Who is Going to Heaven?
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
As we open the Word of God this morning to continue our look at the 1st epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. And I’ve entitled this message, “Who is Going to Heaven?” Anybody who has seriously considered whether there is life after death, anyone who has thought about the reality of heaven and Hell has asked that question. And the usual answer from most people is universally the same; good people go to heaven, and bad people go to hell. You earn your way to heaven. I mean it is frequently expressed in jokes like that.
A minister arrived at the pearly gates right behind a flashy New York taxi driver. Saint Peter welcomed the driver, gave him a silk robe and a golden staff, and sent him in. Then the minister stepped up. Peter gave him a plain cotton robe and a wooden staff. The minister protested, “I was a pastor for forty-three years. Why does the taxi driver get more?” Saint Peter replied, “Up here, we work by results. When you preached, people slept; when he drove, people prayed.”
You get into heaven by what you produce in this life. We even get that kind of idea when we go to funerals. Eulogies are presented telling everyone that this person was a wonderful mother, a devoted wife, a hardworking man, or a great friend.
Butas we come again to the Scripture this morning, we want to answer that question from the Word of God. And so we come to 1st Corinthians 6:9-11, and Paul seems to be addressing the exact question that I began with; Who is going to heaven?
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?
And I thought immediately that this is a passage of Scripture that will tell us who is going to heaven, and who is not. Because immediately after Paul says that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God, he then gives us an example list of who he considers the unrighteous; sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers don’t go to heaven.
Well, that is the main thrust of where we are going today. In answering the question, “Who is going to heaven?” today I want to give you 4 points; One, Good people do go to heaven, Two, Bad people are condemned to hell, three, There are no good people, except number four, Jesus was good.
But before we open up the Word of God, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.
Prayer
Let’s begin today with number one. “Good people do go to heaven.”
And there’s no better epistle to study and define a good person than 1st Corinthians. As I have mentioned in every sermon from this epistle, the main theme of the Epistle to the Corinthians was their sinful living. He begins this verse with “Know you not.”
“Know ye not.” This phrase appears 10 times in the book of 1st Corinthians. Paul repeatedly uses the searching rebuke, “Know ye not” (or “Do ye not know”), to confront believers who were living as though they had forgotten the gospel realities they already knew. These were a people who had come to faith in Jesus, but many of them kept sliding back into sin. And it was all kinds of sins.
The phrase appears ten times in the KJV most of these appeals expose sinful attitudes or conduct within the Corinthian church—division, toleration of sin, worldly lawsuits, and sexual immorality—while also reminding them of their identity as God’s temple, Christ’s members, and people purchased by God.
And he concludes his description of some extortioners in the church with this statement,
7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. .... 8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.
And it was out of that description of these people in the first 6 chapters that Paul then made the statement we just read.
1 Corinthians 6:9 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous (wrongdoers) will not inherit the kingdom of God?
That statement must have hit some of them like a ton of bricks. The word “unrighteous” there simply means “wrongdoers.” People who do wrong. He is saying, people who do wrong won’t go to heaven. That is a chilling statement from Scripture.
And of course, the opposite statement is assumed. People who do right, go to heaven. Good people go to heaven. Now, let me back up that statement with some other Scripture.
Romans 2:6–7 — God “will repay to each according to his works,” giving “eternal life” to those who persevere in doing good.
Romans 2:13 — “For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
Matthew 19:16–17 — When the rich young ruler asked what good thing he must do to have eternal life, Jesus answered, “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
So, having heard that, many people come to believe that they are okay with God. They say, I’m an okay guy. My good outweighs my bad. I just mentioned a story from Scripture that illustrates that kind of thought process. In Matthew 19, a rich young ruler came to Jesus and said, “What good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Jesus, how can I be sure that I will go to heaven?” It says that Jesus replied, “keep the commandments.” Don’t steal, don’t kill, don’t commit adultery, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” To which the man replied, “All of these I have kept from my youth up.”
I’m a good guy. Don’t drink, don’t cuss, don’t chew. Don’t go with girls who do. But, interestingly enough, Jesus didn’t stop, and smile, and say, “Yes, you have kept the commandments, you have been good. You have a place in heaven prepared for you. Do you know what Jesus said instead, “If you will be perfect, Go sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and come follow me, and you will have treasure in heaven.”
It was as though Jesus was saying to this man, “yes, you have been good by man’s standards, but by God’s standards, you must be perfect, so, you haven’t loved your neighbor as yourself, if you did, you would sell all your riches, give them to the poor, and spend the rest of your days following me.
Oh, my goodness that is a high standard. Good people go to heaven. But who is good? But, preacher, I have been good, for the most part, and I know I haven’t been bad. Our second point today is that
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor [a]effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
And what kind of wrongdoing are we talking about? Well, obviously it is all the listed sins after verse 9; sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers.
Now, let me say this from the get-go; this is not intended to be an exhaustive list. This does not list all the sends that can send you to Hell. It represents many of those sins. Remember that Paul said “the doers of wrong” will not inherit” heaven. If you do wrong you will not inherit the kingdom. That’s a heavy statement and it goes directly to answering a question; Who is going to heaven?
Wrongdoers do not inherit the Kingdom of God.
This is a constant message in Scripture.
John the Baptist said this to the religious Jews of his day
Matthew 3:8-10 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
In other words, let your actions bear witness to who you are, not just your words.
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
Just because you were born a Jew, or in our day, just because you go to church, or pray, or believe in God, doesn’t make you right with God.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
If the tree isn’t producing good fruit, it will be cut down. And Paul says something similar in this passage.
Paul says, “Be not deceived.” His saying "Be not deceived” tells us three things. First, it tells us that
You can be associated with Christianity. You can bear the name of Christian. But, as Jesus said, “by their fruit you shall know them.” Second, “be not deceived,” tells us that
By their own hearts.
Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can know it?” Our feelings and desires cannot be the final standard of truth.
By their own opinions.
Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” What seems right to us may still contradict God’s Word.
By their leaders.
Matthew 15:14: “They are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Religious leaders must be tested by Scripture, not followed blindly.
The third truth from “be not deceived” is that the Corinthians were giving evidence that they were deceived.
They were acting like the world. And the more Evidence they gave that they were like the rest of the world the more evidence there is that you are not in Christ.
What types of people do not inherit heaven? Interestingly, this list that Paul gives us had in it some of the same sins that he pointed out with the Corinthian church.
neither the sexually immoral, (Fornicators): the word for fornicators is porneia in Greek. It has to do with any sexual immorality from the longing of the eyes, the titillation of the mind, to the impurity with the body.
nor idolaters,
Idolatry is defined as worshiping the created rather than the creator. Or it could be worshiping the true God but doing so before images. It is valuing anything in your life over God. It involves making anything first priority that is not God; that’s idolatry.
nor adulterers,
adultery is defined as becoming involved in sexual intimacy with someone outside of your marriage union. And Jesus pointed out that if you look at another person for lustful purposes, you have committed adultery in your heart.
nor [a]effeminate,
The word here designates individuals who “Trade gender roles” Transvestite or gender identity. This sin is seeing its heyday today.
nor homosexuals, (Abusers of themselves with mankind) The words in Greek here are “male” and “bed.” Once again, our society, and even many churches have embraced this sin.
Now, up to this point in the list, there may be some of us who are still comfortable. You know it is always easy to hear a preacher preach against other people’s sins. “You go get ‘em brother.” But now, Paul starts getting more personal. He continues his list of those who don’t go to heaven.
10 nor thieves,
Taking someone else’s stuff without consent. And this takes in not only the obvious thefts like burglary or armed robbery, but it also takes in dishonest deals, fudging on your taxes, not giving an honest days work to your employer.
nor the greedy, (covetous)
People who desire to get rich by dishonest means. Greedy for gain, this may directly be aimed at those who were taking their brothers and sisters to court to defraud.
nor drunkards,
This takes in anyone who becomes dependent on substances that deprive you of your mental faculties. It speaks of make drinking their business, excessively, without regard to harm done to themselves or others.
nor revilers, (railers)
These are people who are verbally abusive to others. They use Course, harsh, and bitter words. They are instigators of strife.
nor swindlers, (Extortioners)
These are those who exact more for a sale than was due, again maybe related to the lawsuits.
This list is not exhaustive. These are just categories of wrongdoing. And these verses say that any wrongdoer will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Now, at this point in the message, if you are like I am, you feel a heavy degree of condemnation from that list. I feel condemned by that list. And I feel condemned for a number of reasons. First, although I am not guilty of every sin on that list, I have been guilty of some of it.
You say, but preacher, surely that was only before you became a Christian. Not all of it. But preacher surely you’ve done more good than bad. But that’s not what that passage says, “Wrongdoers will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” And so here’s the third point. The disturbing wrinkle.
Before you put your faith in Christ, Scripture says this.
Romans 3:10–12 — “There is none righteous, not even one… There is none who does good, there is not even one.”
Romans 3:23 — “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Psalm 14:2–3 — “They have all turned aside… There is no one who does good, not even one.”
Psalm 53:2–3 — “They have all turned aside… There is no one who does good, not even one.”
Ecclesiastes 7:20 — “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.”
Isaiah 64:6 — “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.”
That last verse out of Isaiah is especially vivid. Isaiah says, “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” The Hebrew phrase is kĕbeged ʿiddîm (כְּבֶגֶד עִדִּים): beged means a garment or article of clothing, and ʿiddîm refers to menstruation—thus, literally, “like a garment of menstruation,” or a ceremonially unclean cloth.
That verse is saying that even our righteous deeds, to God, are like an unclean filthy garment. In fact, if you look at Jesus’ harshest rebukes, they were not given to prostitutes, or thieves, or even murderers. His harshest criticism was for those who were presenting their righteous deeds, their menstruous clothes, to God as an offering.
And the reason He did that was because they were clean people on the outside, but they were corrupt and foul on the inside.
So, who goes to heaven. The righteous. But none of us are righteous. Who goes to hell? wrongdoers. And we are all wrongdoers. And it gets worse. The more religious you are the guiltier you become.
James 4:17 — “Therefore, to one who knows the good thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Greater knowledge brings greater responsibility.
Luke 12:47–48 — The servant who knew his master’s will and did not act accordingly received a greater punishment than the one who did not know.
But to compound the confusion, Jesus said this.
“tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you, speaking of religious people” (Matthew 21:31).
The last point.
Jesus was good.
Hebrews 4:15 — Jesus “has been tempted in all things like we are, yet without sin.”
Hebrews 7:26 — He is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners.”
1 Peter 1:18–19 — Christ is “a lamb unblemished and spotless.”
1 Peter 2:22 — “Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 — He “knew no sin.”
1 John 3:5 — “In Him there is no sin.”
John 8:46 — Jesus asked His opponents, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?”
John 14:30 — Jesus said of Satan, “he has nothing in Me”—no foothold or claim because there was no sin in Him.
You say, so what? That means Jesus can go to heaven, but no one else can. Let me tell you another pearly gate story.
A man arrived at the pearly gates, and Peter told him, “To enter, you need one hundred points. Tell me the good things you have done.” The man said, “I was faithful to my wife for fifty years.” Peter replied, “That’s worth three points.” “I attended church all my life and served in many ministries.” “One point.” “I gave to the poor and volunteered at a soup kitchen.” “Two points.” The man cried out, “At this rate, the only way I’ll ever get in is by the grace of God!” Peter smiled and said, “Exactly—come on in.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 is probably the clearest:
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Jesus, who had no sin, bore the guilt and judgment of our sin; through faith and union with Him, we are counted righteous before God—not because of our own righteousness, but because of His.
Put another way, when Jesus died on the cross, God was punishing Him for our sin, as though He was us, so that when we come to the gates of heaven, He will reward us, as though we were Jesus. We put our faith and trust into Jesus.
So, how does that work?
True Christians are Washed, Sanctified, and Justified by the work of the Holy Spirit.
You see, if it were necessary to be perfectly righteous to go to heaven, nobody would go. Paul was writing this letter to the church in Corinth. He has just said who will not enter God’s kingdom; the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers,
And then amazingly he said this to them, “and such were some of you.” “Of such a description were some of you.” Do you know what he is saying? He is saying that the church of Corinth was full of former practicing sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, 10 thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers.
So how is it that this church could be populated with people going to heaven? This is what he says.
And you were washed. This is written in the Greek middle voice, “ You have had yourselves washed.” He is describing their baptism. But not just that physical baptism where you allow yourself to be dunked under water, but a spiritual baptism with God’s Spirit that makes us clean.
Titus 3: 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
You are sanctified; This describes the ongoing work of God forming you into the image of His Son. It is the advancing purification where we are made in the image of the righteous Christ.
You are justified; You are Pardoned.
Ephesians 1:7: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace.”
So, who goes to heaven? Good people, but there are none. Not bad people, and that’s all of us. So, who is left? People who fall before God and ask for forgiveness.
Matthew 15:22, 25 gives that picture through a Canaanite woman who came to Jesus for healing for her child. She first cried, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David,” and then “came and was bowing down before Him, saying, ‘Lord, help me!’”
That is a beautiful picture of how a person comes to faith in Christ. It is a simple act of acknowledging your need for forgiveness, and Jesus’ gift of forgiveness. It is an acknowledgment that you desire to be good, but you can’t be good, that you need Jesus’ gift of goodness to cover your sin.
I don’t do this often. But I want to lead you all in a prayer this morning.
Lord, I acknowledge that I want to be good and to stand before You as righteous, but I confess that I have sinned and cannot make myself good enough. Your holy Law exposes my guilt, and I deserve Your righteous condemnation. Have mercy on me, not because of anything I have done, but because of what Jesus Christ has done for me. Cover my sin with His perfect righteousness, pardon me through His blood, and receive me by Your grace alone. I want to give you my life so you can now live out what is good in me. I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.
If that was the prayer of your heart this morning, praise God for the work He is doing in you. And now He calls on you to profess that new faith to others. Tell it to your family, your friends, to this church.