Profitable

Most of us have jobs that we go to every day. Maybe, you’re a stay-at-home Mom or Dad, taking care of young children or an elderly relative. We all do things for a reason. If it’s a job, it’s probably to make money. When you are looking for a job, one of the primary things you are interested in is how much it pays. It’s easy to get caught up in just the money, though. Why are you working where you are? Is it just to make a paycheck, or do you believe that God has placed you there for other reasons.
In 1 Corinthians, Paul was trying to get that church to focus on living godly lives, so that they would not have sin blocking their relationship with Jesus.

Sanctified

The word, “sanctified”, means “set apart.” When we gave our lives to Jesus, He set us apart from the world, and set apart to Him. It’s easy to hear how the world tells us that sexual sin, such as sex outside of marriage or homosexuality, is “normal”, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is still wrong and harmful to those who are caught up in it.
At some places of work, many of the employees take their jobs for granted, and they don’t give a full day of work most days. If someone else does, they might get mocked or even attacked. That still doesn’t make what they are doing right, even if they think they are justified in their actions.
Paul lists other sins, such as getting drunk, cheating other people, or simply longing for what other people have.

Cleansed

In verse 11, Paul says that the Corinthians did these things before, but Jesus came, washed away their sins, made them righteous in the eyes of God, then set them apart as a holy people, like a bride who makes herself beautiful for her groom on her wedding day.

Jesus washed us and made us clean when He gave His own life on the cross, taking our sins on Himself, and taking our punishment that we deserved. He did not stop there, though. He wants us to keep getting closer to Him. Sin will keep us away, though.

Liberty

Some people might say that since Jesus forgives sin, they can do whatever they want, then ask Jesus to forgive them later. In other words, “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.” Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it. I can hit my head against a wall, but that doesn’t mean I should hit my head.
We can choose to go for a walk, or watch TV and eat chips. Both are allowed, but walking is more profitable for us in the long run.

At the end of that verse, Paul says that he “will not be mastered by anything.”

God or Wealth

We are always serving a master. Either we are slaves to God, serving Him in righteousness, or we are slaves to wealth, serving ourselves and, ultimately, Satan. A slave in Paul’s time could be someone who was so poor that they would sell themselves (their labor) to someone else, if the rich person agreed to pay off their debts. They could also become a slave if their country was conquered.
If we are serving wealth, we are selling ourselves (our souls) to serve it. We might think that our money and possessions are serving us, but we are actually serving them.
If we choose to serve God, we understand that He paid off our debt of sin that we had no other way to pay. We willingly give ourselves to Him, to serve Him. We gladly give up our old lives of sin, so that we can live in His righteousness.

Slaves of Righteousness

If the Son (Jesus) makes us free, we have true freedom. We no longer are slaves to sin, unless we choose to go back to that sin.

Hosea’s Wife

In the Old Testament, there was a prophet by the name of Hosea. God told him to marry a woman who was living an ungodly life, as an example of how the Israelites, God’s chosen people, were treating Him.

Hosea loved his wife, Gomer. He took her from the horrible, degrading, sinful life she was stuck in, and he gave her a new life, full of love and purpose. For whatever reason, though, she gave in to the temptations of sin. She left her husband and children and chose to become an actual prostitute slave. Hosea had to buy her out of her slavery.

Not the Same

What Gomer had done to Hosea was not just embarrassing; it was humiliating. He was supposed to be a holy, godly prophet; and example to the people. Hosea still loved Gomer, and he obeyed the voice of God. He humiliated himself and paid what amounted to a significant amount of money to get her back. When she came back, though, their relationship would never be the same. She had taken his love and forgiveness and trampled on them.
This is how we treat God when we choose to sin. He bought us with His blood and made us clean. Then, we get tempted by the things around us that everyone else says are so wonderful. We forget how we were actually slaves to them before, and we willingly go back into slavery again. Even though Jesus can forgive us, our relationship with Him is different.

Not the Same

We need to never forget what Jesus has done for us. Whenever we are tempted to sin, we need to stop, think, and remember what it was like. Remember the shame and guilt. Remember the feelings of loneliness and emptiness. Remember how Jesus saved us out of it all.

True Profit

Don’t allow the enemy to take what Jesus has given you. Jesus gave you a new life, and abundant life; live it. Jesus is willing to forgive, but let’s make a commitment to never hurt Him and our relationship with Him. Let’s live godly, abundant lives — slaves to life in Christ, not slaves to death.

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