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Please join with me in your Bible 
for first Corinthians chapter six. First Corinthians chapter six. 
This summer, we've been studying some of the major doctrines of 
the Christian faith. We looked at the doctrine of 
Scripture from Second Timothy three. We looked at the doctrine 
of the Trinity, what Christians believe concerning the nature 
of our God. We've looked at justification 
and sanctification. And last Sunday, we considered 
how justification was applied to the thief on the cross. And 
this morning, I want to look at how justification is applied 
in the life of the church. of Jesus Christ, more corporate 
setting, not enough, not an unusual on the cross eleven hour conversion, 
but just a mention of Paul here with reference to the Corinthian 
church and how they had known a real savior for real sinners. I'll just pick up reading in 
chapter six of first Corinthians at verse one. Dare any of you 
having a matter against another go to law before the unrighteous 
and not before the saints? Do you not know that the Saints 
will judge the world? And if the world will be judged 
by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you 
not know that we shall judge angels? How much more things 
that pertain to this life? If then, if then you have judgments 
concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint 
those who are our least esteemed by the church to judge? I say 
this to your shame. Is it so that there is not a 
wise man among you, not even one, who will be able to judge 
between his brethren? But brother goes to law against 
brother, and that before unbelievers. Now, therefore, it is already 
an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. 
Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather 
let yourselves be cheated? No, you yourselves do wrong and 
cheat, and you do these things to your brethren. 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. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, 
we give you thanks for the Holy Scripture. We give you thanks 
that you have not left us to ourselves, that you've not left 
us in this dark world without the revealed mind of God. We 
just pray that your spirit would be upon us now. We know that, 
according to 1 Corinthians 2, the believer has the mind of 
Christ. And we pray that the spirit of God would take the 
truth and continue to apply it to our hearts. And for any and 
all who have come here that do not know you, God, through our 
Lord Jesus, we pray that you would convict them. We pray that 
you would bring that sin up and cause people to be convicted 
of it and as well cause them to see the glory of Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, that one in whom is forgiveness, that one in whom 
is mercy, that one in whom is salvation. And we pray this, 
God, not only for our gathering here, but wherever your word 
is preached. We pray that Your Word would run swiftly and be 
glorified. Wash us afresh in the blood of 
Christ and cleanse us from all of our sins so that we may receive 
the things that You would have for us today. And we pray in 
Jesus' holy name. Amen. Well, as you can see in 
the context here, very specifically, the apostle Paul is telling the 
saints in Corinth that they, as a church, ought to be able 
to deal with their matters. They ought to be able to deal 
with their disagreements. They shouldn't take their problems 
before pagan courts. They shouldn't take their dirty 
laundry, as it were, and air it outside of the local church. 
He is basically highlighting the fact that the Church of Christ, 
with the Spirit of Christ, is able to engage in arbitration, 
and able to engage in mediation, able to engage in that blessed 
task of peacemaking, and bringing the people of God together to 
an agreement. That's the overall context. But 
what he says very specifically in verses nine to eleven give 
us several observations concerning the nature of the gospel itself, 
concerning the nature of the Savior and things that I hope 
will be instructive for each of us and will be a means of 
encouragement. So basically, we'll take up verses 
nine to eleven and we'll make five observations on this particular 
text. And the first is simply this. 
There is a kingdom of God to be gained or to be lost. There is a kingdom of God to 
be gained or to be lost. Notice verse nine. Do you not 
know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? That underscores the important 
truth we saw last Sunday morning. The thief on the cross says to 
the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord, remember me when you come into 
your kingdom. There was an acknowledgement 
on his part that this material world was not all that there 
is. And we live in a day and age 
where increasingly we have to try and convince people that 
there is more than what meets the eye. There is more than just 
what we can see and what we can touch and what we can feel. And 
that if on this earth we live for 70 or 80 years, we then fly 
away. We then enter into eternity, 
where 70 or 80 years is but a small drop in a very large bucket. Eternity is a reality, and Paul 
here reminds the people of God in Corinth, and these are things 
that we ought to take counsel or that we take reminder of as 
well, both as Christians. We need to remember that those 
among whom we live and move and have our being are entering into 
a Christless eternity if they don't believe the gospel and 
repent. We need to be burdened. We need to have compassion. We 
need to have zeal. We need to take seriously the 
fact that this world, as we know it, will end. And then comes 
eternity. The apostle in the book of Hebrews 
says that in Hebrews chapter nine, it is appointed on demand 
to die once. And then what? Then comes judgment. And if you are not a believer 
in the Lord Jesus Christ this morning, you need to think about 
these things. You may think that you'll never 
die. You may not worry about that. 
You may not plan for that. You may be young and you might 
conclude that it's so far off. I don't need to pay any attention 
to that whatsoever. It is appointed on you to die 
and then comes judgment. We shall all stand before the 
throne of a thrice holy God. According to the Bible, we shall 
all give an account for sins or for deeds rather done in the 
body, whether good or evil. We will give an account for every 
idle word, Jesus said. Let that sink down for just a 
moment. Every idle word, every useless word. How much more the 
blasphemy? How much more the cursing of 
God? How much more that the ungodly speech that so many engage in. If we're going to give an account 
for every idle word, how much more for those words that violate 
directly the majesty of God's holy name. You cannot err on 
this area. You must realize there is a kingdom 
of God to be gained or to be lost. One man has described the 
preaching of Jonathan Edwards, and he said that his preaching 
was such that he kept one eye on heaven and one eye on hell. 
He knew the glory of God and the terror of the Lord, and being 
convinced of those things, he therefore persuaded man. And 
in that he was like unto the Apostle Paul, who says that very 
thing. He says, knowing, therefore, 
the terror of the Lord, we persuade man. We need to remember, we 
don't live just in a physical world without any eternal ramifications. We are not materialists. We don't 
just appear for a time and then go off to be annihilated. We 
are going to live beyond this current world. And everything 
depends on what we think concerning Christ as to where we end when 
we enter in to that final state. Notice, secondly, this is a scary 
thought. There is the reality of self-deception. There is the reality of self-deception. Notice what he says. Do not be 
deceived. And I believe that modifies everything 
that is to follow. Do not be deceived. These kinds 
of people will not enter into the kingdom of God. But before 
we get to that consideration, just think about this. Self-deception 
is a reality. What do I mean by self-deception? 
It means lying to yourself. It means telling yourself that 
you have a part and interest in the kingdom of God because 
you were born into a Christian family. Means lying to yourself 
by saying that I'm going to go into the kingdom of God because 
I went to Sunday school or I memorized my catechism or I memorized the 
books of the Bible or I read my Bible every day. I'm going 
to go into the kingdom of God because of things that I have 
done. Paul says, do not be deceived. That reality exists. It marked 
the Pharisees, didn't it? You talk about a deceived man. 
Turn to Luke 18 for just a moment. Luke chapter 18, when Jesus taught 
a parable concerning two men who went to pray. And in Luke 
18, verse one, it says, Then he spoke a parable to them that 
men always ought to pray and not lose heart to love that. 
What's the opposite of losing heart? Praying. It's the opposite 
of praying, losing heart. You lose heart, you get discouraged, 
you get downcast. What is the biblical remedy to 
you? To pray. And then Jesus says, there was 
in a certain city. I'm sorry, let's drop down to 
verse nine. Also, he spoke this parable to some. Same context, 
prayer. Also, he spoke this parable to 
some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and 
despised others. Two men went up to the temple 
to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee 
stood and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank you that I am not 
like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as 
this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes 
of all that I possess. If you ask this man, are you 
going into the kingdom of God? What do you think his answer 
was? Of course, I'm going into the kingdom of God. He just said 
that to God. And it was based on what he did. 
It was based on what he accomplished. It was based on his performance. and arrogance and self-righteousness. Do not be deceived, Paul says. I'm sure that any of you who 
have ever done any amount of witnessing have met people like 
this. You ask them, why do you think 
you're going to go to heaven? Because I went to Sunday school 
as a kid. Why do you think you're going 
to go to heaven? Because my father taught Sunday school. I have 
actually heard this testimony with my own ears, brethren. Or 
you talk to somebody and they say, well, I'm not that bad. 
I've never done anything really horrible. I've never killed anyone. I've never actually committed 
adultery. What's their problem? They're 
deceived. And happily so, willfully so. The God of this world has blinded 
their eyes and they don't give a rip about that fact. Our task, 
our privilege, our job under the Holy Spirit is by the grace 
of God to try to rip that blinder away. Now, we can't do it. We 
use the means, we use prayer, we use the Bible, we use proclamation, 
trusting in a sovereign spirit who ultimately does that work. 
But self-deception is a reality. And I dare say, if you're here 
this morning and you're not heading to the kingdom of God, this might 
be your problem, too. You might be young and say, well, 
I've never done really bad things. Do you know that every sin deserves 
God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to 
come? It's not like, well, I only committed 
15 sins. God grades on a curve and therefore 
I'm going to enter in. No, one sin is enough to damn 
you to all eternity. Do not be deceived, Paul says. Do not look to yourself. Do not 
look to your own righteousness. Do not look to your own upbringing. 
Do not look to your own pedigree. Isn't this what Paul learned 
according to Philippians 3? If anybody has a reason to buzz, 
Paul says, in what they've accomplished, religiously speaking, Paul says, 
I the more. He says, I was born of the stock 
of Israel. I was born of the tribe of Benjamin. I was circumcised on the eighth 
day. Concerning the law, I was a Pharisee 
and blameless. Concerning zeal, I persecuted 
the church of God. Well, what happened when he met 
Jesus on the road to Damascus? All those things that were gained 
now became lost. All those things that were accomplishments 
were now done. And what was important for Paul 
was the glory of Jesus Christ, his Lord. Do not be deceived. You may have a lot of Bible teaching. 
One of the most scary men I ever met. I worked with before and 
he said, you know, you don't need to keep telling me all that 
stuff. But I go to I went to Sunday school. I know a lot of 
Bible. I know. I know a ton of Bible. I thought 
to myself and in prayer for that man, I thought hell's going to 
be very hot for him. You know that much. When you 
understand that much, when you have the pleadings of a godly 
mother or father, you've gone to church every Lord's Day and 
you have not taken Christ as your Lord and Savior. When you 
have not ventured on him as the hymn says, what's your hell going 
to be like? You knew the doctrine of justification 
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. But in 
your self-perception, you concluded that you didn't need Jesus. Do 
not be deceived. Do not go around repelling the 
truth of Almighty God. Notice thirdly, with reference 
to first Corinthians six. There is an ethical standard 
established by God. There is a standard of conduct. If someone were to say to you, 
I'm not a sinner. I met somebody on his deathbed. 
We're giving him the gospel and he says, well, I've never said. 
How do we show a man is never said we show God's law. We show 
God's truth. We show first Corinthians six 
verse nine. 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. Now, if you think 
that the Bible is being needlessly repetition is a homosexual thought 
of mine. Both words are used their technical 
terms. One describes the passive partner 
and one describes the active partner. I wish I didn't even 
have to say that because it's disgusting and against nature 
to even think about, but these same sins were extant when Paul 
wrote. In fact, they were rampant in 
the day and age in which the apostle lived and moved and had 
his being. He's not being foolish and saying 
the same thing twice. He is describing two categories 
of men that engage in the same abominable act. That's why it 
may look repetitious, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, 
nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 
There is an ethical standard. God doesn't grade on a curve. 
God isn't just about loving you no matter what it is you do. 
God has established a law in this universe, and we as his 
creatures are duty-bound to obey it. But as the Bible says, all 
we like sheep have gone astray or like the preacher says Ecclesiastes 
729. I have found only this God made 
man upright, but they've sought out many devices. What are those 
devices? Here's a small list of them. Neither fornicators nor idolaters, 
nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 
revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. It 
is not up to man to define the terms of right and wrong. It 
is not up to man to say what he can and cannot do. It is not 
up to man to legislate immorality. It is not up to man to take unto 
himself the rights and prerogatives of God most high. It is the Lord 
who has said it is the Lord who has spoken. It is the Lord who 
has declared his rule. Notice this list finds us all 
out, doesn't it? I mean, we in the Christian church 
are very good at saying, look at those filthy, wicked homosexuals. We're really good at that. We're 
not as good as saying, look at our filthy, wicked, fornicating 
heart. Or look at our reviling, or look 
at our drunkenness, or look at our gossip, or look at our slander. This list finds us all out. This list nails us. I mean, I'm 
sure you have heard in the news about that incident in California, 
where the man abducted a young woman who was 11 years old and 
kept her hostage in his backyard for 18 years. and fathered two children with 
her. I mean, such things enter into the mind and shock and numb 
and cause you to just cry out. Why, oh God, do such things happen? We look at those abominable sins, 
we look at those big sins, we look at those majestic sins and 
somehow we forget our gossip. We forget our otherwise respectable 
sins. I heard an account recently of 
Jay Adams when he went to speak at a big conference. And he said, 
Who here worries? And just about everybody in the 
audience raised their hand and said, I worry. And then he said, 
What if I asked you who here committed adultery? If you had, 
would you have raised your hand as quickly? Probably not. Just think about it. If I said 
here, who has worried, you'd all say yes. If I said, who has 
committed adultery, and you have, I doubt that you'd raise your 
hand. Why? Because we in the Christian 
church have categorized respectable sins versus unrespectable sins. In fact, Terry Bridges just wrote 
a book on this particular concept. Respectable sins. We gossip, 
we slander, we speak ill, we deceive, we lie, we cheat, we 
grumble, we complain, we this. It's okay for some reason, but 
it's those dirty rotten sodomites that are ruining the world for 
us. This list finds us all out. Albert 
Barnes describes a reviler this way, just for one definition, 
a reproachful man, a man, of course, harsh and bitter words, 
a man whose characteristic it was to abuse others, to vilify 
their character and wound their feelings. Who of us haven't wounded 
someone's feelings and willfully so? It is needless to say how 
much this is contrary to the spirit of Christianity and to 
the example of the Master who, when he was reviled, reviled 
not again. This list finds each one of us 
out. It's not as if we gather here 
today and we extol the virtue of the Savior and the glory of 
Jesus Christ and we somehow think that we weren't as bad as everybody 
else. No, we're all bad. Rolf Barnard 
was a Southern Baptist preacher in the 60s. If you ever hear 
his sermons, you think I'm loud. This man would send you screaming 
out of this building. That doesn't justify my loudness. 
I want to get rid of this amplifier once and for all. I thought we 
were done with it, but the Rolf Barnard would define the doctrine 
of total depravity this way. It says the Bible says you're 
just plum bad. The Southern preacher is just 
plumb. Oh, your badness may not look 
like those guys in the gay pride parade in Vancouver. Your badness 
may not look like that man in Southern California that had 
a slave in his backyard for 18 years. But your badness is there. I don't care how old you are 
or how young you are. I don't care who you are. I don't 
care what upbringing you've enjoyed. I don't care what your economic 
background is, your subtle social stratosphere, where you went 
to school, how you think, how you move, how you live. Do not 
be deceived. Each and every one of us are 
found out in this catalog of sins. And Paul says, Do not be 
deceived. People who practice these things, 
people who are defined by these things, people whose lives are 
ruled and reigned by these things will not enter the kingdom of 
God. There is a fourth observation that we need to pick out of here. 
There is the biblical declaration or assertion that sin is not 
genetic or environmental. We find in this particular passage, 
as we'll notice in just a moment when he says, and such were some 
of you, we need to understand that sin is not genetic or environmental. It's not hardwired into us. God didn't make me a homosexual. God didn't make you with the 
specific wiring to carry out a particular sin. Now, environmental 
upbringing and nurture and those sorts of things may help you 
to become jacked up in a particular area. But the idea here is that 
we cannot shake our fist at God and say, why has thou made me 
this way? It is not genetic. When I got 
converted, I wouldn't have minded adding another few inches to 
my size. I think this is a tall man's 
world, or at least North America. Being 5'9", you're right at that 
break of being short. I wouldn't have minded being 
6 foot. But in my conversion, my genetic makeup was not altered. I have Irish in my background. 
When I was converted, I was not made Jewish. I was not spiritually 
Jewish. According to the Scriptures, 
I was not made black. Those are genes. We are taught 
today that certain sins are there because God made it that way, 
and it's being used as a justification to try and run from responsibility. The Bible does not allow this 
doctrine. The Bible forbids this doctrine. The Bible insists that sin is 
forgiven. And I think that as the Christian 
church emphasizes this, we can preach hope. What's interesting, 
in the 20th century, Freud, who was no lover of the Lord God, 
categorized homosexuality as an abnormality. Well, as social 
engineers have progressed and as things have gotten going, 
it's become an alternate lifestyle. It's going to become the preferred 
lifestyle before too long. And I'm not just trying to pick 
on sodomites this morning. I'm trying to illustrate a point. 
That even in the early part of the 20th century, it was viewed 
as by an ungodly psychologist as an abnormality. You know what? It's a sin. And you know what that brings? I know that this does not go 
with the spirit of our age, but the acknowledgement of that as 
sin brings hope. What do you mean? Because Jesus 
is a real savior for real sinners. Right, if it's hardwired in, 
if you're genetically predisposed, if it's the way you are, you're 
going to be that way without help. without hope, without intervention, 
without any change in sight. And regardless of all the propaganda, 
that lifestyle is not gay. It is far from it. You see, the 
Christian church needs to be clear on thinking God's thoughts 
after him. And when we hear of studies that 
prove science has proven that homosexuality is genetic. No, it hasn't. The Bible says 
otherwise. Not everything that says, thus 
saith science, is necessarily true. I realize that that has 
usurped, thus saith the Lord, in our generation. But science 
is very, very philosophical in nature, very much open to the 
interpretation of data. and one's bent in certain matters 
of philosophy and theology will affect how that data is interpreted. I like what Paul says when he 
signs off his first letter to Timothy in 1st Timothy 620. Oh, Timothy, guard what was committed 
to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions 
of what is falsely called knowledge. By professing it, some have strayed 
concerning the faith. What is falsely called knowledge? Paul doesn't say, well, that's 
a knowledge in the category of science, but we're dealing in 
the category of religion. We have two truths, but just 
in a bit of a different way. No, if it contradicts the scripture, 
it is falsely called knowledge. If it contradicts God's written 
revelation, it is falsely called truth. The Christians need to 
be convinced of that. Brother, I got to tell you, We've 
got to understand the Bible. We may think that the battle 
is going to be won because we're nicer or were kinder or were 
gentler. There is a battle being waged 
against the God of heaven and earth and against his price. 
And for whatever reason, his people don't take seriously the 
dictum and the maxim that the Bible alone is the word of God. And we need to internalize it. 
We need to memorize it. We need to have it in our minds 
and in our hearts. And we need to be able to refute those things 
falsely called knowledge. Too many Christians get scared. 
Oh boy, he's got great arguments. Do you know that you hold in 
your lap if you have your Bible open right now in nuclear arsenal? 
Do you know that any argument anybody brings is like bringing 
a pea shooter to a gunfight? It's like trying to charge hell 
with a squirt gun. Do you really? Not equating the 
Bible with hell. Just trying to give an analogy 
about how futile it is. You have the truth of God most 
high. Why don't we know it better? 
Because we're lazy, because we're selfish, because we are careless 
and because we just don't think it's that important. What is that? I just went through a block of 
studies on cults and heresies. That was an interesting thing. 
Do you know how whacked out it is out there? Do you know how 
weird some of these cults are? I mean, it's amazing. But do you know who the cults 
prey on? Not the pig ignorant, because pig ignorant people usually 
don't have a lot of money. Cults like money. They like dough. You don't build big buildings 
and you don't get to wear fancy clothes and drive nice cars without 
money. You know who they target? Religious 
people. Now, they'll go after non-intelligent, 
non-religious people as sort of the drones. I'm not saying 
they'll reject you if you're poor. Certainly you can come 
in. You can always sweep. You can always make the coffee. 
You can't pay for Scientology's little council where they hook 
you up to the machine. I'm sure they've got something 
that you can do. They're preying on religious people. Why? Because religious people don't 
know their Bibles. I'm not saying these are genuine 
Christians and they're going into the cult world. All I am 
saying is that there is a necessity that you understand God's word. 
The longer I live, the more I'm happy that we're a confessional 
church. Please don't roll your eyes if we say the London Baptist 
Confession, the Westminster Shorter Catechism. These are historic, 
proven documents of the Christian faith. They're not the Bible, 
but they help clarify what we believe concerning the Bible. They're accurate summations of 
Christian doctrine. that it would do well for all 
of us to be more familiar with, so that we don't fall prey to 
these things. Sin is not genetic. And that brings us to our fifth 
consideration. There is a real savior for real 
sinners. You love these words in verse 
11. And such were some of you. You ever just want to stop right 
there and praise and worship and adore and rejoice in God. Such were some of you. To the 
Corinthian church. wasn't a bunch of righteous people 
that decided for Jesus and added him to their already complete 
religious life. No, the church in Corinth was 
made up of fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, 
thieves, covetous drunkards, revilers, extortioners. That's their religious pedigree. 
You realize that in this context there was a verb formed out of 
the noun Corinthian. To Corinthianize meant to engage 
in sexual immorality. I mean, unfortunately, there 
was still some of it in the church, because that's what Paul goes 
on to deal with in verses 12 to 20 in this particular passage. But in principle, such were some 
of you. Here's the power of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ. Here's the glory of substitutionary 
curse bearing. Here is the efficacy of a real 
savior for real sinners. He says such were some of you. You can all consider what your 
big defining sin was. And when God, by his grace, converted 
you, you can look back and say, and such was. It's like that 
hymn in 188 and there, I quoted it last week when we looked at 
the thief on the cross. 188, Cooper's glorious hymn when 
he mentions the thief on the cross. When he says, the dying 
thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there have I, 
as vile as he, washed all my sins away. Don't you love that? 
There have I, as vile as he. That's what the Christian does. That's what the Christian's about. 
You don't have to be self-righteous. You don't have to be proud. You 
don't have to walk around like God somehow rewarded you for 
your activity. There have I, as vile as he, 
washed all my sins away. That's what the apostle is highlighting 
here. There is a kingdom to be gained 
or lost. There is the reality of self-deception. There is an ethical standard 
established by God. Sin is not a genetic problem. 
You don't go to the doctor to get fixed. You don't go to the 
doctor to get your heart cleansed. It's not a broken arm. It's not 
an external symptom. It is an internal root problem 
that only one can deal with, and that is the Lord Jesus. And 
that's what Paul goes on to say here. He says, and such were 
some of you. And I love the way they phrases 
this language in verse eleven. There's two different Greek words 
for the word, but. We might say something like I'm 
going to go to the store, but I might go over here as well. 
That's not the kind of but that Paul uses here. He says, you 
can either go to the store, but you better go do this. It's a 
really emphatic but. But he says, you were washed. Here's your condition. Here's 
what you were. You were a fornicator. You were 
an idolater. You were a thief. You were a 
reviler. You thought that you had everybody 
fooled. Everybody looked on and said, 
what a good person you are. God knew better, but he washed 
you. Don't you love that? He washes 
us. It makes me think of the prophet 
Isaiah when God says, I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions. Makes me think of the prophet 
Micah who, at the end of the book, uses a play on his own 
name and says, Who is a God like you? Pardoning iniquity. He says that God will take our 
sins and cast them into the depths of the sea the same way he took 
Pharaoh and his armies at the parting of the Red Sea, and he 
cast them into the depths of the sea. So our God through Jesus 
Christ will deal with our sin in like manner. It should make 
you think about Acts 13 when the apostle is in the synagogue 
in Pisidian Antioch and he tells the people there that you cannot 
be justified by the law of Moses. You cannot be justified by external 
deeds of obedience. He says, therefore, let it be 
known to you that there is forgiveness preached in this man, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We need to be washed. That's 
our problem. We need to be purified. Again, 
Ray Comfort, in his emphasis on preaching the law so that 
men will see their sin, says the problem in America today, 
North America, we can say is that men desire happiness. We 
need righteousness. We need washing. We need cleansing, 
we need purification, we need what Zechariah prophesied in 
Zechariah 13.1. He said, behold, the days are 
coming when there will be a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. Have you washed there? Have you 
cleansed there? Have you come to the Lord Jesus? 
Could it be said of you, and such were some of you? Or are you continuing in this 
state? Does this list find you out? 
Are you rebelling in your heart? Are you saying, no, I'm not going 
to change. No, I'm not going to come to 
Christ. No, I'm not going to do what this preacher is saying. 
If you are in that mindset, our prayer is, is that the spirit 
of God would convict you and show you this and show you this 
place of cleansing. I love the way that the Apostle 
Paul puts it in Titus chapter three, when he highlights the 
salvation of our great God. And he says, when the kindness 
and the love of God, our Savior, toward man appeared, not by works 
of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy, 
he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing 
of the Holy Spirit. That's what Jesus is talking 
about in John 3. Remember, Nicodemus comes to 
Jesus by night. He says, Teacher, we know that 
you're from God. Nobody teaches the way you do 
unless they're from God. What's Jesus say? Truly, truly, 
I say to you, unless a man is born again, he will not see the 
kingdom of heaven. What's Nicodemus do? What do 
you mean? Do I have to enter back into 
my mother's womb and be born again? What's Jesus response 
to him? Are you the teacher of Israel 
and you don't know these things? What's Jesus' point? Nicodemus 
should know these things. Why? Because the prophet Ezekiel 
wrote about it in Ezekiel 36. It's called regeneration. It's called the new birth. It's 
called heart circumcision. It is that divine act of God 
Most High where he takes out the old stony heart and he replaces 
it with a fleshly heart that then believes the gospel and 
repents of sin. We need that. You need that if 
you are here on washed. You don't get washed by making 
your life better. You don't get washed by stopping 
certain activities. You don't get washed by starting 
other activities. There is one means of washing. 
Just being around washed people doesn't wash you. Just kind of rubbing shoulders 
with those who are washed doesn't mean that they somehow through 
osmosis cleanse you from your sins. See, we get that mindset. Some of you might right now say, 
I better stop fornicating. I better stop being a liar. I 
better stop being a thief. You'll still go to hell unwashed. 
The answer is Christ. You don't get washed by being 
in a place filled with washed people. You get washed by going 
to Christ, by believing the gospel, the truth about who Jesus is 
and what he has done at Calvary. That's where washing comes. That's 
where we get cleansed from all unrighteousness. It's through 
the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, and that alone. Do not leave 
here saying the preacher said, I better get better. The preacher 
said, I better stop this. The preacher said, you better 
believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. What's the gospel? Simply this. 
Christ came into this world, sinners to save. Christ lived 
in obedience to his father's law, fulfilling the righteousness 
that we could not. And then Christ died as a substitute 
at Calvary, taking in himself the punishment due for our sins. 
I don't know how we aren't doing backflips right now, considering 
this gospel. I mean, in such were some of 
us, but he hung our Savior on the cross and it pleased the 
Lord in the language of Isaiah 5311 to bruise him, to crush 
him, as the N.A.S. says. Why? To save us from our 
sins. Christ didn't come on willingly. 
Christ didn't come on happily. Christ said, nobody takes my 
life from me. I lay it down willingly and I have the power to take 
it up again. What's that show us? But then in the midst of 
the persons of the Trinity, they are unified. They're on the same 
page. They are operating in glory and 
in power and efficacy to save his people from their sins. You 
need washing if you're here today and you don't know Christ. You 
need to be washed because you're filthy. Sin pollutes. Sin is 
destructive. Sin brings destruction. Paul 
doesn't stop there. He says, but you were washed, 
but you were justified. I'm sorry, but you were sanctified, 
he says next. And sanctification means to be 
set apart. And I believe it is the language 
here. Sanctification also refers to our growth as Christians, 
as we defined it a couple of weeks ago. Growing in the Christian 
life, reading our Bibles, praying, living for the glory of God, 
working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for 
it is God who is at work in us, both to will and to do, for his 
good pleasure. That's generally how we understand sanctification. 
But what Paul means here is the primary route, meaning the set-apart. 
But some theologians have called definitive sanctification. He 
has set you apart. You're no longer a vessel of 
wrath. You are now a vessel of mercy. You are no longer a child 
of the devil. You are a child of God. You've 
been set apart. Notice the emphasis in the text. 
You didn't set yourself apart. Which you do that. We didn't 
say, well, I got to set myself apart. God does this. God is 
glorious, God is sovereign, God is in charge, God is responsible. We saw that all the way back. 
If you read 1 Corinthians 1, Paul says, by Him you are in 
Christ Jesus. Gracious God has done this for 
you. The merciful father. You didn't just get better. You 
didn't just get smarter. You didn't just achieve or attain 
or gain some spiritual insight or wisdom. God opened your eyes. God opened your heart. God gave 
you the spirit, according to 1 Corinthians 2, 16. He's given 
you the mind of Christ. And then he says you were justified. 
on a blessed doctrine of justification that we considered a few weeks 
ago. What is justification? Justification is an act of God's 
free grace, wherein he pardons all our sins and accepts us as 
righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed 
to them and received by faith alone. Pardon and acceptance. Remission and acceptance. Such 
were some of you. Isn't it an amazing gospel? I 
mean, if we walked into the Corinthian church in the first century, 
we would have been like, why are these people going to heaven? You walk in, you ask this group, 
where are you going when you die? We're going to heaven. What? 
Well, we were this, but we've been washed, we've been sanctified, 
we've been justified. You should see yourself in this 
passage. I think this is a good means to promote worship. Why 
does theology matter? Brother Joe's wearing his theology 
matter shirt today. Why does it matter? Because if 
you don't understand these truths, you're not going to worship God. 
You're not going to praise and worship and adore and honor and 
glorify him. Why should we gather here on 
a Sunday to worship? Because such were some of us. 
But he's washed us, he sanctified us, he justified us, he's called 
us out of darkness into marvelous light. We can't but proclaim 
his excellencies. We can't but sing his praises 
and honor his name. This ought to affect us when 
we go out in the world. I was there. Now I'm this. Let me tell you all about it. You know, we talk about evangelism 
and sharing the gospel. You don't have to go to a course. 
Courses aren't bad. We should have a course. Here's 
some tips or thoughts on how you can share the gospel of Christ 
to others. You take that guy in John 9. What was the sum and substance 
of his declaration? I was blind and now I see. The Pharisees didn't like that 
they challenged him, they were arguing with him. What does he 
say? You want to know more about him? Go ask him. And then he takes it to one more 
level, when they keep chiding him and they keep going after 
him. He says, this is an odd thing. You guys are the religious 
leaders. You don't know these things. 
Brethren, if you've had your eyes open, if you've been washed, 
sanctified and justified, tell sinners about it. Tell people we have heard the 
wonderful news. Jesus saves Jesus saves. This ought to affect us with 
reference to the way that we live our lives. You see, we're 
playing this now. Worship evangelism and daily 
life. We've been washed. We've been 
sanctified. We've been justified. So why 
would we continue in those patterns? If I've been washed and sanctified 
and justified, why would I lie now? Why would I deceive now? Why would I cheat now? Why would 
I follow after strange flesh? Now, if you do find yourself 
doing that and you sin, we have a blessed remedy in First John 
one nine. If we confess our sins, he is 
faithful and just to forgive us of our sins. The point is, 
this doctrine of justification by God's free grace alone ought 
to promote in us holiness. It ought to promote in us carefulness. 
This was the defining characteristic of me before I came to Christ. 
How can I continue in it? How can I continue in it? That's 
Paul's whole point in Romans six. You have died to sin. How 
shall you live any longer in it? This what we find in this 
passage ought to promote worship. It ought to promote evangelism. 
It ought to promote holiness. And then finally, if you're not 
in Christ, it ought to promote you. To flee to him. to believe in. And that's what 
it means, you know, we we get a lot of wow, what is it? It 
means to believe what God has said concerning his son. Don't 
make it harder than that. You have to feel something. I 
don't feel like this great change is taking place. Luther was right. Feelings come and feelings go, 
but feelings are deceiving. My warrant is the word of God. None else is worth believing. You believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Paul and Silas told the jailer 
and you will be saved. Not if you believe and you have 
good feelings. Not if you believe and fireworks 
go off. Not if you believe and there's 
a warm burning in your bosom. No, you believe the truth concerning 
Jesus and the Bible says you're a Christian. Now, I truly believe 
that as a believer, when you feed your soul, when you learn 
more of this, when you understand just the glory of a statement 
like and such were some of you, you can't help but having those 
good feelings of love and honor and praise. to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Gardner Springs said one reason 
why our religious emotions are so languid and cheerless, why 
our hearts are so often hung upon the willows and under the 
mere twilight of spiritual joy that we keep at such a distance 
from the cross and the realities of eternity are kept at such 
a distance and forgotten. The washed, sanctified, justified 
man, woman, boy or girl is going to live near the cross. And it's 
at the cross that all these blessings come to Christ. If you don't 
understand what that means, don't go home today and forget about 
it. Ask someone here if you're unsure 
about what does it mean to believe the gospel? What is the gospel? 
You didn't understand because I was confusing. Stop. Don't 
go home without having these things answer. Talk to your parents. Ask your father. Ask your husband 
if he's a convert converted and you're not or your wife and vice 
versa. Ask Pastor Cam. Ask a brother in the church. 
Ask me. Don't go resting when you're 
not sure of your position before Christ. Life is too short, man. There's too many variables in 
this world. There's too many diseases and 
pestilence, and there's cars, and you realize the guts it takes 
to strap yourself into a little metal tube and drive with a bunch 
of other people in little metal tubes? And yet we live like there's 
no end to our physical existence. I would hate to be called upon 
to preach a funeral for someone who just didn't take these things 
seriously. Just didn't think twice about it. So, well, you 
know, I got plenty of years to think about these things. It's 
a book by a Puritan named Token for Children. It talks about 
all these little, little kids been praying, earnestly seeking 
the Lord, reading their Bible, and then they died at three. I haven't met a Christian who's 
done that. Dying at a hundred and three. See, they lived under 
the reality of impending death. So sanitize now. It's all clinical 
now. You go somewhere else to die. 
Can't let anybody see that. There's power in that reality. 
I'm not trying to scare it. I am trying to scare you. If 
you're outside of Christ, you should be scared. You should 
flee to the Savior and you should know that he'll take you. He 
took these ones, He'll take you too. That is good news. Let us pray. Father, we thank 
you for our Lord Jesus. We thank you for the washing, 
the sanctification, the justification that sinners have in Him. And 
Lord God, we pray that knowing these things, it would promote 
in us worship and evangelism and holy and careful lives. And 
God, for any and all here that do not know you, I pray they 
would not be able to rest tonight. They would not be able to have 
any peace in their hearts or in their consciences until they 
come to the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray you would stir people 
up. We pray that you would forgive 
sin and that you would cause more and more to confess Jesus 
Christ as Lord and Savior to the glory of God the Father. 
We ask that you would go with us now and we pray in Jesus' 
holy name. Amen.