But

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. 1 Cor 6:11 (NIV)

It’s that small word ‘but’ that gets me. If you look at the few verses before this one, Paul lists some of the sins which the Corinthian church folks had been involved in, and it is a list well worth reading! From serious sexual sins to loose talk, or slander. Paul’s contention was that although these were sins which had been accepted as ‘normal’ in Corinth at the time, having been saved, they were to be different. Hence the ‘but’ at the start of the verse quoted.

I get the impression Paul may have been a bit frustrated or impatient with his readership. He expected better from them, and made it clear that God expects no less. Here was a church, who did not fully know what they were saved from. Do we know what we have been saved from? I had an interesting conversation on this subject recently, because I was saved at the age of eight. Now what sins can an eight year old boy get into? Not many, and certainly not the kind listed in Paul’s letter to Corinth. But I can tell you one thing clearly. I knew that something had happened inside me. I prayed a simple prayer, and God answered it simply. As a result, I believe that I was ‘saved’ or ‘protected’ from sins in my future.

As time passes by, the types of sins which confronted this old New Testament church, also face us today. In fact in many ways it is so much easier to fail nowadays, and fall from God’s favour. God still loves us, but we are bombarded on every side by temptation. Never before have we had to face such a difficult time of decision to follow God’s way, or the lifestyle shown on TV, the internet, the cinema, the billboard, even our newspapers and magazines. The first century church didn’t have these same modern means, but they had the same temptations to face that we have nowadays.

Question: How would we respond, if Paul faced us with the same situation? Would it be a frustrated “‘but’ you were washed”, or would it be the more positive “‘and’ you were washed”? What a difference between these two words, and what a completely different witness to those around us. May we be worthy!