“Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
Based on the “Vice Lists” (lists of “bad deeds” which whoever commits them “…will not inherit the kingdom of God“) in 1 Cor. 6:9-11, Gal. 5:19-21, and Eph. 5:3-5, fundamentalists claim that whoever acts in certain ways will burn in hell.
According to this interpretation, if, for example, you are struggling with gossip, jealousy, lying, or alcoholism, you may end up in hell.
But can a person entirely stop being jealous, or someone dealing with anger issues cease all outbursts of anger? How about gossip, which many Christians absolutely love, will God burn forever Christians who gossip? At what point does God say, “Enough is enough!“? How can we measure to know if we are still saved or not?
Here is how one Reformed theologian, James Montgomery Boice, put it in his book “Christ’s Call to Discipleship”:
What must I pay to become a Christian… I must pay the price of those sins I now cherish. I must give them up, every one. I cannot cling to a single sin… (pp. 112-13).
But wait a minute! At the end of Paul’s lists in Galatians and Romans, Paul warns against those who do “things such as these” and “things like these” (Galatians 5:19; Romans 1:32), so this is not even an exhaustive list of all the sins!!
Fundamentalists mean well, as they want to keep a godly lifestyle. However, their interpretation of Scripture only breathes existential fear, anxiety, and depression, as you never truly know for sure if you will end up spending eternity in God’s cosmic furnace or not.
How, Then, Does Paul Use the Vice Lists (1 Cor. 6)?
The key is understanding what Paul meant by “inheriting” the kingdom of God.
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, where Paul states that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God, the focus is on the word inherit (κληρονομέω, klēronomeō), which in biblical usage often refers to receiving a reward or position, not simply entering heaven. Inheritance in Scripture is conditional and must be earned through faithfulness, rather than a synonym for salvation itself. For example, in Matthew 5:5, Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth,” implying a future reward for a certain kind of character. Likewise, in Colossians 3:23-24, believers are told that their service to Christ will result in receiving “the reward of the inheritance”, making it clear that inheritance is something granted based on faithfulness. In Hebrews 12:17, Esau, though still Isaac’s son, lost his inheritance due to his actions, showing that inheritance can be forfeited without losing sonship. Thus, in 1 Corinthians 6, Paul warns that persistent unrighteousness results in the loss of a believer’s inheritance—position, rulership, or rewards in God’s kingdom—but does not mean the loss of salvation itself. Salvation is by grace, but inheritance in the kingdom is conditioned on obedience and faithfulness.
Conclusion
With a future Kingdom in view, these passages serve to warn believers about losing rewards in the world to come. In this view, “inherit” means enjoying rich rewards in the future millennial kingdom of God based on performance or merit in this world. While all believers will enter the kingdom, only faithful disciples (who avoid the vices listed) will be rewarded accordingly—they will inherit the Kingdom’s rewards.
