Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
The apostle Paul — a first-century Christian leader who helped plant churches throughout the Roman world — is writing to a troubled church in Corinth, a wealthy port city known for its moral looseness and cultural excess. In this verse, Paul lists specific behaviors — theft, greed, drunkenness, slander, and swindling — and states plainly that people who live by these patterns will not inherit the kingdom of God. He's not drawing a line arbitrarily; he's describing ways of life that run directly against the character and community of God's people. This verse is part of a larger passage urging believers to live differently — not just in belief, but in daily conduct.
God, I don't want to brush past this list. Show me where I've made peace with things I shouldn't have. Give me the honesty to name them and the desire to change — not to earn anything from you, but because you and your kingdom are worth far more. Amen.
The list here is uncomfortable, and not just because it sounds harsh. It's uncomfortable because several of these behaviors have become almost respectable. We give trophies to the greedy and call it ambition. We build entire media industries on slander and call it commentary. Paul, writing to a church city built on commerce and pleasure, would recognize the pattern without missing a beat. What's striking is that this verse doesn't just say these things are wrong — it says they lock you out of something. The kingdom of God isn't a reward tacked on at the end of a rule-following life; it's a whole new way of being, a different world breaking in. And some ways of living simply aren't compatible with it — not because God is keeping a ledger, but because you cannot hold onto both. What would it mean for you to take one item on that list seriously this week — not out of fear, but because you genuinely want more than what those things have to offer?
What do these specific behaviors — theft, greed, slander, swindling — have in common? What root attitude might connect them all?
Which of these is most normalized or even celebrated in your own culture or workplace, and how do you navigate living differently in that environment?
This verse can feel like a threat — but could it also be read as an invitation toward something better? What would that reframing look like?
How does living with greed or a habit of slander affect the specific people around you, even when they're never told directly?
Is there one behavior on this list you want to examine honestly in your own life? What is one concrete step you could take this week?
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,
1 Corinthians 6:9
For this ye know , that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Ephesians 5:5
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Proverbs 20:1
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 21:8
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
Luke 21:34
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Galatians 5:19
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Colossians 3:5
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:21
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers [whose words are used as weapons to abuse, insult, humiliate, intimidate, or slander], nor swindlers will inherit or have any share in the kingdom of God.
AMP
nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
ESV
nor thieves, nor [the] covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.
NASB
nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
NIV
nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
NKJV
or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people — none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
NLT
use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don't qualify as citizens in God's kingdom.
MSG