It had to have been a miracle to cause the Corinthians to change
Question:
I'm finding a hard time believing that the people of Corinth actually repented, as you call it. I believe so many of them most have been probably struggling with sin because if you read I Corinthians 6:11, it says they were washed, sanctified and justified all in the name of Jesus, and that applies to all of us in that we have become God's righteousness in Christ Jesus (once we believe in the finished work of God, not necessarily repenting per se).
I might be wrong, but with my struggle, I can only say their changing was a miracle, which was still prevalent in those days. If they repented, how can we actually tell? I remember you said that falling back into sin is still possible. Hence, if the Corinthians had actually repented without falling, it obviously took a miracle and would be unfair to use it as a standard.
Answer:
You gave me your thoughts but little in the way of evidence. You don't believe the Corinthians repented and you base this opinion on your personal struggles with sin.
In I Corinthians 6, Paul warns the Corinthians not to allow themselves to go back into sin. "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 6:9-10). Some of them had been involved in some of these sins prior to becoming Christians. "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God" (I Corinthians 6:11). The very phrase "such were some of you" shows that they had changed, which is what "repentance" means.
But Paul also mentions that they were washed. The phrase refers to baptism. "Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name" (Acts 22:16). A prerequisite for baptism is repentance. "Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'" (Acts 2:38). And in recording the history of the church in Corinth, Luke mentions that they were baptized. "Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized" (Acts 18:8). This again indicates that repentance had taken place among the Corinthians.
The result of their becoming Christians through baptism meant that they had been sanctified (made holy) and justified (no longer held guilty). A person is sanctified when they are saved from their sins. Jesus told Paul that his duty was "to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 26:18). Justification is also connected to salvation and becoming a Christian through baptism. "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:24-27).
All of this was done because men made rules for their religion. Salvation came because men heeded the authority of Jesus Christ. "In the name of Jesus" means to act by the authority of Jesus (Acts 4:7,10). What Paul said here in I Corinthians 6:11 is basically the same thing Peter told the Jews in Acts 2:38.
Therefore, it doesn't require a miracle for people to repent. It requires submission to the authority of God. Being saved does not mean you will never sin again. That battle remains constant as long as we are on this earth. "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you" (I Peter 5:8-10).
