"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived... 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 in the Spirit of our God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9–11
Paul's list in 1 Corinthians 6 is not designed to condemn you. It is designed to wake you up.
The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. That is the warning.
But then come three of the most beautiful words in all of Scripture: such were some of you.
Were. Past tense. The gospel does not just forgive your past. It transforms your present and secures your future.
You were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified.
The church in Corinth was full of former fornicators, former drunkards, former swindlers, not because God lowered His standards, but because He raised the dead.
The expectation of the Bible is clear: when Christ saves you, things change.
Not perfectly, and not overnight. But the direction of your life changes.
The things that once held your heart lose their grip.
You do not just find a church that tolerates your sin. You find a Savior who destroys it.
This is not a call to clean yourself up before coming to God. It is a declaration that God has already done what you could not do.
The washing, the sanctifying, the justifying; none of it was your achievement.
It was His gift. And because it was His gift, it cannot be undone by your weakness, your failure, or your past.
Walk in that truth today.
If you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, today is the day. If you have, thank Him specifically for one sin He has already freed you from.
Then ask Him to continue the work of sanctification in your life.
Prayer:
Jesus, thank You that I am not who I used to be. Thank You for the blood that washed me, the Spirit that sanctifies me, and the Father who justified me. Keep doing that work in me. I am Yours. In Jesus' name, Amen.