"BE NOT DECEIVED"

 

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.”

I Corinthians 6:9

 

            Almost everyone I know makes some kind of religious profession, has some hope of going to heaven when he dies, and attends church, at least occasionally. Yet, I know very few people whose religion has made any radical change in their lives. Most everybody I know lives like hell, though almost all think, by some strange delusion, that because they say, I believe in Jesus,” they are going to heaven. Are you such a person. If you are, listen carefully to this preacher. If you live like hell, when you die, you will go to hell. I know you do not want to be told that; but I am not running for political office. I am trying to help you, to help you eternally. If you do not want to go to hell when you die, pay attention to what I have to say. Pay attention to what God says in his Word, here in 1 Corinthians 6. Will you hear the Word of the Lord?

 

"Be not deceived", imagining that through doctrinal knowledge and religious profession you are saved, even though you live contrary to the righteous character of God. No one living in sin, under its dominion, has been made a partaker of the divine nature. Lest anyone mistake his meaning, Paul plainly describes those people who shall never inherit the kingdom of God. In the list given in this verse of Scripture, the Holy Spirit is not talking about isolated acts. He is describing people whose lives are characterized by these abominable things.If these things characterize your life, the wrath of God is upon you. Except you repent, you will perish in hell forever! God help you to repent.

 

1.       FORNICATORS, men and women who live in sexual promiscuity, single people who are, as they say, "sexually active", shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

2.       IDOLATERS, those who take that love and adoration which belongs to God alone and give it to anything or anyone else, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

3.       ADULTERERS, men and women who forsake their lawful husbands and wives for another woman or man, people who abandon their families and responsibilities to pursue their own lusts, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

4.       EFFEMINATE MEN, molifiers, soft, delicate, womanly men, (The word “effeminate” specifically refers to homosexuals.), shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

5.       ABUSERS OF THEMSELVES WITH MANKIND, practitioners and promoters of sexual perversion, homosexuality, beastiality, pedaphillia, rape and incest, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

6.       THIEVES, dishonest people who cheat and steal, shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Thieves are not just bank robbers. Men who do not pay their bills are thieves. People who draw eight hours' pay for seven hours' work are thieves. Anyone who takes that which does not belong to him is a thief.

 

7.       COVETOUS PEOPLE, stingy, selfish, greedy misers who care only for themselves, who always take but never give, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

8.       DRUNKARDS, those who abuse alcohol and drugs, intoxicating themselves, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

9.       REVILERS, gossips, slanderers, those who spread reproach and scandal, smearing the characters and reputations of others, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

10.   EXTORTIONERS, those who get gain at the expense of others, taking advantage of other people's misery and misfortune, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

It matters not what we profess, or claim to believe. Those who live like children of wrath are children of wrath. If these characteristics describe you, be not deceived, no matter what you say, profess, and pretend, no matter what society, religion, and preachers say to the contrary, you are a child of wrath. You shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

Grace Baptist Church of Danville - Grace For Today Radio Message #779

2734 Old Stanford Road - Danville, Kentucky 40422-9438

Donald S. Fortner, Pastor -Telephone 606-236-8235 - Email grace@mis.net