Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived:  No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or males who have sex with males, no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.     1 Corinthians 6:9-10 CSB

The Bible tells us many times not to be deceived. If you have the idea that you can do things that go against what God has commanded in His Holy word and inherit God’s kingdom, you are deceiving yourself. If you are deceiving yourself, you are in grave danger of spending eternity in hell. It’s that simple.

I want you to re-read the list that Paul gives the Corinthians in our Scripture passage. Maybe you are not an idolater, adulterer, or sexually immoral, good for you. Maybe you are not a thief or a drunkard. Maybe you abhor the idea of swindling someone. Good for you, give yourself a pat on the back. But if you are verbally abusive, you have a problem.

We can’t pick and choose what commands we want to obey. God expects us to obey all of them. When someone is released from prison on parole, there is a long list of do’s and don’ts they are expected to abide by. If they do well on most of the list but mess up on one item, they can still be returned to prison. They are expected to obey all the rules, not just some of them.

When we don’t live our lives in the way God has commanded, we are sinning against Him. We are defying Him. Trust me, you don’t want to go there. We are told in Romans 1:18 that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

If we believe in God, we believe in His Holy word. We believe it to be true. We also believe in heaven and hell. If we believe God’s word to be true, then we live our lives in a manner that reflects this. I believed that my parents would severely punish me for defying them, so I strived to be obedient. This doesn’t mean I never messed up, but they dealt with it, forgave me and we moved on. I learned from my mistakes. God expects us to do the same when we sin against Him.

In 2 Timothy 2:15, it says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” When we disobey, we are not rightly handling God’s word. We are defying God’s word.

Are you defying God’s word? Are you violating any of His commands? Romans 3:23 tells us we are all sinners who fall short of God’s glory. We all sin, but if we are truly saved, we don’t want to sin. Are you truly saved?

I know I am a sinner. I know that I fall short of doing what God tells me to do, but I strive to do what He commands me to do. We serve a loving God who will forgive us if we humbly come to Him with a contrite heart and repent.

But never forget we also serve a God of wrath. He will not overlook our disobedience. He will not stand idly by while we defy Him and rebel against Him. We are told in Hebrews 10:26 that if we go on sinning deliberately after knowing the truth there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume God’s enemies.

Are you being defiant? Do you have a sin that you just can’t let go of? Is it worth your eternal life in heaven? No good will come from defying God. Let go of any sin you have. Trust in Him. Confess your sin and repent, He is faithful to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Ask Him to strengthen you and help you to remove that sin from your life. He will be glad to do it.

Have a great day!