Joel M Bradshaw

9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. 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 Corinthians 6

1. The list of sins in verses 9-10 is pervasive. Any person on earth could find their sin there. Everyone has been idolatrous in their heart, for example.
2. The world deceives us, our hearts deceive us (Jeremiah 17:9) that our sins are not a problem.
3. Any sin is a problem and it separates you from God. As long as those sins remain on your books, you have no eternal hope.
4. And Paul makes it about their pasts. Your sin doesn’t define you forever. Your past doesn’t shackle you in chains of shame forever. That is what some of you WERE.
5. Their present, your present should be about the work of Jesus to justify you and the work of the Holy Spirit to sanctify you.
6. This means that you don’t live like the past version of you that Jesus died on the cross for. And when you do, you own it, repent from it, and stay accountable regarding it.
7. Submit your sinful past to God. Learn from it. Don’t repeat it. Trust Jesus in your present and live a different life that pleases Him instead of yourself. These words define my life. Do they yours?–JMB