Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11
The other day I had to send my sweet little nephew Owen to timeout for a whole five minutes. He was not very happy. After his time was up, I told him he could come out of timeout and play. I expected him to be happy, but he was still sad. He thought I was mad at him, and instead, he wanted to stay in his room by himself and be sad. After a little while, I finally convinced him that I was not mad at him, and he was forgiven for breaking the rules. Owen’s continued pity party reminded me that we all act like him sometimes. God has forgiven us, but we continue living like we are still in sin. This affects our identity and the way we live our lives. It also impacts our relationship with God and the impact we have for Christ. This is no way to live. Instead of living this way, Scripture teaches that Christ-followers are to accept God’s forgiveness and live like we have been forgiven.
Throughout much of his writing, the apostle Paul spent a lot of time teaching readers about God’s forgiveness. One of the places he talked about this was in 1 Corinthians 6. In this chapter, he told readers that the people who “do wrong” are not a part of God’s kingdom (verse 9). These people Paul was talking about here were people living lives apart from Christ who did not turn to Him and repent from their sins. As he talked about this, he said, “some of you were once like that” (verse 11). His sentence continued with a small but life-changing word, “but.” He wrote, “But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (verse 11). Paul wanted His readers to know that after they had given their lives to Christ, they were forgiven. Their old life of sin no longer defined them, but instead, they were cleansed because of the death, burial, and resurrection. They were made right with Christ when they gave their lives to Him. This means they no longer need to feel defined by their past and sin. God had cleansed them of that sin and given them new life. As a result, they did not need to live like they were defined by sin anymore.
My friend, if you have placed your life in Jesus, you are no longer defined by your past. You “were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God.” Living in the past, dwelling on sin and past mistakes is no way to live, and it will hold you back. Commit today to accept God’s forgiveness and live as someone who has been forgiven.
Pull out your journal or a notebook and reflect on God’s forgiveness. Have you been living focusing on your sin, believing that your past and your mistakes define you? Or have you accepted God’s forgiveness? If you have been stuck believing that your sins and your mistakes define you, will you commit today to live like you believe that God has forgiven you? Pay attention to how this belief impacts how you view yourself and how you go about your day today. My friend, when we commit our lives to Jesus and confess our sins to Him, we are forgiven. We are wiped clean. It is time we live like it.
1 Corinthians 6:1-11 (NLT)
When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers! 2 Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? 3 Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. 4 If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? 5 I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? 6 But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers!
7 Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers.
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. 11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
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