We come today to the book of 1 Corinthians chapter
6 verses 9 through 11 as we are going through
this wonderful book that the Apostle wrote to
the Corinthian church. Our subject today is a
question. It is who inherits the kingdom of God?
We're going to look today at verses 9 through
11. So hear the word of God as we read this text.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,
nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
But such were some of you. but you were washed,
but you were sanctified, but you were justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit
of God. Let's pray to ask God's blessing on this
time in His Word. Father, we thank You for the
richness of this Word. Lord, herein we find both
warning and exhortation. We find the great joy,
Lord, of being washed and cleansed. But we also
see the exceeding sinfulness of sin. And so,
Lord, as we look at this passage, please open
our eyes and reveal it to us, Lord. We pray for
the power of the Spirit of God to illuminate
this word for us as we go through it. We pray
in the name of Jesus. Amen. This chapter, that
is chapter 6, began with a warning against brethren
taking other brethren to the law before the unrighteous
and unjust. We looked at that last week, and
it ended with a stern warning against the one
who is going to the unjust, who is doing wrong,
and the one who is cheating, which should never
be done to the brethren. In this passage of God's
holy and inspired word before us today, Paul
gives a reminder that the unrighteous and unjust,
that's the same word that's used in verse 1,
that the unrighteous and unjust will not inherit
the kingdom of God. And he warns against being
deceived. He gives a list of those who will not
inherit this kingdom. And he reminds them. While
some of them had been these people, they are
now washed, they are sanctified, and they are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by
the Holy Spirit of God. This is a statement of
pure gospel. Such were some of you, but now you
have been changed. Yes, a person can be changed
and have a new identity in Christ. Now there's
been some question among biblical scholars and
teachers and commentators as to whether these
verses are continuing in the same subject that
we just looked at, or if Paul is here changing
the subject. With these verses and then what
comes after. Which is a focus on union with Christ.
And on Christian identity. And how that the body
is not for sexual immorality. But is for the
Lord. And their bodies are a temple of the Holy
Spirit. In my opinion. These verses do not introduce
a new subject. But rather flow from the earlier
verses. They show how Paul's rebuke. Of cheating
among believers in verse 8. And then. he expands
into a broader catalog of sins whose practitioners
will not inherit God's kingdom. Paul specifically
describes sins that go along with the cheating,
such as revilers, extortioners, and thieves.
These all relate to the injustice of cheating
that was happening. But nevertheless, The overarching
theme of these first few chapters in 1 Corinthians
is that Paul is showing them who they are. That
is, what their identity is in Christ and that
they are a temple of God both collectively and
each one of them is a temple of the Holy Spirit
and they need to learn to live it out. They need
to learn how to put this into practice. We saw
this back in chapter 1 verse 2. Paul writes to
those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus and
called to be saints. This congregation is not
too far gone. They have not passed the point
of no return. They are in Christ. They have the
new identity. The gospel wasn't working them.
It was sanctifying them and cleansing them and
making them into a new people, not only in position,
but also in practice. And this is the glorious
position of all believers, that when we were
dead in Christ, that when we were dead in trespasses,
God in his love and in his great mercy. Made
us as Paul says in Ephesians 2. Made us alive
together with Christ. And raised us up together.
And made us sit in the heavenly places in Christ.
But God's people need to learn to live that way.
They must as Paul says in Colossians chapter
1. Continue in the faith. grounded and steadfast
and not be moved away from the hope of the gospel
which they had heard. And this is the message
to the Corinthians. You need to live what your
calling is, what your position is in Christ.
You need to live that way. All of this ties in
with the chapters before showing how the Christians
must embrace the cross. And be united together
as one without factions. They must expel those
who are unfaithful and living in open sin and
rebellion against God. Saw that in chapter 5.
And now in chapter 6. They must not act against
each other by going to law against each other
before the unjust. And they are not to do wrong
and cheat the brethren. For the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God. Thus, this passage
today, to which we now turn. We begin in verse
9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived.
Neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor
covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor extortioners
will inherit the kingdom of God. Now by the kingdom
of God we understand that Paul and Christ is
referring to God's sovereign rule. reign over
all and it's referring particularly to his kingly
authority exercise to redeem a people to himself
and to defeat evil and to renew creation now
the kingdom of god is already with us As Jesus
preached in the beginning of his ministry. It
says in Mark 1 verse 14. Now after John was put
in prison. Jesus came to Galilee. Preaching the
gospel of the kingdom of God. And saying the
time is fulfilled. And the kingdom of God is
at hand. That is it's right here. And so therefore
repent and believe the gospel. So this kingdom
is now here. It is now present. As Jesus also
said in Luke 17, he was asked by the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God would come. And Jesus
answered them and said, the kingdom of God does
not come with observation, nor will they say,
see here or see there. For indeed, the kingdom
of God is within you. However, there's also a
future aspect of this kingdom as an inheritance.
So it is both here and now, but with a greater
manifestation in the future. And that is what
Paul is referring to in this passage. He's referring
to this future manifestation. That is to the
eternal state that is reserved for all who are
in Christ, of which Peter says, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to his abundant mercy has begotten
us again. to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled and that does not
fade away reserved in heaven for you. The unrighteous
will not inherit this kingdom. And Paul says
it twice, both in verses 9 and then he repeats
it again in verse 10 of our passage. In other
words, they ought to know this. There is a marked
difference between unbelievers who are part of
Satan's dominion and they are ruled by him and
those who are in Christ's kingdom and belong
to God. They should know this. And yet, they're
acting like they don't understand it when they
take their brothers to the unjust in the court
of law. So the apostle teaches them again, so
that they are not deceived and think wrongly.
He here is reorienting their thinking. He says,
do not be deceived. Do not be led into error.
Do not be led away from the truth. Led astray
by the thinking and the practice of the ungodly
and of the unjust. Now the temptation for this,
as we know, is all around us. The magazines,
the books, the TV shows, and the newcasters,
the newspapers, and the book publishers, the
talk of the street, much is filled with the thinking
and the practices of the kingdom of this world
that militates against righteous thinking and
living. And so this admonition rings true and
strong to us. Do not be deceived. Furthermore,
as Matthew Henry states, the unrighteous are
not to be considered. As true members of Christ's
church on earth. Nor admitted as glorious members
of the church in heaven. Paul makes this strong
statement for two reasons. What is this strong
statement? Do you not know that the unrighteous
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived. The first reason why Paul says this.
Is that in realizing how the unrighteous think
and act. And how they are unjust. The Corinthians
should not be going to law against each other
before these kinds of people. The unrighteous
who will not inherit the kingdom of God. For
they have no part or share in it. But secondly,
he is also reproving them for their own unrighteous
acts of tricking and cheating one another. Defrauding
the members of the body of Christ, the church.
This is totally unfitting for those in God's
kingdom. And in Christ's church. But then he
goes on to describe. That on how these unrighteous
live. Or that is. He goes even beyond. Now that
they occasionally commit these sins. Rather they
are characterized by these sins. Because they
live in them. This is what they do. Having eyes
full of adultery. And coveting after others.
They live in the state of adultery. And they
are called adulterers. Those who practice sexual
immorality are called fornicators, or in some
of the older translation, whoremongers, etc.
So this list is not speaking of a Christian who
is not characterized by these sins, but falls
into a grievous sin and repents. No, it is speaking
of those who are living in a state of being by
constantly indulging in them, and those who do
so cannot inherit. The kingdom of God. Now, what
are these sins? We're going to break them down
and consider each one. But before we begin, let
me simply state that one of the elements of gospel
preaching is the preaching about sin. It is defining.
what sin is according to the word of God. It's
not real easy to go down through this list of
10 sins and really look at what these are all
about and what they mean. But it needs to be
done because we must understand the seriousness
of sin. We must understand our utter need of
Christ and of his salvation and the exceeding
sinfulness that separates us from God. So as
I go through this, I do it to sharpen us. to
enlighten our consciences, and to warn any who
are indulging in these sins to flee from them
and to run to the one who forgives sins and cleanses
from all unrighteousness. With that, we're now
going to look at this list of sins and their
definition and some examples. These are in verses
9 and 10. Ten sins. The word of God lists here.
This is not comprehensive. There are others.
For example, you won't find in here the sin of
pride or sins associated with that or of a filthy
mouth. Those are mentioned elsewhere. Right here
he is speaking of ten particular sins of which
he says those who are these, they cannot be.
Part of the kingdom of God. Those who live in
them. The first one is fornicators. We've looked
at that before. The Greek word pornos or porno.
The definition is simply very broad. It is people
who practice sexual immorality. That is any sexual
activity outside of the covenant of marriage
between one man and one woman. This is a broad,
a catch -all term. This includes premarital,
adultery, though that's also listed separately,
pornography, prostitution, homosexuality, and
any form of sexual gratification that violates
God's design for sex. The body is meant to be
a temple of the Holy Spirit, as we'll see next
week in greater detail. Sexual sin uniquely defiles
this temple and it violates the one flesh union
that God designed. Later in verse 18 of this
chapter, Paul will say, flee sexual immorality.
That is, take flight, seek safety, escape out
of danger. We see this in many modern examples.
Casual hookups, prostitution, living together
before marriage, viewing pornography, trafficking
or abusing the young, or sexting, or any of the
ongoing sexual relationship outside of biblical
marriage between a husband and a wife. Number
two is that of idolaters. This is simply those
who worship and serve idols. That is anyone or
anything given the worship, the devotion, the
loyalty and the priority that only belongs to
God. Idolatry also comes through avarice as in
fraudulence and extortion and greed. It is not
just limited to statues. It is anything that
we look to as ultimate. That replaces God as
the center of your life or your affections or
your trust. This breaks the first and the greatest
commandment in Exodus 20 verse 3. It robs God
of his rightful place. We see examples of this
in neglecting the worship of God and focusing
on anything else but. And that can be even good
things. Making money or a career or sports or
politics or entertainment or romantic relationship.
All can be viewed as an ultimate priority where
they replace God. This also includes participating
in occultic practices, in astrology, or in false
religions, that is, religions that deny the core
of Christian doctrine and practice, as well as
religions that worship physical idols, such as
Hinduism. Thirdly is adulterers, he mentions.
This is married people who engage in sexual relations
with someone other than their spouse. This includes
physical adultery as well as heart level unfaithfulness,
as Jesus says in Matthew 5 and verse 28, that
if you look upon a woman to lust after her, you
have committed adultery with her in your heart.
Adultery destroys the sacred covenant of marriage,
which is to be a picture of Christ's relationship
with the church. This is explained in Ephesians
5, verse 31 and 32. We see this in cheating on
a spouse, or in emotional affairs that then turn
physical, or secret sexual relationships while
married, or with what is in vogue today in some
parts, and that is open marriages. Yeah, we're
married to each other, but you can have another
partner, and I can have another partner, and
we're all okay with it, as well as other derivatives
of that. Adulterers. Number four is homosexuals.
Now this word is the Greek word malakoi. And
I'm going to say this in a way that, without
being too explicit, this is actually the only
place this is used in the New Testament in this
way and in one other. There's only two places.
But basically it is also translated in some as
effeminacy. Basically it is referring to males
on... As the passive partner in homosexual acts.
In the context of the time. It described men
who took on this role. In male to male sexual
activity. Although it also referred to men. Who
were effeminate at the king's places. And they
wore soft clothing. This is in Matthew 11, verse
8, and Luke 7, verse 25. That's how it's described
there. Same Greek word, but it's only used those
three times. Matthew 11, Luke 7, and here. This
goes against God's created design for human sexuality.
We see this again. all around us men identifying
or engaging in this type of behavior or acting
in an effeminate manner which that means this
also includes those who have adopted the whole
trans agenda which we see again has been so popularized
number five sodomites this is the other word
this is simply means one who lies with the male
as with a female points to men who take the active
role together with malakoi the word before paul
is clearly condemning all male homosexual practice
as incompatible with god's kingdom in this passage
we see this again popularized in much in the
media or much in especially in film and TV. But
this also includes the exploitative and the dominance
-based nature of some of the ancient homosexual
practices, like some of which are still occurring
in the Islamic countries, like Afghanistan, this
big macho man, but then he also preys on younger
ones. This is a very shameful act. And this act
was also done in Greece, that of preying upon
the young. This is clearly condemned as outside
of the kingdom of God. Then we come to the word
thieves. Simply those who take what belongs to
others without permission. It includes both large
scale and small theft, both pilfering and embezzlement.
It reveals a lack of trust in God's provision
and love for your neighbor. And it violates the
eighth commandment, thou should not steal. And
it shows selfishness instead of generosity. We
see this today in shoplifting or in stealing
from an employer. That can be in time or in actual
items. You're getting paid by the hour and you're
given responsibilities to do. And instead of
doing those responsibilities, you do something
else. You cover up your time. and thus deceive
your employer. This involves identity theft or
burglary, the violation of copyrights, the breaking
of contracts, or withholding from those to whom
you owe something, keeping back wages, for example,
or payments that are owed. This is thieves. The
next one is that of being covetous. That is those
who are greedy. They have an insatiable desire
to acquire more, especially at the expense of
others. Greed is idolatry of the self and possessions.
Colossians 3 verse 5. It is the constant craving
for more that leads to discontent and exploitation.
It replaces trust in God with trust in wealth
and it breeds many other sins. 1 Timothy 6 verse
12, For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil, from which some have strayed from the
faith in their greediness and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows. Now God does richly
give us all things to enjoy, but we are not to
be haughty and not to trust in them. Again, the
same passage in 1 Timothy 6, verse 17. Command
those who are rich in this present age not to
be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches,
but in the living God which gives us richly all
things to enjoy. We see this in lack of contentment
or in get -rich -quick schemes or bribery or
exploiting workers or hoarding wealth while ignoring
the needy or never being satisfied with what
one has. The next sin is that of drunkards. We
can understand this fairly well. There's not
a lot of hidden meaning in this one. This is
simply people who habitually become intoxicated
or they're controlled by alcohol or, by extension,
other substances. this is not someone who occasionally
has a drink but is those whose life is dominated
by drunkenness this destroyed self -control which
is the fruit of the spirit galatians chapter
5 verse 22 and 23 and it opens up the door to
many other sins as proverbs and other passages
show We see this in regular binge drinking, in
alcoholism, in getting drunk at parties as a
lifestyle, or in substance abuse that impairs
judgment. The next one then is revilers. This
is number nine, revilers. This is speaking of
those who are abusive. They use abusive and disparaging
or insulting or slanderous speech against others.
They are contemptible in their person. This includes
verbal abuse or malicious gossip and tearing
down other people's reputations. The tongue has
great power to destroy, so says James in chapter
3, verse 5 through 10, and it reveals a heart
-locking love and grace. We see this in habitual
yelling or cursing at family or co -workers or
online trolling or bullying or slandering and
spreading damaging rumors or constant criticism
designed and meant to humiliate the other person.
This is revilers. And lastly, that is extortioners.
This is those who swindle. Those who take advantage
of others through force or through fraud or through
manipulation. It is robbery but with duress and
stress added to it. This includes cheating, scamming
and using power or position to rob others unjustly.
Extortioners combine greed with injustice and
they prey on the vulnerable. We see this today
in financial scams. or corrupt business deals,
or blackmail, or dishonest lawsuits, loan sharks,
or politicians abusing power for personal gain.
But at the end of this list of sins, Paul again
reiterates, these will not inherit the kingdom
of God. I've gone through this 10, we've gone
through it fairly rapidly, but just to show you
what all is in here, and certainly these could
be fleshed out in greater detail. These describe
habitual and unrepentant lifestyles, not isolated
instances. For example, David sinned grievously
in the adulterous affair with Bathsheba and in
the murder of Uriah. And yet David had a heart
after God and he was quick to repent when confronted
with his sin. And he did so before the Lord.
Peter. In a moment of weakness. Denied Jesus.
Not once. Not twice. But three times he denied
Christ. Peter went out. And he wept bitterly.
He repented. And after the resurrection. Christ
restored him to fellowship. And brought him near.
And entrusted him. With continuing to be an apostle.
And he wrote letters. that are with us today,
that are the inspired word of God. This is Peter.
Now there's no excuse for this. There's no excuse
for them. But it is a comfort to know that when
a believer sins, we have the blessing of repentance
and the hope and the joy of forgiveness and restoration.
But to those who live this way, to those who
are held fast in these sins, they are outside
the kingdom and they will not. inherit eternal
life this is what the word of God says if you
are held captive by these sins or are living
in them or have indulged in them in the past
without repentance and restitution and reconciliation
then I urge you to repent and to trust in Christ
to not stay in these sins from which comes damnation
and alienation from the kingdom of God but let
me now tell you about the transformation of the
power of the gospel and the grace of God. And
this comes in our very next verse to which we
turn. Number three, the change of mind and heart
through the gospel and grace of God. He says,
and such were some of you, but you were washed,
you were sanctified, you were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our
God. Paul reminds them of what they once were.
Now all were lost and in need of Christ, but
not all of them were such notorious sinners as
listed here. They were sinners perhaps in other
areas. And this is why he says, after listing
these ten, such were some of you. He reminds
them of who they used to be so that they will
not live that way any longer nor be tempted by
that life. Here then is what has happened. And
he goes on to describe this. Now these three
are not in any particular order, but they all
mean that they have experienced the acts of God.
Three acts of God that are mentioned here. They
were washed, they were sanctified, and they were
justified in the name of Jesus Christ. Let's
look at these three as we wrap this up. Number
one. They were washed. Now, what exactly does
this mean? They were washed. Now, the scripture
speaks of at least three meanings of being washed.
And we're going to take them all because they
are all realities of faithful Christians. I think
here, as I look at this, I think Paul means all
three of these because we see them in the word.
There's the washing in baptism. There's the washing
of regeneration. And there's the washing in the
blood of Christ. These three. Are mentioned in
the word. Now in baptism. Clean water is poured
upon their heads. Or they are immersed into the
water. And are baptized into Christ. The person
who is being baptized. Receives the name of the
triune God upon them. Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
And with this. They receive a new identity in
Christ. As a baptized Christian. And they are
covenantally bound. To Christ's body. The church.
Galatians 3, verse 27. For as many of you as
were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Saul, struck down by Christ from his horse on
the way to Damascus and blinded by the light,
was brought to Ananias and he heard the will
of God for his life. And then he is told, this
is in Acts 22, verse 16. Arise and be baptized
and wash away. calling on the name of the Lord.
The word wash here in this Acts 22 is the very
same word as we have here in 1 Corinthians 6.
So Hebrews 10 verse 22 infers the washing of
baptism in which he exhorts us, let us draw near
with a true heart in full assurance of faith.
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water so we see
the washing in baptism this identity in christ
but furthermore we look at the washing of regeneration
now do we see let's see in titus chapter 3 when
the kindness and love of god our savior toward
man appeared not by works of righteousness which
We have done, but according to His mercy, He
saved us. How? Through the washing of regeneration.
And the renewing of the Holy Spirit. Which he
poured out abundantly on us. Through Jesus Christ
our Savior. That being justified by his grace.
We should become heirs according to the hope
of eternal life. Now regeneration refers to the
new birth. That is the word of God upon the heart
of a person. And making them new. Radically changing
their heart and their mind. This is the new life.
It is the restoration and regeneration. renewing
of their heart and mind, radically changing them.
It is the renewing of the mind by the Holy Spirit.
This is what the prophet Ezekiel saw and he described
in Ezekiel chapter 36 and verse 25. He says,
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you
shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your
filthiness and from all your idols. I will give
you a new heart and put a new spirit within you.
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh
and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my
spirit within you and cause you to walk in my
statutes. And you will keep my judgments and
do them. What an incredible passage this is.
And Paul builds on this in Ephesians chapter
2 verse 4. But God who is rich in mercy. Because
of his great love with which he loved us. Even
when we were dead in trespasses. Made us alive
together with Christ. By grace you have been
saved. And raised us up together. And made us
sit together in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus. This is the regeneration of the new birth.
The washing of regeneration. Excuse me. How then
do we become free from these sins that bar us
from the kingdom of God? It is through the washing
of regeneration, that miracle that God does in
us by Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. One
cannot work this out through efforts of his own.
One must, as Jesus told Nicodemus, be born again,
born from above. are struggling with your sins
and you cannot get free of them and you are bound
in unrighteousness this is what you need a new
heart i appreciate brother ty and praying for
some of the lost who are relatives are known
continually praise that the lord would give them
a new heart would take out the stony one that's
what this is describing right here the third
washing that we have Is being washed in the blood
of Christ. John opens up. The apocalypse. The
revelation of Jesus Christ. With these words.
Grace to you. From Jesus Christ. The faithful
witness. The first born from the dead. And the
ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who
loved us. And washed us from our sins. In his
own blood. And has made us kings and priests.
To his God and Father. To him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Without the shedding of blood,
the scripture says, there is no forgiveness or
remission of sins. But indeed. How much more
shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse
your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? Hebrews 9 and verse 14. We have been
redeemed out of the judgment and condemnation.
As Peter says, knowing that you were not redeemed
with corruptible things like silver or gold from
your aimless conduct received by tradition of
your fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot. All of these, I believe, are in mind as
Paul says these simple words, you were washed.
And in this washing, we are set. which is the
next description. He says, you were sanctified.
You were sanctified. The sanctification is a
work of the Holy Spirit that does two things.
First of all, it separates one from profane and
evil things, such as the sins listed in this
passage. And it dedicates that person to God.
So separating and dedicating to God. That is
the one action. The second work of the Holy Spirit
and sanctification is that it cleanses and purifies
from the guilt of sin and renews the soul. So
as we look back in our lives, we realize, boy,
I did a lot of sin. I really messed up. And we
can look and we can get bogged down in all the
evil that we have done. But through the blood
of Christ. And through the work of the Holy Spirit
and sanctification, we are cleansed and we are
purified from the sin, but also from the guilt
of that sin. So we no longer need to live in
the guilt of it. With it weighing us down and
the burden of it. Oh, I just can't believe what
I did. That can be gone through sanctification.
Together, this makes one holy and set apart to
God. This is the work of sanctification. Sanctification
is both a one -time work at conversion, but it
is also an ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, rooting
out the ongoing sin in the life of a believer.
We're going to look at two examples. Here's an
example of the one -time work, which is what
Paul is referring to in our passage today. 2
Thessalonians 2, verse 13. But we are bound to
give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved
of God, because God from the beginning chose
you for salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief in the truth to which He called
you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was a one -time
act of salvation. It was by the Spirit in setting
you apart your sins and saving you. But then
Paul also speaks of the ongoing work in 1 Thessalonians
4. He says, Finally then, brethren, we urge and
exhort you in the Lord Jesus that you should
abound more and more, just as you received from
us how you ought to walk and to please God. For
you know what commandments we gave you through
the Lord Jesus. And he says, For this is the
will of God. Your sanctification. This is something
that you grow in Christ as you go on with your
Christian life. As the work of the Spirit continues
you and you are washed in the Word of God and
you hear it and you have the fellowship of the
saints and you walk with God, you become more
sanctified. You become more holy. God deals with
things at your life that even were still present
with you at the time of your conversion. And
then you were sanctified and set apart, but now
you are also being sanctified. Just as we have
been made holy through the blood of Jesus and
the work of the Holy Spirit at conversion, so
also we are to be holy in all of our conduct.
1 Peter 1, verse 15 and 16. But as he who called
you is holy, you also be holy. In all of your
conduct. Because it is written. Be ye holy. For
I am holy. We see this. In the life of the Corinthians.
They were sanctified. But at the same time. They
had a lot of sins remaining. In their walk of
life. That needed to be repented of. And they
needed to change it. They were holy. But they
were also in the process of becoming. where their
walk of life needed to match their position in
Christ. So also it is with us. Number three,
they were justified. They were justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.
To be justified is to be rendered righteous.
brought into a state of favor with God. Your
sins blotted out through Christ Jesus. The Holy
Spirit witnesses that you are sons and daughters
of God and your conscience has been cleansed
and enlightened. This time, this happens at the
time of regeneration that is the new birth conversion
to Christ. We know that all have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God. but we are justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that
is in Christ. This is a one -time act of God
wherein a man is justified by faith apart from
the deeds of the law. Romans 3 verse 28. It is
the very essence of the gospel where the believer
is renewed and is treated as if they have kept
every jot and tittle of God's law perfectly.
Romans 3 verse 21. But now the righteousness
of God apart from the law is revealed. Being
witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
To all and upon all who believe. The righteousness
of the law is fulfilled in us. This takes away
all. All self -effort to salvation. For so great
is our sin that in no way could we ever atone
for them. Let atone be free from the guilt of
them before a holy God. No, we must have one
who justifies us. One who will give us peace
with God and will save us from the wrath of almighty
God. And this one is none other. And Jesus Christ.
And therefore Paul says to the Corinthians. You
were justified. In the name of Jesus Christ.
And by the spirit of God. You have his name upon
you. You have a new identity. And you are united
with Christ. Your body is now a temple of the
Holy Spirit. Whom you have from God. And you
are no longer your own. For you were bought with
a price. The precious blood of Jesus. And Lord
willing we will consider this further next week.
If the Lord wills. How glorious a change does
grace make. It changes the vilest of men into
saints and children of God. And such were some
of you, Paul says. But you are not what you once
were. The wickedness of men and women before
conversion is no bar to their regeneration and
reconciliation to God. So brothers and sisters,
let us rejoice in the work of God. Let us trust
in Him. Let us be free from our sins and be reconciled
to God through Jesus Christ. We're going to close
now in prayer, and I'm going to pray the prayer
that Paul prayed in Ephesians 1 for this congregation.
So let us pray. Father in heaven, I pray that
you, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father
of glory, might give to this congregation the
spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge
of you. I pray that the eyes of their understanding
would be enlightened, that they would know what
is the hope of your calling. And what are the
riches of your glory of your inheritance in the
saints. And what is the exceeding greatness of
your power toward us who believe. According to
the working of your mighty power which you worked
in Christ. When you raised him from the dead
and seated him at your right hand in the heavenly
places. Far above all principality and power
and might and dominion. And every name that is
named not only in this age but in that which
is to come. Lord God, you have put all things
under his feet, the feet of Jesus. You've given
him to be the head over all things to the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills
all in all. We thank you for these great and
precious promises. We pray in the name of Jesus.
And now we'll open it up for prayers in the men
of the congregation.