1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Paul’s address in the sixth chapter of 1 Corinthians deals with two major issues facing the church in Corinth. First, the believers in that church were suing one another over various matters, going before secular courts to solve problems better solved within the confines of the church. Paul speaks this to their shame (6:5). They were also committing fornication, specifically with harlots that hung out near the temple. Paul reminds them that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost and that they are better than they have been living (6:19, 20).
Sandwiched in between these two admonitions is Paul’s statement about those who will not be going to heaven. He includes fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate (which is translated “soft” meaning one who is a feminine male), abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), thieves, those full of lust, drunks, extortioners, etc (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10). He does not say that if you commit one of these acts that you are going to hell; rather he is describing someone who IS one of these persons. This is their lifestyle, and they can be identified by what they do.
Believers fail frequently, in fact, this sixth chapter bears that out, but believers are not known by their failures but rather by their Savior. Paul’s description of those who are going to miss heaven is to show the church at Corinth that when they take one another to court for lawsuits, they are allowing this sort of person to be their judge. Also, when they fornicate, they are living like this group of people lives.
“And such were some of you” is Paul placing the believer beyond this lifestyle. You “were” this way when you were a sinner, so why would you go back to living this way now? “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Notice Paul’s insistence in using the phrase, “but ye are” each time? He could have left that out, but he wants to emphasize each area of a believer that has been changed by Christ’s finished work.
Look at the three things that Paul says is different about you now that you are a Christian. You are washed, meaning that you have been placed beneath the waterfall of God’s forgiveness due to what Jesus accomplished at the cross. All of your sins and your sinful ways are gone for His blood has washed them away, freeing you from being identified as those in verses 9 and 10. You are also sanctified, which means that you have been set aside for the use of the Holy Spirit. You are not “being” sanctified every day, for His finished work is a truly finished work! Finally, you are justified, which means that God views you as if you have never even sinned. You are made just because God honors the sacrifice of His Son and sees you as He sees Jesus! (Romans 3:26)
When you fail, please do not view yourself as a sinner. You have been washed, sanctified and justified. The quicker that you come to terms with this news, the quicker that you live free from the shackles of sin and failure.
Paul’s address in the sixth chapter of 1 Corinthians deals with two major issues facing the church in Corinth. First, the believers in that church were suing one another over various matters, going before secular courts to solve problems better solved within the confines of the church. Paul speaks this to their shame (6:5). They were also committing fornication, specifically with harlots that hung out near the temple. Paul reminds them that their bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost and that they are better than they have been living (6:19, 20).
Sandwiched in between these two admonitions is Paul’s statement about those who will not be going to heaven. He includes fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate (which is translated “soft” meaning one who is a feminine male), abusers of themselves with mankind (homosexuals), thieves, those full of lust, drunks, extortioners, etc (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10). He does not say that if you commit one of these acts that you are going to hell; rather he is describing someone who IS one of these persons. This is their lifestyle, and they can be identified by what they do.
Believers fail frequently, in fact, this sixth chapter bears that out, but believers are not known by their failures but rather by their Savior. Paul’s description of those who are going to miss heaven is to show the church at Corinth that when they take one another to court for lawsuits, they are allowing this sort of person to be their judge. Also, when they fornicate, they are living like this group of people lives.
“And such were some of you” is Paul placing the believer beyond this lifestyle. You “were” this way when you were a sinner, so why would you go back to living this way now? “But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Notice Paul’s insistence in using the phrase, “but ye are” each time? He could have left that out, but he wants to emphasize each area of a believer that has been changed by Christ’s finished work.
Look at the three things that Paul says is different about you now that you are a Christian. You are washed, meaning that you have been placed beneath the waterfall of God’s forgiveness due to what Jesus accomplished at the cross. All of your sins and your sinful ways are gone for His blood has washed them away, freeing you from being identified as those in verses 9 and 10. You are also sanctified, which means that you have been set aside for the use of the Holy Spirit. You are not “being” sanctified every day, for His finished work is a truly finished work! Finally, you are justified, which means that God views you as if you have never even sinned. You are made just because God honors the sacrifice of His Son and sees you as He sees Jesus! (Romans 3:26)
When you fail, please do not view yourself as a sinner. You have been washed, sanctified and justified. The quicker that you come to terms with this news, the quicker that you live free from the shackles of sin and failure.
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