November 30, 2023 -- I Corinthians 6:9-11 -- Prison as punishment, not for punishment

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Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. 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.
I Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV

As reading week continues there is a phrase that stands out to me. It is like a lighthouse which should keep Christians from crashing onto the rocks of false thinking about prisoners and false thinking about one another. Here is the phrase: “People are sent to prison as punishment not for punishment”. Ponder that for a minute. The punishment is prison. So officers and staff, society and others should not be punishing a man because he is in prison or has been in prison. The stated goal of incarceration is rehabilitation. The desire is that a man or a woman who has been incarcerated will be transformed from a mindset of criminality to one of virtue.

This is not mere idealism. Christians, above all people on this planet, should understand this. Christians begin with the fact that our sins are equivalent to those who are incarcerated. The most descriptive biblical phrase defining sin is this: “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” Romans 3:22-23 ESV. Do you actually believe this? Do you realize your sins are so hideous, so vile and such a great offense that you, like any incarcerated person on this planet, you deserve condemnation?! At issue is not a comparison of sins per se, but a wondrous recognition of the glory of God. Any sin, all sin, is a violation of that infinite glory.

Now consider the great grace of God. Look one more time at the list of sins Paul included in his letter to the Corinthians. You have, no doubt, criticized your government, or your fellow Christian harshly. That is reviling. It is not living as a Christian exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit. That is sin. It is worthy of punishment for the abuse of the glory of and the Name of God. To one degree or another, all the sins on Paul's list, are intimately familiar to us. That should stop any of us cold in our tracks.

The focus of salvation, always, is on the kindness and mercy of God. Having been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ we are now those who point to the holy showers of mercy and call others to repentance and new life. We are especially tender and gentle with those who have been beaten down by a criminal justice system that at times unwittingly, other times perversely, treats time in prison as time for punishment. There is a lingering presumption that an offender remains offensive. Dear Christian, wake up. The lingering stench of your own sins, those which have been cleansed by Christ, means the Spirit of God must be leading you to greater acts of healing kindness among those who have the greatest need of God’s saving love. Live your life in the mindset of the Spirit of God who leads you, and other former sinners now saints, into the new life of Christ.

Our Father in heaven hallowed be Your Name! Great and glorious is the salvation You bring to lost and ruined sinners—that justification which is ours through the mighty Name of Jesus and by the work of the Spirit of our God. Forgive us our reviling. Forgive us for the forgetfulness of our new life in Christ, where we do not remember that our sins. Sins so wicked and vile that should they have been exposed, their stench would reach to the heavens and barred our way to Your glorious presence. God of compassion and grace, direct us to be people who show Your grace in our prayers, in our words and in our actions. Amen.

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