A New Attitude of Mind - Giving Our Maximum to the Lord
True spirituality is about giving our maximum to the Lord out of love, rather than doing the minimum to please Him.
Zac Poonen preaches about the difference between religiosity and true spirituality, emphasizing the danger of having a legalistic mindset that focuses on the minimum requirements to please God. He contrasts the attitude of a servant who works for wages with that of a son or a bride who serves out of love and a desire to give their best. Jesus exemplified seeking the maximum rather than the minimum in fulfilling God's commandments, understanding the spirit behind each law.
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Many religious people are legalistic and are under the law. They think in terms of the minimum necessary in order to please God. This is why they calculate
exactly how much 10% of their income comes to and then offer it reluctantly to God. In the Old Testament, this attitude finally ended up in the Israelites
offering blind sheep and sick bulls as sacrifices to the Lord (Mal. 1:8).
It is possible to have an identical attitude to the New Testament commandments. A sister can think in terms of the minimum necessary in order to keep the
letter of the Word that commands her to be subject to her husband; or the minimum necessary covering required for her head in the meetings - without the
beauty of her hair being totally hidden! Men and women can think in terms of the minimum necessary in order to be 'spiritual' without altogether
giving up everything. "What is the minimum that I have to give up of this world?" is a question that is always in the minds of such people. Such
people can never be spiritual. They can only be religious.
Jesus' attitude was totally different. He never sought to discover what the minimum requirement was, to please His Father. On the contrary, He sought to
find out what the maximum was, so that He could offer everything to the Father. Therefore He sought to find out the spirit behind each commandment. Thus He
knew that it was not enough to merely avoid adultery in the flesh (even though that was the minimum required by the law). He understood that the spirit
behind that commandment was that one should not even lust (covet) in one's heart. Likewise, He saw that anger and murder were similar. And so on. Thus, He
understood the spirit behind each commandment.
An earthly bride who is deeply in love with her bridegroom never thinks of the minimum necessary to please her partner. On the contrary, she thinks of what
the maximum is that she can do. This is the attitude of the bride of Christ too.
It is here that we see the distinction between the servant and the bride. Those under the law can only be servants. The employee works for wages and is
therefore very calculative in his service. He measures his work by the clock. If he works overtime, he expects extra wages. One who is a son (or a wife),
on the other hand, will work for any length of time - not for reward, but out of love. Herein lies the difference between religiosity and spirituality.
The attitude of mind that thinks, "What can I get out of the Lord?", leads to religiosity. On the other hand, the attitude that thinks, "What can the Lord get out of the one earthly life that I have?", will lead to true spirituality. It will then become natural for us to go the
second mile when the minimum requirement is to go just one mile.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Problem of Legalism
- A. Calculating the minimum to please God
- B. Reluctantly offering what is required
- II. The New Testament Commandments
- A. Seeking the spirit behind each commandment
- B. Understanding the heart behind the law
- III. The Attitude of the Bride
- A. Thinking of the maximum to please God
- B. Working out of love, not for reward
- IV. The Distinction Between Servants and the Bride
- A. Servants work for wages and are calculative
- B. Sons and wives work out of love and are not calculative
Key Quotes
“He understood that the spirit behind that commandment was that one should not even lust (covet) in one's heart.” — Zac Poonen
“It will then become natural for us to go the second mile when the minimum requirement is to go just one mile.” — Zac Poonen
“Those under the law can only be servants. The employee works for wages and is therefore very calculative in his service.” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- We should strive to understand the spirit behind each commandment, rather than just doing the minimum required.
- We should work out of love, not for reward or expectation of something in return.
- We should aim to give our maximum to the Lord, rather than just doing the minimum to please Him.