Do you not know that the unrighteous and the wrongdoers will not inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived (misled): neither the impure and immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality, nor cheats (swindlers and thieves), nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foulmouthed revilers and slanderers, nor extortioners and robbers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God. And such some of you were [once]. But you were washed clean (purified by a complete atonement for sin and made free from the guilt of sin), and you were consecrated (set apart, hallowed), and you were justified [pronounced righteous, by trusting] in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the [Holy] Spirit of our God.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭Titus‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭AMPC‬‬
For the grace of God (His unmerited favor and blessing) has come forward (appeared) for the deliverance from sin and the eternal salvation for all mankind. It has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness (irreligion) and worldly (passionate) desires, to live discreet (temperate, self-controlled), upright, devout (spiritually whole) lives in this present world, Awaiting and looking for the [fulfillment, the realization of our] blessed hope, even the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One), Who gave Himself on our behalf that He might redeem us (purchase our freedom) from all iniquity and purify for Himself a people [to be peculiarly His own, people who are] eager and enthusiastic about [living a life that is good and filled with] beneficial deeds.

Imagine with me a master locomotive builder who visited a junkyard for trains and saw all of these parts sitting on the sidelines. The moving parts were rusted shut, the wheels were detached from the base. The boiler room had someone living in it and they started fires all over the place. Animals left their deposits and time and weather made these parts totally corroded and unusable.

This master builder decided to have compassion on these old parts and he pulled them out one by one. He found all the parts he needed to make two new locomotives and he purchased them from the junkyard. He then gave the parts life, told them they could choose to come with him, surrender to his master builder hands and be built into an incredible locomotive capable of extraordinary things. Or they could also choose to control their own lives and return to the junkyard. Some parts went with the master builder. And the parts who went with him, he cleansed. He worked off the corrosion and grime, their rust and contamination. He made them look new again. The funny thing about these parts is they were all from different brands of trains. But he masterfully made them into an incredible locomotive that was unique in its look and strong and capable of great hauling and work.

The parts who left him were enough to make a train too, but greed, selfishness, and a desire for the things of this world slowly returned them to their prior corroded and useless state.

Like the train parts, we too have a choice to follow our Master, the Lord Jesus, wholeheartedly and be built into something amazing as a part of the community of believers, or to stay trapped in sin and darkness.

The above passages are often pointed to as reasons to reject following Jesus because people do not want to follow the rules or label others as sinners. They do not want to admit that they need help from the master.

But the real story is not the sin that corrodes us and how we treat it. The real story is the Grace of God that is offered. It rescues us from a life of ugly, corrosive sin and cleanses us. God redeems our purpose in life. By rejecting our former life of sin we can be trained under God’s disciplines to embrace self-control, upright living, and faithfulness to him. And we gain a glorious hope that has implications now and into eternity.

Our hope now is centered on Jesus Christ (and the Spirit he places inside the hearts of every believer) to transform our broken bodies into vessels that glorify him and reflect his goodness and love. Our hope for eternity is the hope of Jesus coming again in the flesh to bring us home to heaven in new, perfected bodies.

So we have a list of sins in I Corinthians 6:9-11. Some seem worse than others to us. But they all separate us from the love of God. The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians, and us, that this is what we used to do and belong to. But by the grace of God, we have been redeemed, cleansed, set apart for greatness, and considered righteous by the blood of the sacrificial lamb, Jesus Christ.

The call here is to remain faithful, to stand firm in our faith, and to run away from the evil temptations of this world and into the loving arms of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He takes broken people from all different races and backgrounds, like parts of a train in a junkyard, and makes us into a masterpiece for his glory! “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Lord, you took me, a broken and corroded part and made me into a beautiful vessel for your use, together with your church. Thank you for loving me as only you can. May your light reflect off of this weak vessel and shine brightly so all can see it is you, ONLY YOU, inside me that makes me good.