Some of You Used to Be

SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 6:11 CSB - And some of you used to be like this. 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.

OBSERVATION:
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6 that everyone has a past. Some of our pasts are worse than others, but we all have “skeletons in the closet.” He uses the past tense – “Some of you used to be…” – and our “loose living past” often tries to resurface and haunt us!

It may be that the “past” isn’t really the past. It’s an ongoing struggle that continues when you come to Christ. The more you try, the harder it becomes to overcome, until you finally give in. The battle is real! Often, the very things we struggle with are what keep us feeling unworthy and hopeless.

Paul has an answer, and it's not as hard as you think. It begins in verses 9-10.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 CSB - Don't you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God's kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God's kingdom.

1) Righteousness – Paul states that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom. How does someone become righteous? It happens only through the blood of Jesus.

Romans 3:10 NKJV - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;

None of us, not a single one, is righteous on our own. We cannot do enough, earn enough, or keep ourselves from doing enough to become righteous.

Romans 3:10, 23-26 NKJV - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; ...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
The word “propitiation” means that it was the only acceptable sacrifice to make you and me righteous; nothing else is acceptable, including our own works.

Righteousness is imputed—meaning it is credited to us because of Jesus! It doesn't mean we have become perfect, like 'super-saints” who never do anything wrong. God sees us as righteous through the lens of His Son—our propitiation.

2) Don't be deceived – Paul would remind us that we are not righteous on our own and are still sinners, good ones at that. It’s easy to look at this list and “cherry-pick” the ones we are not. The truth is, some of us WERE these things, if not most of them.

Paul argues that these sins should not define us as believers. In other words, we shouldn't be known for them. If the world sees us as one of them, it indicates a problem. God has “positionally” made us right and is “practically” working to remove them from our lives. The world may have known us in the past as a “drunkard” or any of the listed ones, but that is who we used to be, not who we are now. Our lives should and MUST look different.

Romans 6:11-14 NKJV - Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

APPLICATION:
As Paul begins by describing who we once were, he concludes by describing who we are in Christ. You were washed, sanctified, and justified. He uses not only the past tense but also the present and future tenses—meaning He did it, He does it, and He will continue to do it.

• You were washed—cleansed of sin by God's mercy.
• You were sanctified—set apart from the world and dedicated to God.
• You were justified – we are declared righteous before God's court through Jesus' work on the cross, just as if I’d never sinned.

Philippians 1:6 NKJV - being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Daily, moment by moment, turn to God as your strength. When you fall short, be like David and run quickly to God. Allow Him to “work” in you and “work out” those things that come back to haunt you.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 CSB - Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

PRAYER:
Jesus, work in me and help me remove whatever prevents me from experiencing all that You desire in my life.