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, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. This is a diverse list. Sexually immoral people next to thieves next to covetous people. Is Paul saying these things are equivalent?
I'm a biblical scholar troubled by how this verse has been used to condemn LGBTQ people while saying nothing about greedy preachers. The list isn't ranked. It's comprehensive. Covetousness is included as firmly as sexual immorality. But which of these behaviors gets all the attention in modern Christianity? I think we've selected a few items from Paul's list and made them the defining issue.
What if Paul's point isn't to rank sins but to humble everyone? You're greedy? You won't inherit the kingdom. You're reviling? You won't inherit the kingdom. You're sexually immoral? You won't inherit the kingdom. The diversity of the list is Paul's way of saying: this isn't about the one group we like to condemn. This is about everyone. Nobody is getting into God's kingdom on the basis of behavior, because everyone on this list is everyone. We're all included. That changes the conversation from judgment to grace.
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