“AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU”
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, the apostle Paul speaks with both thunder and tenderness. He begins with a sober warning: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived” (1 Corinthians 6:9). The kingdom of God is not entered by accident, nor inherited by mere association. Persistent, unrepentant unrighteousness has no future in a holy kingdom.
Paul then names sins plainly — sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, sexual perversion, theft, covetousness, drunkenness, reviling, extortion. He does not rank them. He does not soften them. He does not isolate one category to make others feel superior. He lays them side by side. Sexual sin stands next to greed. Idolatry stands next to slander. Public scandal stands next to respectable covetousness. The point is unmistakable: sin in any form, cherished and defended, is incompatible with inheriting God’s reign.
And then comes one of the most hopeful sentences in the New Testament:
“And such were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Were.
That single word carries the weight of redemption. The Corinthian believers were not pretending they had never sinned. They were not spiritually polished from birth. They had been idolaters. They had been immoral. They had been greedy and corrupt. But grace had intervened.
Paul continues: “But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Washed — the stain removed.
Sanctified — set apart for God.
Justified — declared righteous in Christ.
Notice the order and the power. This is not self-reformation. This is not moral bootstrapping. This is divine action. The name of the Lord Jesus. The Spirit of our God. Heaven moved toward sinners.
This passage holds two truths together without apology: the seriousness of sin and the sufficiency of grace. It refuses deception — sin excludes from the kingdom. But it also refuses despair — sinners can be changed.
The church must never preach half of this text. If we only shout verses 9-10, we crush hope. If we only whisper verse 11, we cheapen holiness. The Gospel says both: the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom — and you do not have to remain unrighteous.
“And such were some of you.”
That is the testimony of every true believer. Not sinless — but no longer defined by sin. Not perfect — but purchased. Not condemned — but cleansed.
The kingdom of God is not for those who deny their past. It is for those who have been washed from it.
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Holy Father, Keep me from deception. Do not let me soften what You call sin, nor exaggerate what You have forgiven. Show me where I need cleansing, and thank You that cleansing is found in the name of Jesus. Remind me that my identity is not in what I was, but in what You have done. Wash me continually. Set me apart. Anchor me in the righteousness of Christ. Let my life testify not merely to warning, but to transformation. May it be said of me, and of Your people, “Such were some of you.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.
BDD
