Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Cor. 6:9-11).

Of all the questions about OSAS, those that refer to the above passage are among the most numerous. On its face verse 9 seems pretty clear, the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God. No argument there. It’s Christianity 101. And the examples Paul gave in verse 10 to show what he meant by unrighteous are all clear violations of God’s Law.

Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

Some of his examples, like fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, and sodomites appear on most lists of “big” sins. These are sins that lots of people hate, and while they are certainly sins, their notoriety causes some people to gloss over the other ones Paul mentioned. Stealing, coveting, drunkenness and reviling (criticizing in an abusive or insulting manner) often get ignored in people’s minds, having been overshadowed by “the big ones.”

And, at least among the people who send me questions, it seems that many don’t even take a glance at verse 11, And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

For that reason, I’d like to take a detailed look at the whole passage to see if we can figure out what Paul really meant here.

A Closer Look

First, let’s go back to 1 Cor. 6:9. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

If we really read that verse carefully we would see it can’t apply to believers because we are righteous by definition. We have a righteousness from God apart from the law that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:21-22). The examples of unrighteousness Paul gave all have to do with behavior, whereas our righteousness comes from our belief.

Where behavior is concerned, Jesus said it doesn’t take unrighteous acts to disqualify us from the Kingdom, it only takes an unrighteous thought. He gave anger (Matt. 5:21-22) and lust (Matt. 5:27-28) as examples but He could have listed many more, like greed, envy, jealousy, and the list goes on. How many of us have unrighteous thoughts from time to time? Does that mean we’ve disqualified ourselves from inheriting the kingdom? Of course not.

But the real kicker in in verse 11. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Paul said some of us were fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, or extortioners. And from the Lord’s comments above we can assume that includes thoughts and words, as well as deeds. But note the past tense. We were like that. What has changed to make us not like that any more?

First, we have been washed. We haven’t washed ourselves, we’ve been washed. In Ephesians 5:26 Paul said it’s the Lord who washed us, cleansing us by washing us with water through the word.

Then, we were sanctified. It means to be made holy. Again, we didn’t sanctify ourselves, it was done to us. When Jesus washed us it was so He could present us to Himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless (Ephes 5:27), sanctified.

And finally, we were justified. It means to render righteous. The Greek word for justified is the opposite form of the word translated unrighteous in verse 9. This refers to the righteousness that has been imputed to us by faith. And like we didn’t do the washing and the sanctifying, we didn’t render ourselves righteous, either. It was done to us, in the name of Jesus, by the Spirit of God.

When that happened we became a new creation in Christ. From God’s perspective, the old us was gone and the new us had come (2 Cor. 5:17). And though we still sin, He no longer attributes our sins to us, but to the sin that still lives within us. He knows our sin infested bodies will never leave this world. They will either die or be changed at the rapture, so when we come into His presence we’ll be the new creation He has chosen to see from the moment we were saved.

Paul used himself as an example of how God now sees us.

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it (Romans 7:18-20).

David gave us a glimpse of this 1,000 years before Paul when he wrote;

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit (Psalm 32:1-2), and

As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).

This explains how God can “render us righteous” while we’re still sinners. He separated the believer from the behavior, making the believer a new creation, holy and blameless, and attributing behavior that is not consistent with His new creation to the sin that still dwells within us. He knows the cause of our sinful behavior resides in the mortal part of us that will die or be changed. Our faith in what Jesus did for us allows Him to consider only the immortal part of us, which He will soon clothe in perfection. This is the only way He could guarantee our salvation from the time we became believers, because if it depended upon our behavior we would all have been lost again shortly after we were saved.

A License To Sin?

This interpretation of Scripture has been called “giving people a license to sin” by some. They love to cite hypothetical examples of worst case scenarios that frankly never happen. For example, I had one person warn me that if my interpretation ever became accepted by the majority of believers then, in his words, “Let the rape and pillage begin,” as if to say that unless Christians are held in check by the constant fear of losing their salvation there would be no end to the evil acts we would commit.

But those who make predictions of this sort overlook three important facts. The first is, by and large even unbelievers are reasonably well behaved, and they don’t have the fear of losing their salvation to restrain them. Romans 2:14 says those who don’t know God’s law, do by nature the things required by it, because it’s written on our hearts, and our own conscience acts as a guiding influence on our behavior.

The second is the indwelling Holy Spirit, sealed inside us when we were saved, to convict us of our sins, guide us into all truth, and counsel us on appropriate behavior. Remember, Paul said it’s God who makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22).

And the third is our gratitude. The great majority of those who believe we’re saved by grace through faith alone are so grateful for such an amazing gift that we try not to behave in ways that would embarrass the Lord in an attempt to express our gratitude. Paul called it “living up to what we’ve already attained” (Phil. 3:16).

Where Are You From?

It’s easy for us to lose sight of where we came from, so Paul reminded us in Ephesians 2. He began by saying that at one time we were dead in our transgressions and sins, by nature objects of wrath (Ephes. 2:1-3).

But because of His great love for us God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved (Ephes. 2:4-5).

Our relationship with the Lord is not due to the fact that one day we decided to clean ourselves up and make ourselves fit to be in His presence. In Ephes. 2: 8-9 he said we are saved by grace through faith, and not by works. God accepted us just as we are because of His mercy, and saved us because of His grace. Our only contribution was to ask in faith. And then, before we had done anything, good or bad, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us as a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance (Ephes. 1:13-14).

We can’t claim our faith in God’s mercy and grace as the sole basis for our salvation and then demand that others meet certain behavioral standards in order to receive or maintain theirs. The fact that one person’s sins are more obvious than another’s is irrelevant. Sin is sin, and we all do it.

He didn’t save us because we behave a certain way. He saved us because we believe a certain thing.

In A Nutshell

If you’re a human being, you’re a sinner. If you’re a saved human being, your faith in what Jesus did for you has allowed God to attribute your ongoing sinfulness to the sin that still lives within you. From His perspective it’s not you doing the sinning, but the sin that still lives within you. One day soon, you will shed that sinful part of yourself forever, and you will be clothed in perfection in preparation for your eternal life with the Lord. You will have finally been conformed to His image, just as God has always intended for you to be (Romans 8:29-30).

If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you Luke 17:6.

Abraham had waited 20 years for the son God had promised him. He and Sarah even had a son with the help of a surrogate mother, but the Lord had told him Ishmael was not the son He had promised. Finally Isaac was born, the one through whom God would bless all mankind (Genesis 21:12). But some years later, before any of these blessings came to pass, God directed Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. Though heart broken, Abraham took Isaac to the place the Lord had picked out, built an altar there and placed his son upon it (Genesis 22:1-10).

The Prophet Elijah was beside himself. The Israelites kept vacillating between worshiping God and Baal. Their indecision was driving him crazy and he let them know it. “How long will you waver between two opinions? If God be God then worship Him. But if it’s Baal, then worship him.” After much prayer he arranged a public demonstration. Challenging the priests of Baal to a contest, he had two altars built and two bulls slaughtered and placed on the altars. The people gathered to watch. Then he told them that whichever god sent down fire to consume the offering is the one they should worship. Everyone agreed, and the priests of Baal began calling their god.

All morning long they danced, cut themselves with knives as part of their religious ritual and called out to Baal. During the afternoon Elijah began taunting them , suggesting their god was perhaps busy or traveling or in the bathroom, and they became even more ecstatic in their worship, but alas, no fire. Then about sunset Elijah had his altar doused in water three times and began to pray, reminding God of their earlier agreement (1 Kings 18:16-37).

The court was in a panic. The King of Babylon had just ordered the execution of all his advisers for failing to interpret a dream. Daniel, like the calm in the midst of a raging storm, promised the King’s assistant that he would interpret the King’s dream, thus saving the lives of all the advisers. Then he ran home to pray with his friends. He hadn’t a clue as to what the dream was or what it meant, and was counting the Lord to tell him (Daniel 2:1-18).

What’s Reasonable?

I think it was Josh MacDowell who said we don’t have to check our brains at the church door to worship God. Christianity is a thinking person’s religion, and our Lord expects us to use the intellect He has so generously given us. The examples I’ve given above are meant to illustrate that point.

When Abraham took Isaac to Mt. Moriah, he reasoned that since God had said all His promised blessings to Abraham’s descendants would flow through Isaac, then if Abraham sacrificed him there, God would have to raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:17-19). He knew that God could not break the covenant promise He had made. As he placed Isaac on the altar, God stopped him and told him to use a ram that was caught in a nearby thicket instead. Then Abraham and Isaac understood that they were acting out a prophecy of the time when the Lord would offer His only Son as a sacrifice for sin on that same spot. Abraham named the place “Jehovah Jireh” the Lord will provide, and from then on it was said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Genesis 22:11-14).

When Elijah received his directions during a private prayer, he reasoned that God, Who longed for the Israelites to come back to Him, would not embarrass him in public (1 Kings 18:36). His faith in God’s integrity allowed him to officiate over one of the greatest grandstand plays of all time. When he began praying God sent the fire, and it consumed the sacrifice, the altar, the water and even the stones around it. The Israelites turned back to God and a three-year drought that God had sent as a judgment on the people ended that very day (1 Kings 18:38-46).

Daniel was a prince in Israel, one of those in the line of succession for David’s throne, when at about age 16 he was taken hostage to Babylon. The year was 605 BC and Babylonian King Nebuchnezzar had just defeated Egypt and Assyria, making him ruler of the world. After laying siege to Jerusalem, he took Daniel, his three friends, and some others hostage to assure the compliance of the now vassal King of Israel.

Once in Babylon, the King put the Jewish teenagers into a training program, as was his custom with foreign royalty, to teach them the Babylonian system and culture. The King was impressed with their intelligence and when they graduated, he appointed them to his body of advisers. When the senior members of this group couldn’t interpret the King’s dream, he issued an extermination order for the entire group.

Daniel reasoned that God hadn’t put him in such an influential position with the Babylonian King just to see him executed, so he took a leap of faith by telling the King’s assistant that he could interpret the dream. And sure enough, after the prayer session with his three friends the Lord gave Daniel the interpretation in a vision (Daniel 2:19). The King was so impressed that he elevated Daniel to ruler over the entire province of Babylon and head of all his advisers. Daniel’s three friends were named chief administrators over the province of Babylon (Daniel 2:48-49).

Some time later these three, who we know as Sahdrach, Meshach, and Abednego were sentenced to death for refusing to worship a pagan idol the King had fashioned. They reasoned that God could save them from the punishment due them but even if He didn’t, it was better to die in faith than live in idolatry (Daniel 3:16-18). Bound and thrown into a roaring furnace, they were joined there by one whose form was like the Son of God. When the King called them out, only the ropes that had bound them were burned. The King published an edict requiring all his subjects to honor the God of Israel (Daniel 3:19-30).

Many years later, when he was an old man, Daniel himself was accused of refusing to worship the King. At sunset he was thrown into a den of hungry lions as punishment. All night long he sat there while the lions got hungrier and hungrier. Daniel’s moment by moment faith sustained him until morning when the King released him, again honoring the God of Israel (Daniel 6:16-23). Daniel and his friends reasoned that the God Whom they honored with their faithfulness would not dishonor them by withholding His.

Adult Lessons From Children’s Stories … The Four Factors of Faith

These children’s stories always encourage me and I could go on talking about them until you stop me. But my point here is to draw attention to one fact. In each case, the people involved had to think their way through a pretty serious situation. And when all their emotions screamed for them to act one way, they applied a huge dose of reason to justify acting differently.

In doing so they demonstrated four tools for us to apply when facing a faith-testing situation. We’ll call them the Four Factors of Faith.

1.They knew God’s will and understood His ways.
2.Their leap of faith was based on sound reasoning.
3.They asked His help early and often.
4.They trusted Him for a successful conclusion.

Based on man’s definition of the word, there was nothing reasonable about the faith of these men, and that’s why I didn’t title this study “A Reasonable Faith.” A faith grounded in reason is extreme in every sense of the word. In fact, most would call it unreasonable. But it’s the kind of faith that’s available to us for use when circumstances require it.

More Examples

When Jairus, the synagogue ruler, was told not to bother Jesus anymore about healing his daughter because she had died, the Lord told him, “Don’t be afraid, just believe, and she will be healed”. He did and she was (Luke 8:49-56).

When Peter asked the Lord to bid him come out of the boat and walk across the water, Jesus said, “Come,” and Peter did (Matt.14:28-29).

When the disciples told Jesus they only had five loaves of barley bread and two small fish to feed over 10,000 people, Jesus gave thanks and told them to start passing the food around. They did and there was enough left over after everyone was finished eating to fill 12 baskets. (Mark 6:32-44)

These are not reasonable requests to make. And yet the Lord made them, giving each one the faith to obey, and seeing them safely through the situation.

But the most unreasonable thing of all is the one He reserved for us. He tells us to believe that He became a man, lived a sinless life, and died for all the sins of mankind. Then He rose from the grave to walk among His followers again. He did all this to purchase a pardon that He’s promised to grant without condition or exception to all who choose to accept it. Finally He invested us with the faith to trust Him in this, the most important choice we’ll ever make (Ephe. 2:8-9), and promised to see us safely through to a successful conclusion, eternal life with Him.

If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably made that choice. And that means you’re betting your eternal destiny on Him. You’re OK with this because you understand His will and know His ways. Therefore, your leap of faith is based on reason. You pray often, and are trusting Him for the successful conclusion He promised. The Four Factors of Faith make yours a faith grounded in reason.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come (2 Cor. 1:21-22).