The Three Buts...

On November 14th Shepherd's Servant gathered together for fellowship and discussed 1 Cor 6:9-11.  Here is a recap of what I have titled The Three Buts...

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.  1 Cor 6:9-11

Paul is writing to the church at Corinth, a culturally diverse Greek port city known ,according to theologian Warren Wiersbe, to be “polluted with every kind of vice and worldly pleasure.”  As a strategic sea port between the Mediterranean east and the modern west (Rome) the area was a clash of cultures, ideas, values, and sin.  The reputation of the city was such that one of the lowest insults of the time was to be called a Corinthian.  So the wickedness of this city is the background context of the passage.  

Paul clearly states the unrighteous (unbelievers) would not inherit the kingdom of God.  He then lists several common sins that would be evidence of unrighteousness.  I have included them here with a brief definition:

• fornicators - sex before marriage
• adulterers - sex with someone other than your spouse
• homosexuals and sodomites - sex with a same sex partner 
• thieves - a thief is a thief regardless of the language or time
• covetousness -  “one who wants more,” or coveting what others have
• drunkards - obvious answer again. 
• revilers - slander and insults.  In Greek life one of the arts was to know how to insult others and how to bear insults against oneself.
• extortioners - includes robbery

Cops would call most of the items on this list, “job security.”  Lets face it the majority of this list is what keeps us in business.  How many times do we receive harassment calls due to sexual sin or reviling behavior?  How many marriages are broken and result in domestic incidents due to adultery or drunkenness?  Thievery, extortion, and robbery simply boil down to coveting someone else’s property.  Crime is the result of sin.       

I find it interesting that Paul included idolatry between fornication and adultery as if linking it with sexual sin.  Idolatry is worshiping something or someone in place of God.  In Corinth, prostitution often occurred in the pagan temples thus directly linking it to idolatry.  However, consider how sex is used today in our society.  Does our society idolize sex?  Is our society consumed with sex?  Are we as a society worshipping sex?  Consider how sex is used to market products, in everything from disposable $1.99 razors to expensive automobiles we find sex marketing everything.  The billion + dollar  porn industry is evidence enough that sex is an American idol.  

Now we have to take it a step further and examine our own first responder culture.  How many of these things are commonplace in emergency services?  If we are honest, we have to admit that virtually every one of these sins plagues and corrupts just not societ but our profession!  Alcoholism, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, insulting each other and insulting other people; the list goes on.  Our culture is corrupt and broken.   

But here is the best part for those in Christ.  Paul, after listing all of these sins, says, “And such were some of you.”  For believers in Christ, our sinful condition is past tense!    Why is that?  The answer lies in the “three buts” that denote a completed transaction:

1. But you were washed - the Greek word used for washed refers to an internal cleansing.  Your sins are washed away. 
2. But you were sanctified - set apart for God’s use as a member of His holy family
3. But you were justified - declared righteous by God!

The transaction is final, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 6:20).  Because ”it is finished” (John 19:30) Paul could write, “[There is] therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Ro 8:1).

      

Brothers and sisters, rest in the completed work of Jesus Christ.  Recognize that we are living in a fallen corrupted world while also working in a fallen corrupted profession.  Our coworkers need truth; they need Christ.   Live your calling as sanctified servants of God.