What's in You Kills
A Zac Poonen Sermon Summary
Our inner life is much more important than our outer life. People focus on outward appearances, but God looks at our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7).
Old Testament (OT) laws focus more on the outside, such as blessings on physical property and land. The Pharisees also focused on outer appearances, fasting and tithing publicly so others would see. But Jesus warned His disciples that we can’t enter God’s kingdom unless our righteousness is better than that of the Pharisees’ (Luke 18:11-12, Matthew 5:20).
Let’s see two examples of the New Testament (NT) focusing on the inside.
The OT law forbade murder, but Christ told us that even our anger could lead to hell. So, we must not harbor anger in our hearts. Another example is OT law against adultery, but Christ warned that even lustful thoughts could lead to hell. This is the sin of pornography (Matthew 5:22, 27; Ecclesiastes 7:9).
Unlike murder and adultery, anger and lust can be in us without anyone knowing about them. But God sees our hearts. God is fully aware of our motives and what we do in private. Fight anger and lust. Out of all the sins mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount, they are the only two that could lead to hell (1 Corinthians 4:5).
Learn from Joseph. He was in his 20s, well-built, handsome, and far away from his parents. While his master was away, the wife would tempt Joseph to go to bed with her. But Joseph refused because he considered doing such would sin against God. Be afraid of God and run away from lust. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Genesis 39:6-10; Proverbs 1:7, 9:10; Psalm 111:10).
We should focus on cleaning ourselves internally. Don’t let our inside be filled with greed and self-indulgence. If we clean our inside, our outside will automatically become clean (Matthew 23:25).
We must fight to control our thoughts and mental attitudes, which will be reflected in our words. So, control our tongue too. Don’t focus on the outside, like craving for money or honor. Don’t focus on impressing others with performative good works. Instead, we should be afraid of God and carefully watch our inner life.
“Watch Your Inner Life” by Zac Poonenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwifVZRrvBY
Old Testament (OT) laws focus more on the outside, such as blessings on physical property and land. The Pharisees also focused on outer appearances, fasting and tithing publicly so others would see. But Jesus warned His disciples that we can’t enter God’s kingdom unless our righteousness is better than that of the Pharisees’ (Luke 18:11-12, Matthew 5:20).
Let’s see two examples of the New Testament (NT) focusing on the inside.
The OT law forbade murder, but Christ told us that even our anger could lead to hell. So, we must not harbor anger in our hearts. Another example is OT law against adultery, but Christ warned that even lustful thoughts could lead to hell. This is the sin of pornography (Matthew 5:22, 27; Ecclesiastes 7:9).
Unlike murder and adultery, anger and lust can be in us without anyone knowing about them. But God sees our hearts. God is fully aware of our motives and what we do in private. Fight anger and lust. Out of all the sins mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount, they are the only two that could lead to hell (1 Corinthians 4:5).
Learn from Joseph. He was in his 20s, well-built, handsome, and far away from his parents. While his master was away, the wife would tempt Joseph to go to bed with her. But Joseph refused because he considered doing such would sin against God. Be afraid of God and run away from lust. The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Genesis 39:6-10; Proverbs 1:7, 9:10; Psalm 111:10).
We should focus on cleaning ourselves internally. Don’t let our inside be filled with greed and self-indulgence. If we clean our inside, our outside will automatically become clean (Matthew 23:25).
We must fight to control our thoughts and mental attitudes, which will be reflected in our words. So, control our tongue too. Don’t focus on the outside, like craving for money or honor. Don’t focus on impressing others with performative good works. Instead, we should be afraid of God and carefully watch our inner life.
“Watch Your Inner Life” by Zac Poonenhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwifVZRrvBY