1 Corinthians 6 is often used as evidence that some actions, such as homosexuality, are incompatible with Biblical teaching.
9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
For the purpose of this question, however, I'm not interested in discussing homosexuality, or any other specific "sin" in the list. I'm simply interested in understanding if this list is meant to be prescriptive or descriptive.
That is to say, is this list saying:
- Any person who participates in XYZ activity will not inherit the kingdom of God
Or is it saying
- Those who will not inherit the kingdom of God engage in XYZ activities
It may seem like a difference of semantics to some, but perhaps an imagined contemporary re-phrasing can help make my question more clear.
Or do you not know that party animals will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the twerkers, nor dirty dancers, nor sexually promiscuous, nor womanizers, nor drunkards, nor drug users, nor gossipers nor stalkers will inherit the kingdom of God.
In my contrived example, the list is descriptive--describing a possible night club scene, for instance.
Is the original text descriptive, perhaps of a certain class (or classes) of people? Or is it prescriptive?