Such WERE Some of You | December 17, 2025

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The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist

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message from God's Word will be a blessing to you.

When you turn your Bibles please to 1st Corinthians chapter #6,

we're back in First Corinthians chapter #6.

You know, this time of year you hear people say something like

this, don't you put Christ back in Christmas?

You, you hear that, don't you? Sometimes.

And it is true because it doesn't seem like there's a

whole lot of Christ that deals with Christmas.

The world celebrates Christmas, the world talks about Christmas,

but they don't want to talk about Christ.

In fact, that's a lot of times why they like Xmas, I think

because they just like to X out Jesus and they think it's that

simple to just put an X there to get rid of Jesus.

Well, let me just put it this way, that you can't get rid of

Jesus that quickly. Amen.

He always has been and He always will be.

You can't just replace him with a letter.

I think that's what's going to happen.

But I will. Say that the whole idea of, you

know, putting Christ back in Christmas.

I've heard this other phrase instead, and I think it really

reflects well with what I think we're going to look at here

tonight in First Corinthians chapter 6.

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

And it's not put Christ back in Christmas, but rather put Christ

back in Christians. How about that?

Not just putting Christ back in Christmas, but why don't we put

Christ back in Christians? In fact, it was just alluded to

just a few moments ago by our sister.

The fact that someone might say that they're a Christian, that

doesn't mean that they know Jesus Christ, that they have a

testimony. And maybe they do call

themselves a Christian, and maybe they are saved, but that

doesn't mean that they. Live like Christ.

Well, tonight we have the Apostle Paul once again as he's

making his appeal to these people, these very worldly

people in the church at Corinth. Remember last week we saw that

they were suing one another. You add that to the list of all

the problems that they had. Now they're taking each other to

civil court. They can't handle problems like

Christians between each other. And so in this text, just a few

short verses that we're going to read tonight, Paul is going to

make an appeal to these people. He's going to talk to them and

he's going to tell them the fact that they need to be able to

have a change within their life, that because they're saved,

there ought to be something different about them.

And tonight, I hope by the time we're done with this text, I

want you to see this, that the ultimate result from salvation

isn't just reform, it ought to be revolution.

And we'll say that one more time, that the result of

salvation in a person's life isn't just simply reform, but

that it's revolution. Meaning this.

You're an old creature, they got turned into a new creature.

You're not just a little bit better because you have Jesus.

It is revolutionary in your life.

Everything changes or everything ought to change over time as we

become more like Christ. So First Corinthians chapter 6

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

verse #9 that's where we're going to start.

It says this. Know ye not that the unrighteous

shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Be not deceived either 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, and ye are sanctified.

Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit

of of our God. Now you don't have to know a

whole lot about the English language and verse tenses to

know this when it says in verse #11 and such were some of you

that word were as in the past tense meaning this that long

list that rogues gallery of 10 different words that we see are

10 different phrases, 10 different sins that we found

right before it says this such were in the past some of you,

but ye are what is that? That is the present that is now,

but ye are washed, ye are sanctified.

Ye are. We are justified in the name of

the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

There ought to be a difference in the way that we live once we

get saved. We are often reminded about our

values, both big and small, by who we're associated with.

Now I'm going somewhere with this, so just hold on for just a

moment. But we're often reminded about

our values, both big and small, by who we associate with.

Who we associate with kind of shapes who we are, for instance.

So look at our family. We're Rivera's.

We do things the Rivera way. I'm not even saying it's the

right thing or the wrong thing. It's just the way things are

done. It was so interesting to me.

It was so wonderful to me a few weeks ago when we went to see

Bethany and Carter. They're in Oklahoma City and

they cook Thanksgiving for us. When I say they, it was mostly

Bethany, but Carter, he had a little bit of a contribution

there too. But what I loved about it was it

was a Rivero Thanksgiving. Why?

I mean, she made the Turkey the way we make the Turkey.

We've actually called us before. It said how do we make the

Turkey? Remind me again where the recipe

is? Where can I find it?

You know, there was a day where you'd have a recipe book or, you

know, now you just got to like find the TikTok or whatever it

is to be able to find where the recipe is.

At least that's the way it seems like now.

But you know, where's the recipe?

The stuffing was the way that we make it.

The potatoes were the way we make it, the.

The scurley that we always have to have on the table, He said,

what on earth is scurley pastor? Well, it's a Scottish dish of

oatmeal that's basically kind of fried.

And listen, you fry anything. It tastes good, you know what

I'm saying? But you beat it into a pulp and

then you fry it and it tastes really good.

I never heard of it before until I married my wife, but I'll tell

you this, she's got a lot of amazing features.

That scurley is probably one of our most amazing features.

It's delicious. It is incredible, let me tell

you. You know what?

We do it because we're Rivero's. That's what we do.

You know what I'm saying? In our nation, we're Americans.

And so we do things a certain way because you know, America,

you know, you know, that's my eagle impression, all right.

But there's certain things that we do that listen, they don't do

in Europe. And you know what?

We're glad they don't do it because we're America and we do

it our way. We have a Constitution, but we

have a Declaration of Independence.

There are things, and I know I'm kind of joking around a little

bit, but we are very unique as a nation.

Now, of course, we've fallen far away from certain things because

of worldliness and falling away from our Christian heritage and

roots. But at the same time, we

understand that as a country that there is this, this shared

value that we have together. Now, listen, as that's true of a

family and that's true for a country.

As believers, our values should be governed by who we associate

with. And who is that Jesus Christ?

The fact that we associate with Him means that we ought to be

more like Him. Just like a Rivero family,

Thanksgiving looks the same as the ones that are associated

with. Just as a country we associate

with one another. There ought to be some things

that are different about us than other nations.

Listen. Even more importantly than any

of those things, listen. As we associate with Jesus

Christ, we ought to be more like Him.

Listen. You cannot take your beliefs and

separate them from your practice.

We'll run that by one more time. You cannot take your beliefs and

separate them from your practices.

Meaning this. You can't say I believe this,

but then I am going to live opposite of what I believe.

Listen, if we associate with Jesus Christ, the more we

associate with him, the more we should be acting like him.

The more we should be talking like him.

The more we should be thinking like him, the more the things of

our life ought to reflect the fact that we've been around

Jesus. But here's a problem.

The people in Corinth, they're acting like the world because

you know what? They associate more with the

world than they do with Jesus. And he tells them this is a

problem, this isn't good. And so he says there's three

different things that he wants them to understand in these 3

short verses. And the first thing he wants

them to understand is this. He wants them to see what they

were, what you were. The very first phrase in verse

#9 is a difficult one to swallow.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of

God? No, you, not the unrighteous

should not inherit the Kingdom of God.

We know this. Why Romans 310 says this?

There is none righteous. No, not one.

We talked about this on Sunday, didn't we?

Our very best, the very best you got and the very best I have is

what filthy rags That there's nothing within us that is able

to save ourselves, That even our best of works can be tainted

before we got saved. We listen.

We're those unrighteous people where where it says in verse #9

know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of

God? Listen, you could replace that

word unrighteous and the unrighteous that that phrase

there could put it this way. Know ye not that Adam Rivero

shall not inherit the Kingdom of God?

Know ye not that your name there shall not inherit the Kingdom of

God? You say, well, why could I do

that? Well, because you were

unrighteous and I was unrighteous.

There was nothing righteous within us.

In fact, Paul hammers this home in case they have some problem

with this. But as I just mentioned, naming

10 different sins right there between verse #9 and verse #10.

Now, by the way, what I love about Paul here is he had no

problem naming sin. You know, sometimes people say

about pastors, well, you, you ought to just talk generically.

You, you shouldn't really name sin.

Well, you don't really see that a lot in the Bible because the

prophets had no problem naming sin.

The apostles had no problem naming sin.

You find it in 66 books where sin is named.

And here Paul doesn't say, well, you know, you all ought not to

do some naughty things. You know what he says?

I'm going to give you 10 sins that really characterize what

you people in Corinth used to be like.

And the first he says this he says.

You were fornicators. Now that word fornication that

we find there is the same as we found it in chapter #5 It comes

from that Greek word porneia that we talked about before.

And this talks about any type of sexual immorality.

Listen, they were crazed. With it in Corinth, because of

the temple of Aphrodite that was there, that was all their

culture was about, trying to make sure that they felt good in

their flesh and they were constantly looking.

For that next experience, they were constantly looking for that

next activity. That's who they were.

They gave their bodies to it. But then it says they were

idolaters and that that goes in line with what we just saw with

Fornication. Why?

Because they were again, they were these people that had

gotten saved in Corinth. These people that were part of

the church in Corinth had been given of themselves to the

temple of Aphrodite. They were idolaters in every.

Given way now again, let me just remind you, I'll take a brief

time out here for a second that you may not have an idol in your

home. You may not have a statue in

your home. You may not bow down to any of

those types of things but I will remind you that you and I can be

idolaters just as much as those people in Corinth have why?

Because an idol is anything that you have to check with before

doing God's will in your life. I'll say that again too, an idol

is anything you have to check with in your life before you do

God's will in your life. Meaning this.

Well, I know what God wants me to do, but is it going to be OK?

Listen, you can turn anything into an idol.

In fact, we were talking on Sunday, Brother Dave and I would

see Dave C All right, Dave C and I were talking on Sunday about

the Mona Lisa. I'd mentioned the Mona Lisa in

the Sunday morning message and how it's behind glass and they

keep you about 100 feet back to be able to see it.

All of that's true. Maybe not 100 feet, but there's

a pretty big barrier between you and the Mona Lisa.

And he asked me the question, he says, could you even consider

that idolatry? The fact that people would take

that and, and, and almost to worship it?

And I would say this and we had this conversation.

I wouldn't say the painting in and of itself was an idol, but I

would say a lot of people made it into an idol.

I think a lot of people would make anything into an idol.

People turn sports into an idol. People turn their families into

idols. People can take entertainment

and turn it into idols. Listen, anything can be turned

into an idol when it has an elevation above God.

And he says this before you were saved.

Listen, before you knew Jesus Christ, you were idolaters, you

were adulterers. He says it's just, excuse me,

more specific than fornication. It's those who were unfaithful

to their spouses and it says effeminate is next.

Now listen God's unique creation, those.

Created in his image were created listen Genesis 127 male

and female. That, that seems like a very

controversial statement nowadays.

And it's really not a very controversial statement at all.

In fact, it's well, biblical. It wouldn't have been that long

ago that I feel like you say, well, there is men and it's

women and that's it. And men and men, men are men and

women are women. And that wouldn't be

controversial. But believe it or not, that's a

question today. It's not a question to God.

And interestingly enough, about 2000 years before God's already

covered this, God's already talked about this when he uses

that term effeminate there God has roles for men and God has

roles for women. This isn't my message tonight,

but it is named here and I'm not going to skip over it here this

evening. But it's very clear that God

desires for. Men to be men.

And God desires for women to be women.

That's why it says in Deuteronomy 22 verse #5 the

woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither

shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all that do so are

an abomination to unto the Lord thy God.

Listen, this is God's creation. This is God's design.

And it's not up to man to be able to change that which God

has done. No, that's not hate speech to be

able to say that. Not in any way, shape, or form.

It's just simply acknowledging that which God has done and it's

mentioned here as one of those things that they were during

that time effeminate. It also says nor abusers of

themselves with mankind. We would put it this way today.

Homosexuality and homosexuality would have run rampant during

that time in Corinth. In fact, William Barclay, the

commentator and historian, wrote, this sin had swept like a

cancer through Greek life and from Greece invaded Rome.

We can scarcely realize how riddled the ancient world was

with it. Even so great a man of Socrates

practice it. Plato's dialogue, called the

Symposium is always said to be one of the greatest works on

love in the world, but it's subject is not natural, but

rather unnatural. Love 14.

Out of the. The 1st 15 Roman emperors

practice this unnatural vice. And so yes, here Paul is saying

to those people, yes, that's who you were.

By the way, can I just stop here for just a moment as a reminder

when maybe some of you might think that someone who is in the

quote LGBT movement will never trust Jesus Christ their savior.

There's effeminate and there's abuser themselves as mankind and

just skipping ahead. What does it say and such?

What were some of you? Do not give up on those who are

part of that movement. Do not give up with those who

believe that they are part of that movement.

Why? Because there are many, a lot

more than you would realize who will come to know Jesus Christ

your Savior as long as you continue to love them with the

gospel and give them the light of the gospel.

And here's proof positive of it right there is that there were

those who are effeminate. There were those of abusers of

themselves, of mankind who got saved and became part of the

church at Corinth. That'll give us hope today.

But it wasn't just that. Or also thieves as well.

The Greek word for that is kleptos, where we get

kleptomaniac today. They were thieves.

They were covetous. This is someone who is grasping,

someone who wants more, someone who is eager for more,

especially for that which belongs to someone else.

They were drunkards that they were full of wine.

Could I just give you a suggestion tonight?

The best way to not become a drunkard is this.

Don't drink. It's easy enough to be able to

not become a drunkard. You just don't need to drink.

It's amazing to me that the world is catching up to where

the Bible is with that today. There's such a dry movement

that's actually become rather popular today.

To be able to understand, you know, people will say, do you?

Realize how bad alcohol can be for you.

And I want to say no really. Tell me more, because it seems

like we've been preaching that and teaching that for a long

time. Because the Bible says wine is a

mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived

thereby is not wise. It's just easier and it's

simpler and it's godlier to stay away from the stuff it says.

Some of them were drunkards before, some of them were

revilers. Those were those who were quick

to destroy with their tongues, extortioners.

These are those who grasped they were violently greedy.

They were robbers, they were swindlers.

They used force or violence in the way that they stole ten

different things that are named right there.

Listen, these are pretty serious things.

And that's who made-up the Church of Corinth.

Now let's dwell on this for just a moment.

First of all, praise the Lord that the gospel can touch

anyone's life and change anyone's life.

Thank the Lord for that. That there were those who were

drunkards who got saved and their lives were changed.

There were those who were effeminate, who got saved, their

lives changed. There were those who were

adulterers who got saved and their lives changed.

And on and on and on it. Goes you say, Pastor, is this a

complete list? Listen, do you think there's

just 10 sins in the world? This is a very incomplete list.

I'm not saying that the word of God is incomplete.

I'm saying that Paul doesn't need to name check every sin

that ever took place on the face of the earth.

But I will say this, your sin may be named there in chapter,

chapter 6, verse #9 and 10. By the way, I want to say sin.

You understand you had more than one sin, Amen.

But you understand what I'm saying.

But your sin or sins of choice might be named there.

They may not be named there. But I will say this.

You were just as sinful as those people at Corinth were before

you got saved. You needed Jesus Christ just as

much as they did at Corinth before they got saved.

This is who you were. This isn't just who Corinth was.

This is who you were. This is who?

Adam Rivera was before he got saved.

You know, I may not have been the things that were named there

in totality, but I do know this. I do know I had a problem with

my mouth. I do know I had a problem with

my attitude. I do know I had a problem with

lust. I do know I had a problem with

authority. I do know that if God hadn't

saved me and changed my life, I wouldn't be here tonight.

I wouldn't be talking to you. I might be talking to you

through bars in the county lockup.

You say, well, that's a little bit of an exaggeration.

Listen, when you don't have Jesus Christ as your Savior,

there is no barrier to that which you could slide down into.

That's right. And so, no, I'm not saying that

I was gunning for that. I'm not trying to talk like a

tough guy this evening. I'm just saying this.

I wasn't really too interested in doing right and I don't know

if that had compounded. Over the years where I would

have ended up because I really wasn't against anything.

I was really just for having a good time, whatever that was

defined by me. And then I found Jesus Christ

and all of a sudden everything is different.

And so what's Paul saying this? He says such were some of you

meaning this were it's in the past.

The good old days weren't as good as you.

Think. Don't go back.

To those good old. Days don't go back living that

way because those people had been changed.

But here's the problem. There had been some reforms, but

they weren't revolutionized in the sense that some of them were

going back to that behavior. You say going back to that

behavior chapter #5 he mentions the fornication, the adultery,

that the loose living of which they had it.

We're going to continue through there.

And some of them had dropped old sins, but it picked up new sins.

Well, I'm not going to deal with that anymore.

But I found this over here because of someone that I was

with in the church. No, this is not what we're

supposed to be doing, swapping sins like their baseball cards

with one another. No, no, what are we supposed to

be doing? We're supposed to be radically

revolutionized by the gospel. That's what Jesus Christ wants

to do with your life. The day you got saved.

Listen, your past was changed. Your, your, your eternity was

changed. Your future was changed.

But he also wants to change you in the here and now as well, so

that you can live in the light of the gospel.

So you can live. Free from the power of sin in

your life on a daily basis. Now let's be clear.

That just because someone is dealing with those things that

are in verses 9 and 10 after they get saved, doesn't mean

they're not saved. Want to be careful about this

tonight because let's be honest, there are people in Corinth that

were in this list doing it wrong and they were obviously still

saved. You say, how do you know that?

Well, in verse #8 it uses the word brethren.

There were people who are being defrauded.

They were brethren. But I will say this, that when

you were saved, that doesn't mean that you'll never sin

again. Hello, First, John 18 deals with

this. If we say that we have no sin,

it what? Rather, if we say that we have

no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

There it is. I was trying to start to go into

the next verse, but I will say this.

When you were saved, truly save your life ought not to be

defined by any of these anymore. It ought not to be defined by

these anymore. And if you are in those parts,

in those things in your life anymore, listen, the Holy Spirit

ought to be really rattling your cage while you're in there.

We had a gentleman who came here a few years ago and he was very

good at discerning who was saved and who wasn't.

There's a little bit of sarcasm there because you, you know, we,

we can't know that. But he would just look at

something that was going on in their life and find it wanting.

And decide that they weren't safe.

Now obviously this type of personality usually does not

check out their own life to see how they were.

And how they are because you know the whole, you know the

take the, you know the, the beam out of your own eye before you

take the Moat out of the other. There was none of that.

But I had to make mention to this gentleman multiple times.

I would say to him, listen, part of being changed doesn't always

mean you're changed on the outside, because things on the

outside should be different, but they're not.

But one of the changes that does happen is on the inside that you

used to be able to do those things before you got saved and

you had fun. And now that you're saved, the

Holy Spirit really won't let you have fun the way that you did

before. That's a change.

Now listen, outwardly people can't see that, but on the

inside, that's a real thing. Listen, if you are still engaged

in these things and you are saved, the Holy Spirit ought to

be making your life pretty miserable while you're in it.

And I will say this, if the Holy Spirit isn't making your life

miserable while you're in sin, you go to Hebrews chapter 12 and

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

you check yourself whether you're part of the family or

not. No, I'm not trying to get you to

deny your salvation here tonight, not even close to that.

But what I am saying is this, if there is no, and I've said this

before, if there is no a reality of sin being, realizing that,

that you are a Sinner even engaged in it and there's no

conviction of that, that's a problem.

That's a big problem. Those who claim the name of

Christ, give their life to these sinful pursuits with no remorse

and no chastening of God, have a very questionable profession.

So what do we see? This is This is who?

They were, and this is who we were.

Whether your name is in there or not, whether your sin rather is

in there or not, this is who you were.

But #2 I want to see this. This is what you are.

Praise be to God that He didn't just bring some simple reforms

in your life. He ushered.

A revolution into your life. John 844 says this year of your

father the devil and the lust of your father, ye will do.

Listen, you were of your father the devil.

But once you got saved, listen, you got a different father, you

got a different heavenly Father. Listen, that's not a simple

reform. That's revolutionary.

You understand that tonight that's not just, well, I'm a

little bit better than I used to be.

You know, everything changed. You put off the old man and you

put on the Lord Jesus Christ. You became a new creature.

Everything in your life has changed.

It's like night has turned into day.

It's like the the sun has come out, never to retreat again.

No. This is who you are, you know,

in a revolution. The old way is swept out by a

new way. That's what happens.

We had an American Revolution around this parts. 1776.

And you know what? There were cannons and muskets

and most importantly ideas pushed out a monarchy.

And this country has been different for now almost 250

years. Well, what does that mean?

Well, when you got saved, the old things were supposed to get

pushed out and the new they're supposed to come in and that

we're not supposed to be saved and then just go back to the old

stuff. But now we have Jesus.

That's not God's intention for us at all.

Well, I have the old things, but I have heaven now.

That's not what God intended for you.

And that's kind of how the way the people of Corinth were

living. He said such were some of you,

but he wanted to remind them this is who you are.

And just like a revolution has items, if you will, the means to

make revolution happen, whether it was an idea or whether it was

weaponry or whatever it was. Listen, our revolution, our.

Salvation Listen has these means as well in our life, and Paul

names three of them. The first thing he says is ye

are washed, Letter A, you are washed.

And now may I remind you here tonight, especially for those of

us that come from a Catholic or a Lutheran or some sort of

Protestant background, when it's talking about being washed, it's

not talking about being washed by the baptism.

It's not talking about going through and having a priest put

the sign of the cross on your head with water.

It's not talking about like I had a pastor who sprinkled water

on top of your head three times for the Father and the Son and

the Holy. Ghost when I was about a year

old. It's not talking about those

things. Listen, water cannot cleanse you

from sin, no matter how quote UN quote holy it is.

But I will say this Titus 3 verses 3 through 5 says for we

Titus 3:3–5

ourselves also were sometimes listen to this, were sometimes

foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lusts and

pleasures, living in malice, envy, hateful, hating one

another. But after that the kindness and

love of God, our Savior towards man appeared.

Listen not by works of righteousness which we have

done, but according to His mercy.

He saved us by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of

the Holy Ghost. So we are washed, we're washed

by regeneration. But what does that mean?

Let's drill down a little more. Ephesians 213 and 14 But now in

Christ Jesus, He who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by

the blood of Jesus Christ. For he is our peace, who have

made both one and broken down the middle wall partition

between us. No, you weren't washed by water,

you were washed by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.

That's what we were washed by. Revelation 1/5 And from Jesus

Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten

of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth, unto him

that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

Hebrews 914. How much more shall the blood of

Christ, who, though the eternal Spirit offered himself without

spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to

serve the living God? We are washed.

What's one of those means of this revolution, if you will,

this great change that took place in our life?

It is the blood of Jesus Christ, but it's also in verse #11 it's

this. We are sanctified.

We're sanctified. Sanctification is a word that's

used. Much in the Old Testament.

But it has great application to the New Testament as well.

What do we see that was sanctified in the Old Testament

is often the vessels of the temple, wasn't it?

I've talked about this before here at liberty, that when

someone was to sanctify, or rather the the temple vessels

were sanctified, you didn't just take those and use them for some

other use. They did not take those dishes.

They did not take those forks and, and different types of

knives and things that had been dedicated, that had been

sanctified. And they didn't use them for

personal use. They didn't take the table of

Showbread and say, you know what, we could use this for a

desk in one of our offices. You say that that's a little bit

extreme, is it? No, but what I'm saying is this

is that they had been sanctified.

They had been set. Apart for a very particular use

and you could not go around and just do whatever you wanted with

them. That's why there were certain

kings, especially the divided Kingdom.

Obviously when Judah had good kings and bad kings that

sometimes they'd go into the temple and they'd say this.

Hey, you know what? Why?

Don't we do some renovations? And they were never blessed for

doing that. It was always the opposite.

Why? Because they were messing with

those things that God had sanctified.

And every time after there was a good king that would come

through, like Hezekiah for instance, and would do what?

They would cleanse the temple, they would sanctify the temple.

They say this temple is for the Lord, and it's for the Lord

alone. This is what it's for.

Sanctification means something is selected, it's set apart and

it's spotless. That's what sanctification is.

It's literal meaning is holiness or a separation.

John 17 verses 16 and 17. Jesus said they are not of the

John 17:16

world, even as I am not of the world.

Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth.

We're sanctified. How are we sanctified?

One of the ways we are is through the Word of God.

The more we read the Word of God, the more we hear the

preaching of the Word of God. It ought to be.

The closer we get to God, the more sanctified we are, the more

set apart we are. No, no, I didn't say

sanctimonious. That's something completely

different. I'm talking about that we are

set apart for the masters use, not set apart for our own use,

not set apart for our own flesh, for own lust, for own desires.

God, everything I have belongs to you.

However you use wish to use me, I am willing to be used.

We can only know sanctification by knowing the truth.

For how can we be spotless when we're spotted by the error?

So we need to know the truth of the Word of God.

When we're spotted by error, then we can't be sanctified the

way that God desires us to be. So it says that we are washed,

that we are sanctified, but then also that we're justified.

Let her see there in verse #11 we are justified.

God carried out this action of justification when we believed

we were declared righteous, placed into a new right,

standing before God, in which now and forever we are clothed

in the righteousness of Christ. To be justified means it's just

as if I never sinned. That's amazing to me to think

about that, but it's a legal term.

It's been pronounced for us by the righteous judge, Romans 325

and 26, whom God has sent forth to be His propitiation through

faith. Listen in His blood.

There it is again to declare His righteousness for the remissions

of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God, to

declare, I say at this time, His righteousness, that He might be

just and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus.

So what do these verses say? Jesus Christ was just, and as He

was just, then He can make us the justifier.

If Jesus Christ was not just, we couldn't be justified.

Let me give you an example. If you were to go to court and

there was a crooked judge who was there and the crooked judge

had declared you to be guilty, well, if it came to be found out

that that judge was crooked, well, they would declare A

mistrial. They would say that anything

that he had said basically would be null and void.

Why? Because that judge wasn't just.

Now I know that's the way it should be.

Whether that's the way it actually happens, I don't know

if that's the case, but that's the way it should be in our

legal system. And so Jesus Christ, the just

one, the sinless one, only He would be able to say that we are

just because He is the just judge.

He is not an unjust judge. He is just in how He executes

justice and He is just in how He lived His life on the 33 years

that He was here for His earthly ministry.

So we are justified because He is just.

So what are we? We're washed, we're sanctified,

we are justified. This is who we are in Christ.

And it's important that they they all lead up to this

salvation. These are the elements of

salvation. Now, we could use a lot of other

elements for salvation as well, but these are the three which

Paul invokes, and we look at them kind of like looking at a

diamond. It's 1 diamond.

And as you turn a diamond, as I used to sell them, you turn them

and you see the light from different facets, but still 1

diamond. And as we look at salvation,

it's one salvation, but one facet is being justified, 1

facet is being sanctified, 1 facet is being washed in the

blood of Christ. But it all leads up to this,

that you and I are saved. This is who we were, but this is

who we are. We're washed.

We're sanctified, we're justified.

How could you not be different because of what he's done in

your life? So we look at these things and

but I also wanted to see this number three, whose you are.

So what you were, what you are, but whose you are?

Is the last, and that's at the end of verse #11 but you're

justified in what The name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit

of our God. The end of verse 11 brings us to

remembrance of whose we are in the name of the Lord Jesus and

by the Spirit of our God. If you're willing to accept

these gifts, to be washed, to be sanctified, to be justified, if

you're willing to accept these gifts from Him, then you must

also accept the reality that you belong to Him.

Look at verse #20 we'll look at this more later, but it says for

year, bought with a price. Therefore what?

Glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are mine.

Hold on. I got one of these new

translations to make sure you're paying attention.

Your body, your spirit, which are gods.

You were bought with a price, Ronald Reagan famously said

about the Panama Canal. He said we bought it, we paid

for it, we built it, and we intend to keep it.

Now that didn't end up happening that way, but that was his

desire. But there was a thought process

that he had which this a very fundamental principle of life,

that he encapsulated one sentence, someone who bought

something, someone who purchased something.

Well, it belongs to them. That's pretty basic, isn't it?

And think about this, Jesus Christ bought us, so how'd he

buy me? You were washed, you were

sanctified, You were justified. And because of that, listen, you

belong to him. It's a fundamental change in the

way that you live. It ought to be a fundamental

way, a fundamental change in the way you handle sin in your life.

By looking at this, This is who I was, this is who I am, and

this is who I belong to. And because I belong to Him, I

should be looking at sin differently than I did before.

I'll give you an example, someone who and you say, well,

this is kind of like a mental game.

These are mental tricks to know. It's a lot more than that.

If someone is trying to quit smoking, if that person, someone

offered you a cigarette and you'd say, oh, you know, I'm

trying to quit, you could do that.

Or if someone hands you a cigarette, you say this, oh, I

don't smoke. Say what's the difference

between the two? Well, the second one says this,

this is who I am. I'm not a smoker.

The first one says, well, I'm trying my best, right?

Hopefully, you know, hopefully I can make it and I'll hold on to

see if I can make it. And listen, you say, is this the

pastor, is the power of positive thinking that you're talking

about? No, no, not at all.

What I'm talking about is exactly what the Scripture is

talking about here, understanding our identity in

Christ. When we deal with sin, we should

associate ourselves with our new identity.

Listen, what, what Hey, do you want to do this?

Well, I'm a child of God. Not just, oh, I, I try not to do

that anymore. I don't know how I feel about

that. Oh, I, I go to church now.

Those aren't the best way to answer.

The best way to answer even in your own heart, your own life,

is this. Listen, I don't do that because

I'm a child of God. That's my identity.

Now listen, that thing that I'm tempted to do, Jesus got nailed

the cross for that. I don't need to do that.

It's a radically different way of thinking.

And so that's why Paul invokes not just that they were washed,

they were sanctified, they were justified.

They also reminds them who they belong to.

That was through the Lord Jesus Christ in the Spirit of God.

He said, understand this, you belong to him, so your life

ought to be different. What am I saying?

It's not just reform, it's revolution.

It's a complete different way of living and that's who we are to

be as believers. Listen, your old life was a

mess. And listen, you got saved when

you were young. Praise the Lord, maybe it wasn't

a mess. God saved you from a mess.

And listen, we still make plenty of messes once we get saved.

I'm not saying that we don't, but we go into those eyes wide

open, don't we? Because the Holy Spirit's

telling us not to do it and we just go right through anyway.

And that's why we need talks like this where we're reminded,

hey, remember who you are, Remember who you came from,

remember who you belong to. It ought to change the way you

think. I have a really bad habit of

overflowing baptistries. I've overflowed 2 in my life.

The first one was in Holden, MO. I worked with a man named Steve

Smith. And I won't give you all the

details, but all I know is he told me to fill the baptistry.

I thought it was pretty close to the top and I want to make sure

that the water was off. So I took the hose that was in

there and I pulled the hose up. The water was off.

I turned it back down. Well, I didn't realize I didn't

turn the water off. And when I pulled the hose up, I

just kinked the hose. So when I put it back down, I

went back to the Parsonage for lunch.

About an hour later, I heard the sound of water and I followed

the sound of the water into the basement where water was going

through the light fixtures and I walked into the water.

Rubber sole shoes. Thank the Lord and realize this

is a mess. I had to carry all that water.

I had to wet back and carry it all the way up the stairs from

the basement out the door. That was a day of work right

there. Then at Westgate Baptist Church,

a building that seat about 1600 people, the pastor, not knowing

my previous history, said I need you to fill the baptistry.

I left it on all night. There was no overflow valve and

it covered multiple, I believe four different classrooms and a

hallway. There was water.

I looked out that morning and it was like a sea of glass.

There was so much water. It was everywhere.

Now you know why we have a horse through here at Liberty Baptist

Church? Because that's all I can handle.

All right, I can't do any more than that.

But you know what's amazing to me?

The destructive power of water. Water is one of the most

powerful elements you will find on this earth.

How do you stop it? You really just kind of contain

it the best you can, don't you? But think about the power of

water, water rising up, people throwing out sandbags, trying in

vain to stop it from flooding. Think about here in New England,

the textile mills of the seventeen 1800s, water harnessed

powered mills before there was even electricity like we used

today. Incredible.

The Niagara. Ever seen the Niagara the power?

Of the Niagara, absolutely incredible.

I seem to believe in Genesis chapter 6 and beyond, there was

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

a great flood that changed the topography of the whole world.

You say where's that Grand Canyon come from?

I'd say about 40 days. Did the work right there.

The power of water is incredible.

OK, pastor, I'm following you, but this has nothing to do with

the rest of your sermon. So probably we should pack it up

now because this doesn't make any sense.

Jesus standing up in the midst of a feast, said the following

in John 7 verses 37 to 39. In the last day, that great day

John 7:37–39

of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man

thirst, let him come unto me and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his

belly shall flow rivers of living water.

But this he spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on him

should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet

given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.

Jesus said this when? You come to taste of that water,

that the water will flow out of you with such power that it will

be noticeable. The Spirit within you, That's

what it said, that those this talking of the Spirit, that it

will be fundamentally a change agent in your life.

And we act like the Holy Spirit doesn't have enough power to

light up a light bulb. And He has enough power to not

just save us from the penalty of sin, from all eternity and the

presence of sin for all eternity, but from the power of

the sin of sin right now, such were some of you.

Listen, don't go back to that. Who are you?

You're washed, you're sanctified, you're justified.

Whose are you? You belong to Jesus Christ.

Well, why should I say no to sin?

Because you belong to Jesus Christ.

Well, why shouldn't I give into this temptation?

Nobody will know. Well, you belong to Jesus Christ

and you'll know. But why shouldn't I do that?

Because it's not your choice to make.

You don't even belong to yourself, nor do I belong to

myself. We belong to Jesus.

Allow that great life changing power to change your life and to

keep you changed. To live in the light of the King

of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Thank you for listening to the

sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church.

If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we

can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at

[email protected]. Or you can visit us this Sunday

at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA.

May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.