“Or 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 effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such
were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
(1 Corinthians 6:9–11, NASB95)
Having just addressed the Corinthians believers taking their
matters to the courts of the land to decide their internal conflicts, Paul now
turns to the difference in their identities. This does not mean that all judges
in the previous context were unbelievers. I imagine that there were some
believers just as there are today, and that their faith influenced their
practice. The real issue here as it was there being that those of the world are
markedly different from those in the church. It is not because Christians have
achieved some form of moral superiority on their own from which they can look
down at the rest. No, it is because of what Jesus Christ has done in us.
Those who the Corinthians believers had been taking their
conflicts were not influenced by God. They were counted among the unrighteous
and engaged in the deeds of the unrighteous. They had no place in the kingdom
of God? There was nothing that they were going to do in their lives that would
make them good enough to inherit His kingdom, to receive His forgiveness and to
obtain His gift of eternal life. Those who have not placed their trust in Jesus
Christ for His sacrificial gift of salvation are the unrighteous. These
believers and us are not to confuse this matter. Those who are lost in their
sins are marked by their sinful actions, and this list was provided as proof of
that. This was not a list of man by which men were to be judged. It is a list
given by God which is representative of what was some of the more notable sin
issues. But this list was also not exhaustive. Everyone is lost and will be judged
apart from Christ. It is simply their identity, and unless it is changed it
will result in eternal judgment and separation from God.
Indicating the partial nature of the list, Paul then wrote, “Such
were some of you.” Sure, there were likely some who read this letter who were
still identified in this way just as there were some who may not have
identified with any of the things on the list. Paul did not use the term “all”
as exhaustive, but as indicative of where they all came from. Every single
person who read this letter at one time had the identity of being “unrighteous”
and as such had no place in the kingdom of God. This part is exhaustive without
exception. And what moved them from the camp of the unrighteous to the camp of
the righteous was not ceasing whatever activity they were engaged in but them
being saved by Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 Paul wrote to these same believers, “Therefore
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB95) When we are saved
we receive a new identity. We are no longer counted among the unrighteous and
we are no longer marked by our sins. We become a new creation in Christ and all
things do become new.
One evening Nicodemus came to Jesus to talk to Jesus. In that
conversation Jesus told him that he must be born again, and not understanding
what Jesus was saying He asked how this was possible. “Jesus answered
and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he
cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born
when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be
born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born
of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is
born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. “Do
not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows
where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes
from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”” (John
3:3–8, NASB95)
Jesus told Nicodemus that he must have a spiritual rebirth. Paul
breaks this into pieces for us in our passage for today. First, he wrote, “but you
were washed.” The first step in the process was being cleansed of sin. Jesus’
blood shed for us cleanses us from all unrighteousness. The hope that Israel
had been longing for was realized for all of us in Christ. “Purify me
with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
(Psalm 51:7, NASB95) … “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He
removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12, NASB95) … “He will again
have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will
cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19, NASB95) We needed
to be cleansed to be made righteous, and it was Jesus who shed His blood for us
that accomplished this perfectly.
He also said that they and us have been “sanctified” (Greek:
hagiazo). This means that we have been made holy. This is our new identity. We
are God’s holy ones, cleansed and set apart for Him to live holy before Him. It
represents both what He did in our salvation such we are called “saints”
(Greek: hagios). When Paul wrote to the saints in the churches he was
specifically writing to them referring to their new identity in Christ, and
when we look at the term “sanctification” today we are speaking of the
continued process of growing as we live and breathe into the identity that we
already have. Another term spoken of in Scripture is transformation into the
image of Christ. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the
former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who
called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;” (1 Peter 1:14–15,
NASB95) And, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will
of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1–2,
NASB95)
We do not need to justify our identities before any court,
nor will we have to suffer eternal judgment for our old identity or for what we
do even as newly identified. Paul added that we “were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Remember, that this letter was
written to a group of believers that were really struggling and who had not
grown in Christ. Paul did not identity them for who they were before, but who
they currently were in Christ as their new identity. This identification is
something that we all need to remember even when we struggle with sin today. We
do not lose our identity. It is established for us by Christ. The scars that Christ
bears for us and the proof of the resurrection stands to declare the
truthfulness of our being justified. This case has been closed.
Paul clearly presented this case in Romans chapter 3. “But
now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being
witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift
by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God
displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over
the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His
righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier
of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:21–26, NASB95)
Paul wrote these things not to minimize the sins on the list
or any other sin, but to clearly draw a line between them and our identity as
Christians. Throughout Scripture we read the continual call for us to set aside
the sins of the flesh and live according to Christ and the character of God
revealed in His Word. But knowing that we all sin, we are also never to forget
that our identity is not based upon our actions, but on Christ and His work to
justify us. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us
our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, NASB95)
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