Daily Disciples - Aug. 23, 2010
August 23
Today's Reading: Psalms 113; 1 Corinthians 6
Today's Thoughts: 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 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. 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. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
We know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God and most of us would agree with Paul's list of those people. But to then read, "Such were some of you" should bring us great comfort. God reaches out to all kinds of sinners. No sin or sinner is beyond the help of God or His hand of mercy. God reaches out in love to save us from any and all sins. In the church, some Christians believe that certain sins could exclude others from receiving God's grace. Is there such a thing? Could our sin go too far or be repeated too much for God to accept us?
Let us answer that question by using Romans 1 and the sin of homosexuality. Romans 1 describes the person who knows God but chooses not to honor Him (1:21), exchanging the truth of God for a lie (1:25). As a result, this person is given over to his unnatural lusts, ending in the sin of homosexuality. The sin of homosexuality did not exclude the person from having a relationship with God. The choice to reject God came first, which led to the one and only unpardonable sin, rejecting and rebelling against the Holy Spirit. In this case, homosexuality becomes a symptom of the disease of rejection. If a homosexual has never heard of the truth of Christ, his sin state will not exclude him from a new life in Christ. The attitude of the heart is greater than the behavior of the flesh. God judges the attitude of the heart. We are to represent in word and action the message of salvation to everyone, regardless of their sin state. No sin is too great for the God of love to penetrate. No act is too deeply depraved for the blood of Christ to cover. All sinners (all of us) need a savior.
As we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, He washes us from those sins and makes those sins as white as snow. Next, He sanctifies us (or set us apart from those sins) to be used for His service on this earth. Finally, He justifies us before the Father "just as if I" never sinned. We can now live in this sin-filled world with these sinful bodies and have a relationship with the Holy God being led by His Holy Spirit.
It is important to remember, however, that when we come to Christ the struggle with those sins does not go away. Those sins will continue to tempt you. Why? Because every person born into this world enters as a sinner. Adam and Eve made the decision in the garden to sin against God, therefore the rest of humanity is born into sin. Your fleshly birth comes before your Spiritual rebirth. ("That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit'" John 3:6). We will continue to struggle in different extents and at different times with issues of the flesh.
In order to combat these temptations, we must stay in the word of God to renew our minds and to surrender to His will over our natural-born desires. But "such were some of you," tells us that through the Holy Spirit we can overcome these sinful patterns and habits and live a life pleasing to God. It comes down to wanting Jesus more than we want anything else. Praise God, for He wants for you to overcome these sins. If you know Jesus personally, He has wiped your sins clean—past and present. He loves you. Choose to love Him too.
Our mission is to evangelize the lost and awaken the saved to live empowered lives by the Work of God and His Holy Spirit. Daily Disciples Ministries makes a difference for the kingdom of God by teaching and training believers how to be in God's Word, how to pray and how to walk with Jesus every day, as His daily disciple.
Daily Disciples Ministries, Inc.
