I am always amazed by the depth of God’s word. No matter how many times I read it I always find deeper and more profound truths hiding in plain sight right there in the text. One particular text, a very strong law passage, that I am very conversant with smacked me up side of the head the other day while I was discussing it with one of the Outlaw Preachers at their 2010 Reunion. The passage is 1 Corinthians 6:9–11. It is one of the clearest passages of scripture that addresses the sin of homosexual conduct in the Bible, and this was the reason it was being discussed. Here is what the text says:
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. 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.”
During my conversation I was focusing this particular Outlaw Preacher on the words “as were some of you”. The implication of those words is deep and profound. This passage is literally saying that those folks in the church who’ve committed the sins of idolatry, adultery, theft, homosexual sex, and drunkenness were no longer identified by those labels. There was no need for them to wear a scarlet letter A or H or D or T. Repentant and forgiven sinners who are justified and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, have been given Jesus' Name and His Label which supersedes those other labels and cancels and covers them.
So often, someone’s known sin is the thing that we label that person with. Tiger Woods is an adulterer. Brett Farve is a perve etc. etc. But, that is not how we are to think of those who are our fellow Christian believers because that is not how Jesus sees them or labels them. If Tiger Woods were brought to repentance and the forgiveness of his sins through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, then for those in the Church he would and should only be known as Tiger Woods, Forgiven in Christ. The label of adulterer would have no choice but to give way to the Name of Jesus because there is no other name given by which men must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Now, as deep and profound as that concept is, there is even one that is deeper still. This text actually gives us a snapshot of the folks who comprised the membership of the church at Corinth. The text reveals that this was a church filled with screwed up misfits. This was a church filled with repentant and forgiven adulterers, alcoholics, homosexuals, idolators, con men and thieves. That’s quite a membership role. Would you be comfortable leaving your child in the Sunday school class at the Church in Corinth? I bet you wouldn’t. How comfortable would you be sharing a common communion cup with a repentant homosexual whom you secretly worried was HIV positive?
This text forces all of us to ask a very awkward and challenging question, “Do our congregations have a bunch of repentant and forgiven adulterers, alcoholics, homosexuals, idolators, con men and thieves in them? Sadly, they may not. And one of the reasons for this, I fear, is that far too often 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 is used to keep those misfits out of our congregations when in reality this text is welcoming them to our churches to hear about the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of their sins won for them by our Great God and Savior. This text is not a road block to keep sinners out of our churches, but rather when you really read what this passage is saying, you'll discover that its an invitation for sinners and rabble of all stripes to come and be forgiven and to receive a new label, a label that says “Forgiven in Christ”. This is exactly what Paul would later say to the misfit members of the Church at Corinth when he said:
From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:16–17)
So I’ll ask the question again, “Do our congregations have a bunch of repentant and forgiven adulterers, alcoholics, homosexuals, idolators, con men and thieves in them?” If the answer is, no, then may I kindly suggest that maybe, just maybe our congregations have lost site of what they are supposed to be, embassies of the Kingdom of God, tasked with the ‘ministry of reconciliation’ NOT the ‘ministry of death’ (2 Cor. 3:4-11).
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18–21)
When our congregations are embassies of the Kingdom of God and are beacons of the ministry of reconciliation then and only then are misfit rabble sinners welcome to come and hear the amazing and blessed good news that "in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them". These texts challenge us and show us that our churches are supposed to be places where forgiven adulterers, alcoholics, homosexuals, idolators, con men and thieves, like you and like me, can come and join hands as brothers and sisters in Christ and sing in one communal voice...
Chief of sinners though I be,
Jesus shed His blood for me;
Died that I might live on high,
Lives that I might never die;
As the branch is to the vine,
I am His, and He is mine.
O the height of Jesus’ love!
Higher than the Heaven above;
Deeper than the deepest sea,
Lasting as eternity;
Love that found me—wondrous thought!
Found me when I sought Him not!
Jesus only can impart
Balm to heal the smitten heart;
Peace that flows from sin forgiven,
Joy that lifts the soul to Heaven;
Faith and hope to walk with God
In the way that Enoch trod.
Chief of sinners though I be,
Christ is all in all to me;
All my wants to Him are known,
All my sorrows are His own;
Safe with Him from earthly strife,
He sustains the hidden life.
O my Savior, help afford
By Thy Spirit and Thy Word!
When my wayward heart would stray,
Keep me in the narrow way;
Grace in time of need supply
While I live and when I die.
