Such Were Some of You

An error of judgement that preachers sometimes make is to address their congregations as though both preacher and congregation are, and always were, above certain sins. There may be more people than one imagines, who need to be addressed as though they could have committed certain sins, and as though they need a healthy spiritual assessment of this and approach to it. The apostle Paul wrote about thieves, drunkards, extortioners, and so on, "and such were some of you".