Sermon #1382[1]
Title: “And
Such Were Some of You”
Text: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Reading: 1
Corinthians 5:1-13
Subject: Conversion
Date: Sunday Morning – November 28, 1996
Tape # V-56a & V-56b
Introduction:
1
Corinthians 6:9-11 "Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, (10) Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall
inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And
such were some of you: 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."
The
vast majority of people look upon religion as an outward service, the belief of
a certain creed and the performance of certain rituals, ceremonies, and duties.
They look upon God as a Being who is to be feared and dreaded, one whose wrath
must be, by some means or other, propitiated, rather than One who is to be
known, loved, and cheerfully obeyed.
This
was a big problem at Corinth. Many there who professed faith in Christ seemed
to look upon Christianity as a system of doctrine and worship, but not as a way
of life. They seem to have retained their old pagan notions about religion.
What they believed in theory and talked about on Sunday did not affect the way
they lived!
·
Carnal
Divisions (Chapters 1-4)
·
The
Incestuous Man (Chapter 5)
·
Going
to Law Against One Another (Chapter 6)
·
Voluntary
Association with Infidels (Chapter 6, 2 Cor. 6)
·
Asceticism
(Chapter 7)
·
Divorce
(Chapter 7)
·
Drunkenness
at the Lord’s Table (Chapter 11)
In our text the apostle Paul warns all such religious
professors of their fatal mistake. He here assures us that no immoral man, no
one who wilfully follows a life of ungodliness and sin is saved. He writes in
such a manner as to indicate that this is such a self-evident truth that only
the wilfully ignorant fail to see it. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the kingdom of God?”
Proposition: This is the essence of Paul’s doctrine in our
text - That person, that man or woman
whose religion, whose profession of faith in Christ, does not involve real
conversion, a real turning of heart and life to the living God, is lost and
does not know God.
Those who say, “Let us sin that grace may abound,” are
lost. They have no real, heart knowledge of the gospel. Be certain that you
understand the teaching of Holy Scripture in this matter. There is no reason
for confusion here. The Word of God is crystal clear.
·
We are saved by grace alone,
without the works of the law.
Romans 3:20
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is
the knowledge of sin."
Romans 3:28
"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law."
Galatians 2:16
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we
might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should
boast."
2 Timothy 1:9
"Who hath saved us, and called us
with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began."
·
Our standing before and
acceptance with God is entirely in Christ, and in Christ alone.
We are “accepted in
the Beloved.” God almighty accepts us only in Christ and only for Christ’s
sake, upon the basis and merit of Christ’s righteousness and shed blood. Our
salvation is altogether in Christ and by Christ, the God-man Mediator, our
Substitute. Neither our righteousness nor our sins have any affect upon our
relationship with God (Rom. 5:18-21). Our acceptance with God in Christ is an
eternal, immutable, indissolveable acceptance. It never varies!
I have said this to you so many times that I hesitate to
repeat it; but it needs to be understood. So listen once more. My relationship with the eternal God does
in great measure determine what I do. But what I do does not in any way, or to
any degree determine my relationship with God.
·
Understand
this, too - All who believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ are completely free from the law in him. As Paul states it,
this freedom from the law does not promote sin and licentiousness, but just the
opposite. Freedom from the law promotes godliness and devotion.
Romans 6:14-15
"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the
law, but under grace. (15) What then?
shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God
forbid."
Romans 7:1-4 "Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the
law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? (2) For the woman which hath an husband
is bound by the law to her husband so
long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. (3) So then if, while her husband
liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but
if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no
adulteress, though she be married to another man. (4) Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by
the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth
fruit unto God."
Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit."
Romans 10:4
"For Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
We are free from the law’s curse and condemnation, free
from the law’s rituals and ceremonies, and free from the law’s rule. Our lives
are not motivated, ruled, and governed by the law of Moses. And our lives are
not subject to the laws, rituals, customs, and traditions of human religion. I
will, by the grace of God, defend to my death the liberty of every believer to
live in this world, being ruled only by his own conscience and his love for
Christ in all matters of indifference. We will not be, and must not be subject
to the rules of religion that self-righteous men seek to impose upon us.
Illustration: “You sure don’t look like a preacher’s wife.”
·
And
you can be sure of this fact, too. - Any
professed believer who lives in willful violation of and in rebellion to the
law of God and the Word of God is lost. His profession of faith is a false
profession. His religion is nothing more than a pretentious show of hypocrisy.
It is not even a delusion, except as it is a willful delusion. It is utter
hypocrisy!
Divisions: With those things in mind, I
want you to hold your Bibles open at 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. As we look at these
three verses of Holy Scripture, I want to show you four things.
1.
A
Solemn Warning - “The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
2.
A
Painful Reminder - “And such were some of you.”
3.
A
Marvellous Change - “But ye are washed!”
4.
A
Practical Admonition - (v. 20).
I. Here is A SOLEMN WARNING - “Know ye not
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?”
The
word “unrighteous,” as it is used
here, means “unjust.” It refers to those who violate the principles of justice
in their dealings with their fellow men (vv. 1-8). By the pen of the apostle
Paul, God Almighty here excommunicates from his church all those who, while
professing faith in Christ, live in open sin and unrighteousness!
A. Without perfect righteousness no one shall ever
enter into heaven.
Revelation
21:27 "And there shall in no wise enter into
it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a
lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."
Revelation
22:11-14 "He that is unjust, let him be unjust
still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is
righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy
still. (12) And,
behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (13) I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (14) Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
Only holy men shall enter the holy city.
Only righteous people can enter the kingdom of righteousness. And that
righteousness which is required by God is perfect righteousness, righteousness
which no man can ever produce.
Matthew
5:20 "For I say unto
you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case
enter into the kingdom of heaven."
If
you and I would inherit and enter into that blessed kingdom that is here called
“the kingdom of God,” we must be made
perfectly righteous by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us.
Romans 5:19 "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so
by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
2
Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him."
“It
was a loss and want of righteousness that cast the angels down from heaven, and
turned Adam out of paradise. And whoever of his posterity are destitute of
righteousness, will fall short of enjoying the glory of God; for it is not
agreeable to the holy nature of God, to his infinite justice and righteous law,
to admit any into heaven without a righteousness. Hence a judgment seat is
erected, before which all must stand. And those that will be found without a
righteousness, will be forever excluded from the kingdom of heaven.” -- John
Gill
All who believe are made righteous by God in two ways:
1. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to us in
justification (Rom. 4:3-8).
Just
as our sin was imputed to Christ and he became responsible to the law of God
for sin, though he never committed sin, the righteousness of Christ has been
imputed to us and we have become responsible to the law for righteousness,
though we have never performed any righteousness ourselves. Just as the law
punished Christ for our sin which was imputed to him, the law rewards every
believer for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.
2. And we have the righteousness of Christ imparted to
us in regeneration (2 Pet. 1:2-4; 1 John
3:4-10).
2 Peter
1:2-4 "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you
through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, {3} According as his divine power hath given unto us all things
that pertain unto life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: {4} Whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine
nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
1 John
3:4-10 "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. {5} And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and
in him is no sin. {6} Whosoever
abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known
him. {7} Little children, let no man
deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. {8} He that committeth sin is of the
devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of
God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. {9} Whosoever is born of God doth not
commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is
born of God. {10} In this the
children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth
not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."
It is
written, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
If I
am born again by the Spirit of God, I have a new nature created in my soul, a
righteous nature is imparted to me by which I reign as a king over the lusts and passions of my flesh. Yes, I
do sin. Sin is mixed with all I do, so long as I am in this flesh. But sin no
longer reigns over me. I am not under the dominion of my sin (Rom. 6:14-16;
Gal. 5:22-23).
Romans
6:14-16 "For sin shall not have dominion over
you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (15) What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law,
but under grace? God forbid. (16) Know
ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are
to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?"
Galatians
5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
Believers
are men and women who have been made righteous. They have not made themselves
righteous. They have been made righteous by the grace of God.
·
In
Justification!
·
In
Sanctification!
·
And
in Conduct – In the Tenor of Their Lives!
B. Paul’s argument is this: If I live in sin, then the
righteousness of Christ has not been imparted to me.
It matters not what we profess. No man living
in sin is a partaker of the Divine nature. “Be not deceived,” imagining that
through your knowledge and profession you are saved, even though you live
contrary to the righteous character of God. Lest anyone mistake his meaning,
Paul plainly describes those people who shall never enter into the kingdom of
God.
1.
“Be not deceived, fornicators shall not inherit
the kingdom of God” - Unmarried men and women who live in sexual promiscuity - Single
people who are “sexually active”.
2.
“Be not deceived, idolaters shall not inherit the
kingdom of God.”
This
is spiritual fornication. C. H. Spurgeon notes that, “All through the Old
Testament, the Lord calls this sin of idolatry by the name fornication, because
it is the turning away of that love which ought to be fixed upon the one and
only God, and giving it to those who are no gods.”
Idolatry takes many forms:
·
The
worship of false gods.
·
The
worship of God through images.
·
The
worship of men or angels.
·
The
worship of money.
·
The
worship of children.
·
The
worship of self.
·
The
pursuit of our lusts.
To walk after our lusts (greed, envy, lasciviousness, etc.), is to live as
idolaters.
3.
“Be not deceived, adulterers shall not inherit the
kingdom of God.”
Adultery today is as common as sunshine.
Therefore it is condoned by society and condoned by preachers. But it is still
a high crime against God. I know who I am speaking to, and I know who I am
speaking for; therefore I dare not mince my words - Adulterers shall not
inherit the kingdom of God!
Illustration: Juanita -- My letter to her
“You
go home and work this out.”
NOTE: Some
of you are divorced. Some of you are divorced and remarried. If you acknowledge
and confess your sin, forget it. It is under the blood. God has forgotten it
and you should too. But we dare not make it a light and trivial thing, or try
to excuse it.
·
If
you choose to abandon your family, as far as I am concerned, you have abandoned
the kingdom of God. When you walk out of your family, you have walked out of
this church.
·
If
you men and women, young or old, choose to ignore God’s law and shack up like
brute beasts, if and when you decide you want to become respectable and get
married, go to the courthouse. You need not come here. I will not knowingly
sanction your ungodliness by performing your wedding ceremony in the name of
God.
4.
“Be not deceived, effeminate men shall not inherit
the kingdom of God.”
The word is only used this one time in the
Word of God. I will not make it less than it is. The word means “soft’,
“delicate,” “womanly.” These are men who assume the role and identity of women.
The specific reference, of course, is to homosexuality. It is a reversal of
God’s law, a reversal of the order of nature in creation.
5.
“Be not deceived, abusers of themselves with mankind
shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
These are Sodomites, homosexuals, but more.
They are the practicers and promoters of all sexual perversion: Homosexuality,
Lesbianism, Bestiality, Pedophiles, Rapists, Incest, etc.
6.
“Be not deceived, thieves shall not inherit the
kingdom of God.”
Thieves are not just bank robbers. They are
dishonest people. They may be highly respected by others; but they cheat and
steal - Cheat on taxes - Do not pay bills - Take eight hours pay for six hours
work.
7.
“Be not deceived, covetous people shall not
inherit the kingdom of God.”
The stingy, selfish, greedy miser cares only
for himself. He takes, but never gives.
8.
“Be not deceived, drunkards shall not inherit the
kingdom of God.”
The use of alcoholic beverages is not
condemned in the Scriptures, provided they are used with moderation, but
drunkenness is.
9.
“Be not deceived, revilers shall not inherit the
kingdom of God.”
The reviler is a gossip, a slanderer, one who
spreads reproach and scandal, and smears the character and reputation of
others.
10. “Be not
deceived, extortioners shall
not inherit the kingdom of God.”
An extortioner is one who gets gain at the
expense of others. He takes advantage of other people’s misery and misfortune.
Now,
my friend, it matters not what we profess, or what we claim to believe.
Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, abusers of themselves with
mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners are lost
people and shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Hear this word of solemn
warning and repent of your sin.
“Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is
near; Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and
let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God,
for he will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:6-7).
II. Here is A PAINFUL REMINDER - “And such were
some of you.”
Illustration: The Remembrance Room
If I
understand the phrasing of Paul’s words correctly, he is saying, “And such were
you.” He is not suggesting that some of the Corinthians were guilty of these
sins and others were not. He is saying, “All are guilty. Some were adulterers,
some extortioners, some drunkards, etc.; but all have been guilty.”
A. This is what we were and where we were when God
saved us by his grace -- Don’t ever forget it!
(Isa. 51:1;
Eph. 2:1-3).
Isaiah 51:1 "Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that
seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye
are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence
ye are digged."
Ephesians
2:1-3 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: {2} Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: {3} Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as
others."
B. This is what we all are by nature still (Matt.
15:19).
Matthew
15:19 "For out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies."
There
is no evil recorded here, or recorded in the annals of human history the seed
of which is not in each of our hearts by nature.
C. Why does Paul remind us so often of this painful
fact? There are four reasons for
this reminder:
1.
To
humble us and keep us from pride and self-righteousness (1 Cor. 4:7).
2.
To
honor, exalt, and magnify the grace of God in Christ (1 Cor. 26-30).
Amazing grace! How sweet the
sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now an
found,
Was blind, but now I see!
3.
To
encourage sinners to come with all their sin, and trust Christ.
“Come now, and let us reason together,
saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18).
Illustration: The Artist and The Beggar.
The Hankerchief.
4.
To
inspire in our hearts the intense zeal and ardent love for Christ that our
great Savior deserves (Lk. 7:47).
Here
is a solemn warning - “Know ye not that
the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Here is a painful
reminder - “And such were some of you.”
III. Now here is A MARVELLOUS CHANGE - “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.”
Thank God for intervening
grace! “But God...” (Psa. 78:38; Eph.
2:4).
Psalms
78:38 "But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them
not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his
wrath."
Ephesians 2:4 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith
he loved us,"
Our
great God, being full of compassion, has forgiven our sin!
Illustration: Ezekiel’s Infant.
The Good
Samaritan.
The Lost sheep.
If
God will let me speak with power to your heart, you will surely leap for joy in
your hearts as I declare the gospel’s good news to you.
A. You were polluted with sin, “But ye are washed.”
I do not need to tell you
that Paul is not talking about being washed in the waters of baptism, he is
talking about our sins being washed away by the blood of Christ. This washing
is twofold:
1.
Judicially - Our
sins were washed away by the blood of Christ, being washed out of the book of
God’s law (Heb. 9:26).
Hebrews
9:26 "For then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."
2.
Experimentally - When
the blood was applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, sin was washed out of
our consciences in the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost (Heb. 9:14).
Hebrews
9:14 "How much more shall the blood of
Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God,
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
Illustration: Pilgrim at Calvary.
There is a fountain filled
with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners, plunged beneath
that flood,
Lose all their guilty
stains.
B. You were defiled with sin, “But ye are sanctified.’
This is the work of the Holy
Spirit in regeneration and conversion. Once we were dedicated to sin and the
service of sin, but now a marvellous change has taken place. Now, by the grace
of God, we are dedicated to God and the service of God.
This
sanctification is a bending of your will to the will of God. It is a turning of
your heart’s affection to Christ. It is the conversion of your heart and life
to the living God.
1.
It
begins in regeneration
2.
It
is a growing work.
3.
It
is a continual work.
4.
It
is a work of grace.
Augustine said, “Man is not converted
because he wills to be, but he wills to be because he is ordained to be.’
What is conversion? “Regeneration
is a spiritual change. Conversion is a spiritual motion” (S. Charnock). “Conversion is a deep work, a heart work. It goes
throughout the entire life” (J. Alliene).
Perhaps John Gill said it best -
“Conversion is a turn of the mind from carnal things to spiritual ones, and
from earthly things to heavenly ones. Yea, it is a turn of the will, which
before conversion is stubborn, inflexible, biased to and bent upon that which
is evil, and averse to all that is good. But in conversion, God works in men
`both to will and do of his good pleasure.’ He gives them another will, or
turns their will, so that of an unwilling people, they are made a willing
people in the day of his power.”
C. You were guilty, condemned, and doomed by reason of
sin, “But ye are justified.”
1.
Justified
by God’s eternal decree (Rom. 8:29).
2.
Justified
by Christ’s finished work (Rom. 3:24-26).
3. Justified by faith (Rom.
3:28).
To be
justified is to be made righteous in the sight of God’s law. It is to be
completely pardoned and fully forgiven, made perfect in God’s sight by the
imputation of Christ’s righteousness. To be justified is to be “just as if I
had never sinned.” Being justified by Christ, I am in every way equal to the
demands of God’s Holy Law.
NOTE: In our text Paul attributes these three
blessed works of saving grace to all three Persons of the Holy Trinity: God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We do not wash ourselves. We do
not sanctify ourselves. And we do not justify ourselves. “Salvation is of the Lord!”
IV. Here is A PRACTICAL ADMONITION (v. 20).
“You not your own. Ye are bought with a
price: therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God’s.”
Do you see all that God has done for you? Do
you see how utterly undeserving you are of God’s grace? Then surely you see the
reasonableness of this admonition (Rom. 12:1-2). Let this be the motivating
force and rule of your life in all things --
“Glorify God.”
A.
Glorify
God in the actions of your body.
B. Glorify God in the
disposition and attitude of your spirit.
Application: I
am calling for two things:
1.
I
am calling for you who are unrighteous to trust the Lord Jesus Christ and be
made righteous by him.
2.
I
am calling for you who have been saved, washed, sanctified, and justified, to
glorify God in all things. Dedicate yourself, here and now, to the glory of
God.
“Whether therefore you eat or drink, or
whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God” 1 Corinthians 10:31
Romans
12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. {2} And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
AMEN.