How does 1 Corinthians 6:9 define who will not inherit God's kingdom? The verse in focus 1 Corinthians 6 : 9 “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,” The direct list in 1 Corinthians 6 : 9 Paul names four recurring lifestyles that bar entrance to God’s kingdom when left unrepented and unforsaken. • Sexually immoral —porneia, a broad word covering all sexual activity outside the covenant of one-man-one-woman marriage (Matthew 19 : 4-6). • Idolaters —those who worship any person, object, idea, or appetite in the place of the living God (Exodus 20 : 3-5). • Adulterers —married people who violate the marriage bed, a sin God judges with special severity (Hebrews 13 : 4). • Men who submit to or perform homosexual acts —both passive and active partners in same-sex unions, condemned alongside other forms of sexual immorality (Romans 1 : 26-27). Verse 10 completes the catalog For clarity Paul immediately adds other examples (1 Corinthians 6 : 10). • Thieves • The greedy • Drunkards • Verbal abusers • Swindlers None of these inherit the kingdom either. Other passages echo the same warning • Galatians 5 : 19-21 lists works of the flesh that bar inheritance. • Ephesians 5 : 3-5 links immorality, impurity, and greed with exclusion from the kingdom of Christ and God. • Revelation 21 : 8 warns that the lake of fire awaits the sexually immoral, idolaters, and liars. • 1 Timothy 1 : 9-10 repeats the condemnation of homosexuality, immorality, and perversion. Why lifestyle matters, not just confession • Inheritance language concerns possession and permanence, not mere lip service. • The kingdom is holy, so its heirs must be holy in practice (Hebrews 12 : 14). • Persisting in these sins without repentance demonstrates an unchanged heart that remains outside Christ’s lordship (Luke 6 : 46). The transforming grace that follows the warning 1 Corinthians 6 : 11 reminds believers that many once lived this way, “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.” • The gospel cleanses, sets apart, and declares righteous anyone who turns to Christ. • The same Spirit who justifies also empowers a new walk that proves genuine inheritance (Titus 2 : 11-12). Paul’s list is therefore both a sober diagnosis and a gracious invitation: abandon the old life, receive the washing of Christ, and live as heirs who will truly inherit God’s eternal kingdom. |
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