"...to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours." (1Cor 1:2, NET2.1) To the Christians, as the verse preceding the passage in question also shows
"But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!" (1Cor 6:8, NET2.1)
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you once lived this way. 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." (1Cor 6:9-11, NET2.1)
Paul is definitely speaking to professing Christian believers as the earlier verses show. Now....
A parable: a lad in his 20s grew up in the church and professed his faith in his early teens. He is in a solid, Bible-teaching church, and it is known of him that the "fruit of the Spirit" beams from his life. It is true that "by their fruits you shall know them", so the lad is a born from above child of God for he truly loves the brethren. Now, he is emotionally, lovingly and sexually attracted to other males 100%, but to females 0%. Always has been that way for him. He has a best male friend since high school whom he loves, whose nature is the same, and with whom he has intimate relations regularly. Considering the passages above, and it is clearly addressed to professing Christians who show the evidence of regeneration and justification, I wonder on these matters -
1. Since the "kingdom of God" is presented in the future tense, it must refer to the future kingdom prepared from the creation for the sheep as in Matt. 25:34, correct?
2. The status of the believers is stated as a past accomplishment, a done deal: "were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified", correct?
Is salvation actually not all of grace, but by grace/faith plus works?
Is it possible to know if you are truly saved or not? Or, is it merely a "lively hope"?
Are the Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland type of faith healers right, and God will cure/heal the lad?
Or, can this lad lose his salvation if he does not embrace the idea his love and sex activity is sin? Does v9 even refer to what this lad experiences?
If he accepts it is sin, and when he on occasion falls, and he earnestly repents, but then falls again... but is killed in a car accident before he repents again, is he going to hell?
The focus seems to always be on v9, but how to deal with v11?
"But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!" (1Cor 6:8, NET2.1)
"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God. Some of you once lived this way. 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." (1Cor 6:9-11, NET2.1)
Paul is definitely speaking to professing Christian believers as the earlier verses show. Now....
A parable: a lad in his 20s grew up in the church and professed his faith in his early teens. He is in a solid, Bible-teaching church, and it is known of him that the "fruit of the Spirit" beams from his life. It is true that "by their fruits you shall know them", so the lad is a born from above child of God for he truly loves the brethren. Now, he is emotionally, lovingly and sexually attracted to other males 100%, but to females 0%. Always has been that way for him. He has a best male friend since high school whom he loves, whose nature is the same, and with whom he has intimate relations regularly. Considering the passages above, and it is clearly addressed to professing Christians who show the evidence of regeneration and justification, I wonder on these matters -
1. Since the "kingdom of God" is presented in the future tense, it must refer to the future kingdom prepared from the creation for the sheep as in Matt. 25:34, correct?
2. The status of the believers is stated as a past accomplishment, a done deal: "were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified", correct?
Is salvation actually not all of grace, but by grace/faith plus works?
Is it possible to know if you are truly saved or not? Or, is it merely a "lively hope"?
Are the Oral Roberts, Kenneth Copeland type of faith healers right, and God will cure/heal the lad?
Or, can this lad lose his salvation if he does not embrace the idea his love and sex activity is sin? Does v9 even refer to what this lad experiences?
If he accepts it is sin, and when he on occasion falls, and he earnestly repents, but then falls again... but is killed in a car accident before he repents again, is he going to hell?
The focus seems to always be on v9, but how to deal with v11?