Week 44 1 Corinthians 6
I was interested in Paul’s question: do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? I checked a bunch of other versions for the word Unrighteous. The majority used the same word (the runner-up word was Wrongdoers. A couple used Unjust. Or phrases like Wicked-people. Evil-people. Bad-people. Sinful-people).
Anyway Paul then listed specific actions that described the practices of Unrighteous people:
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
In the margin I saw a cross-reference to Romans:
Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light…Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy…And do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. (So Paul’s list in 1 Corinthians wasn’t comprehensive.)
And I know there are other lists. I page over to Galatians:
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like…Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
So when it comes to getting into the kingdom it’s pretty definite that abandoning unrighteous behavioural practices is a prerequisite.
Note: quotes from 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Romans 13:12-13 Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV) (with some reformatting)