“And Such Were Some Of You…”
“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” I Corinthians 6:9-11
I read the above verses this morning and then came across the following quote a bit ago…
“Beware, I pray thee, of presuming that thou art saved. If thy heart be renewed, if thou shalt hate the things that thou didst once love, and love the things that thou didst once hate; if thou hast really repented; if there be a thorough change of mind in thee; if thou be born again, then hast thou reason to rejoice: but if there be no vital change, no inward godliness; if there be no love to God, no prayer, no work of the Holy Spirit, then thy saying “I am saved” is but thine own assertion, and it may delude, but it will not deliver thee.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon
The verses at the beginning of this post indicate that many are deceived about their spiritual condition. Friend, the Bible is very, very clear concerning the change that takes place in a person’s life after salvation. It is not something that you feel like you are forcing upon yourself. It is not something that you feel you must “fake” around other Christians. Salvation is likened to a new birth and just as a newborn baby will naturally hunger for milk, so will a newborn baby Christian naturally hunger after spiritual food.
Again, the verses at the beginning of this post list various sins followed by – “and such were some of you…” The “were” speaks of past tense…our life before salvation when we had no desire for spiritual things but rather craved the things of this world.
Some good questions this morning – “As I look back to the day that I regard as my day of salvation, do I see a change? Is there a difference in my walk, my talk, my desires, etc.? Do I love the things I used to hate (or at least had no interest in) and hate those things I used to love? As the verse says, “and such were some of you”, can I say, “and such was I”…before that day?”
On this last day of 2015, if you are not 100% sure you are saved, please make sure today. We have no promise that we will see tomorrow but if God allows, what a wonderful way to start 2016!
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Corinthians 5:17
What’s new about you?