"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."
This verse flies in the face of today's social mantra. Some of the sins referred to are considered permanent conditions today. Our culture's response to difficult temptation is to simply lower the bar, label the condition, and make the sin acceptable.
God, however, is in the business of changing people.
The early church was a collection of immoral sinners. The list included adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, and more. But this verse states that those sins did not describe them any longer.
The verse does not say "that is what you ARE", it says
"that is what you WERE"... Past tense ... Changed by the blood of Christ.
That is the Gospel. That is the good news. No matter what you were, no matter what you've done, regardless of what the world thinks of your past... it does not define you. You have been washed by the Spirit of God. Your acceptance of the sacrifice Christ made, means you stand spotless before the Throne, and the only label you bear is "Child of The King".
The enemy would have you surrender, and accept that you are controlled by sin...and maybe you were. But not now... The Cross has set you free and literally changed your identity.
That is the essence of amazing grace. That your sins are as far from you, as the east is from the west. You are a new creation, no longer a slave to sin. That is not who you are anymore.
Live in victory, and cherish the freedom that Christ's blood purchased for you. By God's amazing grace you have been set free...Intentionally live in that grace, and offer it to everyone you meet.
"Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see."
- John Newton
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