The Hope of Conversion
How do you typically respond to the increasing wickedness and darkness taking place in our culture? As believers, there are two extremes we want to avoid. On the one hand, we want to avoid the temptation to conform to our culture, passively. But on the other hand, we also want to avoid the temptation to confront our culture in hostility. Between these two extremes, as our society continues to rapidly decline, morally, it’s important for us to understand that Scripture calls us to a better way.
We see this way provided for us in 1 Corinthians, chapter 6. To provide some context, the city of Corinth was located in southern Greece, which was about 45 miles from Athens. Since it was a port city to the Mediterranean Sea, it prospered in the areas of finance and trade. But with that prospering came a number of cultural influences. For example, Corinth was home to one of the most popular athletic events in the world, similar to the Olympics.
It also had a major acropolis, which was used for the worship of false deities. One of those deities was named Aphrodite, who was supposed to be the Greek goddess of love. Her temple consisted of approximately 100 temple prostitutes. And in the evening, those prostitutes would make their way into the city to promote their services and the worship of Aphrodite to the citizens of Corinth.
Because of these types of influences, Corinth became known as an extremely corrupt city. As John MacArthur has noted:
Even by the pagan standards of its own culture, Corinth became so morally corrupt that its very name became synonymous with debauchery and moral depravity. To ‘Corinthianize” came to represent gross immorality and drunken debauchery.[1]
This gives us an idea of the cultural backdrop from which the Corinthian church was redeemed and established. It’s the context in which the Corinthian believers were living and ministering, and it’s the world into which we find Paul writing the letter of 1 Corinthians. Most applicably, it is a culture that closely aligns with our own.
The Question of Eternity
Today, in what many refer to as post-Christian America, there is found a plethora of confusion. As we view our cultural landscape, some of the most basic concepts of human identity, such as gender, marriage, and sexuality, are under attack. Of course, the confusion and chaos of ideas shouldn’t be a surprise to us. It’s what we should expect from a culture that has abandoned the objective moral standard of Scripture. Like Israel in the days of Judges, everyone begins to do what is right in their own eyes (Judg 21:25).
And yet, as much as we’re tempted to, it’s not acceptable for us to shake our heads in disbelief and conclude that the people embracing these unbiblical ideas are too far gone or merely a lost cause. Rather, as people who have been shown grace in the midst of our rebellion, we are called to extend grace toward others. We have a responsibility to engage people with the truth of the gospel in a loving and compassionate way.
Although it may seem easier, we have to understand that we cannot be mere spectators in the cultural conversation. We have to stand up from our seats on the sideline, or maybe more appropriately, from behind our screens and our keyboards, and step forward, away from our corners of distance and silence, and embrace the calling that God has placed upon each of our lives, by having genuine conversations, face-to-face, with real people.
In light of that reality, Paul asks an important question in 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 9: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” This question concerning the eternal state of the unrighteous is intended to emphasize an obvious answer. In context, these Corinthian believers knew the truth, but they weren’t living it out consistently. In other words, their problem wasn’t primarily doctrinal; it was practical. It wasn’t intellectual; it was ethical. As the book of Proverbs teaches us, possessing knowledge and applying that knowledge are two very different things.
A Declaration of Morality
It’s that inconsistency that leads Paul to provide the specific catalog of sins we find at the end of verse 9 and onto verse 10:
“Do not be deceived: neither the sexually 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.”
Notice that this declaration begins with a sobering warning. And that warning is this: Do not be deceived. Like the Corinthians, we live in a predominate culture that no longer values truth, but rather, willfully chooses to believe whatever affirms its own preconceived ideas and desires. Rather than seeking objectivity, our society seems to be addicted to the subjective. Yet, this is precisely the environment where deception is most dominant. As the 19th century pastor and author, J.C. Ryle, once said:
We are too apt to forget that temptation to sin will rarely present itself to us in its true colors, saying, ‘I am your deadly enemy, and I want to ruin you forever in hell.’ Oh, no! Sin comes to us, like Judas, with a kiss; and like Joab, with an outstretched hand and flattering words. The forbidden fruit seemed good and desirable to Eve; yet it cast her out of Eden.[2]
So with that warning of deception in mind, it’s important to understand that Paul’s goal, here, is not to provide an exhaustive list of every type of sinful lifestyle that will keep a person out of heaven. Rather, he’s providing the major types of moral sin that characterized the Corinthian culture. Interestingly, Paul’s list characterizes our own culture as well. Why? Because although the context has changed, sinful human nature remains the same. Thankfully, the remedy for our sin hasn’t changed either. It’s still the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, while our culture does everything it can to normalize sinful behavior, specifically in the areas of sexuality and marriage, we must hold fast to the objective truth of God’s Word. The courts can attempt to redefine marriage and gender all they want to, but God’s truth has the final say. Laws can be written, which make it illegal to tell the truth about sexuality, but our King is Christ, not Caesar, and therefore our allegiance is to Him. When the gavel of God’s judgment comes down on the last day, His Word will be the only one that matters.
As we consider the modern sexual revolution, our culture tries to convince us that same-sex attraction is morally acceptable; that it’s somehow indicative of an intellectually progressive society. But upon the authority of the Word of God, we can affirm, unapologetically, and without hesitation, that that mindset is actually indicative, not of intellectual progression, but of moral deception.
Ultimately, the common denominator that characterizes every sinful category in this list is that there is a failure to love God and a failure to love our neighbor as ourselves. Instead of upholding the principles, precepts, and commands of our God, sinful humanity sees themselves as the ones seated on the throne of their own lives, with the authority to dictate how they want to live.
Likewise, instead of seeing other human beings as image-bearers of God, sinful humanity treats other people as objects to be used, rather than as equals to be loved. They simply view everyone else as a means for their own selfish gratification, rather than as people who deserve to be valued and respected. And yet, as we look at this list, we need to make sure that we’re not doing so as those with our proverbial noses in the air.
A Transformation of Reality
As soon as Paul finishes making this declaration of morality, he immediately reminds these Corinthian believers who they used to be:
“And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Paul, here, is pointing the Corinthian believers to the comprehensive change that has taken place in their lives through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Notice, that unlike our present cultural mindset, Paul does not want the believers in Corinth to remain comfortable in their sinful corruption. On the contrary, like a masterful artist, he paints two portraits and places them before the Corinthians.
The first, which is found in verses 9 and 10, is of their past lives; as he says, “and such were some of you”, past tense. And that portrait is one of filthy living, sinful immorality, and unrighteous behavior. It’s one of selfish gratification and exaltation. It’s one that is driven by sin’s power and enslaved to sinful desire.
But the second portrait, which is found in verse 11, is radically different than the first. Instead of filthy living, this portrait of the redeemed man and woman is of one who has been “washed”, which speaks to our regeneration. As Paul wrote to Titus, in chapter 3, verses 3–5, saying:
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, our new life in Christ is one of regeneration and purification. We’ve been cleansed. In addition, instead of being dominated by sinful immorality, this second portrait portrays someone who has been “sanctified.” The redeemed man and woman has been set apart from their previously sinful lifestyle to a life of holiness driven by the power of God’s Spirit working within them. And that work of sanctification progressively continues until the day of their glorification.
And finally, this second portrait is one of a life that is “justified,” which speaks to our righteous standing before God. Instead of rightly being seen according to our past sins, the redeemed man and woman has a righteousness that has been graciously imputed to their account. To be justified means that God has declared us to be righteous before His sight, not on the basis of our own actions or merits, but completely and totally upon the basis of Christ’s perfect person and work on our behalf. And Paul says that this second portrait, this transformed life and radically changed reality, takes place by trusting “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
So it is the gracious work of the triune God, which we receive by faith, that has transformed our reality as born again, blood bought, citizens of Christ’s Kingdom. And therefore, the evidence of the transformation that has taken place in our lives is the way in which we live.
This is the glorious hope of conversion. Empowered by this hope, may we be a people who stand firm and remain steadfast in our devotion to the truth; not just in what we profess to believe but in the way in which we live, both privately and publicly. Both in our thoughts and through our actions.
And may we demonstrate our love for the lost and for those who are deceived, not just by talking about their spiritual condition and sinful lifestyles, as if their situation is somehow foreign to our own past experience, but rather, by engaging in the divine rescue mission; by seeking to engage those who are enslaved to sin and sharing with them the good news that brings about the only hope of conversion.
References:
[1] John MacArthur. 1 Corinthians: Godly Solutions for Church Problems. United States: Thomas Nelson, 2015, 34.
[2] J. C. Ryle. Holiness: For the Will of God Is Your Sanctification. Life Sentence Publishing, 2019, 33.