1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 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,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
6:9-10 Paul points the Corinthians to fact that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. The word unrighteous has no definite article in the Greek, unlike v 1 where the same word appears. This serves to emphasize character rather than position. It can describe both believer and unbeliever who lack godly character. Unbelievers will neither inherit nor enter the kingdom. Unrighteous believers will enter but not inherit.
Some think Paul is referring to believers who because of the practice of unrighteous deeds lose their salvation. Others say it is referring to those who prove they were never true believers in the first place. Both positions equate inheriting the kingdom of God with entering God's kingdom. However, in the near context Paul is talking to carnal believers who would suffer loss at the Bema (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:13-15), but not the impossible loss of eternal salvation. They have eternal life that can never be lost.
Yet these believers will not inherit the kingdom of God because of their practice of unrighteousness. The word inherit (klēronomeo) is often used in the OT to express the wider meaning of entering into full possession of a family inheritance. In other words inheriting the kingdom of God is not equivalent to entering God's kingdom. To inherit simply means to possess and it includes ruling with Christ (cf. 1 Cor 4:8: 2 Tim 2:12). Both the OT and NT illustrate the possibility that some believers may lose their inheritance (Gen 22:15-18; 27:38-40: 2 Tim 2:12; Heb 12:16-17). Therefore Paul informs the Corinthians that they could renounce their inheritance privilege by their sinful lifestyles. They could live in the future kingdom but not possess it if they continued to live in their sins.
He told them not to be deceived about those who are fornicators (a general term describing one who practices sexual immorality), idolaters (idolatry is the committing of unlawful deeds related to an idol), adulterers (sexual sins related to marriage), homosexuals (men who allow themselves to be misused homosexually), sodomites (male homosexuals). Neither should they be deceived concerning those who practice sins against others: thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners. Believers who fail to live for God will not possess the kingdom of God.
6:11 Paul reminds them that such were some of the Corinthians. But (strong adversative) they were washed, sanctified, and justified. Though they had practiced such things, and though some of them were still doing so (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:3; 5:1), they had been washed from their sins, sanctified (positionally set apart to God) (cf. Titus 3:5), and justified (declared righteous) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. These truths are true of the position of every believer, even unrighteous ones. Implicitly here Paul is calling for the readers to live up to their position.
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Will Not Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (cf. Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-5)
(Salvation) Interpretation: Those who are characteristically sinful will not enter heaven.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: Believers who sin will not enjoy rewards in the kingdom.
Second (Discipleship) Interpretation: Believers should not sin like those who are unsaved.
These three passages are treated together because the message seems the same. Those who practice these sins will not "inherit the kingdom of God." The lists of sins are different in each passage, and the severity of the sins varies from murder to envy. Those who hold a (Salvation) interpretation take these passages to mean that Christians who do these things will lose their salvation or that people who do these things prove they were never saved in the first place. In either case, they are excluded from heaven or the kingdom of God based on their sinful behavior. This interpretation is contrary to salvation by grace, which by definition, is not by human performance.
The most important interpretive questions are: what does it mean to "inherit the kingdom of God," and who is Paul talking to? In the first (Discipleship) interpretation, some have argued that the idea of inheriting the kingdom of God is more than just entering the kingdom; after all, the author doesn't say, "enter the kingdom of God." They would say that inheriting speaks of enjoying a reward in the kingdom, such as ruling with Jesus Christ. In this understanding, believers who sin like unbelievers will forfeit their reward in the kingdom of God. At least that view sees the obvious, that Paul is writing to believers. However, the idea of inheriting the kingdom of God is best understood here as entering the kingdom. We can see how the idea of obtaining eternal life is used synonymously with inheriting the kingdom when we compare Matthew 19:16 with its parallel accounts in Mark 10:17 and Luke 18:18. The concept of inheriting the kingdom included not only entering the kingdom, but also enjoying the rewards of it, for no one would conceive of entering the kingdom without enjoying its benefits to some degree.
The second (Discipleship) interpretation also considers these passages as truth relevant to believers. In the 1 Corinthians 6 passage, it is easy to see the spiritual state of the readers. They are clearly believers because Paul tells them they should judge matters in the church and rebukes them for taking a "brother" before "unbelievers" in the court system (1 Cor. 6:1-8). The "unrighteous" in verse 9 would be the same "unrighteous" unbelievers named in verses 1 and 6, so the contrast is between believers and unbelievers. After listing the sins of these unbelievers who will not inherit the kingdom of God, he says "And such were some of you. But you were washed... sanctified... justified" (1 Cor. 6:11). This strongly worded contrast makes the most sense if he is contrasting the saved position of the Corinthians (the three verbs are in the passive tense emphasizing position) with those who are unsaved.
The Galatians 5 passage also is written obviously to Christian readers. Paul exhorts them to "walk in the Spirit" in order not to fulfill the lust of the flesh. Either option is possible for Christians (Gal. 5:16). He then lists the sins of the flesh concluding that those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. We should understand the phrase "inherit the kingdom of God" the same as in 1 Corinthians 6:9.
The controlling subject of Ephesians 5 is behavior that is "fitting for saints" (Eph. 5:3). The contrast between believers and unbelievers is prominent in Ephesians 5:1-18. The readers should conduct themselves like the new people that they are in Christ, not behave like those without Christ. Now that they have come out of that darkness, they should "Walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:10). So we have the same contrast of the believer's behavior with the unbeliever's behavior.
In all three passages, Paul's message to the Christian readers is simply this: Do not behave like those who are not going to enter heaven, the non-Christians. Such sinful behavior is incongruous with the believer's new position and new identity. Both of the (Discipleship) interpretations make more sense than the (Salvation) interpretation that says Christians who behave badly will lose their salvation, or that bad behavior proves these people were never saved. The readers' salvation is not in question in any of these passages, thus it fits best under (Discipleship). I prefer the second (Discipleship) interpretation.
It may be hard to accept that Christians could possibly behave as murderers, fornicators, and such, but life experience and the Bible both testify that it happens. King David murdered and committed adultery, and the man in 1 Corinthians 5 had sexual relations with his stepmother. As a pastor and Christian, I have had to deal with believers who had committed horrendous sins. Christians who act like that are behaving no different than the hell-bound unbelievers around them. There ought to be a great contrast between the lifestyles of believers and non-believers.