1 Corinthians 6:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

NIV: nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

NASB: nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor those habitually drunk, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

CSB: no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God's kingdom.

NLT: or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people — none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

KJV: Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

NKJV: nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

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.

First Corinthians 6:1–11 details Paul's objections to Christians taking another to secular court over a minor issue. Believers will one day judge the world and angels. They should be able to judge small disputes amongst themselves. It would be better for a believer to be defrauded than to ask unbelievers to settle an argument between brothers in Christ. After all, unbelievers will not inherit God's kingdom. They are known by all the sins they do. Christians, though, have been cleansed from those sins and are now known only as belonging to Christ. This passage includes a passionate, powerful reminder that no person's sins are beyond Christ's power to forgive.

First Corinthians 6 continues Paul's confrontations of the Corinthian Christians over issues in the church. Earlier passages discussed problems of division into factions, and tolerance of heinous sexual sin. Paul is also outraged that they would take one another to court in a lawsuit over minor issues. Instead of suing each other before unbelievers, they should settle trivial issues in the church. Second, Paul urges them to live up to their new identities in Christ instead of living down to the sexually immoral standards of the culture. This sets up discussions of marriage in chapter 7.

Paul confronts two major issues happening in the church at Corinth. First, he is outraged that one of them has brought a lawsuit against a brother in Christ over a minor dispute. It is absurd to think that Christians—those who will judge the world and angels—cannot even judge a small matter between themselves. Second, Paul warns his readers to run from sexual immorality. Sex creates a powerful bond intended only for marriage. Since our bodies belong to and are part of Christ, we have no right to bring Him into a one-body union with someone to whom we're not married.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.