First Corinthians chapter six this morning. First Corinthians chapter six verses nine through 11. First Corinthians six. Nine through 11. We took a week look at to go over exactly what salvation is.

Redemption justification Last week, we looked at an all important word from the Bible. That word is grace. Grace. For it is by God's grace that we're saved. If we're not for the grace of God, his gracious nature, his goodness to us that are so undeserving.

We would not have a place in heaven. We would not be part of God's family. We would have no hope but now we do. Now, we have a home reserved in heaven for us who have trusted Jesus Christ as our savior. And who have entered into his family by his grace through faith.

Not merited, not earned, but a gift from God to us. As is each every day, as is the spirit that he has given to us. As is the word that he has given to us. As is the answers to our prayers. All glory goes to the one who made us, the one who saved us, and the one who has promised never to leave us nor forsake us and has preserved a place in heaven for all of those who have come to him by faith through the grace of God.

This morning's sanctification, first Corinthians chapter six verse nine. We're going to read down through verse 11. Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you.

But you are washed but you are sanctified but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Lord, thank you for your word today. May it not return void. May it go forth with power.

May you change our lives and hearts. May we be drawn closer and nearer to our savior today. Lord, help us to have a better grasp and understanding of what it means to be sanctified in Christ Jesus. And help us Lord to be useful servants and vessels in the hands of our master today. We pray in Jesus name, amen.

Okay, let's look at this verse just a little bit closer here this morning before we continue. Paul writes to the church at Corinth, the Christians that are there, the believers. He said, now you know that the unrighteous, the sinners shall not inherit the kingdom of God and then he lists several sins of which many of them were guilty before they came to Christ Jesus. These are the things that define them. They were defined in their nature as fornicators or idolaters, adulterers, or effeminate which means homosexual.

They were seen as thieves. That's how they were known as covetors, as drunkards, as revilers, extortioners, violent people. These shall not inherit the kingdom of God and such were some of you. These are the things that defined your life before you came to Christ. And you were not on your way to heaven, you were on your way to the lake of fire but not anymore.

These were and such that word were is very important. That's past tense. You were defined by these terms. This is who you were but this is not who you are now. You are not defined by these terms.

The these things are not who you are. You are now something else. You are washed, washed, cleansed of those things. You are sanctified which means set apart. We'll come back to that in just a moment.

Set apart. You are justified, declared guiltless of these things in this list. In the name of the Lord Jesus and the spirit of our God. We have been washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of who? The Lord Jesus who died on the cross for our sins.

When we received him by faith as our Lord and savior. We have been washed, sanctified, and justified by the spirit of our God, by the holy spirit who came into our life when we accepted Christ as our savior, gave us a new life in Christ and we have been born what? Again, born again, born anew, born from above, born of the spirit into the family of God. We are part of a different family. We came to Christ.

We became part of God's family. Born again, a child of God, declared guiltless. Having our record wiped clean and sanctified in Jesus Christ. Before we were all these other things, now who are we? We are sanctified.

We are justified. We are cleansed. By Jesus Christ, our savior, and the spirit who lives within us. These are the terms that now define us. Now, we took some time on justified few weeks ago.

Let's look at the word sanctified today. The word sanctified comes from a root word which means holy. Agios, Hagios in the Greek. The word sanctified comes from this word. There are are three words actually in your New Testament that all come from the same word.

Hagios, meaning holy and then a derivative of that which means saint or holy one and then the verb to sanctify. All come from the same word. To make holy. It means at its core to set apart. That which is holy, sanctified, a saint is one that has been set apart for a purpose.

Consecrated and cleansed. Made holy. That's what the word sanctified means. Consecrated, cleansed, in relation particularly to sin and set apart for a purpose. So, when you see the word sanctified, think separated or set apart because that is the root meaning of this word.

It defines a newborn Christian along with these other terms. We who are in Christ have been set apart from the world. We've been set apart from the world unto who? Unto God, okay? Sanctified in Christ Jesus.

We were on the Broadway that led where? Destruction, okay? Death, hell, lake of fire, the Broadway And God in his mercy and grace reached down and he took us off the broadway and he put us on the what? The narrow way that leads to life, to life everlasting. We have been set apart.

God has taken us off the broadway that leads to destruction, has placed us in Christ on the path that leads to ever life. We have been set apart to him. Not simply set apart from the world but set apart to his purpose. What is his purpose? Whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God, okay?

Why did he create us that we might do his good pleasure? Matthew five sixteen, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven. We've been set apart from the world in Christ Jesus into God's family now to serve our Lord and king, to bring glory to his name and to glorify him, represent him, be his hands and feet in this dark world in which we live. To shine the light of Jesus Christ to our neighbors, our friends, our family, that they might also be drawn to him, that they might be delivered from darkness into his marvelous. Light.

Light. Have been sanctified, set apart. You can only be set apart this way in Christ Jesus and by Christ Jesus. There are several passages that refer to this situation as Christians that we now are in. This blessed situation.

Matthew ten twenty seven twenty eight, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. If you are in Christ Jesus, you've been set apart, you're not now just part of the mass of sheep, the world, but you're now whose sheep? You're God's sheep. And you follow him.

And he gives you what? Everlasting eternal life and you are secure in him. First John, I mean, John one hundred twelve and thirteen, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons or the children of God even to them that believe on his name which were born out of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God, okay? God and his grace and mercy, when we receive Christ as our savior, has taken us off the Broadway, has taken us out of darkness into his marvelous light and put us on the path that leads to everlasting life in Jesus Christ. We are now no longer the children of wrath.

We are the children of God. And our home is in heaven. We're just pilgrims. This world is not our home. We're just passing through.

Jesus went back to prepare a place for us. Who are now the children of God by the power and grace of God. The I skipped the I I moved this verse. I want to read it to you. Let me find it here.

Where'd it go? Alright, it's not in there. I just erased it. Turn if you would or no, look at your bulletin or turn if you like. First Peter chapter two nine.

First Peter two nine. I read this I read this earlier in the service You were those other things Who are you now? But you are a chosen generation, a chosen people chosen by who? By God, by his grace. A royal priesthood.

What did the priest do? They served the Lord. Every Christian is a priest. In a sense. We all serve who?

We all serve Jesus Christ today. We all can pray to the Lord and he hears and answers our prayers. We don't need to go through a priest. I'm not a priest. You don't need to go through me.

There's only one that we need to go through. One mediator between God and man. Who's that? The man Christ Jesus. You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation A holy group.

Now, nation isn't referring to governments. It's referring to a group of people. And you are holy. What does that mean? Well, that means you've been set apart unto God.

A peculiar people. You're strange. You're you're kind of weird, you know? You're different. You're not like everybody else.

You know something? In relation to being part of God's family and to being part of the sons of God, the children of God, and not the children of wrath. You know, that's a good thing. That's the kind of peculiar we need to be and we do not need to be ashamed of. And indeed the world looks at us and thinks, yeah, they're kind of peculiar.

The word peculiar here really doesn't have a negative connotation though. It means precious treasure. We are God's precious treasure. We're precious to him. We're called out.

We're different. We've been set apart by God and we're of great value to him. You are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him who have called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That you should shine forth the goodness, the love, and the graciousness of God into this world. To reveal to them how God took you who were defined by those other things.

We read about in first Corinthians six and has made you a child of who? God. Has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. First Corinthians one two, Paul wrote, under the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints with all that in every place call upon the name of the Lord name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. All those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ as Lord.

Our sanctified and our saints. Before we do define those terrible things but now, in Christ I stand. In Christ, Jesus, you're standing before God has been drastically and eternally changed. We who were the children of wrath are now the children of God and are set apart. In Christ unto everlasting life and blessing.

We are now in Christ Jesus. That phrase in Christ Jesus. If you've read your Bible, particularly the New Testament, that should be a familiar phrase because that phrase is used 40 times in the New Testament. 40 times in the New Testament, we read in Christ Jesus. Second Corinthians five seventeen, if any man be in Christ, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, all things are passed away, behold, all things are become what?

New. If any man be in Christ, what does it mean when it says in Christ? It means we are robed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We are under the blood of Jesus Christ. We have been forgiven, sealed, justified, and set apart in Christ Jesus.

If we're to be judged by our own works then we're defined by those other things and in Revelation 20, we would be cast into the lake of fire. But as it is, if you know Christ the savior, name is written in the what? In the lamb's book of life. And we are now judged eternally in light of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who took our place and who has bestowed upon us his righteousness. In our behalf.

And as we are in Christ, God sees us as a new person. One who has been set apart unto him. Having been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, we have been born again into a new life in Christ, robed in his righteousness, justified by his sacrifice, redeemed by his bloods, our blood, our sin has been washed away, and we now stand before God the righteousness of Christ. Take your Bibles look if you would in Ephesians one. Ephesians one.

I'm read several verses there. So, find Ephesians chapter one and verses three through seven. Ephesians one three through seven. It says this, this is how God and and and it just the whole chat, I'm not going to read the whole chapter but you can read the whole chapter. It's how God now defines you.

Verse three, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places. Notice the phrase in Christ. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, and it continues on and on through the end of the chapter. You child of God have been set apart.

According to the grace of God, unto a wonderful, into a wonderful new life in Christ Jesus. Into his family and promised a place that's reserved in heaven for us. We are all of these things in Christ Jesus. For we are now in him and when God sees us, he sees us through the blood of Christ. He sees us through the righteousness of Christ.

Christ's inheritance is now whose inheritance? Yours. God's spirit is now your spirit because he lives within you. The blessings, the love of God displayed in Christ now lives in you. We have been set apart in Christ Jesus and to all these wonderful things that he goes on to describe in Ephesians chapter one.

As such, we have been declared to be saints. The word saint means sanctified one, okay? So, when you see saint, think sanctified one, okay? We have been sanctified. Thus, because we've been sanctified, we are now what?

Saints, okay? We are sanctified once. That's what the word saint means. A sanctified one. It's used in this verse here.

To them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus called to be what? Called to be saints or called saints and that's what we are. We are saints in Christ Jesus. The world defines saints as those who are better than everybody else. You've you've seen that.

It's just used in common conversation or in in movies or in books. They call somebody a saint. They're saying, well, there's somebody that's better than everybody else. Of higher moral standards or of righteous character. Sometimes, it's meant as a compliment.

Sometimes, it's meant as an insult. Well, you just think you're better than everybody else. You're a goody two shoes. You're a saint. The Catholic church venerates or designates certain people to sainthood.

Catholics who are on a higher plane than everybody else. Catholics who do some great deed in life or who makes some great sacrifice. Saint Peter, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint, on and on and on. I don't know. There's a list a mile long, I think.

Saints, Catholics who according to the church and here's the key, according to the church. Church is made up of men. According to the church, escape the torments of purgatory to go straight to heaven. Couple problems with that. Number one, there is no such thing as purgatory.

There is a place called heaven and there's a place called hell and there is no such thing as purgatory. It is not found in the Bible. If you're saved, you're going to heaven. You're not saved, sorry to say, you're going to hell. There's no in between.

Second of all, whether you go to heaven or not, is not dependent upon men, it's dependent upon who? God. It is God's decision. Not man's decision. Catholics, saints, according to the church, are those who can hear and answer the prayers of Christians here on Earth after their death and are therefore often worshiped and their images bowed down to.

Catholics often wear a little might wear something around their neck with a saint on it or they might have a statue in their house or on their car or a little emblem. Saints such and such. The saint of this or the saint of that. Saints cannot hear your prayers. God hears your prayers.

And there's on one one mediator between God and man who's that? The man, Christ Jesus. If you pray anything, Jesus says, in my name, the father hears you and will answer. No reason to pray to dead saints. They cannot answer your prayers.

God can. Jesus can. This is a misuse of the word saint. God never intended for there to be two classes of believers, a born again believers in Christ, the saints and the not saints. When Paul writes the first the church at Corinth here and he writes to them that are sanctified in Christ, Jesus called to be saints.

Obviously, according to some, he's only writing to a very small group within the church because not that many people are saints according to the Catholic church. No. Is he only writing to a very select group in the church or is he writing to the whole church? You tell me. Which is it?

He's writing to the whole church. He's not saying there's this select group of people within the church that are better than everybody else. We are all in Christ or we are not and if you're in Christ, if you've been sanctified and set apart by God's grace through faith and his sacrifice on the cross for you, you are a what? Saint. You are Saint Pedro.

I guess that means Peter but I don't know. You are Saint Jules. You are Saint Al. Believe it or not. You are saint fill in the blank.

Because you're part of God's family. You're sanctified in Christ Jesus. You've been set apart in Christ Jesus. Your sins have been washed away and you are now a child of who? God.

And you are positionally sanctified, positionally set apart from the world and those who are on the path that leads to destruction to the path that leads to everlasting life in Jesus Christ. The Bible clearly indicates, indicates that every Christian, true born again believer in Jesus is a saint. And these things are true of them. Romans six four, therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death, the like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of God, even so, we also should walk in newness of life. We died when we got saved to our old life.

We are raised to a new life in Christ Jesus. Now, that doesn't happen by getting dunked in the water up here. That happens when you trust Christ as your savior. The getting dunked in the water up here just signifies that in a physical sense. But that happens when you trust Christ that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Oh, and you have to be baptized. No, doesn't say that. Baptism pictures what happens in here has already happened in here. Your old life died and you began a new life in who? Christ Jesus.

You were sanctified. In him We are set apart by the baptism of the holy spirit. For by one spirit are we what? What's the next word there? For by one spirit are we all all baptized, okay?

Baptized into one body whether we be Jews or Gentiles, we'll be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one spirit. If you're a child of God, if you receive Christ as your savior, you've also received who? The Holy Spirit who's come into your life, you have been born again by the spirit as Jesus told Nicodemus in John three and you now have everlasting life. How many Christians, how many believers are baptized in the spirit? Every last one of them.

If somebody tells you, you need to be baptized in the spirit, and you're already a child of God, then they're confused. Because if you're a child of God, you are what? Baptized in the spirit. You have the spirit. He lives inside your heart.

You have been set apart from the world. Does the world have the spirit living inside their heart? The answer is no. You do. That sets you apart from the rest of the world.

Titus three five, I think I have that. Up here, not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit who now lives and resides in our heart and has set us apart and given us a new life in Christ. We are set apart by the washing of water by the word. First Peter one twenty three, being born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible by the word of God which live it and abideth forever. Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

We have been sanctified through God's word. We have been set apart. We are now no longer Jew or Greek. We are Christian. We are part of God's family.

Set apart to his praise and glory who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. The word sanctified is used in the Old Testament. It's used of the utensils and furnishings of the tabernacle. The utensils and furnishings of the tabernacle. What was the tabernacle?

Well, it was God's dwelling place among his people in Israel. In the Old Testament, when you believed in the Lord, you were not indwelt or baptized into the body by the holy spirit. God's glory and God's presence lived among the entire nation in the tabernacle, okay? And that's where they went to worship, okay? Because that's where God's glory and presence resided in Israel.

Now, Paul says in the New Testament, your temple, your body is the what? Now, the temple, the holy ghost who lives within you. Do you have to go to a tabernacle or a temple to worship God? No. You can worship God, you can pray God, you can serve God, and you should wherever you go, you are his what?

You are his temple, you are his tabernacle but in the Old Testament, they, Moses was told to build a taber in the midst of the children of Israel and they were to go there to worship God. The Shekinah glory of God rested upon the tabernacle and every time it was they moved and it was assembled back up. The Shekinah of glory of God came and rested upon the tabernacle in the holy of holies and the furnishings and the utensils that were used in the worship of the Lord in the tabernacle, those things were sanctified. They were consecrated. They were set apart from all other utensils and all other furnishings.

They were only to be used for what? One purpose. They were set aside unto God. They weren't be to be used to take home to stir your stew and to serve it in your house because they were set apart, consecrated unto who? They were consecrated unto God.

They were special. They belong to his house and his service. Also, the priests were also sanctified. They were set apart to serve the Lord in his tabernacle and in his temple. They too were sanctified or consecrated.

Not everybody could be a priest. Now, in the New Testament, as we mentioned, if you know Christ as savior, you are a priest because you have been set apart in who? You've been set apart in Christ Jesus to serve the living God. We are a royal priesthood in Christ Jesus. But in the Old Testament, those utensils and those furnishings, they were special.

They were sanctified. They were set apart. They were anointed with oil. The anointing of oil represents the holy spirit. When you got saved, you weren't anointed with oil, you were anointed with the actual who?

Holy Spirit who came to live inside your heart. Does that make you special? Yes, you are special. You have a special purpose. You've been set apart unto God.

They were sanctified and consecrated by oil but also by the sprinkling of what? By the sprinkling of blood. Hebrews nine twenty one. Moreover, he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. For almost all things are by the law purged with blood and without the shedding of blood, there is one.

There's no remission. Those things that were set aside for God's purpose and service in the tabernacle were also sprinkled by the blood of the sprinkled by the blood of the lamb. Now, as we mentioned, those things in the tabernacle were anointed with oil, were anointed with who? The Holy Spirit. We are washed not in the blood of a lamb.

We are washed and sanctified in the blood of the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We are set apart. We are special. We have been sanctified in Christ Jesus our Lord for his purpose. Separated from the world.

To be separate from the service of Satan, sin, and the world. To serve the living God who made us. When God made Adam and Eve, he created them to serve him, made them in his image but they rebelled. Humanity rebelled. Humanity is still rebelling but when we come to Christ in repentance and faith, God saves us and he sets us apart.

He sprinkles us in the blood of the lamb. Our sins are forgiven. He anoints us with the oil of the Holy Spirit and we become part of his family. Set apart unto his service. So, first Peter one two.

Peter describes it this way, we are elect. According to the foreknowledge of God the father, through the sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. That is Peter's salutation in his letter. This is who we are. We are sanctified.

We are saints. We are holy ones. Now, this we call positional sanctification. We're going to talk next week about progressive sanctification. You have been set apart unto God to serve who?

To serve him. Set apart from sin unto his glory and his service. And now having been set apart under his service, we need to serve him. And we need to forsake those other things in that list that define the world. And serve the Lord Jesus Christ in holiness.

Be you holy for I am one, holy. First, second Timothy two twenty one, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor. Sanctified in meat for the master's use and prepared unto every good work. As children of God, we need to allow God to change us each and every day, to mold us and make us into the image of God that we might be vessels of honor. Ready, prepared.

To be of our best service to Jesus Christ our Lord. But if you're here today, before you can be of any service to Christ, you have to first bow before him in faith and accept his offer of salvation. If you have yet to do that, you are not set apart in Christ Jesus. You're still on the Broadway that leads where? To destruction.

You need the cleansing of the blood of Christ. You need to be sanctified and set apart in him. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you Lord. That we who know you as savior are indeed saints.

Not because we're better than everybody else but because we have a better savior. Who did the work on Calvary's Cross for us, who shed his blood that we might be sprinkled and forgiven in him, That we might be set apart unto his glory and service. Lord, thank you. May we be ever more thankful every day. For who we are in Christ Jesus.

That we're no longer defined by those things listed in first Corinthians six. But we're defined as those washed and sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of his spirit. And now also Lord, may we living in the light of that. Live for the one who gave his life for us. May we forsake that which is displeasing in your sight.

And may we live holy lives in every area of our behavior. More and more each day to shine more brightly for the glory of our God and Lord, if there's one here today that's not yet accepted Christ as their savior, I do pray they would come as we sing of this hymn of invitation today and be saved forever. In Jesus name, amen.