Justified, just as though you'd never sinned

         

     

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. 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 6:9-11 NIV)

Paul tells it like it is, doesn’t he?  He doesn’t mince words.  To paraphrase these verses, he was saying, “some of you guys used to be really bad.  You were sexually immoral, you committed adultery, you were homosexuals, you were thieves and drunkards and swindlers. . . but, he adds, 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.  

I love the way Paul puts that "but" in there.  He's reminding us that when we’ve been washed, sanctified, and justified, we don’t need to feel guilty anymore for our past sins.

To understand what these 3 words mean, let me tell you a story of Dunkin, the little stray dog we found when the kids were little. 

He had some fleas on him, and the vet said the easiest way to kill them was to wash them off with dishwashing detergent.  So, I put Dunkin in the shower, lathered him up really well, rinsed him, dried him, and checked him for fleas.  Well, I still saw some.  Then I remembered that the vet had said you have to leave the detergent on for 10 minutes or so.  So I put Dunkin back in the shower, lathered him up, and left him in the shower.  (This time, I accidentally forgot about him.  The poor dog was in there for half an hour!) 

But, as I rinsed Dunkin off, I could literally see the dead fleas falling off his body and going down the drain. That’s what Jesus did for us with His blood.  He washed away all our sins. 

Then, when I couldn’t find another flea on him, I went a step further.  I took a little tube of flea poison, and I applied it to Dunkin's back.  In this way, I was ensuring that Dunkin wouldn’t get fleas again.  I was making him acceptable to live in the house.  That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us.  He sanctifies us, makes us holy, fit to be in God’s presence. Dunkin could never do this step for himself, and spiritually speaking, neither can we.  But as we stay in the presence of the Holy Spirit, He promises to do it for us.

After Dunkin’s bath and flea treatment, I no longer worried about those fleas he’d had before.  Those fleas were gone.  When I looked at Dunkin now, I could truly say, “He’s clean.  He’s fit to be in the house.” 

That’s a picture of justification.  When the Father sees us washed clean by the blood of Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, He says, "She's clean, innocent, holy, just as if she had never sinned."  God has justified us – declared us innocent. 

Some Christians try to justify themselves by fulfilling various requirements, a list of religious do's and don'ts.  The problem with this is that although they try so hard to be good, they never feel good enough.  They still carry the guilt of their past sins.

But this is so unnecessary.  Once we turn to Jesus, He washes us in His blood, taking away all need for guilt.  We are washed, sanctified, and justified; perfectly acceptable to live in His house. 

 

 

 

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.  Used by permission of Zondervan.  All rights reserved worldwide.www.zondervan.com.  The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.