"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. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."

In this passage the Apostle Paul lets the Corinthians know that the Christians among them who were formerly involved in the wicked practices listed were now pure because God had cleaned their hearts and minds. Yet, Paul starts this passage by expressly stating that those who are still practicing unrighteous acts do not have a part in God's Kingdom.

Many teachers improperly use the seventh chapter of the book of Romans in an attempt to prove that Christians will continue to practice sin. However, this passage of scripture does not say that Christians will continue to live in sin. What the seventh chapter demonstrates is that human beings, even those who have extensive knowledge concerning the laws and commandments of God, cannot overcome the human tendency to live sinfully by the strength of our own human will by itself. This sinful nature (see Romans 3:23) is something that every person is born with. So, one may ask: "How does one overcome the dominance our sinful human nature has over us? What can a person do if they don't want to be controlled by sin?" The answer is very simple; Instead of stopping at the last verse of the seventh chapter of the book of Romans, continue reading into the first four verses of the eighth chapter of the same book. For example: Romans 8:1-4 reads as follows:

"THERE IS therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

Let's try to shed a little clarity on this passage of scripture by looking at the same passage in the Living Bible (the Living Bible is a more modern language paraphrase of the Holy Bible):

"SO THERE is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the life-giving Spirit---and this power is mine through Christ Jesus---has freed me from the vicious circle of sin and death. We aren't saved from sin's grasp by knowing the commandments of God, because we can't and don't keep them, but God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours---except that ours are sinful---and destroyed sin's control over us by giving himself as a sacrifice for our sins. So now we can obey God's laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us."
 

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