Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit
the
kingdom of God?
&c.] A way of speaking much like that in the Talmud,
(Myqydul ala ywve wnya abh Mlwehv
edwy ywh) "know thou, that the world to come is not made
but for the righteous?" F8 Without a righteousness there will
be no entrance into the world of bliss and happiness hereafter;
and this must be a better righteousness than what a sinful
creature is capable of working out, and no other than the
righteousness of Christ. It was a loss and want of righteousness
that cast the angels down from heaven, and turned Adam out of
paradise; and whoever of his posterity: are destitute of one,
will fall short of enjoying the glory of God; for it is not
agreeable to the holy nature of God, to his infinite justice and
righteous law, to admit any into heaven without a righteousness:
hence a judgment seat is erected, before which all must stand;
and those that will be found without a righteousness, will be for
ever excluded the kingdom of heaven; and could any unrighteous
persons be received there, it would spoil the pleasure and
happiness of the saints. Now this is said, partly to dissuade the
Corinthians from going to law with each other before unrighteous
persons, who have no right to the kingdom of God, and living and
dying as they are, will have no share in it; and therefore since
they are not to be fellow heirs and companions with them in
another world, they should not bring their causes before them in
this; and partly to reprove them for their injurious and
unrighteous actions among themselves, their tricking and
defrauding of one another, with other sins they were guilty of;
which, if not repented of, would show, that notwithstanding their
profession, they were destitute of the grace of God, were unfit
to be in the kingdom of God, in a Gospel church state here below,
and would be shut out of the kingdom of heaven hereafter.
Be not deceived
imagining, that through your knowledge and profession you shall
be saved, live as you will:
neither fornicators,
such as are guilty of uncleanness with persons in a single state:
nor idolaters;
who worship more gods than one, and not the true God; who do
service to them that are not gods, and perform what the Jews call
(hrz hdwbe) "strange
service": and not only fall down to stocks and stones, but serve
divers lusts and pleasures, the idols of their own hearts:
nor adulterers:
such as have criminal conversation with persons in a married
state:
nor effeminate;
or "soft", or, as the Syriac renders it, (albxm) , "corrupters"; that is, of themselves, by
voluntary pollution, such as are guilty of the sin of Onan, (
Genesis
38:8 Genesis 38:9
) .
Nor abusers of themselves with mankind;
sodomites.