Deception

DECEPTION

For a video of this sermon, go to thecreekmonroe.com

Intro: Who is going to Heaven. Have you ever wondered about that. Is my friend going or my children or my wife. My parents, grandparents. Have you ever wondered if you will be in Heaven. What might the population of Heaven look like? What are the demographics. I think many will be surprised.

. I have always thought that people in Heaven would be a whole lot like me. You know handsome, polite , humble, loving.

. How about you, do you ever wonder?

. Jesus told us that many may think that they are going but they may be surprised.

. He tells us this over in Mathew 7. He is coming to the end of the greatest sermon ever preached. The Sermon On The Mount and in verses 21-23 Jesus tells us this.

. 21“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

22On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

23But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

. What Jesus is saying here is that an eternity in Heaven is more than lip service.

. In writing to the church in Corinth, Paul is telling them much the same. He reminds them of who will and who will not enter into Heaven.

. Paul pretty much answers the question of Who is going to Heaven.

Lets look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

9Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,

10or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

11Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

. Let me remind you of what kind of city Corinth was.

. Corinth was a coastal city, a major seaport in the New Testament world. It sat at the mouth of the Aegean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Ionian Sea.

. Ships from all over the world would pass right by Corinth. The city was filled with sailors from all over the world. If you think we live in a diverse society, you should have visited Corinth in Paul's time.

.It was also a popular tourist spot being a coastal city. We do love to go to the beach don't we?

. Its main attraction was the Temple of Aphrodite, goddess of sex. And the way to worship Aphrodite was by participating in sex with one of the more than 1,000 temple prostitutes

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.As a result, Corinth was probably one of the most pagan, most decadent cities of the 1st Century world, & sin ran rampant in its streets.

.But God was able to use Paul to establish a strong & growing church there that was making inroads into the very pagan society of Corinth.

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. The problem was that the pagan beliefs were being intertwined within the church . There was some deception going on and he needed to stop it. He needed to remind them just who would inherit the Kingdom of God

.Look at the verse 9 with me again.

9Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,

. The First thing we see here is Paul telling them.

. Don't Be Deceived

. Don't fool your yourselves. The NIV and KJ say don't be deceived.

. These Pagan beliefs that have been brought into the church will deceive people and make them think they are saved just because they come to church. Just because they are part of the congregation.

. We are just as guilty as the Corinthians I am afraid. We think everyone is going to Heaven. WE are deceiving ourselves.

. Today we seem to have the hope or feeling that when someone dies, death will somehow make a transformation of that person. Even though he or she was a scalawag in life, we seek to comfort ourselves by acting as if we think that person will end up in heaven with God for all eternity.