This is important and tough as we grow to understand what God desires. The church in Corinth was allowing things in the church that were sinful and that would have always left that door open if nothing was done. People see the trends and think that certain things are ok because some people are doing them and it can be very confusing to people at different points of their maturity in their walk with Christ. After we accept Jesus Christ and know it in our hearts we are new creations what drove us before should be gone and we should now be driven by the Spirit in us.
We can keep saying (we’re all sinners saved by grace) or we can say, Jesus help me live as the new creation that I am and help me forget the old me that lived for myself. These next statements by Paul are serious and are very true. In chapter 6 verses 9-10 they say, “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, or are abusive, or cheat people – none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.”
This is a long list of things and what most people struggle with, but we are done with our old lives when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. These are all things that are selfish and there to glorify our own flesh, but we are called to use the Holy Spirit and go to Christ when we are weak. When Jesus was tempted He went to scripture and we are supposed to resemble Christ in all we do.
Look at verse 11 which says, “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.” We need to remember that we are holy because of Jesus and we can say, “no” to any worldly desires because the Spirit in us will warn us and give us a way out. The next key thing in that list of sins is the word “indulge” which means: “To allow oneself to follow one’s will. Or to yield to, satisfy, or gratify our desires, feelings etc.” This is the opposite of what Jesus showed us when He lived on earth.
When we mature and learn who Christ is and what He did we should also be dying to ourselves and seeking more and more wisdom from God. In chapter 6 at the end of verse 19 and all of 20 it says, “…You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” We need to ask ourselves why we want to do some things and then remember if our answer is just about us we shouldn’t do it. We have received eternal life because of Jesus and we are blessed to be called His brothers and sisters. Amen