7 Minute Read
Prepare Your Heart
To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.
Read God’s Word
A Verse for Today
Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (CSB): “Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
I’ve heard 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 quoted as a biblical proof that people who practice homosexuality are not saved. After all, that passage says: “Do you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom?” And then it goes through a list of the types of people who are unrighteous. That list includes “males who have sex with males.” So, according to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, people who engage in ongoing acts of homosexuality cannot be saved.
But this is where so many of us Christians illustrate just how much we are like the Pharisees and unlike Jesus.
When we read the four Gospels and observe the Pharisees, we can see clearly how they looked down their self-righteous noses at “sinners” while engaging in their own sins. There are specific instances where they looked down on women with sinful reputations (Luke 7:39), tax collectors and other sinners (Luke 15:1-2), and people who had a physical calamity that the Pharisees assumed was caused by sin (John 9:34). Further, they looked down on Jesus, presuming Him to be a sinner (Matthew 9:10-11). They even looked down on people who didn’t have a theological education (John 7:49).
The Pharisees thought they had it all figured out. They identified people whom they observed (or presumed) had broken God’s laws, and they despised them for it. They hated the sin AND the sinner.
Yet, as we look at them, we can clearly see that they were either blind to their own sin of pride or pridefully refused to acknowledge it.
How seriously does God take the sin of pride, the sin that the Pharisees engaged in but overlooked?
Proverbs 16:5 (CSB): “Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”
1 Peter 5:5 (CSB): “In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”
So, the Pharisees identified people whom they deemed to be sinners (who were sinning differently than they were), and condemned them, all while being guilty of their own sin that God also despised.
We often do the same thing, don’t we? We see people sinning differently than us, and we hate the sin (and maybe even the sinner). And we do this while engaging in other sins that displease the Lord.
Yes, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 tells us that people who continually practice homosexuality are not saved because God’s Holy Spirit would not allow them to keep doing such a thing. However, those verses also indicate that there are numerous other sins that, if continually committed without any conviction or repentance, identify people who are not saved.
Read the following passages of Scripture to see the sort of sins that identify people who are not saved (“will not inherit God’s kingdom”). Be honest and humble enough to identify any sins on the list that may be one (or more) that you struggle with.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (CSB): Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.”
Galatians 5:19-21 (CSB): “Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. I am warning you about these things—as I warned you before—that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Ephesians 5:3-5 (CSB): “But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”
So, basically, no one can be saved, right? I guarantee that neither you nor I nor anyone else could look at the previous lists and accurately say that we have not engaged in any of those sins.
Do you know what that thought should do? Push us to the cross of Jesus. It should cause us to realize that apart from Jesus, we are guilty before a holy God. We have broken His laws and stand guilty and condemned. We need the forgiveness that can only be obtained by acknowledging our guilt and trusting in Jesus to make us right in the Father’s eyes.
Then, we should get about the business of “put(ting) to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13). Relying upon God’s Holy Spirit to help us, we must get rid of the sins that displease our God.
Is it true that homosexuals who engage in that sin, who have no conviction and do not repent, cannot be saved? Yes, that’s what the Bible says. But it is also true that people who commit the sin of greed, or anger, or selfishness, or causing discord are also on the “thou shalt not” list.
Simply put, WE ALL NEED JESUS! Homosexuals need Jesus! Greedy people need Jesus! People who get angry quickly need Jesus! People who are self-centered need Jesus!
So, let’s stop being Pharisees and looking down our noses at people who sin differently than we do. Let’s hate the sin (including our own sin) but love the sinner in Jesus’ Name. Everyone needs an opportunity to hear the Gospel that can save their soul for eternity. The blood of Jesus is so powerful that it can save anyone who has done anything.
But unbelievers are not drawn to Jesus when they see His followers looking down their self-righteous noses at “sinners,” while failing to acknowledge their own faults. Let’s see others as just what they are, people who sin differently than we do, who need the Jesus we have found.
Let’s stop being Pharisees and be more like Jesus, God’s Son, who spent much of His time with sinners so that He could tell them of a better way (Luke 5:29-32).
Spend Time in Prayer
- Ask God to help you hate sin like He does, first and foremost, your own sin.
- Ask God to give you a love for people who sin differently than you do.
- Ask God to give you the grace and courage to love sinners and share the good news of the Gospel with them.
Going Deeper
If you want to dig a little deeper into why Jesus enjoyed spending time with sinners, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:
Sharing
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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)
Matt’s Musings 