirit. And we cannot glory in it. We must never forget. No matter how much we grow spiritually. No matter how much God uses us. Come to the wedding feast. Ten people wear the wedding garment. You don't see what type of clothes they got underneath. You don't see their human righteousness. Do we look at each believer like that. Do I see every believer. Every child of God. That is between me and him. That's the point of this other parable. In Matthew chapter 20. Jesus spoke this other parable. About the laborers. And there were. I think five groups of laborers. Those who came in the first hour. And then the third hour. And the sixth hour. And the ninth hour. And the eleventh hour. There were five groups of laborers. Those who started at six o'clock in the morning. They had twelve hours of work. And those who started at five o'clock in the evening. Was the last group. And. I want you to notice one thing here. That there was a fundamental difference. Between the people in the last group. And the first four groups. Because they were all similar. In one area. And that area. The last group was completely different. Notice. And the difference is. The first four groups all agreed. Made a contract. I will work for you. For so many hours. And you pay me so much. That was a contract. Those right at the beginning. He agreed with the laborers. Verse two. For a denarius a day. That was a contract. Verse three. He went at the third hour. Nine o'clock in the morning. And he said to them also. He made a contract. You go and I will give you what is right. I will pay you. It was also a contract. And the people in the sixth hour. Noon. And three o'clock in the afternoon. He did the same thing. To the people at five o'clock in the evening. Notice what he tells them. Verse seven. Go. Into the vineyard. I promise you anything. If you want you can go and work tomorrow. And they went. That's why when the payment time came. He said. Call those. Who came last. And those who came at the eleventh hour. Those are the people who made no contract. Give them a full day's wages. Nothing. And they got a full day's wages. And the people who came in the first hour. Thought they would get much more. They should get twelve delirious. The people who worked one hour got a one. We worked for twelve hours. We should get twelve. But they got the same. And their words are. Verse twelve. Their complaint is. You have made these people. Equal to us. All types of ways. To make sure others are not equal. Society people were called. Even though Jesus said you should not have these titles. Christians have taken titles. You are not equal to me. They say I am not a brother. All this business of equality. I don't want other people to be equal to me. Now we may not. Take titles. We may do the same thing in other ways. We can rejoice that we keep the letter of the law. That I don't call myself. Go underneath and see the spirit of it. Do you rejoice? Do you rejoice that other people are equal to you? Can you treat all human beings as equal to you? Or do you have a caste system in your mind as well? Do you really look at other believers as equal to you? Do you rejoice in that new convert Christ as you are? Are you conscious of seniority? It could be. That you are senior in the church. For so many years. You are not like these newcomers. You are senior. Are you conscious of seniority as a brother? Or a sister? Or do you rejoice that that person is equal to you? You got the same wedding garment. Whatever may be underneath the garment doesn't make a difference. Such a person is not rich. He is poor in spirit. He recognizes that he has only got the righteousness of Christ. If you ever forget that. Or you know, indirectly think that your righteousness will make you somewhat a little better than the other guy. In other words, the dress you got under this garment is also going to make a difference. When you sit at the wedding feast. If you got that idea. Then you get back under the law. And this is what Paul keeps on warning. He says, once you get back under the law, you are under a curse. You are under a curse because you can never measure up to the tenth commandment. You just won't make it. Brother, forget it. Do you think in all your life, even after a hundred years. You will be able to come to the place where you can keep the tenth commandment. I will tell you right now, you can't. You need the righteousness of Christ. And take that place joyfully. All your life, no matter how much, how holy you are. No matter, I met them in CFC. I met them in CFC related churches. I met them in other churches. In such people, even after many years. There is a little feeling of superiority. Over any day. Can you understand that? There is very little hope of a Pharisee. A Pharisee tends to drift further. Think of some of the legalists that we have come across in previous years. Who have been in our midst. Can you see their condition today? They imagine that they are the holiest. There is no understanding there. Which makes a man so deeply thankful. Last day of his earthly life. After having lived a holy life. Becoming the holiest man on earth. Having cleansed himself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. He will say. This is a mystery. Mystery means a secret. Which you can't understand with cleverness. These legalists who have been with us in the past. Did they lack cleverness? No, in fact most of them are much cleverer than you and me. It is a mystery. Jesus said, Father I thank you that you have hidden these things. From the clever and intelligent. And you have revealed them to babes. Dear brother, sister. If we come to Jesus like a babe. And say Lord. I have no righteousness of my own to stand before you. Even if I am a million times better than other people. Than all the other people. I still need your wedding garment. I still need that righteousness of Christ to clothe me. Always. That is actually the meaning. Of praying in the name of Jesus Christ. That is something we need to understand. That God accepts us. Because we come in the name of Jesus Christ. So when we pray and say. Father I come in Jesus name. I don't think we have understood. The significance of that. What I am saying is. Father I am not asking you to do this for me. Because I am a holy person. Or I live such a holy life. It is because I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ. You know this is the reason why some people don't receive the Holy Spirit. The baptism in the Holy Spirit. And this is the reason why some people don't experience miracles in their life. Because. You can't receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit if you are living under the law. You can't get victory over sin if you live under the law. Romans 6.14 says sin will not have dominion over you if you are under grace. Not under law. If you are under law sin will have dominion over you. Number one. If you are under law you can't receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. If you are under law you can't experience miracles in your life. Turn to those verses. Romans 6.14 we all know. That if you are under law. You cannot have victory over sin. That means if you. Don't have this wedding garment. Then you are thinking of your own righteousness. And then it says in Galatians. In chapter three. I don't know whether all of you have noticed this verse. Romans 6.14 we have often quoted in our midst. But Galatians 3 it says here. Verse two. Did you receive the spirit. By the works of the law. Or by hearing. With faith. There is a choice here. The works of the law. Then you got to keep all ten commandments. You can't get away with just doing nine. Or. Hearing with faith where you say Lord. I can't make it. I just am clawed to the righteousness of Christ. That is how we receive the Holy Spirit. Okay. So the reason why many people don't receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because they are. Trying to make themselves good enough. Worthy enough. It's like somebody trying to be good enough. To be saved. He'll never be good enough. What about miracles. Verse five. Does he then. Who provides you with the spirit. And works miracles among you. Does he do it by the works of the law. Or by hearing with faith. So that's the third thing you can't get. If you live under the law. Please remember these three things. Victory over sin. The power of the Holy Spirit. And miracles. Romans 6.14. Galatians 3.2 and Galatians 3.5. We cannot have these. If I come on the basis of my own righteousness. That's what it means to. One of the meanings of living under the law. I come on the basis of my own righteousness. I'm striving. I'm thinking I'm good enough. And end result is. Though I may live a comparatively. Externally. A life better than others. I don't experience the reality of. God giving me victory in my inner life. Over sin. Over depression and discouragement and gloom. And the complaining spirit. And murmuring and complaining. I don't experience reality of. The Holy Spirit's power. And I don't experience reality of miraculous. So let's come. Like Paul says in conclusion. Let me turn to Philippians chapter 3. Now we understand this verse a little better. Philippians 3. Paul says. Therefore. I want to be found. Verse 9. Philippians 3.9. I want to be found in the final day. In Christ. In him. Not having a righteousness of my own. Which is derived. By keeping the commandments. But that righteousness. That wedding garment. That I received freely. By faith in Christ. The righteousness. Which comes from God. Now Paul is saying this at the end of his life. After having done such a. Fantastic ministry in his life. He said I don't want to stand in the final day. Thinking of all that I've done. I don't want to stand in the final day. Thinking of all that I've become. And pursuing after holiness. In that final day I want to stand there. Clothed. With the righteousness of God. In Christ. Take that position my brother sister. Consciously. And you'll find victory over sin. Power of the Holy Spirit.
The Law Leads Us to Christ
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Zac Poonen (1939 - ). Christian preacher, Bible teacher, and author based in Bangalore, India. A former Indian Naval officer, he resigned in 1966 after converting to Christianity, later founding the Christian Fellowship Centre (CFC) in 1975, which grew into a network of churches. He has written over 30 books, including "The Pursuit of Godliness," and shares thousands of free sermons, emphasizing holiness and New Testament teachings. Married to Annie since 1968, they have four sons in ministry. Poonen supports himself through "tent-making," accepting no salary or royalties. After stepping down as CFC elder in 1999, he focused on global preaching and mentoring. His teachings prioritize spiritual maturity, humility, and living free from materialism. He remains active, with his work widely accessible online in multiple languages. Poonen’s ministry avoids institutional structures, advocating for simple, Spirit-led fellowships. His influence spans decades, inspiring Christians to pursue a deeper relationship with God.