WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:07.000 We're going to be looking at verses 9 through 11. 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:15.000 And as you open it up, I know many of us struggle with assurance. 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:25.000 Many of us struggle with sin, and the sin that we struggle with leads to us doubting our salvation at times. 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:30.000 It causes us to wonder if we truly are a Christian. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:39.000 Can we be a Christian, we think, if we struggle with some of the same sins day after day and month after month, and maybe even year after year? 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:43.000 Who of us have conquered pride? 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.000 I know I haven't conquered that. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:51.000 Who of us have conquered all the imperfections of the flesh? 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:59.000 Who of us can live in the Spirit or live in the Spirit and have the fruits of the Spirit constantly and continuously? 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:14.000 We see ourselves struggling with the works of the flesh on a daily basis, and it's discouraging to us, and that discouragement leads us to despair, and that despair leads us to wonder if we're truly born again at all. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:28.000 And so Paul has a word for us in this passage, and he's addressing those Corinthians who we talked about last time we preached here that were in the midst of defrauding one another. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:41.000 So he's addressing those who were taking advantage of each other and taking each other to court, and he says you should rather be willingly to be defrauded, but rather you're defrauding each other. 00:01:41.000 --> 00:02:08.000 And after he labels these Christians as defrauders, and earlier in chapter four he called them carnal Christians, and after he says you're defrauding one another, he gives them a word, and the word he gives them is a soft word of rebuke or a soft word of warning, but then ends with a great word of comfort. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:33.000 And so if you're struggling with sin, as we all are, and you're struggling maybe even with assurance and wondering how you, maybe the weakest Christian, could be saved with such struggles that you're dealing with on a regular and daily basis, we see here we have a soft word of warning and a great word of comfort. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.000 Read with me in verse nine. 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:41.000 "O do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:57.000 Do not be deceived, neither the sexual immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:18.000 And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God." So what he does to these Corinthians, after he says you're defrauding one another, he gives them a soft, gentle word of warning. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.000 We see that in verses nine through ten. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.000 No doubt what they were doing was very grievous. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:37.000 We see that in verses seven and eight, that verse eight says,"Make you yourselves wrong and defraud, even your own brothers." And this is a shameful thing to be doing. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:42.000 And it appears that as Paul was writing this letter, they were in the midst of doing that. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:53.000 "Here you are today, and it's easy for us to say,'Yeah, I sinned yesterday, but today I'm all clean and clear.' But what if you're here today and you want to take the Lord's supper, but you're in the middle of some sin? 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.000 You're not even yet repentant. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:57.000 You're not yet returned from that. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:18.000 You're in the middle of some cheating on your taxes, or you're doing something you're conscious says,'This is not right,' but you're still doing it, and you go, 'What do I do?''I am, I'm still living sinfully.' And so what Paul does, he gives us a warning. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:24.000 He gives us a warning indeed to be taken seriously. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.000 He says, "Do you not know? 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:29.000 I don't want you to be self-deceived. 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:43.000 Those who act in such a way will not inherit the kingdom of God." Look at verses nine, "Do not be deceived." And he gives a list of sinful activity, sinners who are identified by their sins. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:47.000 These types of sinners do not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:51.000 He gives us a basic syllogism. 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:54.000 A syllogism is three statements. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:59.000 It has a major premise, a minor premise, then a logical conclusion. 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:01.000 The major premise is this. 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.000 The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.000 The minor premise is you're defrauding one another. 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:11.000 You're acting unrighteously. 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.000 But it's left for us to kind of draw the conclusion. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:23.000 If the major premise is true, that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, the minor premise is that you're behaving unrighteously. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:26.000 What would be the logical conclusion? 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:28.000 Now, he doesn't draw that conclusion. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.000 He doesn't make that conclusion. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:32.000 He doesn't say you're going to go to hell. 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:37.000 It's just they're left for us to ponder. 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:39.000 And thus, this is a warning. 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:43.000 Gordon Fee says this is even a threat. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:06:07.000 It's repeated in Galatians 5, 19, where Paul says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, sexual immorality, impurities, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, divisiveness, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and these like things I warn you. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:23.000 I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." So evidently, this is a warning to us if we're living in habitual sin. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.000 I mean, we need to be careful. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:30.000 Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly a Christian. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:47.000 Not everyone, Jesus says, "Lord, Lord, will inherit the kingdom of God." I mean, one of the most awful, terrifying statements would be hearing the Lord Jesus on the day of judgment depart from me. 00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:48.000 So wait a minute. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:57.000 I've done this and I went to church and I homeschooled my children and I did all these wonderful things and the Lord says, "Wait, wait, depart from me. 00:06:57.000 --> 00:07:01.000 I never really knew you. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:08.000 Depart from me, you workers of iniquity." That's a scary warning. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:18.000 And we need to take heed because there are some, maybe even among us, who claim to be Christians, but there's no change of their lives. 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:20.000 They're still living in their sins. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:26.000 And Paul says, "No, don't be deceived. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:35.000 Such people do not inherit the kingdom of God." And Paul says, "No, don't be deceived. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:44.000 Such people do not inherit the kingdom of God." And Paul says, "No, don't be deceived. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:52.000 Such people do not inherit the kingdom of God." We need to take heed. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.000 You know, salvation is not just a ticket to heaven. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:01.000 Salvation is a deliverance from sin. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:06.000 It's the salvation is a deliverance from the power of iniquity. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:10.000 You're saved from that old nature. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:13.000 And thus we need to make sure our calling and election. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:17.000 We do need to examine ourselves if we're living in habitual sin. 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:20.000 There's no doubt about that. 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:28.000 You do need to evaluate if you're living adulterous lifestyle. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:33.000 And we need to make our calling, election sure, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:36.000 There's a warning here. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:41.000 But we're not left without hope. 00:08:41.000 --> 00:09:08.000 Psalm 51 verse 1 says, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your steadfast love, according to your abundant mercy, blot out my transgression, wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins." If you're here and maybe you're not a Christian and you're wondering, well, maybe I made a profession of faith but you haven't had a life-changing revolution. 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.000 There's been no power over your sins. 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:13.000 Well, what do you do? 00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:19.000 The Bible tells us to confess our sins, repent from them, come to Christ and you will be forgiven. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:28.000 And not only forgiven of all unrighteousness, according to 1 John 1.9, you'll be transformed. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:35.000 Psalm 32, do as the psalmist did in verse 5,"I acknowledge my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity. 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:40.000 I said I will confess my transgression to the Lord, and you will forgive the iniquity of my sin. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:43.000 So I have good news for you if this is your state. 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:47.000 Maybe you're unconverted in living in sin, but you may have a profession of faith. 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:48.000 What do I do? 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:53.000 Well, come to Christ and you'll be forgiven of all your iniquities. 00:09:53.000 --> 00:10:06.000 You'll be made new." So this is indeed a word of warning, but what's amazing about this text, it's a soft word of warning with a great word of comfort. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:24.000 He's addressing these carnal Christians, if you would, in Corinth who were in the midst of defrauding one another, but he did not draw the conclusion, the natural conclusion that they would not inherit the kingdom of God, but rather he draws the opposite conclusion. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:27.000 He reaffirms their salvation. 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:33.000 He assures them, even in the midst of their sin, that they were still of the Lord. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:40.000 And this is where we need to take great comfort this morning because of all of us, we fail and we stumble. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:52.000 And if we were going to be saved by our own ability to live above the sinful nature and our own ability to be perfect, none of us would stand. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:11:12.000 We'd constantly do this self-evaluation of ourselves and say,"Well, am I a Christian based simply upon my works of righteousness?" All would cause us to fall into great despair and leave us empty feeling because we stumble in so many ways. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.000 Yes, it's a soft word of warning and that is needed. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:18.000 The Corinthians needed to hear that. 00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:21.000 They didn't need to be deceived or presumptuous. 00:11:21.000 --> 00:11:24.000 But Paul doesn't leave them with a warning. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:29.000 He turns around and ends with this great word of comfort. 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:33.000 Again, the major premise is that unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:11:33.000 --> 00:11:37.000 The minor premise is you're behaving unrighteously. 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:43.000 But the conclusion is you're a righteous. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:46.000 You are going to inherit the kingdom of God. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:48.000 Look at verse 11. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:51.000 Here's his conclusion to his syllogism. 00:11:51.000 --> 00:11:55.000 It's amazing and such were some of you. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:57.000 But you were washed. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:58.000 You were sanctified. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:04.000 You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:07.000 How can this be? 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.000 This doesn't seem logical at all. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:17.000 Though you are defrauding one another, you are no longer identified as defrauders. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:22.000 You may be defrauding, but you're not defrauders. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:23.000 Wow. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:27.000 You may sin, but you're not a sinner. 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:34.000 You may commit lust in your heart, but you're not an adulterer. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:39.000 If you're a Christian, you're not identified any longer by your sin. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.000 You're not identified by your past sins. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.000 And let me give you encouragement. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:49.000 You're not identified by your present sins. 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:53.000 No longer are you what you used to be. 00:12:53.000 --> 00:12:57.000 No longer are you identified by iniquity. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.000 Now don't misunderstand me. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.000 This word of comfort is not permission to sin. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:09.000 It's not that we have freedom to sin that grace may abound. 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:14.000 But thankfully, our identity is in Christ Jesus. 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:22.000 Our identity is not in our failures and our weaknesses and our stumblings. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:28.000 Our identity is not in where we fell and we fell often miserably. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:32.000 That's not who we are anymore. 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:33.000 We struggle with sin. 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:34.000 Yes, we do. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:38.000 We still have the weakness of the flesh that tempt us. 00:13:38.000 --> 00:13:43.000 Our remaining corruptions, as our confession says, is still present in our lives. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:45.000 We haven't yet been glorified. 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:47.000 We're still struggling. 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:55.000 But our identity is not in our failures. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:14:00.000 You see, verse 11, this is not us. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.000 Yes, you're defrauding one another, but this doesn't mark your identity. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.000 You're no longer sexually immoral. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:09.000 You're not a idolater anymore. 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:10.000 You commit idolatry. 00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:15.000 Yes, we all have committed adultery this week, probably. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:22.000 We've more likely loved this world in a way and cuffed it, which both of these things, the Bible calls idolatry. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.000 We've done that today. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:26.000 Have you committed idolatry this week? 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:27.000 Raise your hand. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:29.000 Raise your left hand. 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:30.000 Not your right one. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:32.000 Raise your hand. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:33.000 It's true. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:34.000 You have. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:35.000 But are you idolater? 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:37.000 No, you're not idolater anymore. 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:40.000 You're a worshipper of the living God. 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:43.000 You're no longer a homosexual or a thief. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:47.000 You're no longer a greedy person or a drunkard or a reviler or a swindler. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:48.000 This is not your nature anymore. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:49.000 This is not who you are. 00:14:49.000 --> 00:14:52.000 This is not your identity. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:15:02.000 We may struggle with some sins and many sins and grievous sins, but we don't live in these sins and practice them any longer. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:06.000 We no longer identify with these sins. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.000 This is why it says such were some of you. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:11.000 What has happened? 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:12.000 You've been transformed. 00:15:12.000 --> 00:15:14.000 You've been washed. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:15.000 We see that in verse 11. 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:17.000 You but you were worse. 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:25.000 See, the problem with unbelievers, the unconverted, is that they cannot change their sinful behavior by trying. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:35.000 This is not like unbelievers can become a Christian by just working salvation within and changing their habits and learning to put bad habits aside and learning to do good habits. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.000 And if you practice long enough, you'll start being a better and better person. 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:42.000 You can't undo your nature. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:49.000 Jeremiah 1323 says the Ethiopian cannot change his skin and the leopard his spots. 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:54.000 Then you also doing can do good who was accustomed to do evil. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:16:02.000 If you're unconverted, you cannot slowly merge into a Christian by doing good things. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:07.000 The problem is deep down your true identity, your true nature is evil. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:22.000 That is, if you're unconverted, if you open up a sinner, put a sinner through an MRI and look at the inner being of the sinner, you would see sin through and through. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:26.000 How do you wash dirt off of dirt? 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:29.000 How do you clean dirt? 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:32.000 You can't cleanse dirt. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:39.000 If you took all the dirtiness off of dirt, you would no longer have anything left. 00:16:39.000 --> 00:16:43.000 You see, you can't take a sinner and remove all the sin and clean all the sin away. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:47.000 It's because the sinners are sinners within. 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:48.000 That's their very makeup. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:49.000 That's their nature. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:50.000 They're depraved. 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.000 They're totally depraved. 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:53.000 And that's what we was. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:59.000 We were sinners through and through, and we didn't transform ourselves by our good behavior. 00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:02.000 What happened? We were cleansed. 00:17:02.000 --> 00:17:06.000 We were washed by the blood of Jesus Christ. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:11.000 You see, the washing of regeneration is not just that external cleansing of the flesh. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:20.000 It wasn't just an outward bath that left the conscious dirty and the soul filthy within. 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:30.000 You know, the washing of regeneration is a cleansing by giving us a brand new nature. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:37.000 Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, so from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:42.000 Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do not any longer. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:47.000 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:50.000 The old has passed away. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:53.000 That is, the sinful nature has been done away with. 00:17:53.000 --> 00:17:56.000 Behold, the new has come. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.000 All things have been made new. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:02.000 If you're a believer, you're a new creation in Christ Jesus. 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:05.000 You've been cleansed from within. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:07.000 You haven't been patched up. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.000 You've been converted. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:13.000 You haven't been just tweaked a little bit. 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:15.000 You've been renewed. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:18.000 You've been born at a fresh. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:21.000 You've been washed from the inside out. 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:22.000 He's equal. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:27.000 Thirty six tells us, then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:31.000 I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.000 This is what salvation is. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:38.000 It's a cleansing of the soul. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:44.000 Not by us working ourselves into this position, but it's by the blood, the precious blood of Jesus. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:51.000 And by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, Titus three five says, not by works of righteousness, which we have done. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:19:01.000 But according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:03.000 I know you may think, well, Jeff, you don't know me. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.000 I'm a sinner. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:07.000 No, don't identify yourself as a sinner. 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:11.000 That's not who you are any longer. 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:14.000 You have been washed. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.000 And you've been washed in two ways. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:23.000 We see in our text war on your nature has been changed in what we call positional sanctification. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:29.000 And to your debt has been cleansed in what we call justification. 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:32.000 So this washing takes care of that old nature. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:37.000 And you've been, as we see in verse 11, you have been sanctified. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:50.000 And I think this past tense sanctification here is talking about positional sanctification, not the progressive sanctification that we partner with the grace of God. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:55.000 And we grow more and more in the image of Christ that more we mature in the faith. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:02.000 And we need progressive sanctification, but he's not talking about the progressive sanctification that we're all working on and progressing toward. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.000 I think these Corinthians here are new Christians or conor Christians. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.000 They haven't progressed very far in the Christian life. 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.000 They're very immature Christians that he's addressing. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:18.000 But even these immature Christians are still past tense, perfectly sanctified in Christ Jesus. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:23.000 Even they are addressed as saints, holy ones of God. 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:32.000 And this positional sanctification gives us a holy and a new nature that becomes a slave to righteousness. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:43.000 Roman six six tells us we know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 00:20:43.000 --> 00:20:45.000 This is wonderful news. 00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:48.000 You may sin, but you're not a slave to it. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.000 You may fall, but this is not something you're bound to. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:21:05.000 Verse 17 of chapter six, but thanks be to God that you were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to the which you were committed and having been set free from sin. 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:10.000 You have now become slaves of righteousness. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.000 Your real nature. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:16.000 It is a matter of you're the weakest Christian in the room. 00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:19.000 The one who stumbles the most among us. 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:26.000 Your true nature is a nature that's enslaved and captivated to righteousness. 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:30.000 You see, your sin does not define you any longer. 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.000 One, you're not a slave to it. 00:21:33.000 --> 00:21:40.000 And therefore the Bible tells us in Romans that were to the old King James version says reckon ourselves dead to sin. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.000 We're to consider ourselves dead to sin. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:47.000 It begins with identifying ourselves with our true nature. 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:52.000 And this is not us pretending like we're righteous and hopefully we're righteous. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:56.000 No, this is something the Bible tells is true about us. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:59.000 This is a true reality about you. 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:02.000 You may have a hard time believing that, but it's true. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:05.000 You're a righteous man of God. 00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:15.000 Positionally been transformed a new and your progressive sanctification must work itself out of that positional sanctification. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:18.000 You must work out with faith. 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:19.000 And what do you believe? 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:22.000 You believe what God says is true about you. 00:22:22.000 --> 00:22:28.000 You know, you can see a teacher having a young kid and saying, you're stupid. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.000 You're still never going to learn this. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:32.000 You can't figure this out. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:36.000 You don't know what you're doing. 00:22:36.000 --> 00:22:38.000 And the kid begins to believe, I'm stupid. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.000 I can't do this. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.000 Maybe the kid is not stupid. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:44.000 Maybe the kid is very smart and intelligent. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.000 He's just having a hard time figuring out the equation. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:54.000 Maybe you can get the answer wrong, but you're actually smart. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:59.000 Maybe you can figure this out. 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:04.000 You see, you must first believe that you're free from sin. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:07.000 You must believe what the Bible says is true about you. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:11.000 So what you know, this idea is like, well, I'm just I'm enslaved to this. 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:18.000 You know, A. A. Tells us that if you're an alcoholic, if you were ever an alcoholic, you're always an alcoholic. 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:20.000 That's not biblical teaching. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.000 If you're saved, you're no longer an alcoholic. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:27.000 If you've been born and again, you're no longer a homosexual. 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:30.000 If you're born again, you're no longer a dulcherer. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.000 Now you may commit these sins again, but that's not who you are. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:36.000 And you're not bound to that. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:41.000 And you must believe the truth about your identity in Jesus Christ. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:43.000 This is not boasting in yourself. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:48.000 This is the thing I can do is no, it's the fact you've been transformed in Christ Jesus. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:50.000 He has set you free. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.000 So believe what the Bible says is true about you. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:56.000 Don't identify yourself with your sins. 00:23:56.000 --> 00:24:04.000 Identify yourself with the righteousness of Christ and the positional sanctification he has brought into your life. 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:14.000 You see, your sins no longer define you. 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:20.000 You see, positional sanctification, I think, is the power behind our progressive sanctification. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:26.000 Knowing who we are will lead to us growing, not in sin. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:29.000 This won't lead us to sin so grace may abound. 00:24:29.000 --> 00:24:31.000 This is not going to encourage us. 00:24:31.000 --> 00:24:34.000 I'm right. 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.000 I'm holy. 00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.000 Therefore, let me say I knew all this is going to push us towards holiness and righteousness. 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.000 This is what we really want in our true nature. 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:43.000 This is what we crave. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:45.000 I can tell you something is true about you. 00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:50.000 Now I know you hate your sins and you struggle and your doubt, sometimes your salvation and you're struggling with assurance. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:55.000 I know that could be true of many of you, but I'll tell you something else is true about you. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:58.000 You long deep down to be holy. 00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:04.000 You can't wait to get to heaven where you have to struggle no more with sin and you cry out, "Lord, how long? 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.000 Let me be with you. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:11.000 Let me not struggle with sin any longer." Because that's your true heart's desire. 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:13.000 Because God has put that in you. 00:25:13.000 --> 00:25:16.000 He's changed. 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:20.000 He's made you a new creation. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.000 Are we to sin that grace may abound? 00:25:22.000 --> 00:25:24.000 No, how can we, Paul says. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:25.000 How can we? 00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:28.000 Can we continue to sin if we've been set free from it? 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.000 We don't want to. 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:32.000 We have no desire to. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:34.000 Oh, we will fall today. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:36.000 We'll fall tomorrow. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:43.000 But that falling in those sins does not hold us captive, nor does it identify who we are. 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:49.000 Not only have we been sanctified in Christ Jesus, we have been justified in Christ Jesus. 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:54.000 This is dealing with our guilt, our record. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:26:00.000 I know you know this, but we hear it so often we forget the beauty of it. 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.000 And we just let these words pass through our mind and we don't focus on it. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:10.000 But justification is not just your past sins being forgiven. 00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:12.000 We all think about the past sins. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:13.000 The sins of our youth. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:15.000 Oh, I'm glad those are gone. 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:17.000 I'm not held accountable for them. 00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:23.000 But you recognize that justification forgives you of your present sin. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:29.000 Now, let me tell you how audacious and bold and how crazy that is. 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:37.000 If you sin in 10 seconds from now, let's say you have a bad thought about Pastor Jeff. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:42.000 And you're about to have that thought of me. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:51.000 You're just as justified in the midst of that thought as you were before that thought. 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:57.000 All your sins past, present, that's what I'm and future. 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:12.000 That's why Paul can address these print the ins as they are in the midst of defrauding one another and say you are still justified. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.000 Can you believe it? 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:22.000 Is that not the most glorious, wonderful, encouraging news in the world. 00:27:22.000 --> 00:27:25.000 If it wasn't sold, none of us would stand. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:30.000 If it wasn't sold, who would us make it to Heaven? 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:33.000 We're kept by the blood of Jesus Christ. 00:27:33.000 --> 00:27:35.000 We're kept by the power of his hand. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:38.000 Nothing can take us away. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:40.000 We are secure. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:43.000 Our assurance is in Christ Jesus. 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:47.000 Our salvation, our justification is in him alone. 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:49.000 And that we rejoice. 00:27:49.000 --> 00:28:01.000 We can be filled of hope even though we're still fallens and sin often. 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:03.000 Every charge has been cleared. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:11.000 All your sins past, present, and future have been fully entirely, perfectly forgiven. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:23.000 Everything you've ever done, have done, will do has been thrown into the sea to be forever forgotten. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:26.000 We need justification. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:27.000 Not just yesterday. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:29.000 We need it today. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.000 And we're going to need it tomorrow. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:34.000 We must live by faith. 00:28:34.000 --> 00:28:37.000 We must live by faith in the gospel. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:39.000 This is our hope. 00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:41.000 This is our assurance. 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:49.000 This is the word of comfort to us who still sin. 00:28:49.000 --> 00:28:56.000 Bible tells us in Psalm 31, "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:04.000 Bless is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity." I'm here to tell you, by faith you stand forgiven. 00:29:04.000 --> 00:29:07.000 By faith you are righteous in Christ. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:10.000 How righteous are you? 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:16.000 The exact same degree of righteousness that Jesus Christ is righteous. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:20.000 For it's not your righteousness that has justified you. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:29.000 It's the imputed, alien righteousness of our Savior. 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:39.000 That's why God views you constantly and consistently through the lens of His Son. 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:41.000 This is what this verse ends. 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:49.000 It says, "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God." This is our hope. 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:58.000 Now here's three closing applications. 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:02.000 Paul identifies these carnal Christians who were in the midst of defrauding one another. 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:08.000 He identifies them not as sinners, not as defrauders. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:15.000 He identifies them as saints, as holy ones in Christ Jesus. 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:35.000 I'm here to tell you, if you are indeed a believer in the gospel of Jesus Christ, if that's your hope and your hope is not in your own righteousness, that you are a new creation in Christ Jesus and you are totally forgiven, oh yes we need to progress in sanctification. 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:38.000 We need to repent of our sins. We need to have maturity. 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:46.000 But for now just focus upon the reality you already have. 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:57.000 Build the strength to live a holy life, to fight sin on the reality of already standing, perfected and cleansed. 00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:00.000 You've already given a hundred percent on the test. 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:02.000 Now enjoy the class. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:05.000 You're already saved thoroughly. 00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:08.000 Now enjoy the Christian walk. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:19.000 Yes, try to mature and fight sin, put energy behind, stopping all the iniquity that still remains. 00:31:19.000 --> 00:31:26.000 Yes, but do it from the position of comfort and peace and rest. 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:37.000 You begin with rest and then you take that rest and energize yourself to please the Lord. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:40.000 Yes, there is a word of warning for us. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:57.000 That's why I think Paul reminds us that if we're living in ongoing habitual sin, if we identify ourselves as adulterer, we are because we're living in a constant state of idolatry, adultery, homosexuality or any of these other sins. 00:31:57.000 --> 00:32:00.000 If that's what we are then yes, be concerned. 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:03.000 Such people do not inherit the kingdom of God. 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:06.000 But that's not us. That's not me. 00:32:06.000 --> 00:32:08.000 That's not us who believe. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:10.000 We have been changed. We have been washed. 00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:18.000 We have been transformed out of that sinful state and condition and been made into new creations in Christ Jesus. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:25.000 So, dear saints, don't allow sin to keep you down and to define you. 00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:34.000 Don't believe the lie, the temptation of the devil that says you have to sin and this is just who you are. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:37.000 No, this is not who you are. 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.000 There's a new reality, a new truth about you. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.000 God's the one who's done this reality. 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:44.000 It's He who gets the glory. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:47.000 You've been washed. You've been changed. You've been forgiven. 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:50.000 Yes, this is a needed warning for us all. 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:52.000 We all need to take heed to some degree. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:55.000 We also all need to take comfort. 00:32:55.000 --> 00:33:07.000 And we come to the Lord's table, come through Jesus Christ, your positional just, sanctification and your ongoing and eternal justification. 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.000 Amen.