1 Corinthians 6:9-11
"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:..."
Why didn't good people become the first Christians? Devout people?
2007-09-26 15:59:01 · 25 answers · asked by Prof Fruitcake 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hello,Sunshine, whoever you are!
2007-09-28 05:13:10 · update #1
Good people did, but a lot of people that were considered good people at the time were so rooted in their traditions that they couldnt cross over to christianity. The apostles after the death of christ constantly had to chastize people for reverting back to mosaic laws and pretty much said that if you dont follow what Jesus taught you are pretty much crucifying him all over again.
People that think they are so righteous tend to be very prideful. It makes it hard for them to handle when they are being told they are doing something wrong or that they have to change. Changing from the mosaic law to this new law of Christ was like a culture shock. The socalled dredges of society didnt have as much pride to accept this new truth and change their ways.
2007-09-26 16:03:50 · answer #1 · answered by cadisneygirl 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The Key Word is "unrighteous".
The Next Key Word is "inherit".
When you get Saved, you become the Righteous--but if your Still doing some of those Sins (fornication, drunkeness so on) you will not "Inherit the Kingdom of GOD".
Inheriting the Kingdom of GOD is Different from become a "Righteous Person" (Born-Again Child of GOD).
AnyBody can get Saved (Born-Again)and go to Heaven---but it is harder to Inherit the Kingdom of GOD After You are Saved while you are Still on the Earth!
If you do manage to Inherit the Kingdom of GOD down here, you will be Walking in Holiness! If you get Born-Again and never Graduate to "Walking in Holiness", you will still go to Heaven.
EVERYBODY who gets Saved gets the Garment of Salvation.
EVERYBODY who is Diligent and Walks in Holiness will get the Robe of Righteousness Too!!!
It is an Honour to Walk into Heaven with the Robe of Righteousness on.
Hope this helps.
2007-09-26 23:51:47 · answer #2 · answered by maguyver727 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ur right. God did. The Bible says he "left the 99 for the 1." He ate dinner with them, he hung with them. But He did it so they could become believers.
Think about all the people in the bible who did crazy stuff.
Moses, killed an Egyptian, and became the deliverer of the Hebrews. Paul, persecuted Christians, but God used Him as a disciple to heal and deliver people. Peter denied Jesus' very existence even though he walked and talked with him, but God forgave him and said that Peter would be the foundation of all the churches to come. All throughout the bible, God uses all kinds of people to spread the gospel so others could see the goodness of Jesus. But they had a choice. They could have stayed with their old lives, but the bible says, "the wages of sin is death." and not just physical death. a dead marriage, a dead, unfulfilled family, dead relationships, dead ambitions. So God pulls us out of those dead things in our lives and brings us into life and peace. Our lives change for the better. But if we stay on the path of unrighteousness, remaining theives, and drunkards, and fornicators and all those other things you said, No, we will not enter into the Kingdom of God.
2007-09-26 23:15:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The "good people" of that day were supposed to be those of the Jewish faith. Many of the Jewish faith rejected Jesus and by rejecting Him, they were no longer the upright good people. They rejected salvation won by Jesus for all mankind. Notice the wording "And such WERE.... Were,as in past tense or no longer. Jesus takes the unrighteous sins that are listed away. But, it takes faith in Him to receive such forgiveness and salvation. Final point: Who needs a doctor the most , the sick or the well? It's similar to that in Christianity. Who needs to go to church,learn of God, and receive Christ into their lives the most? The righteous or the unrighteous?
2007-09-26 23:12:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
God knows our hearts, just because someone appears to be a good,kind or loving person doesn't mean that they truly are
and just because someone appears to be a mean or hateful doesn't mean that they are that way
remember King David, he did many things that he should not have done but he did not try to say those things were ok with God and he repented in his heart and God Loved David
it would have been much different if David had tried to make people think God was ok with the things he/David had done
can you see my point
2007-09-27 00:20:46 · answer #5 · answered by hmm 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is no indication that Jesus only hung with the "dredges of society". He approached the prostitute when he read her heart that it was open to accepting Him. He spent time doing medical ministery --physical healing and healing the troubled in heart, did he not? In other words, Jesus did not discriminate the societal outcasts or the visible sinners from the supposed righteous. He only saw the willingness of the heart to accept that He is the Son of God and that belief in Him is the only way to God.
2007-09-26 23:07:03 · answer #6 · answered by Pansy 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Luke 5:30-32 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?" Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Secondly is the example of http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/pbl24.html
Primary of all is the issue of humility. Humility is the primary prerequisite for a person to become a Christian. But many who reckon themselves "good" lack humility.
Example: http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/pbl39.html
Likewise Paul writes, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things— and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."
2007-09-26 23:23:22 · answer #7 · answered by Steve Amato 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some devout people did become the first Christians.
My personal opinion on your why? - The particular drunks, prostitutes, etc, were generally seeking forgiveness. And that is the huge appeal of Jesus. He forgives! And heals!
If you've ever done anything major that you were sorry for, and others wouldn't forgive you, you'd know the appeal of Jesus.
If your heart is still cold and don't seek forgiveness, that is why you won't get forgiveness, Heaven, etc.
2007-09-26 23:05:36 · answer #8 · answered by karen 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
There is no such thing as good people. Jesus said only 1 is good and that was God. However, there are some who think they're good. And because of that, their hearts were hard and could not accept Jesus.
2007-09-26 23:08:50 · answer #9 · answered by Doma 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." Matthew 9:11-13
2007-09-26 23:02:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋