And Such Were Some Of You
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Cor. 6:9–11).
The Apostle Paul can be very direct in his statements. He says it as it is. He does not mince his words. He does not pull his punches. He confronts his world with their sins. The Corinthians were not a wholesome people. They were quite the opposite. To be a Corinthian very likely meant you were an immoral person. The city was well known for its vice.
Much like our cities, ancient Corinth was spiritually and morally bankrupt. Rome had become the dominant power in the world and destroyed Corinth in 146 B.C. One hundred years later, the city was rebuilt and existed as a Roman colony. In Paul’s day, the great temple of Athena or Apollo still existed (since the 6th century), along with many other temples. Idolatry was prolific and sexual sin abounded connected to those temples. Paul wrote his letter to the church at Corinth from Ephesus where he was concluding his 3 year ministry (1 Cor. 16:5–9; also Acts 19:21, 22). Paul brought the Gospel to Corinth and was helped in his work by Priscilla and Aquila who were displaced tent-making Jews (Acts 18:2, 18, 26; Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim.4:19).
Paul tells the Corinthian Christians that Christians are a changed people. The Corinthians used to be sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers and swindlers. That is an extensive description of sin. This is no just cultural or societal sin, but it is individual sin. It is a description of depravity. Depravity does not mean that you can say that you are free of it because you have never sunk to the depths of a seasoned sinner or criminal, or someone like Nero or Hitler. Rather depravity exists in all of us and manifests itself in different ways. Not all adulterers were drunkards. Not all idolaters were swindlers. Some obviously overlap with others.
The bottom line was that the Corinthians were sinners like this. Persistence in these sins disqualifies someone from the Kingdom of God: “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Not only disqualification, but self-deception: “do not be deceived.” Every Christian ought to know this and heed this warning: “or do you not know…”
The behavior of a Christian ought to be different from the world’s standard and behavior. Christians can be and are guilty of these sins, but the difference is that these sins do not characterize them as their normal pattern of life. True believers hate sin, resent its assault upon them and long for freedom from it (Rom. 7:4–25). Due to the enormous publicity given to sin in the media or the film industry, our senses to it become dulled and soft. We accept many things on many different levels, because the effort required to stand against it, has been rebuffed for so long.
Our young people probably have a different view of sexual sin than their parents and grandparents have. Social media is busy dampening the conscience by exposing us to many of these sins. We have lost the ability to blush. It is for this reason (among many others) that the next generation will accept homosexuality without much of a fight (even if they disagree with it). Homosexuality is being redefined, not only by unbelievers, but also by Christians. 20 to 30 years ago, this would have been unthinkable. When Paul thinks of the Corinthian believers, he sees them as different. He says “and such were some of you.” They used to engage in these sins but no longer. The reason why they are no longer as they were is because they have been washed, sanctified and justified. This was not their doing or by their power. It was in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.
Washing refers to spiritual cleansing. They have been cleansed from the guilt and power of sin in their lives. This happened when they became Christians (Titus 3:5). Their sanctification means that they have been separated from sin by their salvation (Rom. 6:11; 2 Cor. 5:17). Not only is this sanctification an initial one, but it is also ongoing (Rom. 6:19; 1 Cor. 1:2; Heb. 10:10, 14). To be justified is to be right with God. This only occurs through the imputation of Christ’s righteousness received by faith. It is the opposite of unrighteousness, not only judicially and ethically, but also positionally. We have a new life, new behavior and a new standing before God. The Holy Spirit is the agent through whom we have received these salvific blessings.
Being a Christian means being different. It does not mean that we can be superior to others. It should rather cultivate humility within us. We ought to be a gracious and thankful people. Our Lord was humble and gracious. He was a servant to us. He gave himself for us. Our salvation cost him his life and caused him to be sin for us. The Cross is central to a powerful overcoming Christian life. New life began at the Cross, and new behavior is to be ours as a result. Our behavior must not be as we find in verses 9 and 10. It should be the opposite. It takes conscious effort and thought to live in this way. Any Christian who makes a determination to live like this will be assaulted spiritually by the flesh, the world and the devil. Satan especially will step up his ruthless campaign to bring about your downfall. Paul is reminding the Corinthians that they must live in accord with what God has done for them. We now live for the honor of Christ and his name (his reputation). We live by the power of the Spirit and not in our own strength. This requires continual submission to the Lord in prayer and obedience (no easy task, but who said being a disciple was easy).
As the Church continues to accommodate herself to the prevailing culture and society (the world), it loses its distinguishing edge. That edge is radical love. Isn’t this how Jesus loved us? It is love that identifies Christians to the world. Perfect love casts out fear, as John says (1 John 4:18). We are free to love as Christ loved. This is a fruit of self-denial, which is the essence of discipleship. How can we really make a difference in a sinful world? The world must know that we are the genuine article. This is done through willing suffering, and that is something that most of the Church is not prepared to do. The writer to the Hebrews identified Christians as those of whom the world was not worthy (Heb. 11:38). Those believers were afflicted, destitute and mistreated. Would we have identified with them? This is how Paul put it to the Corinthians: “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things. I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me (1 Cor. 4:10 –16). That pretty much sums it all up, if you ask me. Some of us were like the Corinthians but no longer. Thank God for his grace and mercy to us.