What does 1 Corinthians 6:10 mean?

Paul continues to list examples of sins common in that era, which should be absent from the lives of those who are born-again believers. More specifically, Paul is describing people by labeling them with the sins they commonly practice. The prior verse included sexual sins such as adultery and homosexuality, and idolatry.

The list also includes thieves, greedy people, those who are regularly drunk, those who revile or insult others, and swindlers or con artists. It should be noted that Paul does not rank these sins. Living as a greedy person or a drunkard is given equal weight as practicing homosexuality or worshiping idols. All were common lifestyles in Paul's day, and his point is that none should be common among Christians in the church.

Paul repeats his declaration from the last verse: Those who carry the identity of practicing these specific sins will not inherit God's kingdom. That point is not that those are unforgivable sins—on the contrary, the very next verse will point out that many in the Corinthian church had been freed from those behaviors. Rather, such actions are deeply, fundamentally opposed to the nature of God. Those who persist in them, or embrace them, show they are not submissive to the will of God. That's the sign of an unbeliever.

So, who will inherit God's kingdom? Only God's children. Who are God's children? Only those who have come to God through faith in Christ, declared righteous by His grace despite their sinful practices (John 1:12; Romans 3:21–26).

The Bible makes clear, in the following verse, these labels—homosexual, drunkard, thief, adulterer, idolater, swindler— are removed from those who trust in Christ. Being born again means receiving a new identity (John 3:3). As believers, we are no longer "identified" as corrupt people defined by those crimes. Because of that, Paul urges the Corinthians to stop practicing any of these sins.