Monday, February 24, 2025

            The dictionary defines the word “were” as “past tense second-person singular, past tense plural, and past subjunctive of be.”  A more simplified definition might say that “were” refers to something that used to be or the way someone once was.  For example, we might say “you were at my house last Thursday.”  Not today.  Not tomorrow.  Not in the present.  Not in the future.  But yesterday and definitely in the past.  The word “were” does not point us to the present time or a future time.  It always points us to the past.  It shows us the way things used to be or, more importantly, the way we used to be.    
            We all have a past.  And most of us have aspects of our “past” that bring us no joy or contentment.  We possess regrets and things we would gladly go back and undo or unsay if possible.  The Bible will occasionally use the word “were” to describe conditions before Christ and before someone came to saving and life-changing faith in Christ.  One such example is 1 Corinthians 6:11. The Bible says, “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.”  Paul used this verse in the context of explaining what Corinthian believers once were or used to be.  In verses 7-10 of the same chapter, Paul gave a list of sins and evil behaviors that separated these Corinthians from the Lord.  These same sins would separate us from the Lord today.  These sins represent and characterize an old life—a life without Christ and a life that is lived exclusively for selfish desires and pursuits.   
            But these Corinthians were “washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”  The Lord changed them.  He forgave those sins and gave them a new life.  Forgiveness is never a license to return to the same old sins and same old ways of life.  If we return to these things, then we must seriously examine whether we have had a life-changing, saving encounter with Jesus Christ where we were forgiven by His grace.  And what God has called sin cannot be renamed or changed by a popular vote or consensus opinion.  That small word “were” is powerful in this context.  It represents a life that has been left behind in favor of a new life with Christ.  It represents a break with everything that has separated and divided us from the Lord. 
            We might think about what we once “were” so we can give thanks that the Lord has changed us.  We have been radically and profoundly saved by the work of Christ at the cross.  We are no longer slaves to sin and the old ways of life.  We have been liberated by grace and the power of Christ.  The Bible says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”  Everything on the past side of “were” has been crucified with Christ and handed to Him.  These things have been left behind and left at the cross where Christ gave His life and blood for those things. We now live on the present side of “were.”  We have been entrusted with a new life and a new Lord to follow. 
            Paul wrote about this new life in Galatians 3:26-27, “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”  A new life is clothed with and in Christ—not clinging to the old ways and the old clothes.  We can be grateful today that we have a “were” moment in our lives if we have come to Christ for grace and forgiveness.  Have a great Monday.  Remember you can share our worship any time at YouTube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.