Yes—in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, being washed, sanctified, and justified is what God does for people who were formerly unrighteous: He cleanses them and declares them just as if they had never sinned.
Les Feldick teaches that the Corinthians came out of a city steeped in paganism and gross immorality, yet Paul says they were washed—clean, saved, heaven bound. The washing is not water; it is an act of the sovereign holy God. Justification is God's judicial declaration that the guilty sinner is "just as if he had never sinned."
1 Corinthians 6:11 — This is the exact verse where Paul tells former sinners they are washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.
Romans 4:5 — This verse shows that justification is for the ungodly who believe, not for those who clean themselves up first.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Paul issues a warning and then gives the answer. He writes, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God." Then, in the same breath, he says to the believers: "And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." The Scripture also reveals that God justifies the ungodly: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5). And Paul proclaims that believers are "now justified by his blood" (Romans 5:9). Scripture, therefore, does not call the former sinner righteous because he changed himself; it says God declares him righteous through faith in Christ.
Les Feldick sets the scene by pointing out that Corinth was a commercial city steeped in paganism, idolatry, and gross immorality. The very people Paul lists as those who will not inherit the kingdom of God were the people who made up the Corinthian congregation before they believed. Yet Paul says, "Such were some of you"—and then shows what God did for them. For "washed," Les says the Corinthians were clean, saved, and heaven bound even though they came from abject immorality. He stresses that this washing is not water, but "an act of the sovereign holy God." All three—washed, sanctified, and justified—are done "in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." For "justified," Les repeatedly defines it as "a judicial act of God whereby He declares the sinner who is guilty, guilty, guilty" to be "just as if he has never sinned." God does this because the sinner believes the gospel, not because the sinner cleaned up his act. God justifies the ungodly. In God's chemistry, the blood of Christ makes a person white as new-fallen snow, as if he were Adam before the fall. This declared standing should have a psychological impact that affects the believer's daily behavior.
Paul writes to a unique congregation in a city steeped in paganism and idolatry. The list in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 includes the very kinds of people who made up the Corinthian church before conversion—fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, drunkards, thieves, covetous, revilers, and extortioners. Yet Paul says "such were some of you"—past tense. Their past did not stay on them, because they had been washed, sanctified, and justified.
No, not in Les's teaching. He contrasts physical water with the spiritual reality: "washed, oh, not in water, but by an act of the sovereign holy God." He brings in John 13's foot washing to show that the thought of washing makes us think of water, but spiritual cleansing is not water. A believer is clean—saved and heaven bound—regardless of how vile the past was.
Les defines justification as a judicial act of God whereby He declares the sinner who is guilty to be "just as if he has never sinned." This is not because the sinner cleans up first; God justifies the ungodly who believes. It happens through faith in the work of the cross and by virtue of Christ's shed blood. In God's chemistry, placing a sinner in the blood of Christ brings him out white as new-fallen snow.
Yes. Les teaches that knowing you are a justified person "has a psychological impact"—from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep, the awareness that God has declared you just as if you never sinned should affect your behavior. The sinful past does not have to remain; God takes care of the things that need to be taken care of after He saves the sinner right where he is.
Corinth's Pagan Background
The city of Corinth was steeped in paganism and idolatrous worship, which explains why the people Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 had such a gross unrighteous past.
Washed Means Clean
Les says "washed" means the Corinthians are clean, saved, and heaven bound, even though they came from abject immorality and some may have suffered sexually transmitted diseases.
Justification Defined
Justification is a judicial act of God whereby He declares the guilty sinner "just as if he has never sinned." Les shows this is linked to forgiveness and is all part of salvation.
Washed by God, Not Water
The believer is washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God—not by literal water. Les connects this to Jesus washing the disciples' feet in John 13.
Justified as If Never Sinned
Les repeats that justification is God declaring the sinner just as if he had never sinned, and he traces the whole sin problem back to Adam.
Justification's Impact on Behavior
The moment a person believes the work of the cross, God justifies him by His shed blood. Knowing this should psychologically affect the believer's daily behavior.
God Justifies the Ungodly
No one can clean up his own act before being saved. God justifies the ungodly and saves the sinner right where he is, then takes care of what needs to be taken care of.
God's Chemistry
In God's chemistry, the blood of Christ makes the believer white as new-fallen snow—justified as if he were Adam before the fall.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
This is the passage that contains the exact three words—washed, sanctified, and justified—that the question asks about.
Romans 4:5: But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
This verse explains that justification is for the ungodly person who believes, not for someone who tries to work for it.
Romans 5:9: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
This verse shows that justification is by Christ's shed blood, which Les emphasizes in his teaching.
No. Les says people often think "when I can get rid of this awful habit, then I'll let God save me," but no one can clean up his own act. God saves the sinner right where he is and then takes care of what needs to be taken care of.
No. Justification is a judicial declaration. God declares the guilty sinner "just as if he had never sinned." It is a legal standing, not a claim that the person has never done those things.
Les says no. The washing is not water; it is an act of the sovereign holy God. It is a spiritual cleansing done in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.
Some were fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, drunkards, thieves, covetous, revilers, and extortioners. Les adds that they came from abject immorality, but Paul says "such were some of you"—they were washed, sanctified, and justified.
Watch the Teaching: What 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 Really Says About Who Goes to Heaven