Amen. Aren't we thankful for the blood that Jesus shed for us? This morning I want to read to you for our scripture reading from 1 Corinthians chapter 6. I'll be reading verses 9 through 11. Our nation has deteriorated into a spiritual quagmire of relativism and acting on how one feels rather than an objective truth. As Pastor Ike has already shared with us this morning. For the general populace over the long period of time, sexual immorality was a crime because God said that it is a sin. Well, that's changed in the United States. However, it hasn't changed with God. God doesn't change, and he expects his people to live accordingly to what he has said. So please follow along as I read 1 Corinthians chapter 6, I'll be reading verses 9 through 11 in the New American Standard. Or 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 effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God. And I trust that everybody read this morning our passage, 2 Peter 1, 1 through 11, because that was a very good reminder of what God wants to do in each of our lives. So, Pastor Wright. Maybe when you looked at that title, you thought, licentiousness, what's that? Well, hopefully you looked it up, you know. I thought about using the word that's on there at the bottom, lasciviousness, but I found out that that word doesn't even occur in the Bible anymore, not since the King James translation. English translators don't use that word anymore, so. But licentiousness isn't that difficult to understand, it just basically means a license to sin. Brandon Robertson, the guy you're looking at here, was a student at the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. And on one occasion, he says this is the evangelical thing to do, you go out, for coffee with other students and you confess your sins and your struggles with sin to one another and he was doing this with one of the students and all of a sudden in the midst of this conversation, this student said to Brandon, I'm gay. To which he replied, me too. Now I don't know how, I'm still trying to figure this out. But if that's the case, how that he graduated from the Moody Bible Institute in 2014 with a bachelor's degree. But he did. Now he's an ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ. And it wasn't too long ago that he gave a TED talk, a T-E-D talk on gay and Christian, no contradiction. Really? No contradiction? Well, I think you can understand that in our day, there's such a big push to accept homosexual behavior as what's fine with God, God isn't against that. And I've been totally amazed as I've read articles by those who say this of their isogetical gymnastics. in taking the scriptures and twisting them and distorting them and trying to show that the Bible doesn't condemn homosexuality. Jesus didn't do that. And if you do, then you're a homophobe. Well, at least you hate homosexuals is what we're told. But all of those so-called proofs, and you can look at them in light of the scriptures, they're all false. God loves sinners. Amen. And all people are sinners. I mean, that's why Jesus came. We just celebrated Christmas. He came to save sinners. The Son of Man, Jesus said, came to seek and to save those who are lost. All of us need saved. So are you listening this morning? Are you saved? You see, this is the big question. Are you saved? Now, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul is telling us and the Corinthians in the context, and he makes it very clear, in the broader context, that Christians do not practice sexual immorality. Chapter five, Christians do not practice sexual immorality. taking each other to court, bringing lawsuits against each other because Christians are transformed people, that God has transformed each and every one. They do not practice outward or inward sins. In fact, did you notice the question that Brother Mark read in verse nine? Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? And what's the next phrase? Do not be deceived. So really that's what it's all about today. Don't be deceived. Don't be deceived by the culture that's pushing this agenda and everything that's happening because it's not what the scripture says. Practice of the sins that are enumerated here, practice of them. demonstrates that you are not N-O-T. You are not a Christian if you're practicing these things. And there's two major points that come out of these verses in verses nine through 11. The first in verses nine and 10. Those who practice sinning, if that's their lifestyle, they're in danger of eternal separation from God. That's what the question is here in verse nine. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? They do not have right standing with God. They do not have right standing with God because they do not have a relationship with God. If you are an inheritor, what does that mean? You have a relationship with the giver. You're inheriting it because you have that relationship. Jesus talks about that in Matthew chapter 25. He says, then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom of God, the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. You're going to inherit this because you have right standing with God because of your relationship to him. You don't do anything to inherit something. You don't say, well, if I do these 10 things or five or whatever, then I'll get this. No, no, no, it happens because of a relationship and the magnanimity of the giver as he just gives to those who are related. So if a person practices any of the sins enumerated here, it's a demonstration that they're not saved, not inheritors of God's grace. And did you count the number of sins that he listed in these two verses? There are 10. I thought that was interesting. 10, because numbers have significance in the Bible. The number seven, there are seven days in the week, right? It is a symbol that's used biblically of completeness. A week is complete with seven days. There are going to be seven trumpets and seven bowls and seven seals. There's gonna be a complete judgment. The number 10 is used in that way as well. The number 10 is used to denote completeness. Usually, many times in a negative sense, the beast will have 10 horns. There are going to be 10 aspects to his complete power in his global dominance of the earth. And so I think that as the Holy Spirit directs the Apostle Paul to list these lifestyles, this practice of sins, he is giving us categorically a complete view of sinfulness, which if it's practiced in some way, would exclude someone from the kingdom of God, okay? So the first one he lists is fornication, right? Now, this legacy standard Bible that I'm using says, neither the sexually immoral, And that's okay, you could use that English translation to translate that. The idea, because it's so broad, is that any kind of sexual activity that's the practice of an individual outside of marriage is called fornication or sexual immorality. So I want you to keep in mind here that we're talking about lifestyles. We're talking about something that a person practices. Do you practice sexual acts outside of marriage? Do you? Then you're not a Christian. It's just that clear. Because God says a person who's transformed, the core of their being has been changed. They have new desires. They go in a different direction. Do Christians sin? Well, there are a few here who say yes, I heard. If the rest of you aren't sure, then you'll need to read 1 John 1 10, which says, if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But there's an eternity of difference between someone who is pursuing God and they fall into sin, or they sin, and someone who is pursuing sin and not pursuing God. Their lifestyle, completely different. Now, I don't know what you thought about this, but the next one that's listed is idolatry. sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers. So why in the world does idolatry get stuck between fornication and adultery? Well, I don't think it's really all that difficult to understand. A person who is so obsessed with the practice of sexual sin is a self-worshipper, or at least a worshipper of sex. And for the Corinthians, this was big, because you live in a city where Aphrodite is at the center, the statue of this multi-breasted woman is at the center of your marketplace and worship center in your city, and sexual immorality is part of the culture. Boy, aren't you glad that that doesn't happen in America? What's the difference between Corinth, Ephesus, which had the statue of Diana or Artemis, and Los Angeles? What's the difference? Los Angeles doesn't have the statue. That's all. That's the only difference. The practice goes on anyhow. And so between these, matters of sin outside of the covenant of marriage, fornication and adultery is idolatry. The next one is adultery, which is listed here. So those who practice sexual acts after having entered into a marital covenant, they're called adulterers. Now, I think English is an interesting language. I think it's difficult, has so many irregularities, but there's some things that are consistent. We take the suffix er and we add it onto the end of a word. If you practice carpentry, then you're a carpenter. Carpenter. And if you practice baking bread and other goodies to sell, then you are a baker. Well, that's the idea here. Someone who is practicing the breaking of this marital covenant, they are an adulterer. What's interesting to me that is in our culture, if someone just does that once, they're labeled an adulterer. Because the sin is so heinous from a biblical perspective, from God's perspective, you have broken this covenantal relationship, well, the chances of you doing that again and again and again are greater. The risk is greater. So as I was going through these and I was thinking of the lifestyles, you know, somebody's a fornicator, somebody's an idolater, somebody's an adulterer, I thought, well, what am I? What would somebody call you? I thought to myself, I want them to call me a believer. How's that? A believer. I'm the one who's committed to the one true and living God, a believer in him and his ways. Okay, the next one, I use the word transgenderism. I use that word because in our culture, I mean, that's the word that's the popular word now, transgenderism, but this particular Greek word is translated, depending on your translation, with many different English words. If you have New American Standard Bible, it probably says effeminate. If you have a King James or New King James version, it says homosexual. Isn't that interesting? But the Greek word is a word that's pretty broad. It just means to play the part of a sexual partner. Could be the same sex. It also has the idea of sex change. It has the idea of simply making yourself out to be of the opposite sex or cross-dressing. It has that idea too. It's a very broad term. And so I think it's possible to use this word, transgenderism here, transgender. And then the next word, which is typically translated homosexuals or homosexuality comes next. But before we go there, before we go to that homosexual word, the sin that's listed there, I'm just wondering, You're at the grocery store, you're at Walmart or Bueller's or somewhere or maybe you're at a restaurant and you hear these people talking and you kind of enter into the conversation and one of them says, well, you know, I'm trans. What are you gonna say? Oh, sorry. What are you gonna say? Well, Pastor Ike, I think, you know, that's a hot topic today. I think it's better if I just don't say anything. I wonder what God thinks about that, if we don't say anything. He said to Ezekiel, when I say to the wicked, you shall surely die, and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity. but his blood I will require at your hand." Whew! Maybe you're thinking, I'm glad the New Testament doesn't say that. Oh, really? Here's what James says, And if you don't do that, I mean, it's like not saying anything. You see the blind person headed toward the cliff with their cane and you say, well, you know, I don't wanna be accused of being discriminatory or saying something racist against those who have disabilities, so I just won't say anything. I think God sees it differently. I know God sees it differently in light of these passages. To say something is loving. To not say anything is unloving. To say something is not hate speech. Did you know I'm trans? Really? Do you know what the Bible, do you know what God says about that? No, what does he say? It's your opportunity. to explain to them what the scriptures say about this kind of lifestyle or this kind of sin. All right, homosexuality, because of the practice of homosexuality. Now, chronologically, when Paul was in Greece at Corinth, he wrote the letter to the Romans. You'll find that in Acts chapter 20. Well, you won't find it written there, but the chronology indicates that's when it happened. And Romans chapter 1 and verses 26 and 27 really define what this means. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural. And in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons. the due penalty of their error. This is what Dr. Diggs was talking about. He wrote that paper called The Risks of Same-Sex Practice. And so there is a built-in penalty, if we can put it that way, in terms of violating God's will and his word regarding the marital relationship. I also find it interesting that in the United States, we used to have laws against this. Did you know that? Remember what those laws were called? Sodomy laws. Which states now have those laws or enforce them? None. None. Now there are some territories that still do, but none of the states do. They pay no attention to sodomy laws. So are you listening? God hasn't changed. His laws are still the same. The reason that God is opposed to this is because it's an aberration of who God is, and he's good, and what he intends is good, and what he tells people is good, and when we step outside of those bounds, it's not good for us, and God has warned us about that. In addition, these acts break the covenants of marriage, which God esteems so highly. Now, on the list next is verse 10, nor thieves. Well, how does that fit with homosexuality? Well, there is a common thread here because lust is a form of greed. And therefore, stealing another spouse, stealing God's glory, stealing a child's mother or father through sexual sin leads to similar acts contrary to the moral will of God. such as thievery. And so the practice of these aforementioned sins in terms of transgenderism, homosexuality, leads to, what happens to a lot of people is they become so obsessed with this. It's their lifestyle that they are turning away or not working for the basic necessities of life, and so they turn to stealing. to get it, that they steal. And of course, tightly related to that is coveting. I think the, I forget, Brother Mark, did you read the New American Standard Bible? I think it said greed, like here, Legacy Standard Bible, nor the greedy, but our covetousness. Now, Pastor Joshua and his family are going to Florida on Tuesday. I am coveting. They didn't invite me to go. They're not taking me. Couldn't find somebody to preach next week, I guess. But it's not my lifestyle, okay? It's not something that I'm practicing all the time. It happens, but not something that I'm practicing all the time. So the underlying sin of theft is coveting or greed. I want something so badly that I'm going to steal to get it. Or I want something so badly that I'm going to commit the sin that's listed here to satisfy my greed or my covetousness. Don't you think it's interesting that the next lifestyle that's listed here is drunkenness? So just as a person who practices adultery is an adulterer, so a person addicted to alcohol and constantly under its control, constantly under its control, is a drunkard. And alcohol is a drug to dull the conscience in order to silence the work of the Holy Spirit through the conscience about this lifestyle that they're leading. It's part of this package, if we could put it that way, drunkenness. I read about a lawyer many years ago. He lived in St. Louis, and he had a client, and he went to the client, to his office, to transact some business. And the client said to him, he said, you know, I've wanted to ask you a question for quite a while, but I've been afraid to do so. And the lawyer said, oh, really? Well, what's your question? He said, well, I wondered why you don't become a Christian. And this lawyer hung his head and he said, well, I know enough about the Bible to realize that it says no drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God. And I think you know the problem that I have with alcohol. And the client said, but you're avoiding my question. I ask you why you don't become a Christian. And he said, well, truthfully, nobody has ever said to me, this is how you become a Christian. And he said, well, have a seat. Opened up his Bible and began to read. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It's not just drunkards, all. And the wages of sin is death. Death is God's universal preacher. You know this is true because you see everybody who dies, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And God has demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And if you, my friend, would confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, that he's the one, the Lord of glory came to earth as a human being to die in your place for your sins, to be your substitute, to acquit you of all your crimes against God, you'll be saved. That lawyer said, so what do I do? He said, you pray. And so he did, he prayed like this. Jesus, I am a slave to drink. One of your servants has shown me how to be saved. Oh God, forgive my sins and help me overcome the power of this terrible habit in my life." And he was born again on the spot. Have you ever heard of C.I. Scofield? That was him. He's the editor of the Scofield Reference Bible. an attorney in St. Louis who was a drunkard, but came to faith and trust in Jesus Christ and was transformed. You see, the practice of these sins, these lifestyles, keeps a person from the kingdom of God, but there is a way to get in. And we're gonna look at that in verse 11. But notice what follows here. Nor revilers, what is a reviler? I like this picture. I thought that's a good picture to use. Because a reviler is a person who pours sewage from their mouth, from their heart against people. And I can understand the connection with drunkenness, can't you? I mean, somebody who's had enough alcohol, it loosens their tongues and then they say things that they shouldn't say. It's slander. And what follows, the next thing that's listed here, is swindlers, the King James says, extortioners. And I thought to myself, well, if one allows worship of self to overshadow compassion for others and drunkenness to dull your conscience, and self-gain is part of what you're doing, the thievery, all of these sins that fit together, why wouldn't you swindle? It's a form of manipulation, a form of thievery in a sense, to take unfair advantage of others by extortion or embezzlement for one's own personal gain. False advertisers are swindlers. I think that sin is committed many times on the radio and on TV. It's just, you're advertising, don't we have a law that's called truth in advertising? I don't think it's enforced. Have you ever been smooth-talked into something and taken advantage of? Then you know what swindling is, because that's what they're talking about here. Now the Corinthians knew all of these things. They had been delivered from these things. Paul says to them, remember this? Chapter one, verse two, who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called as saints. You were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's why Paul reminds them here, that's what we're going to in verse 11, of their standing with God, because this is true of them. Oh, I forgot, skipped that one, didn't I? And it's true of us. that Christians are endeared to God by eternal salvation through Christ. The Corinthians and most Americans were some of the worst kinds of sinners. But aren't you thankful to God for this? God specializes in saving people. He takes them from the gutter most to the uttermost. He's amazing in how he transforms people's hearts. I was transferred from Satan's dark, dark domain into the kingdom of the son that he loves, our Lord Jesus Christ. Has that happened to you? You've been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. It can happen right now. You're listening, you're here. By simple faith and trust in Jesus Christ, it can happen. And the Apostle Paul reminds them in verse 11 of the three ways that this happened to them. First of all, through the washing of regeneration. You were washed. It's a spiritual cleansing that takes place when God opens a person's inner being to believe. He opened your eyes to see, you're illuminated. The record of your crimes against God are washed away, just like you would take an eraser and cleanse a blackboard, all washed away. But there's more. He says, you were washed, you were sanctified. Oh, it's a big word. It encompasses so much, do you see that? This is about what happens before we believe. This is what happens when we believe. This is what happens when we receive it. Actual, the actual experience of the Holy Spirit coming into a person's life, you are born again, you are transformed, and it's an ongoing process as God is making us more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ until we're glorified. It's a glorious thing. The Spirit of God draws us to himself. 2 Thessalonians 2.13 says so. Jesus said so in John 6.44. You can't come to me unless the Father Draws you and he does that through the Holy Spirit and he moves us out of Satan's spiritual realm into God's kingdom of light and truth floods our souls and illumines our minds and we are set apart from the power of sin and Placed into the Holy Spirit to experience his power and control Now underlying all of that is justification He says and you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God. Believers are justified. You have just or right standing before God. All of our crimes against God are written off. Jesus paid for them. We are acquitted. We won't be tried and judged because we've been justified eternally. Now, what's the point of saying this? The point is this, if this is true of you, how could you possibly practice any of the sins that are listed here? How can that be? You're a transformed people. If a person is truly washed, sanctified, and justified, then that person will not go back to their unsaved lifestyle. Because if they do, what's that mean? You weren't washed. You aren't sanctified. You're not justified. The problem is we live in a culture that doesn't understand this, right? I mean, they think that, oh, you're a Christian, so you automatically hate the practitioners of any of these sins that are listed here. And it's not true. I forget how long ago it's been now, but how many of you remember, we showed the movie Audacity quite a while back. Anybody remember that? Oh, okay. Some of you do. I want to show you a clip from that for this reason. The Christian's name in the clip was Peter and You're not gonna see the whole thing. It's a little too long. Hey, but the movie's in the library. You can go watch the whole thing. But Peter was in a convenience store. He went in there to get something, because he's taking his friend to his gig, and there were two homosexuals in that convenience store, and another guy was in there with a gun, and he was intending to rob the convenience store. And Peter, I'm sure by the work of the spirit, intervenes in this and helps to diffuse the entire situation while his friend who was in the car and saw what was happening called the police and the police come. Well then, the two homosexuals who are very grateful because their lives were spared, they say to Peter, We'd like to take you out just as a way to say thanks. And what you're going to watch is how he communicates the gospel to them. I think this is very important because it's easy to go through this passage and say, okay, this is wrong and this is wrong and don't do it. But it's another thing to say, but how do you handle that? I mean, somebody says, you know, I'm trans or I'm gay. I sure wish we'd use the old definition of that. I'm happy. That's not what it means anymore. But how do you handle that? Well, let's watch how he does that. It'll be helpful. Some tough news is not seeking to offend them, but to be honest and tell the truth. That's what we're doing. So you meet somebody, they say, I'm trans or I'm a homosexual. You can say, do you know what God says about the practice of homosexuality? And see, like Peter in this little clip, if God will open the door to allow that conversation to continue. Because if they would come to know Jesus Christ as Savior, what would happen to them? Their sins would be washed away. and they would become whiter than snow. Amen? Let's sing that.