"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." 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
So this passage explicitly states that certain groups of people will not be saved (they will not enter the kingdom of God). The most common interpretation is that, of course, anyone who repents of these and believes in Jesus will be saved. And, most people would agree, no one is going to achieve a perfect repentance, there is grace that applies to those who struggle and fall into sin. The important thing is the faith, the sincerity of the repentance, the confession of sin to God, and the striving for sinless perfection.
However, with the way the church is going, more and more people are going to believe that homosexuality and gay marriage is ok. There are already churches out there that condone gay marriage and have gay marriage ceremonies in their facilities. There are already people out there who believe in Jesus Christ, who go to church, who pray, who give to charity, who generally live a good life (by human standards) and even have some form of 'repentance' from all other forms of sin other than their homosexuality.
This leads us to a question: is there any chance that God will welcome such people into His kingdom? When this scripture clearly says that the homosexual will not enter?
What are your thoughts.
Hi! 'TaylorDonBarret'
Your quoted the Scripture saying, "Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, ....
nor thieves ... will inherit the kingdom of God", (1Cor 6:9-10) is entirely contrary to my personal testimony of discovering Jesus.
When I was without knowledge of God, I was busy being a thief.
Unfortunately, I had become a rather notorious and successful thief prior my hearing the Gospel. At twelve years old, a hometown pastor had declared me "incorrigible". At early 20's, a prosecutor had stood before a criminal court and announced to the presiding judge: "There isn't a building in this city, indeed! in this country", that this man can't get into". By my late 20's, I was firmly categorized as an "habitual criminal".
With that admitted history, it shouldn't surprise anyone that I first became introduced to the Gospel during the commission of a crime.
The fact is: I was conspiring to burglarize a bank at the time. It's rear property was adjacent to a Christian Mission and the developing burglary plan made it necessary that I enter the Mission to obtain an enhanced rear view of the bank which was available through windows of the Mission.
Salt had two purposes in the Middle East of the first century. Because of the lack of refrigeration, salt was used to preserve food, especially meat which would quickly spoil in the desert environment. Believers in Christ are preservatives to the world, preserving it from the evil inherent in the society of ungodly men whose unredeemed natures are corrupted by sin (Psalm 14:3; Romans 8:8).
Second, salt was used then, as now, as a flavor enhancer. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ stand out as those who “enhance” the flavor of life in this world. Christians, living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, will inevitably influence the world for good, as salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons. Where there is strife, we are to be peacemakers; where there is sorrow, we are to be the ministers of Christ, binding up wounds, and where there is hatred, we are to exemplify the love of God in Christ, returning good for evil (Luke 6:35)
In the analogy of light to the world, the good works of Christ’s followers are to shine for all to see. The following verses in Matthew 5 highlight this truth: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16, NASB). The idea here is similar—the presence of light in darkness is something which is unmistakable. The presence of Christians in the world must be like a light in the darkness, not only in the sense that the truth of God’s Word brings light to the darkened hearts of sinful man (John 1:1-10), but also in the sense that our good deeds must be evident for all to see. And indeed, our deeds will be evident if they are performed in accordance with the other principles which Jesus mentions in this passage, such as the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-11. Notice especially that the concern is not that Christians would stand out for their own sake, but that those who looked on might “glorify your Father who is in heaven” (v16, KJV).
Strangely enough, throughout my entire life, both homosexual behavior and adultery remained morally nauseating and offensive to me. I recall an occasion prior my repentance when a prostitute, upon learning of my criminal exploits, disparagingly asked, "I jus' don't understand how you can dress up in black clothes and rob banks". To which I spitefully replied, "I don't understand how you can dress up in white and screw the neighborhood". To say the very least, we both had a moral superiority complex.
The above narration all goes towards the following point I wish to make about your above Comment, 'TaylorDonBarret' :
There's minimal value for us Christians to behave and speak as something akin to pious flash-lights. Since we're anointed as lights, there's no compelling need to self-appoint ourselves as flash-lights. Flash-lights accusingly chase the darkness rather than extinguishing it; flash-lights merely expose the darkness rather than triumphing over it.
Sad to say, my early Christian years had me constantly bumping into such self-appointed pious flash-lights at nearly every turn. For instance: shortly after hearing the Gospel, I decided to visit a local church as a blushing but exceedingly grateful new child of the kingdom. A man, (an Elder of the church), graciously met me at the church door and happily extended his hand to welcome me. However, a few seconds later he muttered something and turned on his heel and orphaned me. I was later told that this Elder was tolerant of jus' 'bout anything but cigarette smokers. (Evidently, he had self-appointed himself as a flash-light in the congregation).
Another instance: I was a miserable failure at handling money and managing a working man's budget during the early years of my Christian walk. Lacking sufficient monies to eat and transit until my employment paycheck arrived, I visited a dear aged Christian lady who had courageously befriend me months earlier and gave her some lying story about needing money to buy work clothing and boots. She dug into her cupboard savings jar and handing me $10 more than what I had asked. A few years later, this sweet lady said to me: "Remember that day you came to borrow some money to buy some work clothing? Well, I knew you were lying to me; but I figured that if you needed to lie to me, you must have needed it very desperately and so I happily gave it". I especially hugged her warmly that day.
Ummm, (speaking for myself), I'm not so much anxious about whether God might welcome some sinful individual into His kingdom. Rather, my primary concern is that I be found eagerly welcoming the sinful into the restorative rays of our Gospel light.
No matter how offensive and repugnant a person's behavior may be to us personally, the Bible doesn't demand that such sinners be refused entry through our church doors. Nevertheless, the Bible does explicitly state the qualifications for holding position of authority in our churches; example: "An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God's household, he must be blameless--not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined" (Also read: Romans 12:13, 1 Timothy 3:8, 1 Timothy 3:11-12, 1 Timothy 5:9-10, 1 Timothy 5:22, 2 Timothy 2:24, Titus 2:2, Hebrews 13:2, 1 Peter 4:9.
