“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.”
– 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Guess what? Everyone who reads this will find themselves somewhere in the sins listed above. Understand that none of these specific sins is any worse than the other. In fact, if I had to pick one, I would pick idolatry because it breaks the first commandment which says, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
But picking the worst sin is not what this devotional is about. The focus is the last verse which 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.”
When Jesus died on the cross, He shed his blood to pay the price for our sins. The moment we place our trust in Him, all of our sins, past, present and future are washed away. Isaiah 1:18 states, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” Isaiah 61:10 states, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness.”
Does it get any better than that? God loves us and He delights in showing mercy. What a great God we serve. Years ago at our Men’s Bible Study at Edenton Street United Methodist Church, Stefan Youngblood, our very gifted worship leader, led us in singing the hymn There is a Fountain Filled With Blood. The lyrics are:
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains:
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.
I love the words of this great hymn because I have been a great sinner. To think that Jesus shed His blood for me is amazing. To know that I have lost all my guilty stains is even more amazing. There is nothing better than knowing you stand forgiven in the sight of God.
