Turn now to the Bible to 1 Corinthians 6. that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. but you are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our God. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything. Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy both one and the other. We'll stop our reading at that point. We should be very thankful in this country for the many brothers and sisters who have been zealous to share the faith of Jesus Christ. Through the decades, through the centuries, up to the present time, there are many people who will come to you and say, believe in Jesus. Have you believed in Jesus? Someone was telling me just this weekend, somebody came up to them in the parking lot to tell them about Jesus and to give them something to read. We should be thankful for this. We should imitate that zeal. We also have to admit, however, that some of our brothers, in their zeal to see people converted, have at times watered down what Jesus actually requires of us to something much, much less than what the Lord expects. To some who even will seem to go so far as to say, simply pray this prayer right now. and you'll be safe for eternity. At a funeral recently, the preacher said he talked to the old man involved, and he said, oh, don't worry about me. I gave my life to the Lord a long time ago. All right, what about the last 50 years? As you look at 1 Corinthians 6, you'll notice that the life you live after you pray, the prayer of conversion matters. unless anyone thinks, well, that's just Paul being difficult. Turn over to 1 John 3, where he says, beginning at verse 4, everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. You know that he appears to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him, Jesus, or known him. little children, let no one deceive you." Same language we have here. Don't be deceived. And if anyone says, well, that's just John and Paul being difficult, well, we can turn it over to Peter in 1 Peter chapter 4. Peter also goes on to say, the time that has passed suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you, but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead." If anyone wants to say, well, that's just Paul and Peter and John, well, whoever wrote the letter to the Hebrews said the same thing. He said, see to it, they strive for peace with everyone and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. There's a name for that belief, that you just pray a prayer, and then you're safe for eternity. It's called easy-believism, for obvious reasons. It makes the believing very easy. Easy-believism. So these passages, such as the one before us tonight, says easy-believism is not the gospel. We need to seek the Kingdom of God by walking with the King who washed us. You must seek the Kingdom of God by walking with the King who washed you. Because consider Israel. Because so much of what God told Israel in the Old Testament, He tells the Church in the New Testament. We're supposed to learn from Israel. God delivered Israel from Egypt. He crushed Pharaoh's will until Pharaoh finally said, all right, go. Then he drowned Pharaoh's army. He parted the Red Sea. They rejoiced at the sea when they saw the Egyptian dead. You could say that they were saved at that point. They were saved from being slaves of Pharaoh. They were also in the desert. and they weren't yet where they needed to be. The next step was to go to Mount Sinai. And God said, if you will keep my covenant, you will be my special possession. Keep my covenant, be my special possession. And so they said, we will do it. He gave them his covenant, his 10 commandments. And so their duty and their goal was to keep covenant while enduring hardship until they reached the promised land. But of course, most did not. You know, I'm a zealous American. I want you to believe in Jesus. I want you, if you haven't, to pray the sinner's prayer. But I also want you to realize, well, just look at the Israelites. When Moses came to them and said, the Lord, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is gonna deliver us, they believed, they worshiped, but they weren't out yet. They needed to celebrate the Passover. They needed to make the sacrifice. They needed to paint the blood. They needed to keep their belts on and their shoes on and eat. They didn't just have to celebrate the Passover. They needed to actually go when the signal came to start walking. In Christ, our Passover has been sacrificed. That was chapter five. And so we are to celebrate the Passover. That is, Christ has been sacrificed. The sacrifice is made for us, but we have to walk. Walk out of our Egypt, out of our habits of sin, after our Lord Jesus. And the good news is that just as they did not earn their salvation, God did everything. They didn't do anything in Egypt. All they had to do was walk, but they did have to walk. All that we need to do. We don't do anything for our salvation either. You were washed. Passive. You were sanctified. Passive. You were justified. Passive. God did it all. But we need to walk. This is salvation by grace. Because it's explained in Romans, but it's everywhere present in 1 Corinthians. Here it is, salvation by grace alone. The very grace that we hang on to in the sinner's prayer is what's being preached here. You were washed and sanctified and justified. But that doesn't mean that we don't need to change. Israel had to change. They had to follow Moses. They went to Sinai, and they entered into covenant with God. And not only did God give them stone tablets, God had them stay there for a year as they made the proper box for the tablets, as they made the proper tent for the tablets, as they then placed a tabernacle in the center of the camp to say what is central to our being is our covenant with the Lord. In the same way, we are to follow Jesus as a covenant community with God in our midst. We also are to keep covenant and endure hardship. And you keep covenant by putting your sins to death. Because he says you were washed. Why? Well, to be clean. And certainly we know we get dirty again. But then we've rushed back to be washed again, that we may be clean. We're not to dive into the mud knowing what Jesus did for us to be washed. It says we were sanctified. Why? so that we would be sanctified, holy. We know that we sin, but given what Christ suffered for us, we go right back to him, seeking to be sanctified. We know with the Israelites that those who rebelled did not inherit the promised land. And that was to teach us what he says here. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. It's the same lesson. It's the basic truth everybody should know. That's why he introduces it by saying, do you not know? The phrase he uses 10 times in Corinthians, do you not know? And it's a little ironic because the Corinthians were very proud of what they knew and proud of the spiritual gifts. They thought they knew a lot. And Paul is saying, well, looking at how you act, I think there's a lot you don't know. Do you not know that some very basic things, that you are a temple, that you are God's temple, that the saints will judge the world, that your bodies are members of Christ, that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit, And here, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? So friend, pray the sinner's prayer, but then imitate the faithful Israelite and keep your feet moving, following not after Moses, but after Jesus. We're to endure hardship, knowing there's forgiveness for those who repent, but there's destruction for those who are characterized by their sin. And so what we see is that, Christian, you must guard yourself against greedy, grasping sins. Verses 9 and 10 give you a list of 10 terms, another link back to Sinai. If you're counting and you get nine, there's two terms behind men who practice homosexuality. So that's two, right? Gives you a total of 10 terms. And they're all sins of grabbing what's not yours to have. Notice he mentions idolatry. Trying to grab a sight of God, a sight of the divine in this present age. We have to walk by faith and not by sight. Trying to grab bodies that are not yours. He mentions sexual immorality, broad term. He mentions adultery, specific term. Married people not being faithful to the one they're married to. He mentions men who practice homosexuality. It's the wrong body. Grabbing what's not yours. And at this point the culture raises loud objections. How dare you condemn homosexuality? How dare you condemn people who are different from you? This is who God has made me to be. This is who I am. briefly answer different aspects to this. One, if somebody tells you the Bible barely talks about homosexuality, well, that's plainly wrong. It's right here. If you want a longer discussion, see Romans 1. So that's wrong. Anybody who tells you, the Bible doesn't really talk about it. Yes, it does. Number two, the Bible didn't know what it was talking about back then. Yeah, actually, he's writing in Greek to a Greek church in Greece, and the Greeks knew all about it, actually. It was well-known and well-understood back then. But third, the important one, this is who I am. A Christian needs to say, with all due respect, no. Our identity is not defined and centered around who we want to go to bed with. That is not the central element of our identity. Certainly it is not for Christians, because there's an important verse to know, 2 Corinthians 5.17, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, the new has come. And so Christians are to identify with Christ, not with our sin, because it says you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified. These things are in the past. I'm taking aim right now at those who would call themselves gay Christians. I want you to know that I'm a gay Christian. This is my identity now, I'm a gay Christian. And the trouble there is to say, this is not how to talk about this. Because Christians are to identify with Christ and not with sin, with our future and not with our past. And if someone says, I want you to know what I struggle with, okay, it's good to know your weak spots. But you want to know your weak spots in such a way as to be able to get beyond them, not to dig into them. And when you describe yourselves in terms that make your identity center on that, that's not going to make it easier for you to get over it. You're digging into it instead. We feel the sins of grasping what is not yours. an experience, a vision of God that's not yours, bodies that are not yours. And next, we have grabbing at things that are not yours. He mentions thieves, greedy, swindlers. He just talked about them going to law with each other, lawsuits, trying to grab money off of other people. Those who grab on to things of this world and defiance of God show that we are not content with our Heavenly Father and his provision for us. We think we need to grasp at more. Not to grab an experience that's not ours. Drunkards makes the list again. Somebody might say, I want that feeling that I get after so many drinks. I'd say, yeah. Scripture says, be sober-minded and on the alert. It says, be filled with the Spirit and not with wine. It's not the experience to be grabbing for. We're not to grab an honor that is not ours. We see revilers there who tear others down so that they might be built up themselves. These are all sins of grabbing, trying to hang on to things that are not ours. And we are to pray, Lord, give us this day our daily bread. And help me to be content with the things that you have given to us. Help me not to be grabbing for more. Because as he says, those who grab will not inherit the kingdom of God. He does not speak, of course, of those who fall down, but get back up again. Let's think again of the Israelites. We'll start with the literal. If you were following Moses and you tripped and you fell down, what were you supposed to do? Get back up and keep walking. Alright, so let's switch into the spiritual. If you were following Moses and you sinned, what were you supposed to do? There were sacrifices for sins. You bring your sin offering, you bring your burnt offering. And so what is now? There is forgiveness for those who repent. We speak of those who sin as well, those who are characterized by their sin. If you want to hang on to your sin, defend your sin, justify your sin, you're not following Jesus. You may have come out of Egypt, but Jesus is leading you in this direction, and you're walking in a different direction. Then we have the glorious 611. If you miss everything else, make sure that you get 611. It says, and such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Here we have our salvation. It comes to us through God's grace alone. Such were some of you. Some in that Corinthian church had been idolaters. Actually, everybody who wasn't Jewish, everybody else had been idolaters probably. They had been idolaters. And being idolaters, many of them had been sexually immoral. Some of them had been homosexual. Some of them had been swindlers. Some of them had been drunkards. Some of them had been three, four, five, or 10 of the things all at once. But God had saved them from that. He had washed them and sanctified them. And he does the same thing today. And that is the glorious and beautiful gospel that we have here. Understand how it works, in the name of the Lord Jesus, because he paid the price, he received the penalty, he removed the guilt. And by the Spirit of our God, because by the Spirit, the power of sin in our lives is broken, and we can and we shall walk a new life. Also, until the Spirit makes us alive and brings us to repentance and belief, that all that Jesus has accomplished is not yet ours. until the Spirit regenerates us, and we listen, and we repent, and we believe. Your salvation is near you today, no matter what your sins are. Just look at that list. It's quite a list. And there were people in that church who had come away from those sins because Jesus delivers from every kind of sin. Only don't think you can pray a prayer and then go on as you were before. Don't think you can say, well, I was washed, so I'll dive back into the mud. No, Israelites weren't saved if they stayed in Egypt. Israelites weren't saved if they stopped following Moses. Now, we need to walk with the king who has washed us. But you'll notice that there is an objection. As you hit verse 12, you see something that's a little surprising. You see quotation marks. And he's not quoting the Old Testament. There's no footnote at the bottom telling you that that's Psalm 110. So what are these quotation marks? All things are lawful for me. All things are lawful for me. Well, there were no quotation marks in ancient Greek. This is supplied by our translators, who, as they study the Greek very carefully for us, say, huh, he says this thing twice, but then he says but. Sounds like he doesn't exactly agree with it. And you only get that phrase in this letter. You get it again in 1023. It comes on back in 1023. All things are lawful, again in quotes. And then again, but. All things are lawful, but. So it's the judgment of the translators, which I will endorse, that this was their slogan. that they had a slogan, all things are lawful for me. And he's not telling them the slogan is all wrong. And he's not going to engage in a long essay describing how it's right and how it's wrong. He just says, you know what, that's not a good slogan. There's a sense in which all things are lawful, but here's how you need to be thinking. You need to be thinking about what is helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. Well, helpful in doing what? I find it helpful, somebody might say. What do you mean it's not helpful? The question is, well, what are we trying to achieve here? We have to remember that we are in a sinful world. We are in a spiritual wilderness. We need to keep covenant with our God. And so what helps us keep covenant and endure hardship? I can do whatever slogan is not helpful. That's not a helpful slogan. Just as the Israelites had to stick together and follow Moses, so we must stick together and follow Jesus. And so as we stick together and follow Jesus, a good question is not how far away over the sand dunes can I get from Moses before I'm lost? How far can I get from Jesus and still be connected? That is not a helpful question. That is not a boundary that you want to explore. That's not how you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. No, to be real, you ought to be saying, I have trouble loving God. I have trouble following Jesus. I have trouble walking by the Spirit. What will help me walk by the Spirit and follow my Lord? And when you're tempted, it's very helpful to replace the temptation with another thought. If you just sit there saying, I'm so tempted, I'm so tempted, I'm so tempted, yeah, that's not a good place, okay? Get out of the cycle and go do something useful. So the useful thing is to say, I want to inherit the kingdom of God, not earn, inherit. What will help me inherit? Staying in covenant with the Lord, enduring hardship. All right, what is helpful to me? What will help me endure this hardship? And the answer is, nothing that enslaves. That's what he goes second. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be enslaved by anything. Sin's enslave. That's always been true. And especially now, as our country takes the guardrails away and says, go on, smoke pot, Go on, gamble. Some of you will become addicted to gambling, but whatever. Go on, go on, says our culture. Go on, no guardrails anymore. And some of the smartest minds study brain chemistry and engage in what they call a race up the brainstem. The race up the brainstem is how do I make apps, phones, something that people turn to without even thinking about it? Whenever they have any kind of problem, let me just, I'm on my safe place. I'm on my social media, I'm on my phone, endless scrolling. What can get to you so that you're just on it? That's why they call it the attention economy. They want your attention, which is to say your mind, your life, almost your soul. Anything that enslaves you is not helping you. Follow Jesus through hardship. So whatever you turn to for relief, that is your rock and refuge, right? Whatever you turn to for relief, that is your master and lord, right? If it's not Christ, it is not helpful. All things are lawful for me. You can use all these things, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but you better be careful. Better not be enslaved by anything. And if somebody said, Paul, we learned this from you. You taught us that all things are lawful, Paul. You told us that Jesus is the end of the law for everyone who believes. You told us that the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. You taught us that the law is a tutor to bring us to Christ, and now we're done with that tutor. If anyone says, Paul, you taught us this. We just came up with a slogan to figure out what you were saying. He would say, you misunderstood me. And I think you know it. He'd say, look at the Israelites. They had to keep following the Lord Jesus. And so it is. You can say, look, the ceremonial law is wound up in Christ. The moral law endures forever. So what we see tonight is we need to follow the King who washed us. And if you have not yet believed in this King, then indeed, begin by praying a prayer in which you devote your life to Jesus. repenting of your sins. Sinner's prayer is a good starting point. Remember what you need to do. You need to see that the unrighteous do not inherit the kingdom of God. And so you must leave your sins as the Israelites left Egypt. You must go through the water of the Red Sea, that is, you must be baptized. You must enter into covenant with the Lord, with his people, that is, enter his church. You must be sustained on your way as they were sustained by the manna. So we are sustained by the Lord's Supper. And you to endure hardship as you say in covenant with the Lord Jesus, knowing that there is forgiveness for those who pray. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Jesus washes and sanctifies and justifies. And if you have believed in Jesus, remember the birth that you have been given. an amazing new birth, whatever age you got it. Do not squander what has been given to you. Do not let hold of what you are holding, so you can grasp of what is not yours and what will not satisfy. You must seek what is helpful. Seek the kingdom of God by walking with the King Jesus, the one who washed you. Let us pray. Help me, Father. Help us not to be deceived. Help us to look to you. Help us to focus our eyes on you, to be thankful. Thankful for what you have endured, what you have taken from us, and what you have given to us. Lord, help us to abide in the transfer that you have made. Help us not seek to turn it back in the other direction. We pray this in Jesus' name.