Be Not Deceived

By Dan Bailey

Be Not Deceived — (I Corinthians 6:9-11 —Article #9)

"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."

We live in a world where people of the world take advantage of the innocent and especially those who are more vulnerable in society. Noah Webster defines extortion as: "The act of extorting; the act or practice of wresting any thing from a person by force, duress, menaces, authority, or by any undue exercise of power; illegal exaction; illegal compulsion to pay money, or to do some other act. Extortion is an offense punishable at common law." (Webster, 1828). An extortioner is one who commits such acts as defined by Webster.

The first time that we read about extortion in the New Testament is in Luke chapter eighteen. The proud Pharisee who went into the temple to pray "...stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican" (Luke 18:11). Actually, the Pharisee in some ways was far worse. He was a proud and ignorant man who never examined his own sins and exalted himself as being better than other sinners.

We read about extortioners again in I Corinthians 5:9-11. "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat." Christians are commanded not to keep company with those in the church who practice such sins. As Christians we need to follow this teaching as well as all others given to us by the apostles of Christ.

All of this is somewhat summarized in the passage in I Corinthians 6:9-11 that we have been considering in these past several articles on Be Not Deceived. Let us walk in light of God's mercy and grace, and we will truly inherit the kingdom of God in heaven.