"Such Were Some Of You"

I Corinthians 6:11

Don Fortner

We were all unrighteous by nature. Both our evil hearts and our evil deeds made us unfit for heaven's eternal glory. Some were adulterers, some were drunkards, some were thieves, some were covetous, etc. But we were all guilty. We were all born with the plague of sin in our hearts. Sin was our natural course of life. Sin was the path in which we chose to walk day by day, until God intervened to save us by his grace. We were nothing but sin. We did nothing but sin. There was not one particle of goodness in us, by which we might be commended to God. This is what we were and where we were when God saved us by his grace. See that you never forget it (Isa. 51:1; Eph. 2:1-3). And this is what we are by nature still (Matt. 15:19). There is no evil recorded in the Word of God, or written upon the pages of human history, the seed of which is not in your heart and mine by nature. The hearts of all men and women are cesspools of iniquity, in which the loathesome monster, sin, produces its many offspring. We are constantly reminded of this painful fact throughout the Book of God. Why? I am sure there are at least four reasons:

l. To humble us and keep us from pride and self-righteousness (I Cor. 4:7). There is no difference between any of God's elect and the most vile reprobate in the world, except the difference made by the grace of God and the blood of Christ.

2. To honor, exalt and magnify the grace of God in Christ (I Cor. 1:26-31). By the grace of God we are what we are. Grace chose us. Grace redeemed us. Grace called us. Grace preserves us.

3. To encourage sinners to come to Christ, with all their sins, trusting him alone for salvation and eternal life (Isa. 1:18). Look what grace has done for so many. Christ is willing to save any sinner who simply trusts him.

4. To inspire in our hearts the intense zeal and ardent love for Christ our great Savior so richly deserves (Luke 7:47). Surely, men and women who have experienced such rich, abundant, saving grace will love and serve such a great Savior, with willing hearts.