"And That Is What Some Of You Were! "

Such guilty, filthy, and polluted souls!
(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity, 
or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"Do you not know that the wicked 
will not inherit the kingdom of GOD? 
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually 
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers 
nor male prostitutes nor homosexual 
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy 
nor drunkards nor slanderers nor 
swindlers will inherit the kingdom 
of GOD." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

What a sad roster of vile people! 
These monstrous sinners and prodigious 
sins were enough to have brought another 
flood upon the world; or to have provoked 
the LORD to rain hell out of heaven upon them--
as once he did upon Sodom and Gomorrah; 
or to have caused the ground to open 
and swallow them up--
as once it did Korah, Dathan, 
and Abiram!  

And yet behold some of these 
are changed and sanctified! 

"And that is what some of you were! 
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." 
verse 11. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

Oh, the infinite goodness! 

Oh, the infinite grace! 

Oh, the infinite wisdom 
and power of GOD--
which has pardoned, washed, 
sanctified, and cleansed such 
guilty, filthy, and polluted souls! 

The worst of sinners should never 
despair of being made saints--
considering what notorious sinners 
have been made holy. There is no 
heart so wicked, but grace can 
make it holy.
Well! sinners, remember this--
it is possible that those . . .
  proud hearts of yours may be humbled; 
  hard hearts of yours may be softened;  
  impure hearts of yours may be sanctified; 
  blind minds of yours may be enlightened; 
  stubborn wills of yours may be tamed; 
  disordered affections of yours may 
     be regulated;
  defiled consciences of yours may 
     be awakened and purged;
  vile and polluted natures of yours 
     may be changed and purified.

   ~  ~  ~  ~