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 men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV)
But as for the cowardly, the
faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers,
idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with
fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
(Revelation 21:8 ESV)
As recently as 4 years ago, I was definitely counted among the
unrighteous.
Sexually immoral – One of my most prevalent sins.
Pornography, sex outside of marriage.
Idolater – My “idol” was popularity, fame, and peer
acceptance. These were the most important things in my life.
Thief – Not a thief in any conventional sense,
but I was guilty of "stealing" company time, slacking off during work
and not giving 100% effort.
Drunkard – I loved getting drunk with friends.
These were the “highlights” of my weekends.
Reviler – To revile means to subject to verbal
abuse. I was guilty of this in thought, and sometimes even in deed.
Liar – Lying was a habit. Aside from the blatant
untruths I uttered daily (“I’m late because of traffic”), also included here
are exaggerations and omissions in job interviews, casual conversations, and a
million other situations. Deceit was a way of life.
Yes, I was unquestionably not going to inherit the kingdom of God,
according to the apostle Paul. Fortunately, or rather, by God’s grace (no such
thing as luck if you know God!), Jesus rescued me from the horrible situation.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 ESV)
I've accepted God’s free gift and escaped (eternal!) death. Today,
I’m a thankful Christian, living in gratitude to the sacrifice of Jesus for me.
Though I still stumble, He is always there to catch me, without fail.
I hope He will be glorified with this blog. Friends, Romans,
countrymen, let’s hear it for the goodness of the Lord!
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