1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
There is so much in this world in which we live that is deceiving and deceptive. The word deceived in the above verses of the King James Bible comes from the Greek word “planaw.” It is the verb from which we get the English noun “planet”. It implies a wandering away on a separate path. Planets wander on their own orbit, or path away from the center point of its axis. And people do the same thing, they wander off on their own way of doing things, just as Isaiah 53.6 states: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
That is mankind’s problem, we all sin by choosing to do what our sinful self desires to do rather than seeking and doing what God wants us to do. Notice too in Isaiah 53.6 that God has provided a solution to and for our sin and I will discuss that later in this article. But first, we need to look at what the apostle Paul declared so plainly and clearly in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
He makes it clear, in God’s inspired written word, that there are indeed many who will not inherit, or enter into the kingdom of God. He names several categories of sinners. Those named who commit such sins habitually today will sometimes attempt a defense with the declaration “I was born that way.” But even if that were true, it is no defense for the sinner when he stands before the holy and righteous Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. For the Bible is absolutely clear that we are all sinners from birth and by choice. See Romans 3.10, 23 and Psalm 51.5.
We next need to look at these groupings of habitual sinners that will be excluded from God’s kingdom. Ten are named and we will cover each one, because the world seeks to deceive both Christians and the lost into believing that the unrighteous will indeed not face the consequences and judgment for their actions. Be not deceived “fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners.” You will not escape from God’s judgment if you persist in your sin.
Ask yourself, how many people did you know fifty, forty or thirty years ago that thought that homosexuality, fornication and/or adultery were acceptable conduct? How many do you know today that think so? There has been a tremendous propaganda campaign waged to deceive the American culture. It has been and is still being carried out in public schools, on radio and television, in the movies and the various news sources available today. Sexual perversion is shown in nearly every home in America on the television sets in our living rooms every night. Then answer this question, would you send your child or grandchild to a school where the teachers spelled the word WRONG with the letters R-I-G-H-T ? That is taking place in the United States’ public schools when it comes to the teaching of morals, escpecially when it comes to sexual conduct. But let’s get back to the point of this article.
Here is the list of groups that God calls “unrighteous.”
Fornicators
America is awash with fornicators. That simply speaks of those who commit sexual acts outside of heterosexual marriage. And heterosexual marriage is the only marriage that God and the Bible recognize. Fornicators will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Idolators
Idolators speaks of those whose god is anything other than the God of the Bible. It can be Allah, Vishnu, Satan, Buddha, nothing or yourself. None of these are God and none of them can deliver you from the judgment you will face before the one, true God. Idolators will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Adulterers
Adulterers are those that have sexual relations with another while they themselves are married. Adulterers will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Effeminate
The effeminate is a male who submits himself to be used as a woman, as a male prostitute. The effeminate will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Abusers of themselves with mankind
Abusers of themselves with mankind are men who have sexual relations with another man rather than a woman. Today the word is homosexual that is used in place of “abusers of themselves with mankind.” Homosexuals, or rather “abusers of themselves with mankind” will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
The principals are set forth and whether it is homosexual, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, they all fall under the same grouping of the unrighteous that will not inherit the kingdom of God. Notice should be taken too that these sexual sins are also mentioned in the Old Testament as being abominable in the sight of God(Leviticus 18) and are not excused under the New Testament. Some mistake the doctrine of God’s grace as the idea that God does not care whether or not a sinner saved by His grace continues on in sin once saved. This is a very dangerous and an heretical view. Paul asked the question in Romans 6:1-2a “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid …” and in Titus 2:11-12 we read “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying all ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.”
Thieves
Thieves here speaks of embezzlers and pilferers and by extension can even speak of teachers who care more for their own gain rather than the truth. Thieves will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Covetous
Covetous persons are those who desire to have something or someone that someone else has, are greedy of gain and are never content with such as they have. Paul in Colossians 3:5 calls covetousnous the same as idolatry. The covetous will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Drunkards
Society has softened the debauchery of alcoholism. Rather than calling a man or woman a drunkard, they are now called alcoholic, or that they have a drinking problem. The Bible speaks direct to the point and calls those who get intoxicated Drunkards. Drunkards will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Revilers
Revilers are those that “speak about (someone or something) in a very critical or insulting way” according to the Merriam Webster online dictionary. They are those who verbally abuse others. Revilers will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Extortioners
Extortioners here speaks of robbers, those who snatch property away from others with no qualms about it. Extortioners will spend eternity in hell “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Jesus is the one who described hell, or Gehenna, as the place Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. in Mark 9.43-44. Many will object and say “you use an ancient text”. Indeed I do, it is the proven Word of God that has stood the test of time and though many sling their mighty blows with their puny hammers upon its Anvil, they and their little hammers shall all be broken in the end. But that mighty Anvil, the Word of God shall still stand true unscathed, unmarred, undented and undeterred, as Romans 3.3-4 states For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
These are not the only groupings or categories of the Unrighteous found in the Bible. Revelation 21.8 names several more: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. I won’t give any detail on this group, but it is clear that there are many categories of sin by which we offend the holy and righteous Lord God.
My friend, your situation is dire — but not hopeless. However, you must be willing to confess your sin and repent of it. God can and will deliver you from your sins if you will but turn to Him and trust in Christ. That is what had happened to these Christians in the ancient city of Corinth to whom the Apostle Paul wrote. Notice what Paul said in verse 11: and such were some of you. They no longer were, but they had earlier been in one or probably several of those ten groupings of the unrighteous named in verses 9 and 10. I know I was. I look at the list and find 7 groups that I once fit into before I was born again.
But when these Corinthian Christians — and when I — repented and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ to save us the rest of verse 11 took place … but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. I praise God for cleansing us of our sins and making us righteous in Christ!
Is what I am sharing “hate speech”? If you have never repented of your sin, turned to God and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ to save you, I don’t hate you. Surely you would not call it “hate speech” if you had cancer and went to an oncologist, and he told you the truth that you had cancer and that he recommend a course of treatment to cure you of the cancer? Or would you rather he tell you that you are just sore from too much exercise, go home, take three aspirin and go to bed and get some rest? The doctor does not hate you when he tells you the truth. Neither do I hate you and neither will I call evil good, nor good evil. I desire to have you realize the truth of the peril of your situation.
Friend, you can be saved and I urge you to do so today. But you’re going to have to first own up to the fact that you have sinned against the holy and righteous God who created you and that sustains you in life. The simple Gospel message that you must believe is this, according to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” God, it is said in Romans 5.8 “commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Commendeth simply means that He demonstrated His love for us once and for all time. And the last part of Isaiah 53.6 says the same the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. We have each and every one of us wandered off to our own appetites for sin. But God loves us and has provided us a Savior.
1 John 1.9 tells us that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Confess simply means to say the same thing, or to agree with God about the fact that you have committed sins.
Some one once told an inquiring sinner asking how to get saved to “go in at the first All in Isaiah 53.6 and to come out at the last All” of the same verse. I urge you to repent of your sins, turn to God and trust in Christ that He took your sins upon Himself when He died on that cross on Calvary. Be saved today – Be washed – Be sanctified – Be justified – Do it now!
