Such Were Some Of You! - [1 Corinthians 6:9-11]

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There are a lot of deceivers in this world and those who commit fraud and deception
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I read about an interesting one this week Thomas Parkin his mother died in 2003 and he gave the funeral director the wrong
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Social Security number and date of birth So her death wasn't registered so he could receive all kinds of benefits
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Like a hundred fifteen thousand dollars worth of rent subsidies he Forged the paperwork and he also thought this might have been a good idea to dress up like a 77 year old mother with a blonde wig heavy makeup nail polish and go in to the
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DMV to renew the driver's license he was caught when there was a mortgage fraud investigation and He showed up once to the attorney's office dressed as himself and once as his deceased mother
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He was sentenced to 13 years in prison and he said at the very end I held my mother when she was dying and breathed in her last breath.
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So I am my mother. I Mean everywhere you go. There seems to be crazy cases like this
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Jerry Joseph was a 16 year old high school basketball player living in Texas and he was a great player six foot five
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The only problem is he was really 22 years old and had already been to high school in Fort Lauderdale And the deception was uncovered when coaches from Fort Lauderdale Recognized him at a basketball tournament in Arkansas and Then kind of a sad one a 25 year old woman faked her terminal cancer to keep her boyfriend
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From breaking up with her and then they finally got married. She showed up for the wedding shaved head faking chemotherapy
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Everybody donated things to her because they thought it was the end and wedding bands were donated flowers donated dress donated honeymoon to Aruba Donated the story ends where it said she raised some eyebrows at the reception.
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However with her energetic dancing and partying Deception everywhere you go, but there's a worse deception than those.
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It's the deception of all deceptions and that is Self -deception to in particular today number one
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Thinking that unrighteous people go to heaven when they die That's a deception and the second deception is thinking that you start off with Jesus in the
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Christian life and You live your Christian life without him by works alone deception one false converts faith fake faith and Deception to that Christians fall back into the law for motivation to obey.
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I Mean, I'm kind of not surprised with these deceptions because this world oozes with sin.
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It's sin cursed I mean it used to be Las Vegas was sin City and maybe
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Atlantic City, but now every city sin City West Boylston sin City Linlin the city of sin
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You don't come out the way you went in you ask for water.
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They give you gin right, I Know these slogans
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By the way, I was having lunch the other day I knew I was coming back and get excited to come back and I'm around all these kind of fake,
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California people They're all happy and tanned and thin but they just they could care less
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And I saw this kind of old salt of a guy walk into the little place We were having a sandwich and I thought now that's my kind of guy.
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Just salty just Just tell you what he thinks and lo and behold.
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He had a shirt on it said Rehoboth Well, I love
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California. I'm back home. So we don't stab people in the back here. We stab him in the front.
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Amen I Mean the drums got louder and your response got louder.
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The visitors are thinking. What did we get into today? Now we've been in the book of Ecclesiastes, but there's a couple sermons
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I'd like to preach and we'll get back into Ecclesiastes soon enough I'd like you to take your Bibles and turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 1 as we address these two problems a fake faith and A real faith that thinks they're sanctified by works
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Alone we're going to be in 1st Corinthians 6 today But I think chapter 1 is a good introduction for us in this
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Christ centered book the book of Corinthians It is very
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Relevant. It is very outrageous. It is very timely. It is very realistic
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It talks about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and it talks about the reality of sin as sin
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Part of the problem with Corinth is It was a port city and it was a place for land trade and sea trade
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And so you can just imagine what goes on in a city by the sea and everything that goes along with it
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Paul was at this city for 18 months think 18 months acts 18 and he taught them and He wanted them to live
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Christians lives, even though it was hard to live in such a city I mean the word
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Corinthian we even have that in the English dictionaries now to Corinthian eyes to just live with promiscuity and with Licentiousness and with debauchery.
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How do Christians live in a world that's full of sin? How do we and I think we get some good?
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Instruction here in this book. This is kind of a different book Isn't it Corinthians from Ephesians that starts off with here's who
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Jesus is now live in light of who he is Romans here's who Jesus is in his mercies live in light of who he is
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Colossians they kind of set that themselves up first few chapters last few chapters kind of a bifurcation of of truth and then living
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Corinthians a little bit different. He he knows there's problems there So he deals with these moral problems
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Then they have a bunch of questions and they ask him a lot of questions And so our section today is a moral problem a moral issue when it comes to living in this world
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But look at 1st Corinthians chapter 1 verses 1 through 9 I wanted to read these verses because I think they're the forgotten verses of 1st
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Corinthians We get straight into things about well, what about lawsuits and we what about women and service?
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and what about head coverings and what about spiritual gifts and all these kind of things that we we should address but I think we forget the first nine verses and if you don't know these verses, it's hard to interpret the book as I read verses 1 through 9
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Just think to yourselves, especially you young children. How many times do I say
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Lord Jesus Christ Christ Jesus Jesus Christ? Jesus or something close.
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This is a Christ centered book because the only Possible solution to live a righteous life in a sin -sick world.
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Our city is the Lord Jesus Paul called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother
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Sasson ease to the Church of God that is in Corinth to those sanctified or set apart in Christ Jesus Call to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our
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Lord Jesus Christ both their Lord and ours Grace to you and peace from God our
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Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I Give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus That in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you
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So that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the revealing of our
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Lord Jesus Christ Who will sustain you to the end? guiltless in the day of our
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Lord Jesus Christ God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his
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Son Jesus Christ our Lord I mean how many times as you talk about the
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Lord Jesus Christ Paul would never forget That time at Damascus Road where he was slain as it were where he was intercepted by the
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Lord Jesus Christ and everything for Paul Understanding yes God is the triune
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God but the father sending the son and that son Interrupted him in on the Damascus Road and now everything was about the
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Lord Jesus and building his church He says in chapter 1 verse 30 and because of him you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God That is righteousness and sanctification and redemption
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No wonder Paul said in chapter 2 verse 2 when I get to someplace like you Corinth I know
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I'm gonna preach about the Lord Jesus. I've determined I've I've I've set out in my mind before I even get there to preach
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Jesus Christ and him crucified And so we come to our passage today 1st
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Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9 through 11 This city had all kinds of sexual sin.
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It had all kinds of sin it had sin that was just normal sin because of Adam's fall because of original sin and Then it had kind of an exacerbated sin because Satan knows how to do things
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And so if he if he weds Idolatry and worship of false gods and sex that is the way you worship is through debauched sex
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Everything just becomes this this hybrid of just disgusting grossness And so how do you live a
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Christian life a pure life in the midst of just sexual immorality everywhere temple prostitutes?
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Everywhere you look up at the hill I've been to Corinth and you see there's a there's a hill above the little canal there and on Friday nights
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The the prostitutes would come down for worship. He even says in chapter 5
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There's sexual sin in the church. It shouldn't even be talked about It's actually reported chapter 5 verse 1 there's sexual immorality among you a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans for a man has his father's wife and And You are arrogant ought you not to rather mourn let him who has done this be removed from among you
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Verse 9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with a sexually immoral people Not at all meaning the sexual immoral of this world
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Greedy or swindlers or idolaters since then you would need to go outside the world but I'm writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of Brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed or as an idolater reviler drunkard or swindler
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Not to even eat with such a one and so Paul and chapter 6 now is going to address sexual sin and other sin
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That we can think about properly to deceptions if I want to put it negatively deception one unrighteous people go to heaven
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Deception number two you move past Jesus. Yeah, he saves you, but now your
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Christian life We don't need Jesus to deceptions The first deception if you understand it well and can identify it it will help you with evangelism
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It will help you if you know somebody who calls himself a Christian, but doesn't live like it It'll help you if you're here today, and you think you know what
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I call myself a Christian but I've got this hidden lifestyle and The second deception if you understand it rightly it'll help you obey
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It'll help you be motivated out of gratitude to serve and love the Lord Jesus deception number one
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Righteous people inherit the kingdom of God Verses 9 and 10 that's a deception
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That's not true or do you not know first Corinthians 6 9 that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God Do not be deceived
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Neither the sexually immoral Nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who practice homosexuality
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Nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlers some of the same words of chapter 5
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Will inherit the kingdom of God? Did you know congregation?
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That's a command? Don't be deceived the word comes from where we get the word planet and it looks like Planets kind of go astray, and they kind of do weird things don't go astray.
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Don't be deceived There's no necessity for you to be deceived because you can't understand things properly
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And the thing about Corinth is they thought they knew everything They were know -it -alls when
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I grew up. We watched cartoons like Like every young boy should watch real cartoons like Johnny quest
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And I think I used to watch is it Bullwinkle Rocky and Bullwinkle and they had a guy there named mr.
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Know -it -all, and I it was that the right cartoon. He just knew everything that was Corinth They just thought they knew all the time.
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I know I know maybe some of your children like that I know I know I know it sounds like a Bill Withers song. I know I know I know
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I know But God is righteous Heaven is righteous
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God is holy heaven is holy And There's a thing going around the world back in Corinth and here today that the only thing you really have to do to get to Heaven is to die
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You've been to funerals like that. We think okay. I just died. That's all you need to do to get to heaven
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Paul is commanding people who live in a sin Saturated sin suffocating world don't be tricked
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It's one thing to get tricked by a repairman or a car person who's trying to do something to you
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It's another thing when there are eternal verities on the line And there must be a danger for us beaters to be deceived or else he wouldn't say it.
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Oh I I know some of these people they're kind they're nice. They're giving they're loving.
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They're like my grandmother How can how can they not go to heaven? You possibly could be deceived because Preachers sometimes preach this truth
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This lie really that unrighteous people go to heaven Bishops do pastors do even
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Popes do so you better be careful who you listen to? Compounding the problem my heart is deceitful, right?
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What does the Bible say the heart is desperately wicked deceitful above all what? All else if you want to find the most deceitful person in all the world just look at yourself.
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You found him or her Right. It's kind of like the thing when people say well, I don't go to church because there's a lot of hypocrites
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Well, sometimes I say one more won't hurt But now I got a new strategy.
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Here's my strategy. You've never been any place in the entire world. That wasn't full of hypocrites
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Including when you're home by yourself right and What Paul wants us to do what you must do is you cannot go on feelings?
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You cannot go on friendships. You cannot go on what the media says What does the
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Bible say right what does the Bible say and it says don't be deceived
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There's a danger here souls are of an infinite value Heaven is real.
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Hell is real Don't be led astray One man said men are very much inclined to flatter themselves that they may live in sin yet die in Christ and go to heaven
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Everybody's doing these things What to consenting adults do behind closed doors shouldn't matter to anyone
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Gospel coalition is talking about that these days It's not really sin it's some kind of disease some kind of dysphoria
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Some kind of illness some kind of syndrome. It's not a high -handed sin against a thrice.
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Holy God. It's just I've got a problem We are to be captive to God's Word.
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The Bible is the final authority I'm not the authority News outlets aren't the authority and he gives a list of sins that were common in Corinth It's not an exhaustive list of sins.
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We call these lists vice lists our sin lists and These aren't if you do this one time you're that These are words of lifestyle.
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These are words of characterization Somebody takes a drink of wine and a wedding. We don't go you're a drunk
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But if you see somebody laying on the side of the curb and they've got some What do they have mad dog?
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2020 or Do you guys go to Trader Joe's to buck Chuck? Whatever they've got it just vomit all over and wine all over and the bottles and everything else and you look at him
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You go, they're a drunk. They're a drunkard because it's a characterization. It's a lifestyle It's habituated
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It defines them and it's exactly unlike God God is holy and if you don't act like God you're ungodly a godly
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God's law is clear about all these sins. How do we know our sin and misery? Heidelberg says from the law of God and Positively, we're to love
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God with all our heart soul mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourself and have said as these things and he gives a list of Ten ESV has nine but ten things that when you see people like this you say to yourself
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I think I should probably evangelize if You're like this. You should believe on the
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Lord. Jesus Christ When the world says these are to be celebrated and applauded and that they're wonderful.
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You ought to say no. No the Bible says And he starts off the list of things that of course
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Christians also should avoid Fornicators is it the top of the list sex outside of marriage
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I have a friend and he was told in a Bible study at college that fornicators will not hear the
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King of God from this Passage he didn't know what fornicator meant. So he went to the University Library and looked up the dictionary
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It's all pretty serious stuff and said sex before marriage Number two
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Idolaters, I think we understand that there's to be no gods before God. We can't worship the creature instead of God We can't worship the real
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God with wrong images or images But the placement here is interesting, isn't it fornicators then adulterers in the middle?
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It's idolaters Why is idolatry put in between fornication and adultery because they all went together back in those days, especially at Corinth Because part of the worship of this false
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God Included sexual license By the way, their gods they were sexually immoral.
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So you ought to be too number three adulterers
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Where one married person has sex outside of the marriage bond Think Exodus 20 you shall not commit adultery sexual sin
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With a person who's married Then there's two more the
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ESV gives one it says those who practice or men who practice homosexuality But they're really two words.
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I have no idea why The SV only translated one. I don't think there's anything nefarious behind the scenes
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Although I do think so that is the case when it comes to the NIV Where they translate these words male prostitutes and homosexual offenders
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Not that homosexuality is bad, but deviant sexual homosexuality is bad. That's what I think
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NIV was trying to get to Here the SV says those who practice homosexuality
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Nes it says nor effeminate nor homosexuals and Basically, those are the passive effeminate and active participants of homosexual relationships
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Effeminate just means soft. It means submitting to unnatural lust Jameson Fawcett and Brown commentator called it a self polluter called themselves polluters
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And it's passivity submission in homosexual sexuality sex rather behavior the other one is the more not passive but active
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Translated an ESV With one word, but here the second word in the
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NAS is homo homosexual King James translates this word abusers of themselves with mankind
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New King James version translates it as sodomites This is the initiator.
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This is the active one. This harkens back to Leviticus 18 22 You shall not sleep with a male as with a woman for it is an abomination
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And if you're not careful when it comes to fornicators Idolaters adulterers and homosexuals you could be deceived
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Just a pastoral note here Dear congregation when you're sending off your children to college
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And now they're older you're preparing them for the world and off to trade school You better think through something and here's what you better think through Did you know some christians can be mean?
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and awful And some sinners found in this list can be kind and nice.
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Did you know that? You know, you can have a grandma that's not a believer and she could be the best grandma ever
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I had a couple of them I mean talking about the right kind of grandma and loving and giving and self -sacrificial
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That doesn't make her a christian though And if you don't teach your children, there's common grace and there's what the bible teaches
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Then they're going to go off and they're going to go to college and go you know All the christians are either nerds fundamentalist crazy charismatic whatever they're going to say that's different The christians are weird and they're not bringing me into their group, but the homosexuals they're kind and nice and loving therefore
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This might not be so true. I've always taught that homosexuality was wrong And now they're the nice ones your children better have a category for that or they're going to get drawn in Of course, you can be because of common grace as an unbeliever kind and nice and giving
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But that doesn't make you godly Don't be deceived Some people say god just whispers about sexual sin really
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And now he goes on he he moves from sexual sins to sins about things
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And sins about abuse Sins about slander all on this list. We want to run from all these thieves thieves
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That's interesting nor thieves nor greedy Back in those days it was easy to steal
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Back in those days. There's no banks Back in those days when you go to the gymnasium and the baths
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Where do you set your stuff easy? to steal They go wash themselves.
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They go exercise you steal Thieves everywhere in Corinth Taking advantage of people
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That's where we get the word kleptomaniac these kleptos. They're running around stealing everything
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And it's probably from this inordinate desire that comes next greedy Thieves nor greedy wanting and wanting and wanting yet.
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You can't have I want it so bad.
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I'll do anything these people don't inherit the king of god So whether it's fornicators and adulterers and heterosexual sex homosexual sex are these they're all on the list
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Gehazi's greed and second kings were to run from and think that's gross We're to think of judas's betrayal of jesus for money is awful.
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We're to run from it. We're to be warned greedy or covetousness we
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Remember exodus 20 you shall not covet your neighbor's house Shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything else?
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That is your neighbors defrauding people for just gain
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Desiring wanting to have more. It's like adam In the in the garden if I could just have one more tree,
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I'd probably be happy He gives other things on the list. Does he not nor drunkards? The bible says don't get drunk with wine
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The bible says wine is a gift from the lord Which one is true both he's not condemning drinking alcohol
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He knows how to do that in scripture But here he's condemning Drunkenness. It is a sin to be drunk and those who are drunk
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As a habit as a lifestyle The text clearly says they will not inherit the king of god You can destroy your own body that way and probably those around you and you can destroy other people
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In another way and that's with words Nor revilers
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What's that old poem sticks and stones may break my bones, but what Really ever been hurt by words
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Obviously, you know, we We know the sting of words in here Revilers destroying people with your mouth with your with your tongue.
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You think of james 3 and it's funny You can praise god one minute with your mouth and then you cut down other image bearers
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Does god like slander? Does he love gossip? Does he love talking about other people? Pulling them down This is a sin that you need to be rescued from like fornification and then he ends with swindlers
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This is kind of a a way to steal from people but kind of like around the block stealing not just Taking their wallet you extort them.
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You're you're a con man You you call them up and you try to extract money by by misrepresenting yourself
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This is not a comprehensive list This is a list list of lifestyle of character
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And and I just read it again do you not know you should know verse 9 that the unrighteous
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Will not inherit the king of god Don't be deceived because you easily could be dear congregation neither the sexually immoral idolaters nor adulterers
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Nor men who practice homosexuality active or passive nor thieves nor greedy nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlers
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Will inherit the king of god It's easy to be deceived we're not to be deceived
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If you know somebody like this I don't think you go up to them and say you're not a christian
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I think as you begin to talk with them and love them and share with them I say things like this based on your own testimony.
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How could you call yourself a christian? Because of first corinthians chapter 6 i've had people in my study right over there
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And somebody came to me. I think i've told you the story there. They have an anxiety problem We've talked about their anxiety problem.
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I said well, you know, how does it manifest itself at home? Well, my girlfriend, uh that is at home.
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She does this that and the other how long have you been living with your girlfriend? 10 years. Do you sleep with her? Yes, and I said based on your own testimony.
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You have a bigger problem Than anxiety when you die, you're going to go straight to hell based on your own testimony
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We don't do people any favors by saying you know What all you have to do is sign the card walk the aisle say you're a christian grow up in the church
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And you're in We are not after perfectionism, obviously
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But the unrighteous the text says will not go to heaven. So don't be deceived and maybe maybe you're on this list dominating sin
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You're not a new creation in christ. Jesus at all. And so you think lord, would you grant me repentance? Would you grant me saving faith?
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Or maybe you look at this list and you think you know what I I do what the world does And I and I say, you know what these things some of these things are bad
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Some of these things are actually good these days and I celebrate with the people Who celebrate call evil good and good evil the first deception is?
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Unrighteous people go to heaven when they die the second definite second deception is that Only the law motivates people you get jesus to get into heaven and now you're on your own.
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Hope it works out for you Let's lead verse 11 maybe some of the best Juxtaposition of of kind of just gross stuff and then oh wonderful verse 11 first corinthians 6
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And such were some of you Remember when you were dominated by all those remember you used to be those this church
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I'm sure is dominated by x fornicators x idolaters x adulterers x homosexuals x revilers drunkards, etc, etc, right?
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That's who we used to be. That's who we were you say well I know such were some of you, but what's the text say?
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But you were washed Sanctified you were justified in the name of the lord. Jesus and by the spirit of our god
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Don't miss the trinitarian aspect of salvation here. We've got jesus christ.
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We've got the spirit and we've got god god the father People say well trinity is just some kind of speculation.
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You can't really figure it out It was essential for paul for anyone to go from this list of vices to now be a new christian in christ
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It takes god and god is one and god is three and the one god free person is god the father god the son god
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The spirit it'll take them to rescue people he uses a big contrast here, but The text says and in the esv, but such were some of you
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Used to be like that John, calvin said the design of the apostle.
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However is to humble them By calling to the remembrance their former condition and to stir them up to acknowledge the grace of god toward them
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For the greater the misery is acknowledged to be from which we have escaped through the lord's kindness So much the more does the magnitude of his grace shine forth if we're not really that bad
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And now we're just a little bit better. You don't need grace ted talks will do but if we're really really bad
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And we're wicked and we're enslaved to sin and we can't extricate ourselves from our own selves and sin
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We need to deliver. We need a savior. It's going to take the act of a triune god to do it Such were some of you and look at these
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Three what we'll call divine passive passives washed sanctified and justified let's look at these because This all comes from the work of the sent son.
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The father sends a son to redeem and to reconcile And because of the great work of the son
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These things happen these things happen to you dear christian all in a point of time.
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The first one is washed Now I might say m -i -k I might say the word spelled m -i -m -i -l -k as in milk
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I know that's one of the things I hate about my nebraska background, but I don't really hate warsh so much
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Because there's a time to wash things you wash you just kind of wash it a little bit but a deep down Washing is a washing christian you were
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Before you're saved dirty Just like me polluted Your spiritual condition and mine too was like you go out to an outhouse at the state fair And you open up that door
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You hear where i'm coming from? And yeah, and you're washed
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Just to be washed Not just on the outside, but on the inside a cleansing
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When god washes it's thorough it's complete it's perfect washing every spot if you go to the
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Carnival they have all kinds of games yesterday I looked online how to beat certain carnival games which one's not to play
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The bottles all with the lids off and you throw the ring around it's like impossible to win So don't do that.
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They gave you other ones and they said here's one that you can possibly win You've got the gun and there's a red star and you've got to get the red star completely demolished, right?
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You know what i'm talking about Kids like go. I know call of duty 18, but I don't know this
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But just imagine with me There's a star and if you get every bit of the red out of the star you win the cupid doll
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How do you get it out? well, you have to just make a circle around the star with your
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Bullets and it'll drop out because if you try to shoot the star, it's not going to make it You're going to have a little remnant left From me to you for free
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Not one little blemish Not one of those sins that you ever committed or will commit.
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Well, you have to pay for you're washed You're clean Think about the old testament with all the washings and ceremonies and cleansing and baths and rituals
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All pointing to the ultimate cleanliness and here we had to do it over and over and over. This is the one time you're washed
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I sometimes watch that alone series and out alone for a hundred days No shower and they just look totally gross but for us it's not external only it's internal Because sin has polluted us.
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It's defiled us. It's marked us. It's marred us And now because of the lord jesus christian
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I can say based on the word of god. You are completely washed from all moral guilt forever
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So see what he's doing I just took a shower Why do I want to go back to the pig pen?
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I've been cleansed from fornication Why do I want to go back there? I've said many times it's like it's from the proverbs.
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It's the dog that goes back to its own what? We see how bad it is how gross it is.
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Why do we run back self don't run back god has cleansed you Have you been to jesus for the cleansing power
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Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Are you fully trusting in his grace this hour are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
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Everywhere you go in scripture talks about this cleansing this purging That the lord jesus does here hebrews 1 after making purification for sins your sins christian
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He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high It's done. It's finished ezekiel 36
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I'll sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness And from all your idols,
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I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart I will put a new spirit within you I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh give you a heart of flesh
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I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and to be careful to obey my rules
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You shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers and you shall be my people And I will be your god and I will deliver you from all your uncleanness
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Cleanness revelation one and from jesus christ the faithful witness the firstborn of the dead the ruler of the kings of the earth to him who
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Loves us and as one old manuscript said and has washed us Of our sins and of course that washing happens even as christians and even as believers
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I think of david after bathsheba and he said Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean. Did you know?
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That if the blood of bulls and goats and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer Sanctify for the purification of the flesh.
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How much more will the blood of christ? Who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to god?
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To purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living god This is talking about regeneration.
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This is talking about titus chapter 3 he saved us not because of works we've done in righteousness, but according to his mercy by the
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Washing of regeneration and renewal of the holy spirit. Why go back to the filth? Not only that there's another divine passive God allowing doing this this is something that's done to us.
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We respond with faith. That's certainly true Fruit of faith is repentance. That's certainly true. But this is all god's work.
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He's the savior He seeks sinners. He saves sinners. He will not give his glory to another. This is all god god.
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Thank you for washing me god Thank you for sanctifying me. That's the second divine passage
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Progressive Sanctification now sometimes sanctification came in when you finally get to heaven.
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We call that glorification Most of the time when we talk about sanctification It's talking about god's work in our life as we are saying no to sin and yes to righteousness
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It's called progressive sanctification where we'd like to live a holy life in light of who god is and the spirit dwelling in us
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You've got a final sanctification You've got an ongoing sanctification that god does to us and we respond and then you've got an initial sanctification
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That's what this is. It's called definitive sanctification It's just set apart you come over for thanksgiving and you don't get the paper plates
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You get the china and those that china is set over here in some special area that we bring out for special occasions
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It's set apart I have a lot of bikes in my life and they seem to just multiply you just go to the garage and there's more and more bikes
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And we would get in a lot of fights in our marriage about how many bikes I have except kim has more surfboards than I have bikes
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So whenever she says can I buy another surfboard? Yes, you may Because I know
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What agape isn't just kidding I have one particular bike.
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It's carbon fiber. It's from germany top of the line. I always wanted it And it doesn't actually live in the garage
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It lives inside I prefer it up in the bedroom by my bed, but there there are limits
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So it's in my office at home right by my desk. It's a special bike It's a set -apart bike
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It's a sanctified bike And in the middle of all the sleazy slutty awful reviling slandering
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Greediness and everything that god took us from he said no, you know what you're mine now You're a holy utensil for me
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You're going to be not used for the world anymore. You're going to be set apart for me. You're special for me
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I set aside for me. That's definitive sanctification. I read that matter of fact in first corinthians one two to those who are sanctified in christ jesus a point in time hebrews 10
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And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus christ once for all
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So if you've been taken by god and rescued from all this sleaze And everything else and set apart for special things for the service of the lord
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Jesus and worshiping him and serving his people in the local church. Why would we want to go back? Those weren't the good old days
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And then the third divine passive is justification Justification We've been washed point in time set apart for god point in time and now justified point in time
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Think about all the sins you committed before you were a christian I could think of mine But there's so many
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I couldn't think about because I know I didn't love god with all my heart soul mind and strength all the time 24 7
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I've got more sins of omission than I do commission. We always think about the things we did but We're supposed to be loving god loving neighbor loving enemies every one of those sins
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Paid for that's pretty amazing Properly paid for jesus assuaging the wrath of god that those sins deserved
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If there's a law love god There's a positive side that if you do it something good will happen and a negative side if you disobey it, there'll be a penalty
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So jesus comes onto the scene that is by the virgin birth and the virgin conception And he is assuming human nature so that when it comes to the law, he doesn't need to keep the law for himself
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He's righteous inherently, but he keeps the law for us because there's a positive side of keeping the law
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Earning righteousness we think about active obedience where he's obeying for us that's the positive side and then there's the penalty side where we commit sin and so jesus pays the penalty substitution penalty substitution
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And justification is simply a courtroom Word it's not a family word like adoption.
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Although adoption is wonderful. It's a courtroom word and it means not guilty
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Credited righteous because of jesus perfectly obeying because of jesus perfectly dying
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Justification, it's a declarative act. It's a forensic act. It's a it's pronouncing someone reckoning someone
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And we know it's true because jesus
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Was raised from the dead And you notice what he says after these divine passives
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In the name of the lord. Jesus christ and by the spirit of our god all about the name of jesus and his character and his person and Who he is and his authority and his power and his love all that there done by the agency of the holy spirit
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Such were some of you Now I said there were two deceptions
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The first one was unrighteous people go to heaven. The second was christians just Basically should obey god without thinking about jesus
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Look down to verse 18 You know where he's going with all this These people don't inherit the king of god.
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You used to be like that You're washed sanctified and justified by the way You can remember those three words wash sanctified and justified wsj every time you read wallstreetjournal .com
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wsj redeem it Wash sanctified justified and then he starts talking about sexual sin
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Hey foods for the body and the body for food verse 13 The body's not made for sexual immorality verse 13
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Our bodies are part of christ don't make them members of the prostitute verse 15 And now we come up to verse 18 flee from sexual immorality
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Every other sin person commits is outside the body But the sexually immoral person sins against his own body
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Do you not know that your body is the temple of the holy spirit? Within you whom you have from god.
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You are not your own. So you are bought with a price therefore glorify god in your body Here's what paul is doing.
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Can you see it? I'd like to live a life commensurate with my calling. I'd like to live a holy life now
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Here sexually or even some of the other things I used to do. I don't want to do it anymore I want to live a holy life.
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What's the motivation for holy living? The law only exposes you to what you do wrong.
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It doesn't motivate you What motivates you is the love of god found in christ. Jesus a god who would wash you
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A god who would sanctify you and a god who would justify you and pay for all your sins and punish his son like that Wouldn't you want to say reporting for duty?
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I'll obey you This is called guilt grace and what? Gratitude See what he's doing
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And i've said this before when I preach this passage when someone calls you and says i'm stuck in some kind of sin
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What should I do? We tend to give them all law There's law here flee from sexual immorality like joseph glorify god with your body, but it's not all law
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People call you and say i'm watching pornography. I'm not to be we say things like Exercise get a community, you know
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Accountability group make sure you have x stop on your thing. Make sure you tell your wife Don't go to the loan bubble all these things fine
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And i'm not saying they aren't wrong, but only them it's wrong Because that's how paul motivates christians who are in a filthy world who probably are still tempted to do filthy things
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He says you're washed you're sanctified you're justified If you watch pornography may today be the last day and when you're tempted to watch it again say to yourself christian
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I've been washed. Why go back? I've been sanctified. Why go back? I've been justified It was free to me salvation, but it cost him a lot why would
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I do that the pig comes out of the sty and The mud pud puddles and you wash it off and it just goes right back
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It is true that christians struggle with sin. It is true that jesus died for the sins of christian, too
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It is true that david writes psalms and then many psalms and then sins with bashiba
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Christian sin, that's true. We talk about that all the time here But we don't want to sin.
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We want to have a struggle with sin. That's romans 7. We want to repent when we sin And when you're motivating you need motivation not to sin.
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I want to remind you back to the lord. Jesus christ. You should go What motivates holy living? Just law
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That's why luther called it nude law just law by itself I think people here at the church.
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I know you you want to desire you have a desire to live holy lives You want to please the lord? But it can't just be go do it.
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It can't just be get moving. It can't be try harder Spurgeon wrote when
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I thought god was hard I found it easy to sin But when
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I found god so kind So good So overflowing with compassion
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I smote upon my breast to think that I could ever have rebelled against one who loved me
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So and sought my good that's why it's so important for you dear church to sit underneath preaching that talks about jesus not for pardon
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But for power Not just jesus for you in justification, but in you sanctification
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The gospel is what motivates not bear commands, of course we give guidance with the law
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But the gps of the law won't motivate you and get you there. It's going to have to be the lord. Jesus the engine
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We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely
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That's true. We want to do that And run with endurance the race that has set before us. We want to do that How do you do that looking to jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith for the joy that was set before him endured the cross
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Despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of god John owen while by faith we contemplate the glory of christ as revealed in the gospel
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All grace will thrive and flourish in us toward a perfect conformity unto him The law just says do
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The gospel is short for jesus christ who is sent by the son And the father and the son send the spirit and he's loved you
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Did you know hosea says? God loved you freely Nothing in us.
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He loved us. Anyway, he loved us in spite of us And that should motivate us
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Tim chester writes in the context of moral purity and sexual sin Alongside your talk about sex needs to go talk needs needs talk about grace
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And not grace in the abstract but grace of god in the death of christ Christ dies in our place burying our guilt so that there's no condemnation for those in christ jesus
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There's no condemnation for porn users adulterers sexual Deviants who are in christ jesus
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This is not being soft on sin quite the opposite It takes sin so seriously that the only remedy is the death of the eternal son of god
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Look at the cross and see what god thinks of your sin The death of his own son is the only act that can atone for what you've done
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But in the act is grace and love and forgiveness and adoption. There's no condemnation listen
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I wonder if this is true from our church in our church Churches are full of people desperately trying to self -atone for their lust
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Desperately trying to sort themselves out Desperately trying to prove they're good enough for god
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Our message must be It is finished Christ has done it all and then when you realize someone has loved you like that Then you have the motivation and the power to obey
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He draws you with pleasant things Does he not? Isaac watts has it right?
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When I survey the wondrous cross Love so amazing love so divine Demands my soul my life my what all
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Be careful When it comes to spiritual hucksters Who say you can do whatever you want and call yourself a christian
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And also be careful for those that say do you know what? The only thing you need as a christian for your holy life is law only
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Because the first deception We know is not true because god is righteous and he tells us in his scripture
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That this habitual lifestyle kind of folk doesn't make it And over here, we realize that god does give us a law
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From the hand of christ who is our mediator A mediator stands between you and god and an advocate stands with you before god
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And you have christ as mediator and advocate and since he so loved you You respond with gratitude
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The key to motivation in the christian living is not do more try harder. How could you?
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It's we see we receive the law of god that guides us Let's pray.
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Thank you father for your word Given to us by the spirit of god That we would be forgiven
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So wonderful That we have an advocate with you.
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Jesus christ The righteous is amazing I pray father for the congregation if there's someone who is here today who has not
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Understood their sin as damning and harmful and a trespass and a transgression that you would
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Help them to see that sin is against you And there will be payday one day And that you would grant them
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Faith and repentance in the lord. Jesus and that you'd save them. You love to save sinners You could save paul
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You can save us you could save them. Would you grant them saving faith? Would you help us as christians when we meet people who are so enslaved to sin?
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We need to ask them a question. How can you call yourself a christian and do that? And then father for us we're thankful for the law.
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It's good and holy and upright and it guides us But it comes from your son To us not to condemn us any longer
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There's no condemnation But to tell us how to honor you and what's good for us.
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So you give us the law Help us at this church to be thinking about christ.
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Jesus just like in first corinthians chapter one christ Jesus christ. Jesus christ. Jesus and may this church
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Until your lord comes be determined to know nothing among The world except christ.