And such were some of you

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.- 1 Corinthians 6:11

Right before this verse Paul lists a whole bunch of sins that will disqualify people from heaven. We talks about adultery and fornication and all kinds of sexual sins. He talks about liars and cruel people. The list is pretty conclusive.

Still though there is hope. Paul says next that ‘such were some of you.’

The difference is that those who have accepted Christ are washed. They are sanctified. They are justified in the name of Jesus and by His Spirit. That’s the only difference between me and them. I am no better than they are except for one thing. I’ve been washed, I’ve been justified, I’ve been sanctified.

We can be tempted at times to think that we are somehow better than the world around us. We can take a very much ‘holier than thou’ attitude.

Instead of ‘holier than thou’ though our attitude ought to be ‘there but by the grace of God.’ If it weren’t not for God’s grace in our lives we would all be still in our sin.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.