New

Introduction

New Years Eve is a sort of marker for us as a society. We celebrate the newness of the year, but when you think about it nothing in the year is really becoming new except taxes. January 1st is the dead of winter, the trees have died, its cold and we feel like we are dying. But is a marker, that this is a new year. A blank slate- all the failures and mistakes, the unrealized goals of last year are forgotten and we have an opportunity to write this year differently than last. It is a new chance- We tried and were unsuccessful at somethings last year, maybe this year will be a little different. It is a new opportunity- we can be something different this year. Phil 3:13 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,”

A new year is a chance for change. We focus on growth, life goals, and new directions. Life is all about change. Winter turns to spring which turns to Summer and then Autumn. Babies change to toddlers to children to teens and then to adults. We age and grow old. Change is viewed by some as an evil to be avoided, but it is a necessary part of life. It is also a necessary part of our spiritual life. 2 Cor 3:18 “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

We all love New things, new toys, new cars, new jobs, new houses. There is nothing like the smell of a fresh new car as you slide into the seat. Change brings about the new in our lives. For every true Christian, they have experienced a change which brought about a new life.

Today, I want to take a look at 1 Cor 6:9-11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Paul writes this chapter because the Corinthian church was not treating each other right. They were taking advantage of one another vs 8, they were sinning against each other by committing fornication verse 18. Husbands and wives were defrauding each other chapter 7:5. Out of all the churches that we read about in Paul’s letters Corinth seems to have been the worst. This church had ignored and accepted a man who was committing incest with his mother in law in the church ch 5:1 When you read some of the things they were doing, it makes you wonder if they really had experienced a change which brings about a new life. It is for this reason that Paul reminds them of the truth we are going to look at today. Notice he starts off verse 9 with the words Know ye not. Do you not know, have you forgotten this truth. Christians need constant reminders of spiritual truths because when we forget those truths we slip into sin. So today as we face a new year, I want to remind you that you are new in Jesus Christ.

What you were

The list of sins recorded here is a mixture of sins we would say are bad sins and sins we would often classify as small sins. Consider: covetousness and revilers. Pretty common sins; but there are some pretty extreme sins included in this list as well. The first truth that Paul reminds them is that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God in this passage refers I believe to the Millennial kingdom, the place where God’s rule and reign is experienced. It is heaven on earth, the inheritance of all true believers in Jesus Christ. But there are some who will not inherit.

The unrighteous will not take part in that kingdom. But aren’t we all unrighteous? Yes, Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” So if that is true than no one will inherit the kingdom of God. Romans 4:3-5 “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” We call this the doctrine of imputed righteousness. Because we have placed our trust, our faith in Jesus Christ, His righteousness is applied to our account.

The best illustration of this truth is debt. Let’s imagine you owed 1 million dollars to a creditor. There is no way you could pay that one million dollars. Have you ever tried just paying off a few thousand in debt? You can’t do it; so you go and reach out to some rich uncle who has millions to spare. You’ve never had a relationship with this uncle. You always thought he was the mean old grumpy guy in the mansion, but when you ask him for the money, you see kindness in his eyes. He says, John, whatever you need I will pay it. That afternoon, his money is debited to your account. When you receive the statement the next month, it says at the top, “Paid in Full.” Now it wasn’t your money that paid the bill, it was your uncles; but to the creditor it doesn’t matter the bill is paid.

Do not be deceived- Not only had they forgotten, but they had begun to believe a lie. All sin begins in a lie. Its a lie that Satan tells us, the world or our own deceitful heart. Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” We sin because we think we can get away with it. We sin because we think it is no big deal. We justify our sin which is lying to ourselves that it really is a good thing. We sin because we think that what we want matters more than what God wants. We lie to ourselves. James 1:14-15 “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” We sin because our heart wants to sin. We sin because we told ourselves a lie that it is Ok.

Labels- Paul drives home his point about specific sins that people commit because just telling you sin will keep you out of heaven does no good if you have justified your actions or don’t think they are sin. One of the sins on this list: homosexuality is not viewed as a sin by the world. Notice that Paul labels people as these things. What I have found is that the bible labels people who have a continual lifestyle of a certain sin. We are all guilty for our sin by committing one sin. James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” But to be labeled with that sin, to be identified with it; we live a lifestyle of that sin. A man who takes a drink of alcohol is not a drunkard, but a man who gets drunk continually is. We all lived lifestyles of some sin in our past. As Paul will not not all of these sins characterized everyone. They are merely a sample.

fornicators- Fornication was one of the sins that Paul had to deal with in the church of Corinth. In fact the rest of this chapter deals with this sin. Fornication is any sexual relationship outside of marriage. Sins like this characterize lost people, but clearly it is possible for Christians to commit this sin as well. Hence, Paul’s letter to the Church. The point is this This is who you were before you got saved, you should not be acting like this now.

idolaters- This sin is probably the root of all other sins. Idolatry is defined in Merriam Webster as “the worship of a physical object as a god or immoderate attachment or devotion to something.” Most of us aren’t guilty of the first part worshipping a statue, but notice that idolatry includes immoderate attachment or devotion to something. At its root idolatry is a worship issue. What are you worshipping? Idolatry applies to any pleasure that replaces the desire to worship God. This can include drugs, alcohol, sex, food, gambling, sleep, TV, the internet, facebook, exercise, sports, and video games to name just a few things. It is a love of pleasure more than a love of God. 2 Tim 3:4 “Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;”

Adulters- those who violate their marriage covenant or sex with someone other than your spouse.

effeminate- this word doesn’t capture the meaning of the Greek here clearly. This is not talking about someone who likes to wear nice clothing and go shopping. This word and the next phrase describe the two partners in a homosexual relationship. This is the passive partner and the next is the active partner in that relationship.

thieves

covetous- This refers to greedy people. Greed comes from a deep seated selfishness. I need to have all of this.

drunkards

revilers- one who verbally attacks the character of another or is abusive

extortioners- grasping or taking advantage of others. Are you so consumed with getting a good deal that you take advantage of others?

What you are now

We all have been guilty of a lifestyle of sin at some point in our lives. But when a person becomes a Christian he becomes a new creature. 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Paul admits such were some of you. This is what you were like. Christians are good people but they are changed people. As believers we have been made something new. What we were does not have to define us. It has no hold on us.

ye are washed- the dirty, guilty, shameful feelings; they have been washed away. There is no reason for a Christian to continue living in the guiltiness of sin. Do you know the difference between guilt and shame? Guilt is actually being guilty of committing a sin. Sorry to use the word to define the word, but that context helps. You are guilty when you have done something wrong wether you feel guilty or not. Shame on the other hand is the feeling of guilt. People can feel shame even when they have not done anything wrong. The point here is in Christ my sins are paid for and I do not have to live under that guilt and shame any more. I am clean.

ye are sanctified- We are set apart to God and away from sin. We often use sanctification as a term for the process of becoming more like Christ. We call that progressive sanctification, but the bible also teaches positional sanctification. In Christ, we have been set apart to God and away from sin.

ye are justified- declared righteous before God. Because of the imputed righteousness of Jesus we talked about, we have been declared to be righteous.

There are a lot of theological concepts in this verse, but theology isn’t just intended to make us smarter. How you live is theological. What you believe determines what you do. If sin is the result of believing a lie, holiness only comes as we believe the truth.

What this means for you life

The reason Paul wrote this passage is that these Corinthians were not living like they were new. They were living like they were still what they used to be. They did what they did because:

They had forgotten who they were.

They had begun to believe lies about their sin.

They lost track of who God had made them.

It is like being a prince in a rich fancy castle. We were born into luxury and priviledge, but one day we decide we are done with it all so we go live in the slums. We fight day in and day out to eak out a living. We hardly have any food. Many nights are spent in the cold night air in our little tent we set up along the road side. We don’t have to live this way, but we have forgotten who we are.

When you were saved, you were born into privilege as a child of God. You were made into a child of God. Children resemble their parents. Have you forgotten who you are? Have you forgotten that God has made you a new creature?

When you were saved, you died to sin, you were set free from it power. It could no longer hold you. You do not have to live in sin. Even the addictive sins that hold us are vanquished by God.

This victory has been won for us in the name of Jesus by the Spirit of our God. Notice the trinity here. All three are involved in making us new. God the Father sent Jesus Christ the Son to die for our sins and rise again victorious over sin and death and from them both we are given the Spirit to give us the strength we need to defeat sin on a daily basis.

Conclusion

I want to close with one last passage. Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Should we continue to live in sin? In light of who we where and who we are now, how could we. We are new creatures. You are a child of God, live like it.

The rest of the chapter goes on to teach that we are dead to sin. Sins power over us is broken if we would just believe and choose not to yield to sin. The problem is in the truly believing. Believing is not just what you think or say you believe. What you truly believe comes out in what you do. Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

Maybe you have forgotten who you are. Maybe you are living in some of those sins, we discussed that unbelievers commit. Don’t harden your heart today, but make it right. The first step to making things right with God is confession. Confession involves talking to God about it and agreeing with what God says about your sin. This is why we have invitations. We are inviting you to come talk to God about it. You don’t have to come up front, but I have more than not coming down front means you are taking it seriously. Will you come today and decide I am going to live like who I am a new creation of God.