Such Were Some of You

Day 222: 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

“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.” - 1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

Our desires, or our temptations/inclinations, don’t have to define us. Paul, in this chapter, isn't condemning occasional mishaps and mistakes. With clarity, he is saying that there are lifestyles that are not conducive to preparing us for heaven—in fact, these lifestyles show that we would  rather be in Hell than do things His way.

This is not to discount the ferocity of the temptations that come with these ten lifestyles mentioned in verses 9-10. The struggle is real and cannot be dismissed as being easy to overcome.

Yet, as Ben Witherington wrote so well, “Paul believes that God can give Christians enough power to resist sinful desires, even if they continue to have them.”

There is no shame in the temptations that come at us. Jesus was Himself tempted (Matthew 4:1-11). But we have to decide who we want to be.

If we want to “belong to Christ,” we, in essence, admit that God knows the best way for us to use our bodies. Jesus desires for everyone on earth to be washed (from sin), sanctified (set apart as holy), and justified (declared not guilty).

The most encouraging thing about this passage is that Paul was writing to real people in Corinth who had, by the power of the Holy Spirit, walked away from these lifestyles in order to follow Jesus. This kind of change is possible.

The choice is ours.