What's on the Final Exam - Santosh Poonen - July 10, 2016
http://rlcfchurch.org/sermons/whats-final-exam River of Life Christian Fellowship 1306 N Lincoln Avenue Loveland, Colorado - 80537, USA
Summary
The sermon discusses the 'final exam' of life, suggesting that our ultimate accountability is not based on our earthly achievements but on our relationship with Christ. Key themes include the necessity of living a life of genuine repentance and the importance of spiritual readiness for eternity. The message encourages listeners to examine their current spiritual state.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Where would Jesus sit in this room?Poonen points to Mark 12 where Jesus sat opposite the treasury, noting how Jesus watches our giving without coercion.Mark 12:41
What is on the final exam?Just as students study specific material for a test, God tests us on specific things at the judgment seat of Christ rather than arbitrary rules.
Jesus calls Matthew and dines with sinnersJesus calls the despised tax collector Matthew, who immediately follows Him and hosts a dinner for fellow tax gatherers and sinners, drawing the ire of the Pharisees.Matthew 9:9–11
The real test of your spiritualityThe true test is not whether you avoid bad things, but how you react when someone else does something you think is wrong.
Eating from the wrong treeJudging others based on right and wrong stems from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, whereas true spirituality comes from the tree of life.
What is the nature of Jesus?When Jesus sees sin, He responds with mercy and a compassionate embrace rather than pointing a condemning finger like the Pharisees.
Jesus is close to the sickJesus states that healthy people do not need a physician, meaning He draws close to those who recognize their sickness rather than the self-righteous.
Jesus and the woman caught in adulteryIn the story of the woman caught in adultery, the judgmental Pharisees eventually leave, and Jesus is left alone with the repentant sinner.
Go and learn what this meansJesus tells the Pharisees to learn the meaning of God desiring compassion rather than sacrifice, because they focused on externals while missing the heart.
Straining at mint and cuminJesus rebukes the Pharisees for meticulously tithing tiny spices while neglecting the weightier matters of the law like justice, mercy, and faithfulness.
External sin versus unmerciful judgmentalismEven the worst external sin is only a speck compared to the massive log of unmerciful judgmentalism in a person's own eye.
Comparing Old and New Covenants through HoseaExamining Old Testament quotations reveals that while the best under the old covenant wanted to do God's will, believers in the new covenant actually live it out.
Ultimate loyalty is demonstrated in compassionTrue loyalty to God in the new covenant is shown by being merciful to others just as our heavenly Father is merciful.
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