“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (I Corinthians 6:9-10)
So many now say, “That was then, and this is now.” No, we respond, this is the Holy Bible, the teaching of the apostle St. Paul, and the standards remain the same. He is addressing the Corinthians. He is reminding them of what they had been before committing themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a sad, even disgusting commentary on what a city or nation is like without salvation in Christ. All the worse is the awareness that he is describing America in the 21st century. It’s not enjoyable to talk about, yet we cannot fail to notice how humankind has not changed in twenty centuries.
He mentions sexually immoral and fornicators. Corinth in those days was not a place for virginity. The Greek term fornicator meant a male prostitute. Imagine being a Christian in such a city. Idolaters were those who combined religion with sexual immorality. Corinth had a temple to Aphrodite, goddess of love. One did not worship a statue; he found a way to express his devotion by worshipping the symbol of love, a “goddess” of Aphrodite. Sensualists were effeminate males such as we have come to live within our culture and learn that it’s politically correct not to make a public expression of distaste because they have convinced society that they have all the rights of “straight” people. Both major political parties compete in convincing the American people that they are doing all they can to make amends for what are termed past insensitivities to all the above. Sensualists are those who live for luxury and are unable to resist pleasure of every type imaginable. Need I describe more?
Thieves and the greedy need little explanation. We live with them, we have learned to cope with them, we are struggling with ways to defend ourselves against them, and we realize that it’s pretty much a losing battle. Not even the justice system as it is can be counted on to guarantee justice to the victims of these predators on society.
To include drunkards is ludicrous. Entertainers such as Dean Martin among others have made a career pretending to be constantly drunk, and we have become conditioned to laugh at them. Our problem—crack cocaine, heroin and all the various types of deadly drugs—has far surpassed what is considered innocuous. Only MADD and such vigilantes are still hoping to counter alcoholism, and even them, only while driving.
Homosexuals are the last on St. Paul’s list of those who are not considered candidates for the Kingdom of Heaven. And dare we make comments on this most prevalent of sins—indeed, dare we even call it a sin? They have learned from the success of the Black is Beautiful and Women’s Liberation causes the way in which our democracy can be managed and manipulated by the media that has no ethical principles whatsoever, to change the basic principles of social morality in the contemporary civilization.
After all that, St. Paul wrote: “and such were some of you.” Then he ended by announcing the powerful work of Jesus Christ. He can transform anything and any person. Pray that He will find enough of His faithful servants to make a difference in the America we live in and love despite its manifold sins.