1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV
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.
Some of You
Paul was addressing the
church here (See vv. 1-8) about the fact that some of them were taking others
of them to court rather than settling their disputes within the church. He
questioned if they did not have someone among them wise enough to serve as
judge among them to help them to settle their differences. And, so he
challenged them with these thoughts:
Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be
defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!
And, that is what led into
the “Or do you not know…”
So, why is he saying this to
the church? Why is he warning the church with regard to the fact that those who
live wicked and immoral lives will not inherit the kingdom of heaven?
Well, for one, not everyone
who professes the name of Jesus is genuinely saved. Not everyone who says he is
saved has truly been washed (cleansed) of his sins, sanctified by the Spirit,
and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, by the Spirit.
And, that is because not
everyone who confesses the name of Jesus has truly turned away from their
lifestyles of sin and turned to follow Jesus Christ with their lives (See: Rom.
6:1-23; Acts 26:18; Eph. 4:17-24).
For, many professors of faith
in Jesus have this idea that faith in Jesus Christ is some kind of emotional or
intellectual assent to who Jesus is and to what he did for us in dying for our
sins. They think that belief in Jesus is merely accepting his forgiveness for
our sins, but that belief does not necessitate death to sin and living to
righteousness. But, they are wrong.
Paul is giving this warning
to those within the gatherings of the church to let them know that if they are
professing the name of Jesus, but they are still walking according to the flesh,
that they do not have the hope of eternal life with God, but a fearful
expectation of judgment and of the fires of hell.
It does not matter what we
profess with our mouths, or say we believe in our hearts, if our actions do not
follow suit, in other words. We can believe we are saved, and bound for heaven
when we leave this earth, but if we are still walking in darkness and living to
please our flesh, and not the Spirit, then we do not have the hope of eternal
life with God. So, please take note of this, and please take this seriously.
[See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom.
8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8; & 1 Jn. 1:5-9]
1 Corinthians 6:13b-18 ESV
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
His Alone!
Sexual immorality seems to be
running rampant these days, not only within our societies, but within the
gatherings of the church.
Professors of faith in Jesus
Christ are in sexual unions with those with whom they are not married, and this
has become “normal,” even within the church.
So many who go by the name “Christian”
are not living that much different from those who make no profession of faith
in Jesus Christ at all. And, this should not be!
Pornography use has
skyrocketed, partly due to the breakdown of morals within our society, but also
due to the convenience of private access to a whole world of evil via the
internet and via Smart Phones and tablets.
Private chats with others of
interest, and men and women working closely together in the work place, have
also contributed to the increase of extramarital affairs, whether sexual or
romantic only.
But, we were not meant for
sexual immorality, for when we sin sexually via our thoughts, by what we view
with our eyes, via self-gratification or sex chats, and via our physical bodies,
etc., we sin against God and against spouse, too, if we are married.
For, when we believe in Jesus
Christ we are married to Christ. He is our husband and we, the church, are his
bride. Our commitment to our Lord to live in purity and in faithfulness to him
is not that much different from the commitment a man or a woman makes to his
spouse when they join together in marriage, one to the other.
For, just as a husband and a
wife become one flesh, so we become one flesh with Jesus Christ, our Lord, and
we are to be his alone.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Glorify God!
When we place our faith and
trust in Jesus Christ, to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we are reborn
spiritually of the Spirit of God, and God’s Holy Spirit comes to live within
us. We, thus, become God’s temple, his church, Christ’s body. Therefore, when
we involve ourselves in any kind of sexual immorality, we are doing this to
Christ’s body, and this should never be!
For, when we believe in
Jesus, we give our lives to the Lord to be lived for him and for his purposes,
according to his will for our lives. We are no longer our own for us to live
our lives to please our own flesh. For, Jesus Christ redeemed us (bought us
back) for God when he shed his blood for us on that cross so many years ago.
Therefore, we are to glorify
God with our bodies, with our minds, with our hearts and with our souls. Every
part of our lives should be given over to the Lord to walk in his ways and to
do what he says. We should no longer consider that our lives are ours to be
lived for ourselves, but we should consider that we are now the Lord’s, dead to
sin, but alive to God!
Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken
Hymn lyrics by Henry F. Lyte, 1833
Music attr. to Mozart, 1831/ Arr. Hubert P. Main, 1872
Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to
leave and follow Thee;
Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou
from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition, all I’ve
sought or hoped or known;
Yet how rich is my condition! God and
heav’n are still mine own.
Let the world despise and leave me,
they have left my Savior, too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me; Thou
art not, like them, untrue.
And while Thou shalt smile upon me, God
of wisdom, love and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me,
show Thy face and all is bright.
Go, then, earthly fame and treasure!
Come, disaster, scorn and pain!
In Thy service pain is pleasure; with
Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, “Abba, Father”; I
have set my heart on Thee:
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather,
all must work for good to me.
Man may trouble and distress me, ’twill
but drive me to Thy breast;
Life with trials hard may press me; heav’n
will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me, while
Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me, were
that joy unmixed with Thee.
Haste then on from grace to glory,
armed by faith, and winged by prayer,
Heav’n’s eternal day’s before thee,
God’s own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission,
swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;
Hope soon change to glad fruition,
faith to sight, and prayer to praise.
*Copyright status is Public Domain
Sunday, August 12, 2018 –
Thank You, Jesus, that you died to set us free from our slavery to sin so that
we can now walk in your righteousness.
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