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The common Biblical phrase Kingdom of
Godcan be used in more than one way. In
this particular study we will focus in upon the
seriousness of not inheriting it as mentioned
in especially the following three key passages:
Or do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived;
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom
of God(1 Cor. 6:9,10, NASB).
The acts of the sinful nature 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. I warn you, as I did before, that
those who live like this will not inherit
the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21).
For of this you can be sure: No immoral,
impure or greedy person—such a man is
an idolater—has any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God.Let no
one deceive you with empty words, for
because of such things God’s wrath
comes on those who are disobedient.
Therefore do not be partners with them
(Eph. 5:5-7).
Observation #1: It is the unrighteous who will
not inherit the kingdom of God. They are also
listed in 1 Cor. 6:9,10.
Observation #2: It is crystal clear that it is sin,
and of the types cited above, that will cause one
not to inherit the kingdom of God.
Observation #3:The danger of not inheriting
the kingdom of God is something that can
happen to Christians. Hence, Christians were
given this type of warning repeatedly by Paul to
keep them on their vital guard.
Question: Where do the unrighteous—the ones
who do not inherit the kingdom of God—go?
Answer: Jesus answers this in one of his hell
warnings:
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck
it out. It is better for you to enter the
kingdom of God with one eye than to
have two eyes and be thrown into hell
(Mark 9:47).
NOTE: Jesus taught we either enter God’s
kingdom or get thrown into hell. Elsewhere we
learn that in Scripture, at times, the phrase
kingdom of God and kingdom of heaven are used
interchangeably (Mt. 13:11 cf. Mk. 4:11; Mt.
19:14 cf. Lk. 18:16; etc.). We can also safely
deduce that entering God’s kingdom is the
same as entering heaven, especially in light of
the following passage:
The Son of Man will send out his angels,
and they will weed out of his kingdomeverything that causes sin and all who
do evil. They will throw them into the
fiery furnace, where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the
righteous will shine like the sun in the
kingdom of their Father. He who has
ears, let him hear (Mt. 13:41-43).
Hence, all who do evil will go to the fiery
furnace while the righteous will be in the
kingdom of their Father (God). This is
significant especially with a past observation in
mind, that is, the unrighteous who will not
inherit the kingdom of God. In other words, the
righteous are distinguished from those who do
evil and they will be in the kingdom of God,
while the unrighteous (or wicked) will not inherit the
kingdom of God.In Mt. 25, the Lord will speak to his sheep and
say the following to them:
He will put the sheep on his right and the
goats on his left. Then the King will say
to those on his right, “Come, you who
are blessed by my Father; take your
inheritance, the kingdom prepared for
you since the creation of the world” (Mt.
25:33,34).
In verse 37, those same sheep are called
righteous.The only other group present go to
eternal fire (Mt. 25:41) and everlasting
punishment (Mt. 25:46). NOTE: This is not a temporary punishment in fire, but everlasting. They are also the ones
that are not Jesus’ sheepnor are they righteous. They do not inherit the kingdom.
Lovers of God
James wrote:
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God
chosen those who are poor in the eyes of
the world to be rich in faith and to
inherit the kingdom he promised those
who love him? (James 2:5)
Those who inherit God’s kingdom are the
same as those who love God. Other Scriptures
show if we love God we will obey God (John
14:15; 14:23,24; 1 John 5:3). Hence, those who
love God won’t be committing the sins cited in 1
Cor. 6:9,10; Eph. 5:5-7; etc., but will instead be
obeying him. Only such will inherit God’s
kingdom and not go to hell’s fire.
To have an inheritance implies being an heir,
which is what we become when we are made
God’s son:
So you are no longer a slave, but a son;
and since you are a son, God has made
you also an heir (Gal. 4:7).
Hence, if you can lose your inheritance, then
you can cease being God’s son, according to
the Biblical evidence.Since that can happen,
then there can be is no eternal security, as
shown in many other waysthroughout Scripture.
God From His Throne
In Revelation, we read the following:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new
earth, for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and there was no
longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the
new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride
beautifully dressed for her husband. And
I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, “Now the dwelling of God is
with men, and he will live with them.They will be his people, and God
himself will be with them and be their
God. He will wipe every tear from
their eyes. There will be no more death
or mourning or crying or pain, for the
old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I
am making everything new!” Then he
said, “Write this down, for these words
are trustworthy and true.” He said to me:
“It is done. I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End. To
him who is thirsty I will give to drink
without cost from the spring of the water
of life. He who overcomes will inherit
all this, and I will be his God and he will
be my son. But the cowardly, the
unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the
sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all
liars—their place will be in the fiery
lake of burning sulfur. This is the
second death” (Rev 21:1-8).
There we learn what our inheritance will be, if
we are numbered with the overcomers. That
inheritance is shown to include:
● the new heaven
● the new earth
● the Holy City (New Jerusalem)
● dwelling with God
● being his people
● residing in an environment where there is no
more death, mourning, crying or pain.
If one doesn’t inherit all that, he is thrown into
the lake of fire (v. 8), which is where all the
non-overcomers will go.
Please also note the overlap of sins mentioned
in Rev. 21:8 and the sins cited in 1 Cor. 6:9,10;
Gal. 5:19-21 and Eph. 5:5-7. Again, we observe
that if one doesn’t inherit the kingdom of God
he will be thrown into the lake of fire. This
powerfully refutes the fallacious idea that we
can enter God’s kingdom but not inherit it.
Jesus once answered a question about being
saved by equating it to entering through the
narrow door:
Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a
few people going to be saved?” He said
to them, “Make every effort to enterthrough the narrow door, because
many, I tell you, will try to enter and will
not be able to” (Luke 13:23, 24).
The ones who don’t enter, as referred to in verse
24, didn’t put forth enough effort to get through
the narrow doors into the kingdom. In our dark
day, putting forth such an effort to refrain from
sin is denounced as aworks salvation, and those
wisely obeying Jesus are often falsely accused of
trying to save themselves.Such religious
leaders and false accusers are savage wolves
in sheep’s clothing and must be exposed and
refuted for the sake of souls. To do so is acting
in Christian love, not hate or intolerance. (See 1
Cor. 13:6.)
The Rich Young Ruler
A certain ruler asked him, “Good
teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?” “Why do you call me
good?” Jesus answered. “No one is
good—except God alone. You know the
commandments: Do not commit adultery,
do not murder, do not steal, do not give
false testimony, honor your father and
mother.” “All these I have kept since I
was a boy,” he said.
When Jesus heard
this, he said to him, “You still lack one
thing. Sell everything you have and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me.” When
he heard this, he became very sad,
because he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard
it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of
God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those who heard this asked, “Who then
can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is
impossible with men is possible with
God." Peter said to him, “We have left
all we had to follow you!” “I tell you the
truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who
has left home or wife or brothers or
parents or children for the sake of the
kingdom of God will fail to receive many
times as much in this age and, in the age
to come, eternal life” (Luke 18:18-30).
From all of that we observe: being saved =
entering the kingdom of God = inheriting
eternal life in the age to come. Again, notice
how entering and inheriting are similarly used.
Summary
In summary, don’t let anyone deceive you
regarding the seriousness of sins as cited in the
initial three passages. Such sins can drag you to
hell, even if you were previously saved:
If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it. (Ezek 33:18)
Spiritual deathcan occur to the righteous! Do not be deceived. You must get the victory over them to be an
overcomer and to inherit God’s paradise
kingdom.You can do this with the help of
God.See Rom. 8:13. If you are in such sins
now, repentand come back to God. (Backslider, God wants
you back!)
For of this you can be sure: No immoral,
impure or greedy person—such a man is
an idolater—has any inheritance in the
kingdom of Christ and of God.Let no
one deceive you with empty words, for
because of such things God’s wrath
comes on those who are disobedient.
Therefore do not be partners with
them (Eph. 5:5-7).
When Jesus heard
this, he said to him, “You still lack one
thing. Sell everything you have and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me.” When
he heard this, he became very sad,
because he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard
it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of
God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a
rich man to