I read these verses today.
They absolutely thrill me.
They are what my ministry is all about!
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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Do not be deceived – Do not dismiss sin. Do not go light on sin in an effort to gain influence with sinners. Do not sweep your own sin under the rug because somebody else’s seems worse.
such were some of you – The past tense of the verb means everything to us. It means there is hope. It means that (in Christ and by His Spirit) people change!
you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified – The passive voice of the verbs means everything to us. It means that our gospel is all of God. All of grace. Not by changing ourselves, not by stopping something and starting something. But by the Spirit of our God placing us into the Name and the Death and the Life of the Son of God.