1 Corinthians 6:9-11 June 16, 2013 Pent 4 # 1862 Page 1
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 June 16, 2013 Pent 4 # 1862 page 1
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And 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. (NIV84)
Hi Kids,
God teaches us that he has a kingdom for us to inherit. I want to help you understand what “inherit means.” How do your parents get the money needed to buy you food, and clothes and a place to live? They work at a job and get paid for what they do. In my hand are pages of paper that are my “will.” It tells which people get the things I own on earth, my clothes, my fishing rod, my money that I had saved. When do these people receive the gift of all my things? When I die.
An inheritance is a gift. Why did Jesus die on the cross? He had to take away our sins. And because Jesus has paid for all our sins, where do people who believe in him get to live forever? We get to live in heaven, in God’s home, with Jesus. Do we get to live in heaven because we have not sinned? No. We get to live in God’s kingdom of heaven as God’s gift. Heaven is the inheritance Jesus gave to us by dying and rising to forgive all our sins.
Fellow heirs of God’s kingdom,
Inheritance, or the loss of an inheritance, is a key topic in the apostle’s warning that we just read. Somebody gives you his or her earthly things that cannot pass through the grave into the resurrected life that follows, whether that life is in heaven or in hell. It usually happens after that person dies. The item to inherit in Paul’s message is “the kingdom of God.” When I hear that someone has inherited a “kingdom,” my natural thought is about a ruler dying and the oldest child takes over as leader of the country or empire. But that doesn’t fit “God’s kingdom.” You see, God is eternal and he is the owner of all things. He doesn’t die and make his stuff our personal possession. Instead, God’s kingdom is his activity of ruling all things, especially his ruling over our hearts with his gospel through faith so that we have eternal life.
Jesus explained to his disciples that in our earthly life Christians and unbelievers live alongside each other with lives that look very much like one another to point that we can’t tell the difference. And since we cannot be certain of what is in people’s hearts, it is not the Christian’s responsibility to weed out the hypocrites. Instead, on Judgment Day “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.” [Matthew 13:41] The kingdom that Paul speaks about today, the kingdom that awaits our arrival is the paradise of heaven. And to “inherit God’s kingdom” means to be in the kingdom as a gift and receive all God’s blessings there. This is in contrast to being outside the kingdom surrounded and pounded by evil continuously. And even worse, to be outside of God’s kingdom means being constantly punished by God’s holy anger against the unbeliever’s sins.
A “testament” is another word for a person’s will. The Bible is God’s old and new will. Both center on the Gospel that promises forgiveness through a Savior so that the sinner is reinstated into God’s kingdom through faith. Yes, God’s will that gives us his kingdom goes into effect only upon the Savior’s death because that is what satisfies God’s holy decree as the “wages paid to the sinner.” But when Jesus arose and then ascended, he resumed his position as “King of kings” on his heavenly throne. Every Christian inherits citizenship is his kingdom to receive his blessings. Paul assures us that PEOPLE WASHED IN JESUS’ NAME INHERIT GOD’S KINGDOM. He issues the warning: (1.) Understand that the wicked will not inherit God’s kingdom. He reminds each of us: (2) Understand that you once were wicked. He urges us: (3) Believe that you have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Among the Christians in Corinth there were some serious problems in regard to sexual immorality. Not only was the congregation taking no steps of church discipline. They weren’t even sad that a member was committing incest with his step-mother. And they were boasting about how they handled the matter. Christians must be different from their unbelieving and immoral neighbors. This is what Jesus meant when he said we are to be “light” and “salt” with our life. We are to leave behind the sins of the flesh. Paul composed a list of shameful sins that Christians are to abandon. And twice God’s spokesman declares “Understand that the wicked will not inherit God’s kingdom.”
The “wicked” are those who “violate God’s law.” They wander from what God says is his acceptable way to live. They listen to the voices of evil from inside and from around them. The devil’s deception that Paul exposes implies that a person can do these sins and not endanger going to heaven. But God’s decree is unbending. The person who persists in following wicked behavior will find heaven’s door shut and locked forever. One commentator labeled Paul’s list, “the solemn roll-call of the damned” (A.T. Roberstson, “Word Pictures of the New Testament, p. 103).
Every sin is idolatry because it doesn’t put God and his will as top priority. Every sin thus breaks the first commandment. God gave sexuality to us for a blessing. In Corinth “sexual immorality” may have been as common as it is in our United States today. And people’s casual attitude toward this sin was prevalent as well. People say, “It’s my prerogative. It’s normal.” They deny its sinfulness and damnableness as American society does. The choices people make that are sinful are “sexual immorality, adulterers, prostitutes, homosexual offenders.” God’s rule is simple, if the person is not your spouse and the opposite gender, all sexual intimacy is sinful. This includes premarital activity as well.
The “wicked” not only abuse and distort the blessing of sexuality, they also are deceived when it comes to material blessings. God’s list of sins includes being “greedy” and “swindlers” to crave and get things that belong to others. He condemns “drunkards,” those who abuse the blessing of alcohol by consuming too much drink and losing self-control and alertness. Such a person under the influence can become ill-mannered, abusive, and promiscuous. And then there are “slanderers,” those who lie about others for their own personal gain, be it to hold onto their prestige or to increase wealth.
Every person who keeps doing wicked things and does not repent and turn to God for forgiveness “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” I pray that neither you nor I do the sins Paul has listed. I also pray that we hear Paul’s reminder, “Understand that you once were wicked.” The operative word in this statement is “were.” As a Christian we are different now. We “were wicked” is necessary to know because it focuses our hearts on Jesus Christ and God’s grace. We “were wicked” is necessary to know because our sinful nature is and always will be “wicked.” He doesn’t change. He keeps trying to get us to violate God’s law either by doing sins or by accepting other people sinning as “nothing wrong.” And if we are not aware of this, then our spiritual guard is dropped and we fall into those sins with our mind, if not with our actions.
“Understand that you once were wicked.” Hear this and realize that God want’s my response to be a repentant heart that seeks and cherishes God’s mercy in forgiveness. Hear this and thank God for having saved you from the fate of those who are still candidates for hell because they remain mired in their sin. Hear this and shun the sins of the flesh. Hear this and remember that God judges and condemns every sin wherever it appears and whoever commits it. Hear this and in love urge the “wicked” to repent and be blessed with God’s forgiving grace. Hear this and believe that you have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Paul comforts us believers with the truth that as weak and imperfect as we all are, each of us realizes and trusts that through the activities by the Holy Spirit working through the Gospel “I have been ‘washed.’ I have had all my sins scrubbed from my heart and from my life’s record with Jesus’ blood as he suffered and died on the cross. God did this with my baptism. I have been ‘sanctified.’ God the Holy Spirit has pulled me out of the mass of unbelievers headed for hell. He has set me apart for his holy use on earth and is leading me to heaven by giving me saving faith. My life is changing as I now want to obey him in love. I have been ‘justified.’ As guilty of sinning as I am, God has declared me ‘not guilty’ of a single sin. In fact, he has declared me 100% righteous in his records ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ He has put Jesus’ holiness as my obedience and removed the punishment I deserve by putting my sins on Jesus and punishing him instead. Everything that God promised me through a Savior he has given to me by connecting me through faith with Jesus as my Savior. This all adds up to total forgiveness of all my sins.”
How does this affect our life? We are to “flee all sexual immorality.” That means for our eyes turning off the T.V. programs, avoiding the web sites, passing up the movies, leaving on the bookshelf those items that pollute our thinking and desires with what God calls sin. That means being content with the blessings God gives to us and not try to get what belongs to others. It means that instead of ignoring or tolerating the sins people do under the disguise of “I am free to choose” or “this is who I really am,” we talk with them one on one in Christian love. We will condemn sin and urge them to repent and seek God’s free forgiveness to avoid his punishment. Remembering what we were, wicked people deserving eternal punishment, and that the Lord has saved us from that terrible fate of being a candidate for hell, encourage others to find strength in Jesus’ word and sacrament to love God and resist sin as we do. Amen.