Okay, let’s leave the book of Genesis and jump ahead a little. Where are we going? Well, we’re going to visit our good friend, the apostle Paul. Now, before I take you to specific verses that Paul wrote, I want to take a few seconds to share some interesting facts about Paul’s life. The apostle Paul (originally named Saul), was born a Jew in Tarsus. He was present when the Jews stoned Stephen to death. While on the road to Damascus, (in pursuit of Christians), Paul had a supernatural encounter with Jesus Himself…but that encounter left Paul blind. But his sight was restored three days later by a man named Ananias, in the city of Damascus. Paul was then baptized, and through this experience, Paul received the Holy Spirit, who helped Paul to develop a personal relationship with God. So, immediately, Paul began to proclaim that Jesus is the messiah and the Son of God. I need you guys to remember everything you just read about Paul. It’s super important, okay. It will come in handy later. Anyways, three years later, Paul met the apostle, Peter, then eventually Jesus’ brother (James), and was henceforth recognized as the 13th apostle.
Now, I’ll tell you something about these apostles. These men were the “original gangster unit” for Christ. They were proxies of God, and they were serious defenders of the faith. They could not afford to slip up when it came to representing God’s Word, because God Himself would hold them accountable for it on judgment day. Apostles were not there to minimize God’s words or contradict it. Their main role was to serve as messengers of God, and to travel to distant lands, preaching the gospel as a means of establishing churches there. By extension, this required them to speak God’s truth, and to do so at all times. Remember that, okay! The apostles successfully accomplished their role, and they were not afraid to die to uphold God’s truth. In fact, all of them (with the exception of John the apostle), died gruesome deaths because they chose to preach God’s truth. They were unafraid, since they knew Jesus was waiting on the other side, to embrace them for their commitment to Him and His Word. Guys, you need to remember everything I said about Paul. Go back and read his testimony again, if you need to.
Have any of you guys ever read Paul’s letters to the early churches? Doesn’t he come across as harsh in a lot of his letters? Yeah, he does. But I am here to reassure you that his admonitions always came from a source of love and God’s truth. And why not? The man deserves all bragging rights, because he has been beaten multiple times by mobs, shipwrecked at sea, shipwrecked onto foreign islands, imprisoned, slandered against and killed for speaking God’s truth. Have any of us gone through all of these disasters, while upholding God’s truth? No? Then we haven’t earned the privilege of misinterpreting and misrepresenting God’s words. Don’t kick or boo me off the stage, just yet! Permit me to continue speaking. It will be worth it. I promise! Thanks.
Now, check this out… I’m going to insert a couple of verses that most people don’t like to read, because they sound too harsh. But I always tell people, God would rather chastise us, than watch us destroy ourselves. Just remember the key points you read earlier on. Go back and read all of it again, if you must. Copy and paste it into smaller parts, and then share it with others, because it seems as if we’re sometimes forgetting the God we serve, in an attempt to do things our own way.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)-
(9) Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men. (10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (11) 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.
It’s almost as if history is repeating itself all over again. Remember what happened in the garden of Eden? We need to remember, because we sometimes forget our spiritual history. In the garden, God gave Adam and Eve a very specific command. Then beforehand, He told them what would happen if they broke His command. The serpent deceived Adam and Eve. The serpent may go by many other names, but he is the great deceiver himself! (Revelation 12:9, KJV). What was the penalty for disobeying God? Adam and Eve were cast out of God’s presence, and eventually they died. Read Genesis chapters 2 and 3, AND 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 at the same time.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, God gave Paul a very specific message to deliver to the churches. God shared these truths with Paul, then Paul shared God’s words with us. God is incapable of lying, and an apostle’s main role is to uphold the words (or truths) of God. Similar to the events of Genesis chapter 3, we read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, that the apostle Paul is warning us to not be deceived. Who has been deceiving mankind since the beginning? Satan, the deceiver himself. Let’s fast forward a little. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 God states a command, which is followed by a consequence. God tell us to not be deceived. That is the command. Then, He states that wrongdoers, like the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who have sex with men, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, such persons will be cast from the presence of the Lord. Is that the end of God’s instructions to Paul? No. God offers the hope of redemption and salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6:11, it is revealed that some of Paul’s audience used to engage in these aforementioned lifestyles. So, the question is, who or what changed these people’s lives? Paul says, “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 Corinthians 6:11).
Does everyone here remember what Jesus, our Lord, did for us on that cross? What He did on that cross was no simple feat. He died a very excruciating death for me, you, and our loved ones. Please don’t minimize the significance of what He did on that cross. Please, don’t tell your friends and loved ones that because of God’s commandment to love each other, we can now love anyone, according to the desires of our own hearts. Matthew 12:36 states, “I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment”. Rather, tell them that because of God’s love, He wants to free us from the lies of the deceiver, and through Jesus, He wants to demonstrate to us what perfect love looks like, and through the Holy Spirit, He wants to teach us how to express that love in righteous ways.
Now, I’ll tell you something about these apostles. These men were the “original gangster unit” for Christ. They were proxies of God, and they were serious defenders of the faith. They could not afford to slip up when it came to representing God’s Word, because God Himself would hold them accountable for it on judgment day. Apostles were not there to minimize God’s words or contradict it. Their main role was to serve as messengers of God, and to travel to distant lands, preaching the gospel as a means of establishing churches there. By extension, this required them to speak God’s truth, and to do so at all times. Remember that, okay! The apostles successfully accomplished their role, and they were not afraid to die to uphold God’s truth. In fact, all of them (with the exception of John the apostle), died gruesome deaths because they chose to preach God’s truth. They were unafraid, since they knew Jesus was waiting on the other side, to embrace them for their commitment to Him and His Word. Guys, you need to remember everything I said about Paul. Go back and read his testimony again, if you need to.
Have any of you guys ever read Paul’s letters to the early churches? Doesn’t he come across as harsh in a lot of his letters? Yeah, he does. But I am here to reassure you that his admonitions always came from a source of love and God’s truth. And why not? The man deserves all bragging rights, because he has been beaten multiple times by mobs, shipwrecked at sea, shipwrecked onto foreign islands, imprisoned, slandered against and killed for speaking God’s truth. Have any of us gone through all of these disasters, while upholding God’s truth? No? Then we haven’t earned the privilege of misinterpreting and misrepresenting God’s words. Don’t kick or boo me off the stage, just yet! Permit me to continue speaking. It will be worth it. I promise! Thanks.
Now, check this out… I’m going to insert a couple of verses that most people don’t like to read, because they sound too harsh. But I always tell people, God would rather chastise us, than watch us destroy ourselves. Just remember the key points you read earlier on. Go back and read all of it again, if you must. Copy and paste it into smaller parts, and then share it with others, because it seems as if we’re sometimes forgetting the God we serve, in an attempt to do things our own way.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)-
(9) Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men. (10) nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (11) 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.
It’s almost as if history is repeating itself all over again. Remember what happened in the garden of Eden? We need to remember, because we sometimes forget our spiritual history. In the garden, God gave Adam and Eve a very specific command. Then beforehand, He told them what would happen if they broke His command. The serpent deceived Adam and Eve. The serpent may go by many other names, but he is the great deceiver himself! (Revelation 12:9, KJV). What was the penalty for disobeying God? Adam and Eve were cast out of God’s presence, and eventually they died. Read Genesis chapters 2 and 3, AND 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 at the same time.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, God gave Paul a very specific message to deliver to the churches. God shared these truths with Paul, then Paul shared God’s words with us. God is incapable of lying, and an apostle’s main role is to uphold the words (or truths) of God. Similar to the events of Genesis chapter 3, we read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, that the apostle Paul is warning us to not be deceived. Who has been deceiving mankind since the beginning? Satan, the deceiver himself. Let’s fast forward a little. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 God states a command, which is followed by a consequence. God tell us to not be deceived. That is the command. Then, He states that wrongdoers, like the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, men who have sex with men, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, such persons will be cast from the presence of the Lord. Is that the end of God’s instructions to Paul? No. God offers the hope of redemption and salvation, through our Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6:11, it is revealed that some of Paul’s audience used to engage in these aforementioned lifestyles. So, the question is, who or what changed these people’s lives? Paul says, “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 Corinthians 6:11).
Does everyone here remember what Jesus, our Lord, did for us on that cross? What He did on that cross was no simple feat. He died a very excruciating death for me, you, and our loved ones. Please don’t minimize the significance of what He did on that cross. Please, don’t tell your friends and loved ones that because of God’s commandment to love each other, we can now love anyone, according to the desires of our own hearts. Matthew 12:36 states, “I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment”. Rather, tell them that because of God’s love, He wants to free us from the lies of the deceiver, and through Jesus, He wants to demonstrate to us what perfect love looks like, and through the Holy Spirit, He wants to teach us how to express that love in righteous ways.
