ARE YOU PART OF THE WILL?
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Introduction:
There is often a lot of turmoil that surrounds the death of someone. People who are associated with the man/woman are wondering if he left a written will/testament? Am I part of it? How much did he/she leave to me? Who else did he include? Will they get the same amount, or more?
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 the apostle Paul speaks about inheritance. But, contrary to the spirit of our age of materialism and nowness, Paul speaks of an inheritance that extends beyond this world into eternity. It is an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. The question we want to ask is ARE YOU PART OF THE WILL? We will answer the question by first ruling out who is not part of the will (vs 9-10), and then by pointing out who is part of the will (vs 11).
{So first, who is not part of the will?}
I. WHO IS NOT A PART OF THE WILL?
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor 6:9-10).
A. The apostle Paul asks a rhetorical question “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?”
1. The answer is a clear “NO.”
2. The wicked will not have their name written in the will. They will not inherit in the kingdom of God.
B. The question we should ask is who are the disqualified? Or the “wicked” as Paul would label them?
1. We are not left in darkness by Paul, for he will spell out some of them.
2. I can picture that as he is pronouncing them, the recipients of this letter can look around and identify some of these same people.
3. Paul lists 10 of the sins in the case of the Corinthian church…
a. the sexually immoral
b. idolaters
c. adulterers
d. male prostitutes
e. homosexual offenders
f. thieves
g. the greedy
h. drunkards
i. slanderers
j. swindlers
4. Paul says that none of the above “…will inherit the kingdom of God.”
C. Though the list is not exhaustive, do you fail in any of the categories Paul mentions? If the answer to this question is “Yes” then your name is not in the will, and you have no inheritance in the Kingdom of God.
{While the first question may bring sadness to you, you can be lighted by the hope of the Good News and the truth that you can be part of the will}
II. WHO IS PART OF THE WILL?
“And that is what some of you were. 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.” (1 Cor 6:11).
A. We need to keep in mind that Paul is writing to people who are already in God’s kingdom. Though once they were the way he described them in verse 9-10, there was a change that took place. As a result of this change the Corinthians were…
1. Washed—taken away the stain of sin
2. Sanctified—set apart for God
3. Justified—declared not guilty
B. How did this happen?
1. “…in the name of…” means “in the authority of; or by the power of”
a. Lord—Master, Owner
b. Jesus—Savior
c. Christ—anointed one (priests, prophets and kings were chosen by anointing them with oil). Jesus Christ was all of the above. He was/is the God’s High priest, God’s spokesman and the King of kings.
2. By His power and authority Jesus gave His life in a Roman cross (Christ, God’s suffering servant), paid the price to buy them back to own them (Lord, Master, Owner) and saved them from the power of death being resurrected “…by the Spirit of our God…” becoming their Savior.
3. The Corinthians putted their trust on Jesus to save them (Acts 18:8); they renounced their wicked ways by repenting (1 Cor 6:11); they were washed in the waters of baptism (Acts 18:8) and regenerated by the Spirit of God (1 Cor 6:11).
CONCLUSION:
In purpose I have used the second person throughout this sermon. It has not been my intent to be rude, but to challenge you to think through. If the testament of eternal life was to open today, would your name be written in it? Do you want your name to be written in it?
The same as the Corinthians you can become a heir in God’s kingdom if today you put your trust on Jesus to save you, repent of sin and in obedience you submit your life to God in the waters of baptism.
