Do Not Be Deceived
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 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.”
So many people these days are being taught that they can be
saved from their sins, have eternal life with God, but that how they live on
this earth will not impact where they end up for eternity. They believe if they
prayed a prayer inviting Jesus into their hearts that it secures them heaven as
their eternal destiny regardless of how they live while they are still on the
earth.
But that isn’t biblical teaching. That is man’s teaching.
And, that is false teaching. And, it does not fly with God.
For, Jesus said that if we would come after him, we must
deny self, take up our cross daily, and follow (obey) Jesus. We must die daily
to sin and self. By the Spirit, daily we must be putting to death the deeds of
the flesh and be putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil
attacks against us (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Eph 6:10-20).
And, this is not something that comes after salvation or
after faith in Jesus Christ. For our salvation is ongoing, as is our faith. We
are saved (past). We are being saved (present) and we will be saved (future)
when Jesus returns, and he takes us to be with him. For, then only will our
salvation be complete (Heb. 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; 1
Co 1:18; Rom 8:24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 15:1-2).
In other words, our faith and our salvation are not
something past. They are present tense, or we don’t have them. And, it isn’t
just a state of being, but it is a lifestyle. For, Scripture teaches that the
righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who WALK according to the Spirit,
and NOT according to the flesh. For, if we walk according to the flesh, we will
die in our sins (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Gal 5:16-21; 1
Jn 2:3-6).
So, we need to understand here that if we live like what is
described in this passage of Scripture above, in vv. 9-10, we are not going to
inherit eternal life with God no matter what we profess with our lips or
believe that we believe in our hearts. For true faith is not lip service only.
Our faith is proven genuine by what we do, not by what we profess with our
mouths (Jas 2:14-26; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co
5:10).
Such Were Some of You
1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV
"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.”
Okay, what this is saying here is not that only some of them
were once fallen sinners in slavery to the passions of the flesh, for we were
all such as this before we trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our
lives, if indeed our faith in Jesus is genuine faith.
But I believe what this is saying here is that only some of
them WERE that. Only some of them were now something else. Only some of them
were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the
Holy Spirit. So, what this is saying is that not all of them had changed.
Some of them were still living in sin, in the passions and
desires of their flesh. And, that is why the warning here. That is why he told
them not to be deceived into thinking that if they lived like this that they
would still inherit eternal life with God. For, by saying, “the unrighteous,”
he is clearly referring to those who are living in unrighteousness.
And, the warning given here is not to those who made no
claims to faith in Jesus Christ, but it is to those who were included in the
fellowship of the church. He was telling the church to not be deceived. And,
this means that we can be deceived, and many are. Many are deceived into
thinking that how they live will not impact where they spend eternity, but it
does!
But here’s the thing. Coming to faith in Jesus Christ means
we are washed, we are sanctified, we are justified, and we are transformed of
the Holy Spirit of God out from our darkness into God’s wonderful light. We once
walked in darkness. Now we walk by the Spirit in Christ’s righteousness.
Being a Christian means we aren’t like we were before. We
WERE those who lived in sin, but now we don’t. It doesn’t mean we never sin,
but it means we are no longer under the control of sin. We are no longer in bondage
to sin. We no longer live in (walk in) the wickedness of our sinful flesh, for
Jesus set us free from slavery to sin. Amen?
Now we are different. Now we live for the Lord and not for
the flesh. Now our desire is for him and not for what is sinful. Now we want to
please God with our lives. We want to obey him. We want to follow him in his
ways. We want to answer his call upon our lives with a resounding “YES!” And,
so we do so in the power of God’s Spirit within us.
But, if that is not where you are – if you are not walking
in fellowship with Jesus, walking in his ways and in his truth, in holiness and
righteousness, but you are still living by the flesh, doing what your sinful heart
desires, then I pray that today you would surrender your life to Jesus, leave
your sins behind you, and now follow Jesus in obedience to his word. Amen!
Light
the Fire
Songwriter: Curtis Matthew Kirkwood
I stand to praise You
But I fall on my knees
My spirit is willing
But my flesh is so weak
Light the fire
In my soul
Fan the flame
Make me whole
Lord, You know
Just where I've been
So light the fire
In my heart again
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