"The unrighteous will not inherit heaven"

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, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 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. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV

This passage is a mere statement of fact. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. Only the righteous can dwell in the Kingdom of God. Recently I’ve heard this passage referred to as hate speech, because what it says makes people feel bad about who they are and what they do. It has even be said that these words should not be uttered publicly for this reason.

These words are not hate speech, quite the contrary. They are love speech. Paul loved the people at Corinth enough to remind them of something they may have forgotten. The reminder is that in Jesus their unrighteousness has been done away with. Because they had realized their unrighteousness and turned to Jesus and had their sins washed away they were now sanctified and justified and righteous in God’s sight. They now can inherit the Kingdom of God.

What Paul is saying is that you used to indulge in these behaviors, but now you don’t. He is reminding them that in order to maintain their inheritance they can no longer live as they once did. He is telling them that if they go back into these behaviors as a lifestyle, they will lose their inheritance. He’s not talking about stumbling and getting back up, he is talking about continuing in spiritually unhealthy behaviors.

God’s word, the Bible is the greatest love letter ever written. It was written by the one that created us in His own image. He wants us to have all the best. He proved it by sending Jesus to die for our sins. God hates sin, but he loves sinners.

So today, let’s help others to see that God loves them. Let’s help them to see that spiritually unhealthy behavior needs to be changed just like physically unhealthy behavior needs to changed in order for one to have the best life possible.

© 2013 leo J. Woodman