If you'd like to follow along,
I'll be in 1 Corinthians chapter six, and I wanna read verses
nine through 11. Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. Neither fornicators, nor adulterers,
nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And bless
God, here's the next verse. And such were some of you, but
ye are washed but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. I'm gonna
stop right there. My title is Such Were Some of
You. Go figure, huh? I'm not gonna
keep you long, but here's the point. Such were some of you. And before that verse, in verses
nine and 10, we have what I call a litany. A litany. Now all a litany is, is a long
list. But I can tell you something
about this list. It's got fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, effeminate,
et cetera. But this is only a partial description. There's much, much more. But
that we were, that we were. Because there's some people who
can go down that list, well, I never did that, I never did that, I
never did that. Yes, but you did something else. Because here's
the thing, okay? The unrighteous are unrighteous. How they manifest their unrighteousness
is not the concern. The concern is they will. manifest
their unrighteousness. And such were some of you. That's
where we did. That's where we lived at one
time. Now, let's be clear. We may do some of these things
still. Because as Earl used to say, I was depraved, I am depraved,
and I'll be depraved until I awaken his likeness. But here's the
thing, we believers are not unrighteous anymore. And that is by the declaration
of God. We'll get into that. But I can
tell you this for sure is not a list because you know one thing
they left off this list, Walter? I was looking for it, and it's
not there necessarily. It's included in something, but
it doesn't say anything about all liars who are gonna have
their place in the lake of fire. That's left out. But here's what
I said. What we do shows what we are. And that was Paul's point here.
talking about the unrighteous. We were all unrighteous, such
were some of you. But listen, folks. It says these
shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Some shall inherit the
kingdom of God. Some shall. Oh, I like that. But he says this. And such were
some of you. Nevertheless, you are washed. But, you are washed. You are washed. And I'm gonna
tell you something, this means washed fully. Washed completely. And here it is, by implication,
the word means that you are clean. I like that, I like that. Mmm Those that are washed are clean
David tells us in Psalm 51 verse 2 wash me thoroughly from mine
iniquity and Cleanse me from my sin That's David crying unto
the Lord You understand? To be washed is to be cleansed
of my sin. David said, against thee and
against thee only have I sinned. Sin is against God. Now it may
be against man also, but that's not the point. We need to be
washed. We need to be washed. Why? Because
of our sins. We need to be cleansed because
we have sin and we have sins to be washed, to be cleansed. Then Davis tells us again about
being washed in verse seven, same Psalm 51, purge me with
hyssop and I shall be clean. Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow. washed, cleansed, whiter than
snow, cleansed of my sin. What? In God's sight, no sin. No sin. Because here's the thing,
folks. His sight is the only sight that
matters. Now, I'll see my faults, I'll
see my failings. I won't see all of them. Some people can
point them out to me and have in times past. You know, I can
be what's known as a smart ass. Forget my language, but it's
true. I often refer them back to the fact, well, if you're
looking for the dumb one, you gotta go somewhere else, but
it's not here or there. But I have my faults and my failures.
Not in God's sight if he has washed you. You are whiter than
snow, purer, purer, Oh, I like that, cleansed, washed. And we're
cleansed because, and it says it, you are washed. But you are washed. The next
one it says is you are justified. Oh my, I'm sorry, you are sanctified. To look that up, it says to set
apart unto holiness. It actually says in the Hebrew
to be Holy, that's what it says. Well, I talked about this a couple
weeks ago. Hebrews 2 and verse 11. For both
he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one,
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. And then
in Hebrews 10, verse 10. By the which will we are sanctified.
We're set apart, we're made holy. through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once. Now, you don't offer the body
of Christ to be sanctified. He offered it to God. He offered
himself to God. That's the offering we're talking
about. Not in the heavenlies, not in the holy places made with
hands. That's where that offering took
place and that's where we are sanctified. And of course in
verse 14 says this, for by one offering, that very same offering,
the only offering made once, for by one offering he hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. And ye are sanctified. You didn't
do it, but you're sanctified. Oh, I like that. Because it tells
us, for both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified.
He sets apart, we're set apart. He makes holy, and we are holy. Don't feel it, sometimes I don't
believe it, or act like I don't believe it, but I am in Christ
Jesus. Oh, I like that. Because I like
those words in Hebrews where it says he, they. And then he
says, he, them, what? He that's sanctified, they're
sanctified. By the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of his body, and he's perfected forever, he's
perfected forever, them that are sanctified. And folks, this
is all the same people. He and they. It's the Lord Jesus
Christ, and it's all of his people. He has sanctified. Oh, I like
that. And he has perfected forever
them that are sanctified. That, he sanctified. Oh, I like that, I do. He sanctifies,
they're sanctified, and then we look, it says what? You're
washed, you're sanctified, and here's the other one. You're
justified. Like I said, I'm not gonna keep
you long. Y'all know most of this anyway. And I got nothing
new. But he says it, you are justified. What's that mean? That means
you, this is hard to believe folks, you are made righteous. That's what it means, justified. You understand, you know, there's
a lot of people say, well, it's justified, never sinned. Well,
that part is true, but that ain't all. This says you're made righteous. So not only have you not sinned,
you've done all the right things. Oh, that was to make justification
glorious right there, folks. You know, because we're dumb
enough to think that we cannot do the bad things. But I'm not
dumb enough to think I can do all the good things. I still remember decades ago,
Henry Mahan was talking about the Ten Commandments, and he
said, Christ boiled it down to two. He says, love the God with
all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor
as yourself. Now, he said this, and I still
remember this, and I hope I'll remember it to my dying day.
If you can get past the first part of that, loving God with
all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, then we can talk about
loving your neighbor as yourself. But you can't do it. There was
only one who did it, and he's seated at the right hand of the
majesty on high right now. He's the only one who ever has
loved God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength. And here's the thing about that
neighbor part, and what he said was, God doesn't command you
to love your neighbor. He commands you to love your
neighbor as yourself. There's a whole world of difference between
those two phrases. And I can't really do either,
most of the time. Oh my, I'm gonna tell you something
though, but you are made righteous. You are made righteous. Every
believer was made righteous and now are righteous. Jesus Christ is made unto us
wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Oh my, he's our righteousness. He's our righteousness. Not by
the works of the law. Walter covered that ably. By
the works of the law is no flesh justified, but every believer
is justified. What's that mean? Well, not by
the works of the law. You don't get justified, you
don't keep justified by the works of the law, period. If you got
a problem with that, it's your problem. That's what the book
says. Romans 3 and 24 says this. Being
justified freely. Oh, I need that. I need the free
part. Freely by his grace. But not without price, folks.
Not without price. Through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus. Romans five and nine says this.
Much more than being now justified, what? By his blood. by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him. Why would it say
justified by his blood? Well, because we're justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus. There's no redemption without
his blood. But with his blood, oh folks, this is glorious, there
is redemption. With his blood, there is redemption. Oh, I like that. Every believer
is made righteous, justified by his grace, through his redemption. And his redemption is by his
blood. By his blood. Shed, wait a minute, once. Shed once. And only once. And we are saved from wrath. He says in John six a few times,
and I'll raise them up again at the last day. What's that
mean? It means that the last day, he's
gonna raise up his people. Who are they? Those that are
washed, those that are sanctified, and those that are justified.
Oh, I like that, I do. His redemption is by his blood
shed once. And his redemption, I love these
words. Two adjectives that are used
in the scriptures for redemption. One of them is plenteous. There's
plenty of it. There's plenty of it. Plenteous
redemption. And the other one is eternal. Eternal redemption. Oh my. And we have eternal redemption
through His blood. And ye are justified. Justified. Oh, I like that. So. This is the condition of every
single child of God, every believer whom God has revealed himself
to you. I've been listening to Isaiah 53 recordings of Earl's. And it starts off in verse one.
Isaiah wrote, who has believed our report? And Paul tells us
in Romans, that's the gospel. He said, Isaiah said, not everybody's
believed the gospel. And that's true. But in that
verse, it says, who hath believed our report? Who hath believed
our gospel? The good news, what? To whom is the arm of the Lord,
what? Revealed, shown, made manifest. Oh, I like that, I do. Oh, my. And you were, such were some
of you, but ye are washed, ye are sanctified, but ye are justified. Now here it is, folks, how? In the name of the Lord Jesus
and by the Spirit of God. Oh, I like that. That's our condition. You're washed, you're justified,
you're sanctified, and let's be very clear, not in yourself. Not by yourself. Matter of fact,
we didn't even help. Oh. Because here the thing is,
the believer does not do these things yet. They're done. They are done. In the name of the Lord Jesus
and by the spirit of God. Oh, I like that too. The spirit
of our God. Oh, I like that. Here it is. You did not wash yourself. You did not, we did not sanctify
ourselves. And we did not justify ourselves.
It is the spirit of God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matter of fact, by the spirit of God. the spirit of our God,
by him. Jesus Christ said it, what? I am the way, the truth, and
the life. What did he say then? No man
cometh to the Father, and here he is folks, but by me. I'm gonna tell you something
folks, washing, Sanctification and justification are the work
of God, by the Spirit of our God. In the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who shed his blood for us once, once and once only. Oh, I like that. He washed, he
sanctified, he justified in the name of Christ by his grace and
his blood. in Jesus Christ by the Spirit
of God. Oh, I like that. You are washed,
you are sanctified, and you are justified. And here
it is, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God, here
it is, folks, such were some of you. that whole litany there
and everything else besides. Such were some of you. Why? By the spirit of our God. Oh,
I like that. This is the work of God. They
are done to the elect, and they are done in this singular way.
Here it is, in the name of the Lord Jesus, we are washed. In the name of the Lord Jesus,
we are sanctified. And in the name of the Lord Jesus,
we are justified. Justified, oh. And how were these things done?
Says it, by the spirit of our God. By the Holy Spirit of God. Now, I wanna point out something
here. When I was doing this, looking
this up, this is the thing that really kind of caught me. Because it's kind of strange.
Because you look and it says, and such were some of you. It
does say that, and it's in the past tense. It's in the past
tense. Then he says this, but ye are
washed. But ye are sanctified. But ye are justified. And what hit me is you can look
at some other translations. It will say this, it will say,
ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified. But what
it says, the word washed is in the past tense, but the word
are is in the present tense. Ain't that good? Yeah, that's
exactly it. You were washed, but here's the
thing, what Paul's writing here is you are washed. Oh my, we were sanctified and
yet we are sanctified now, right now. And you were justified and
you are justified. Oh, I like that. When I read
that, I mean, you know, but it just seems a little strange.
You got the past tense and present tense right there, word by word,
side by side. And I checked, and I looked at
this, because I was looking for this one piece of scripture,
and I found it. This is Ecclesiastes 3 and 14. It says this, I know
that whatsoever God doeth, what? It shall be forever. Oh, I like
that, I like that. Nothing can be put to it, nor
anything taken from it. And God does it, God doeth it. Why? That men should fear before
him. Ye are sanctified past him. Ye are justified, past tense. Ye are washed, past tense. And
you still are. God does it is forever. God does
it is forever. And that's the whole point and
the whole problem with religion today. They don't think God does
it. Now, I don't know if they go
around saying, well, you're now unsanctified. I don't know. I
have no idea. I'm not listening to them. But
here's the thing. If God washed you, If God sanctified
you, if God justified you, you are justified. Because God did
it, it's forever. He's the Lord, he changes not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. Because here's the thing, we're
not perfect. We still maybe might steal something
from the office. We might covet something. Jesus Christ started out his
quotation about sin with evil thoughts. Oh, and I'm guilty of those.
And you are too, whether you admit it or not. But here's the
thing. You are washed. You are sanctified. He are justified by the Spirit
of God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, I like that. Oh, I like that. That's the condition
of every child of God in Christ Jesus. Then Paul tells us, I'll just
throw this in at the end, the position of every child of
God. First Corinthians 6.15, know ye not that your bodies
are the members of Christ? You are the members of Christ. Verse 19, know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not your own? Verse 20, for ye are bought with
a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, what? Which are God's. So you're a member of Christ,
you're not your own, you're bought with a price, and you are God's
possession. I like that. Like I said, some will inherit
the kingdom of God. But here's the thing, only in
the Lord Jesus Christ. In him, we're in his kingdom. In him. You understand, we belong
to God. The word, our Lord Jesus Christ
bought us. Purchased us and that is in the
past tense There was a price paid and he paid it And you are what washed sanctified
and justified I like that Such were some of you and then that
word but What happened What's the difference? between you and
the unrighteous. That one little word there, but.
You are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus by the spirit of our God. Oh, I like that. We were Christ's purchased possession
and we are Christ's purchased possession and he is gonna raise
us up at the last day. Oh, in him by his spirit you
are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified, you are members,
you're not your own, you're bought with a price, and you are God's. You belong to God. I found this hymn by a fellow
named John Kent. This is Gatsby's Hymns number
1094. It says, ye souls redeemed by
Jesus's blood, salvation's theme pursue. Exalt the sovereign grace
of God, for such were some of you. From head to foot, defiled
by sin, deep in rebellion too, this awful state mankind are
in, and such were some of you. Whilst they are sinners dead
to God, ye highly favored few are washed from sin by Jesus'
blood, for such were some of you. As ye are chosen from the
rest, to grace the praise is due, be sovereign love forever
blessed, for such were some of you. I wish I wrote that. I like that. That's what it is,
folks. You understand? This is where
we were, and here's where we are. And we owe it all to the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it is performed by his spirit,
the Holy Spirit of God. Oh my. And you understand, like
it says, if God does it, it's forever. It's forever. And I'm telling you, this part's
also forever. Such were some of you. It's important to know
where you've been. It's better, I think, to know
where you are. But it's important to know, to
remember the pit from which you are digged. We are. Don't get boastful, don't get
proud in and of yourself because you didn't do any of it. None
of the good stuff did I do. It's all of Him. It's all of
Him. And it always shall be all of Him. Heavenly Father, we're thankful
today for this place, this gathering, this assembly of people who want
to hear your word. and to hear your word proclaimed
in truth of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, the work of the
Holy Spirit, the work of the Father yourself. Lord, teach
us and we shall be taught. Give us hearing ears, seeing
eye, and a heart to understand your word. And we'll give you
all the honor and the praise and the glory because it is yours
now and forever. In Christ's name, amen.