The Purity of God’s Kingdom

Over a month ago, on December
8th, our wayward neighbors to the north, Canada, passed a very
disturbing law. Bill number C-4 was adopted to
address the issue of gay conversion therapy. Conversion therapy has
been defined as the pseudo-scientific practice of attempting to change
an individual’s sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual
or to change their gender identity from transgender to cisgender
using psychological physical or spiritual interventions. These methods, the LGBTQIA2S people, the proponents
want us, they want to say that these methods are ineffective
and potentially harmful, they are not supported by credible
evidence, and they perpetuate outdated views of gender roles
and identities. Now, we should be honest that
some of the so-called therapy techniques that are used to try
to cure people are as evil as the homosexuality that they propose
to address. Psychiatric techniques such as
lobotomies, chemical castration, electric shock therapy, and nausea-inducing
drugs are among the few. The problem, however, is that
this bill, this new Canadian bill, was written so broadly
that anyone now who even suggests to a young person that homosexuality
is sinful could be arrested. Lest you think that the Canadian
law is a fluke, An organization targeting conversion therapy
here in Colorado seeks to eliminate, and I quote, any effort aimed
at changing someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. And caught up entirely in that
definition is the biblical doctrine of God’s institution of marriage. and God’s standards for sexual
morality. I don’t mean to catch you off
guard, but this law is already on the books in Colorado. Thanks
to our governor, House Bill 19-1129, if you want to look it up. As
of this very tenuous moment, pastors are exempt. which means
you are not. The therapy methods that they
originally began to target are counseling, visualization, social
skills training, psychoanalytic therapy, and get this, spiritual
interventions. And lest you think that this
is some far-off threat, we have already faced this challenge
in our church. And in case you think that I’m
being overly dramatic, even after the passage of this law, one
prominent leader declared, there is still work to be done in improving
mental health outcomes for LGBTQ people. He goes on to say that
he wants to ensure that no young person is told that who they
are or who they love needs to be changed. In other words, they
will not stop until any opposition to a perverse lifestyle is removed. They want all methods of turning
a young person away from this lifestyle to be eliminated. And
this is why I’ve said many times, this movement will not stop at
simply being tolerated. They not only want to legalize
their perversions, but they will not stop until opposition simply
articulating a biblical morality. is criminalized. The Canadian
law vaguely defines conversion therapy as, and I quote, or treatment
or service limited to, pardon me, a practice treatment or service
designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual,
or to change a person’s gender expression, or to repress or
reduce non-heterosexual attraction or behavior, or to repress or
reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the
sex assigned to them at birth. In other words, to encourage
a person to behave, a man to behave as a man, and a woman
to behave as a woman, or to suggest that homosexuality is wrong and
ought to be repented of, or in other words, to refuse to allow
a young man to wear a dress to school. The bill reads in part,
conversion therapy causes harm to society because among other
things, it is based on and propagates myths. myths and stereotypes about sexual
orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, including
the myth that homosexuality and gender expression that conforms
to the sex assigned to a person at birth or to be preferred over
other sexual orientations. That’s a myth. The ideas that
homosexuality is a sin and that God’s design for marriage is
to be between one man and one woman according to their genders
at birth. These are now harmful societal
myths according to Canadian law. And I’m even more disappointed
to tell you that this particular bill in Canada passed unanimously. Not one vote of dissent. And that means that last Saturday,
January 8th, it became a crime in Canada to confront or counsel
against the sin of homosexuality or transgenderism. An individual
who transgresses this new law can be indicted, tried, and imprisoned
for up to five years. Well, you may recall a man by
the name of James Coates, pastor in Canada. This is the pastor
that was arrested about a year ago and imprisoned simply for
attempting to keep his church open for worship during the extended
COVID lockdowns in Canada. He’s now part of a large group
of pastors in Canada who, in response to this bill, have committed
themselves to preach this morning, January 16th, on biblical sexual
morality. They will be doing so against
the law. Their firm commitment is to uphold God’s sovereignty
over any man-made law, to uphold God’s holy standard for intimacy
and marriage, and to defend the pulpit from any sinful assault
from civil authority. Canadian pastors across the country
are doing this, and they’ve asked pastors throughout the world
to join them in this effort. And so we do so boldly, yet with
sadness that our world has returned to this low level of morality. Evil is now called good, and
good is called evil. In order to support our Canadian
brothers by preaching a biblical sexual message, I’d like to take
us back to a passage that I just preached. Well, it wasn’t that
recent, September 12th. I was very reticent to re-preach
a passage that we had so recently considered, but I looked back
and fully half of the church was absent that Sunday. So there’s
that. For those of you who were here,
please don’t leave or go to sleep. Much of what I have to say this
morning will be new and fresh and focused upon the sin of homosexuality. In chapter six, verses six through
eight, Paul there, first Corinthians chapter six, he’s turned his
attention to the arrogant Christian Corinthian church itself. Though
they knew or at least had known crucial principles related to
sin in their midst, they did not live accordingly. Paul likens
this sin in their midst to leaven, which immediately begins to spread
throughout the church when it is introduced. Sin and sinful
attitudes with the refusal to deal with
them had so permeated this church in Corinth that Paul compares
them to a puffed up loaf of bread, arrogant. Such leaven, such sin
must be removed through the uncomfortable process of church discipline.
This is the God-given means of eradicating the cancerous effects
of sin. Sin must be cleaned out before
it does what it will inevitably do, so that the church can do
what they are called and designed to do, that is worship their
God and Savior. And so Paul needed to remind
the Corinthians of the serious nature of sin, that sin brings
with it deadly and eternal consequences. And this he addresses in verses
nine through 11 of chapter six. Would you read along with me?
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. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and in the spirit of our God. The list of sins here in this
passage is nearly identical to that which Paul articulates in
chapter five, verse 11. Each term in that verse is repeated
here in chapter six, and even new sins are added. Paul is concerned
for their salvation, whether or not they’re going to heaven.
there could be no greater concern. And Paul’s concern is that there
are individuals whose lives are distinctly marked by a wide variety
of sinful actions, whose names cannot possibly be found in the
book of life, And so Paul details his underlying concern here that
the Corinthians had fallen into the trap that the church really
faces in every generation, including ours, grading themselves on a
curve. The church falls into that trap.
They look around and begin to compare themselves to the wicked
society around them. all the while lowering and ultimately
eradicating altogether any moral standard. This is exactly what God’s rebuke
was of Israel. They were outwardly religious
and inwardly corrupt. Isaiah 1-4, Ah, sinful nation,
a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children
who deal corruptly. They have forsaken the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They are utterly estranged. Verse 11 of that same chapter,
chapter one, what to me is the multitude of your sacrifices,
says the Lord. I’ve had enough of burnt offerings
of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts. I do not delight in the
blood of bulls or lambs or of goats. God says enough of your religious
activity. If you do not desire and seek
to live godly lives. God is concerned about a biblical
morality. God is concerned about the way
that we live. Look at verse nine, because what
Paul does here is unfold for us first that there are rabble,
a general category of sinners that are barred from heaven’s
guest list. Look at verse nine. Do you not
know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
It’s very general. Paul confronts the Corinthians
in their practical ignorance. Do you not know? It’s a formula
that he uses again and again, nine times in this epistle, six
times in this chapter. Chapter six, do you not know? Have you forgotten? that the
unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. They should
have known this, but in their pride, their thinking was so
muddled. And the first thing that Paul
tells them is that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom
of God. Remember? By the term unrighteous
here, he refers to a loose category of people who will not be welcomed
into heaven. Calls them unrighteous. They
don’t possess the righteousness of Christ. And practically speaking,
they are unrighteous, ungodly rather, sinners. They are those
who have transgressed God’s commands. And so this word serves as an
unmistakable red flag, a severe warning that no such people are
admitted into heaven. He reminds them that heaven is
not a universal gift. all are not welcome. Paul is
speaking generally here of those who do not go to heaven. He simply
refers to him, as I said, as the unrighteous, as a group.
And so the question with which we’re left is at this particular
juncture, who exactly are the unrighteous? Paul is eager to identify the
individuals and the specific transgressions in which they
engage. And that’s where he comes in
the middle part of verse nine, coursing all the way through
verse 10. It’s this list. These are the specific malefactors
that are forbidden from heaven’s guest list. Paul ratchets up his rhetoric
here. He squarely warns them of the very real possibility
that some of the people in their midst have been hoodwinked. They’ve
been led away from the truth. It’s translated here is deceived. Do not be deceived, he says,
meaning that some already had been. You see, this leaven would
begin to spread, and there must have been many, many people who
maintained a faulty view of the faith that maintained a form
of outward public Christianity. but who had not yet yielded their
lives in obedience to Christ. And so they were spreading deceitful
lies. They not only wanted to believe
it for themselves, but they wanted to bring everyone else down with
them. In particular, they were yielding
to the error that morality did not matter, that practical godliness
did not matter, as long as you were sincere. The world and even the fringe
members of the church could say that you believed and it didn’t
matter how you lived. Does that sound familiar? It’s
exactly the message of so many today. The Corinthians were among There were many among the Corinthians
and around the Corinthians barking that morality didn’t matter.
And that’s the great and recurring lie for which the church and
those in it fall. The Corinthians, Paul warns,
are being seduced by an age-old lie that God is a God of love
and only a God of love. Surely He will not judge us so
severely. Do not be deceived, Paul pleads.
He’s told them of the general group that is forbidden from
heaven, the unrighteous. But here in the remainder of
verse nine, all the way through verse 10, he gets very specific,
and he explains with detail what he means by unrighteous. and
he cites particular sins that stand in the way of eternal glory.
Most of these terms in this list are not new. Of the 10 things
mentioned in this, all but four of them were identified way back
in chapter five. As I said, verse 11, pornos,
we looked at that, sexual immorality, fornicators, they’re called here,
idolaters, the worship of a false god, whether it’s a literal physical
statue or a metaphorical idol in one’s life. In verse 10, he
renews another term, covetous, those who are greedy for gain.
The companion of that particular sin is swindling, also reiterated
here. Those who take advantage of others,
financially speaking, And the two other repeated terms here
are also related to one another, drunkards and revilers. That’s
what drunkards do when they get drunk, is they go about reviling.
Paul explicitly warns that people marked by these sins are among
those who will not enter the kingdom of heaven. That should
get everybody’s attention. But Paul isn’t finished with
his list. To the six things that he’s already mentioned in chapter
five, verse 11, he adds here, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals,
and thieves. For our purposes this morning,
I’m gonna treat these sins on the bookends only briefly, adulterers
and thieves. And that’s because I wanna focus
in this morning on those middle two sins, effeminacy, and homosexuality. Briefly, adulterers points to
the sin of sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage, either
before marriage or during a marriage with someone other than one’s
spouse, or even after a marriage in the case of an unjustified
divorce. And thieves, pretty simple. You already know the Greek word
for thief, klepto. someone who steals. As I said,
given the occasion of this message, I want to focus or better yet
refocus our attention on the two remaining sins, the effeminate
and the homosexual. The word translated here as effeminate
is the word malakos, soft. It’s what one commentator referred
to as effeminate luxury. It’s the unmistakable insinuation
here that men emulate soft feminine characteristics for the purpose
of appealing to other men. Well, Paul just says, frankly
and bluntly, such will not inherit the kingdom of heaven, nor will
homosexuals. those men who are drawn to relations
with the effeminate. By these two terms, Paul condemns
both the passive and the active aspects of that particular sin.
The word for homosexual, arsenokoitos, literally means male bed partners. What one sound commentator referred
to as the most repulsive form of the violation of the seventh
commandment. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
And though he uses different terminology, we know that Paul
at least alludes to this sin in Romans chapter one, doesn’t
he? Listen to this, for this reason,
that is because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and
worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, God
gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchanged the
natural function for that which is unnatural. And in the same
way, the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned
in their desire toward one another. Men with men committing indecent
acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their
error. As is obvious, in his epistle
to the Romans, Paul is writing to the believers who were there
in the church there in Rome, where the sin of homosexuality
was rife. It was rife in the Greek and
Roman world, especially in her capital city of Rome. It was
actually preferred over marital intimacy, if you can imagine.
One historian noted that 14 of the first 15 Roman emperors were
homosexuals. So the Christians there were
in an extremely difficult place. Not unlike San Francisco or LA
or Seattle or almost any other large city of our day where immorality
is rampant. Look at the great sin that they
brought upon themselves. by their rejection of God. Their
women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.
The men abandoned the natural function of the woman for that
which is unnatural. That is the beautiful intimacy
of the God-ordained state of marriage. The sin of homosexuality, whether
by women or men, begins with an abandonment of God’s design. for a one man, one woman relationship. But it gets worse. The men burned in their desire
for one another. Men with men committing indecent
acts just speaks of the intensity of the evil. The rage of the
lust, as one commentator put it, The word is most often used
to speak of a literal fire, burning. But here it’s used metaphorically
of an unnatural, illegitimate desire, lustfully yearning to
gratify their own flesh. And then in acting upon that
desire, Paul says it’s indecent. Utterly shameful is what that
word means. Disgraceful, disgusting. Homosexuality
is a complete perversion of natural intimacy. Remember homosexuality,
God says here is punishment, really. It’s punishment of their
own sinful choices, their abandonment of God, their abandonment of
the natural order. God gave them over. Because they
exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served
the Creator, God gave them over. Sexual perversion itself is God’s
punishment. It’s like a yo-yo, or better
yet, a boomerang. It comes back upon them. One
commentator said that one feels, as it were, the indignant breathing
of God’s holy wrath in this passage. They get what they deserve. Homosexuality
is judgment. Greeks and Romans, as I said,
were dreadfully indulgent in this vice. So far even to prefer
this to the natural relation between a man and a woman. And
everyone seemed to just accept this as an alternative lifestyle.
This particular sin, of course, was rampant in Sodom. Genesis
19 and 20, where God’s assessment of this particular evil was that
it was exceedingly grave. Homosexuality is not new. And
now even in our own society, this sin is now deeply rooted
and calling for God’s judgment. But Paul says, those who engage
in such will not inherit the kingdom of God, pure and simple.
And so it’s right and appropriate to ask, what is God’s opinion
on this particular sin? We get a very clear picture of
His mindset throughout Scripture. I would have you jot these down
can turn to some of them as you’re able. But here in first Corinthians
six, just look at it. He just says, it falls under
the heading of unrighteous and says they will not inherit the
kingdom of God. Even if there was only one verse
in the Bible, that’s pretty clear. Paul, writing to young pastor
Timothy, Places this sin among many for whom God’s good law
is provided. First Timothy one. The law is
provided for the lawless, rebellious, ungodly, unholy, profane, murderers,
immoral, kidnappers, homosexuals. Now homosexuality is not the
only sin beneath this particular umbrella. murderers, immoral
kidnappers, and more. But it does include this sin
under the heading. In Leviticus, God’s moral law,
He addresses the sin of homosexuality. Leviticus 18, 22. You shall not
lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is, get this, an
abomination. Later on, he addresses the penalty
of it as well. If there’s a man who lies with
a male, as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed
a detestable act, they surely shall be put to death. God’s
law declares homosexuality to be an abomination, a detestable
act. The book of Judges records a
particularly unseemly episode of this sin. Chapter 19, an elderly
man sought to provide hospitality for a traveling stranger. Once
inside his home, some of the men of the city began pounding
on the door, shouting for him to bring the man out to him so
that they could have their way with him. If you know the story,
you know it gets sickeningly worse. They’re the perpetrators of this
sinful behavior are called worthless fellows, and their actions are
judged as wicked folly. But the primary passage that
illustrates the sin of homosexuality is found in Genesis chapter 9,
19 rather. Would you turn there? Genesis
chapter 19. In Genesis 19, and I’m going
to characterize some of these passages
rather than reading the entirety of it in full. In verses one through three,
two of God’s angels come to Sodom to visit Lot. And they test Lot
by suggesting that they sleep perhaps in the town square. Lot
prevails on them to stay in his home and for good reason. No
sooner are they in the home, look at verse four, before they
lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom surrounded the
house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter.
And they called to Lot and said to him, where are the men who
came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that
we may have relations with them. Verses six through nine, Lot
desperately tries to reason with them. In verses 10 and 11, the
angels rescue Lot from the clutches of these evil men, and they strike
the sinful mob with blindness. And inexplicably, they continue
groping about, trying to gratify their lusts. It says that they
wearied themselves trying to find the doorway. With that, verses 12 through
16, the angels dispatch Lot and his entire family, commanding
them to flee God’s impending judgment. We are about to destroy
this place. The Lord sent us to destroy it. Lot and his family flee the city.
When Lot hesitated, an angel urged him, in verse 17, glance
at that, escape for your life. Do not look behind you. Do not
stay anywhere in the valley. Escape to the mountains or you
will be swept away. Lot and his family ultimately
escaped to Zoar, and then, judgment. Look at verse 24. Then the Lord
rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord
out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities and the valley and
all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground.
So bad was it that Abraham the next morning got up and looked
about. When he looked down towards Sodom
and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the valley, and he saw,
and behold, the smoke of the land ascended like the smoke
of a furnace.” Nothing left, such as God’s judgment. We have a very thorough treatment
of this particular episode at the opposite end of the Bible.
Would you turn to 2 Peter, 2 Peter in chapter 2. Now there in second Peter, Peter
is discussing the malignancy of false teachers. And I am just
utterly shocked. Sometimes people will send me
a link to see what some so-called pastor said on YouTube. I’m just,
I don’t even have words anymore for some of the nonsense that
is propagated. One pastor said that Jesus came
to him and asked him for forgiveness. just utterly ungodly. And sometimes
it weighs on our soul that all this is going on. And that’s
essentially what Peter is dealing with in second Peter chapter
two. He just calms the saints. In
verses three, one through three, he speaks of their certainty
and influence. You’re going to have them. As
sure as Israel had false prophets, the church is going to be beset
by false teachers. but they do not escape God’s
notice, nor are they outside of God’s judgment. In verses
four through six, Peter substantiates this by saying a series of ifs. If God did this, then he will
deal with false teachers. Would you look at the first,
verse four. This is about the judgment of
Satan. If God did not spare angels when
they sinned, and he goes on to talk about how God did judge
them, cast them into hell, committed them into pits of darkness. If,
the second, if he did not spare the ancient world, this is talking
about the judgment by the flood, but he preserved Noah, preacher
of righteousness. And his third if, if he condemned
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the account that we just read.
If he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, verse six,
to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an
example. The fourth if, before I return
to number three, the fourth if is if he rescued righteous Lot,
which we just, the account of which we just read. Would you turn one book to the
right, Book of Jude? I know we’re jumping around a
little bit. In the Book of Jude, one chapter,
very simple. But he addresses it as well.
Look at verse seven. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and
the cities around them, since they, in the same way as these,
indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh,
are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of
eternal fire. God means business. Let me unpack
that for you just briefly. He’s talking about Sodom and
Gomorrah and what took place. Why did God condemn them? They
indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh. To what end did God condemn them? Why did he do this? Look at it,
to provide an example. Peter, don’t go back there, but
Peter says that the example was provided to those who would live
ungodly hereafter. That is to any who would even
contemplate entering into any of these sins, idolatry, adultery,
homosexuality. They have an example in Sodom
Gomorrah that God means business by what he says. And how did he provide this example?
Jude says it in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. It
was a big red flag. It’s a giant warning to any who
would enter into that kind of sinful relation. So let’s pause. Let’s go back
to first Corinthians. What is this homosexuality? What is this transgenderism?
First, I would tell you that they are not God ordained conditions. God designed humanity, and it’s
simply and unmistakably spelled out in Genesis as male and female,
Genesis 127. God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created them, male and female he created
them. God reiterates that particular
standard in chapter five, he created them male and female. And God made them for one another,
a man for a woman and a woman for a man. Not for what Paul
calls unnatural, or what Jude just called strange flesh. Turn if you would to Genesis
again, chapter two. We’ll be here just briefly. Genesis
chapter two, in verse 20. In 220, he points
out that woman was created for the man. The man gave names to
all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to every beast
of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helper suitable
for him. God made Eve for Adam. God made woman for man. She was
taken from the man. Verse 21, the Lord caused a deep
sleep to fall upon the man. He slept. Then he took one of
his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. She was given
to the man. She was created for the man,
taken from the man, given to the man. Verse 22, the Lord fashioned
into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man and brought
her to the man. She was created for the man,
taken from the man, given to the man, and recognized by the
man. He knew exactly what God had
provided. Verse 23, the man said, this
is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called
woman because she was taken out of a man. And finally, She was appropriated
unto the man, created for the man, taken from the man, given
to the man, recognized by the man and appropriated unto the
man. Verse 24 says, for this reason,
a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined
to his wife and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his
wife were both naked and were not ashamed. Homosexuality. Transgenderism
are not God-ordained conditions. Neither are they naturally occurring
conditions. God did not design men and women
to function in same-sex unions. Anything other than a one-man,
one-woman union is sexual perversion. The argument that one who engages
in homosexuality is born that way is blasphemous. It seeks
to blame the creator for one’s vulgar and illicit passions. And in the case of one claiming
that they were sexually misassigned, is to accuse the creator of a
foolhardy mistake, as if he’s a bumbling idiot. Homosexuality and transgenderism
are not funny. It’s not cute, it’s not amusing,
it’s not a joke, it’s not something about which we should be amused,
as if the flamboyance of someone like Liberace or Elton John, or Ellen, or any of the other
long parade of flamboyant superstars, the prevalence of this activity
in our own day is a solemn indicator of the judgment of God. It’s
not cute. Homosexuality and transgenderism
are not sicknesses. They’re not conditions that a
little therapy, a little counseling can help a person to abandon.
These are sinful mindsets and actions they must be repented
of. Salvation must be sought. Grace
to change must be granted by God himself. Homosexuality and transgenderism
are not sicknesses. They are not, in addition, alternative
lifestyles. Those engaged in sexual perversion
desperately would have the rest of the world adopt this mindset,
as if one lifestyle is just as legitimate as the next. It’s
not. In a recent article, one advocate
of this lifestyle said that his goal was to ensure that no young
person is told that who they are or who they love needs to
be changed. Who’s doing whom a favor? If these sins will not allow
you entrance into heaven, then isn’t the kindest thing that
we could do is to call people to repentance, This message trickles down, doesn’t
it, to a record high percentage of young people claiming to be
either gay or transgender now in our culture. In that same
article from which I just quoted, a young person was interviewed.
What was her advice to others? You were made exactly the way
you are supposed to be and there’s nothing wrong with being gay.
I wish somebody had told me that. The much shorter version of that
mentality, you’ve heard it, love is love. That’s the mantra of
perversion. Homosexuality and transgenderism
is sin. Their sinful acts worse, a sinful
lifestyle that ignores not only the God-given design of the human
body and the act of procreation, but it suppresses the natural
affection and fosters illicit desire. And in doing so, it disregards
the God who created all. Homosexuality and with it, transgenderism
are no worse, however, than any other sins, they’re not. Look
again at the list in which homosexuality occurs. Where did I leave you?
1 Corinthians, back to 1 Corinthians. Homosexuality occurs here in
this passage, neither fornicators nor idolaters, adulterers, effeminate,
homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God. These are all, each one of them,
horrible sins. Each one of them, vile conditions
that if not repented of, damn those who practice them to hell
for all eternity. Homosexuality is no worse than
any of the others. Well, the most natural question
that could follow is a sobering statement such as this. Who could be saved? Paul says
that the standard for the entrance to heaven is so exceedingly high
that neither fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals,
thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers will inherit
the kingdom of heaven. Who can be saved? And that’s
Paul’s final focus in verse 11. 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 the Spirit of our God. How
utterly and completely horrible it would be if you read a list
like this that we just reviewed and you had absolutely no recourse.
No way of redemption, no mercy, no forgiveness. You have to live
your entire life knowing that you’re doomed. But God is a God
of mercy. He’s a God of redemption. And
in Christ, his son, he is fully provided for our salvation from
even the most wretched of sins. And make no mistake, Paul says,
such were some of you. Literally, he says these, of
these horrible sins that he’s just listed, these were some
of you. And you can hear a bite of disdain in that, can’t you?
You were among those doomed sinners, such were some of you. This is
no self-righteous individual. This is no proud, arrogant believer. We’ve been saved in that from
a miserable and certain end. We’ve been spared from hell through
no deed and effort of our own. What a hopeful line of thought
this is. It provides every believer in our interaction with those
of the world who are caught up in this net of sin, it provides
us a means of reaching out to them. Such were some of you. I was just like you. Anyone who’s
been saved will have a heart of mercy towards sinners. The
Corinthians were, we were just like the ungodly heathen around
them. But note the qualifier here on this subject, you. He
doesn’t say all of you. He says some of you. Thankfully,
not every person lives a horribly sinful life before they’re saved,
but all sin is sin. All sin needs to be repented
of. All sin requires Christ’s sacrifice, God’s mercy. Not every person lives a wretched
life like this, but some do. And note the tense of this verb.
Such were some of you. Which means you need to leave
your adultery behind. You need to leave your thieving
lifestyle behind. You need to leave your homosexuality
behind. It’s this way no longer. And
this is Paul’s entire point. The believer is no longer caught
up in enjoying what is little by little killing him day by
day. Such were some of you, but note what happens in the very
next word, but. What an incredible, wonderful
breath of life is in this single word. The whole sentence, yes, but
the hopeful turn is captured in that word, but. And it’s important
to observe that Paul repeats this word three times. Listen
to the flow of it. Do not be deceived. Fornicators,
idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous,
drunkards, revilers, swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
But you were washed. But you were sanctified. But
you were justified. In essence, Paul declares here,
but there is hope, but God has made a way, but as wretched and
vile and as soul deadening as our situation is, there is a
glimmer of hope. But a single word has never sounded
so pleasant in sinners ears. It reminds us, doesn’t it, of
Ephesians one, or pardon me, Ephesians two. You were dead
in your trespasses and sins. We all too formerly lived in
the lust of our flesh. We were by nature children of
wrath. But, but God, but God being rich in mercy made us alive
together with Christ. As dark and as hopeless as things
looked, as long as a sinner is alive, there’s hope. There’s
hope of mercy and grace and repentance and salvation. There’s hope.
And that’s what’s communicated by that one little word, but.
Paul doesn’t stop there. Such were some of you, but you
were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified. Things happened,
wonderful, incredible, glorious, life-saving things, so that even
for one caught up in such despicable sins, there’s redemption. Paul mentions three massive words
here, washed, sanctified, and justified. Paul says you were
washed. It’s just a general way for Paul to say that in your
coming to faith in Christ, you were cleansed from the world’s
stains. The second term sanctified means,
as you know, to be set apart, made holy. Sanctification is
a lifelong process, but Paul speaks of it here as completed. You were sanctified. Pointing to the setting aside
of someone, an individual, for something holy. You were set
apart by God. By your faith in Jesus Christ,
you were declared righteous. When a sinner comes to faith
in Christ, everything changes. Their sins are, so as to say,
washed away. He or she is sanctified. He or
she is justified. There’s a sense here in which
Paul is simply saying the same thing three different ways. There’s
hope. Sinner is converted, changed,
transformed, made new. The Holy Spirit is the agent
of change, but it’s done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole of the Christian life
is captured right here in this single snapshot of our initial
yielding to Christ. How did you come to enjoy this
incredible gift of forgiveness and salvation? How did any of
us? Mercy. Nothing but the pure,
magnificent, undeserved, life-changing mercy of God. And as believers,
those who have been saved because of God’s mercy, we must have
a heart of mercy for those who are still embroiled in these
gross sins. fornicators, idolaters, adulterers. We must have a heart of mercy
for thieves and covetous and swindlers. We must have a heart
of mercy for drunkards and revilers. And we must have a heart of mercy
toward the effeminate and the homosexual and the transgender
minded people. We must tell them that God will
forgive their sin just as he has ours. There’s hope. Would you humble yourself before
a holy God?