The above was written to the Christians in Corinth. Paul was not telling them that the unsaved would not inherit the Kingdom of God, Paul was warning the Christians about continuing to do these things—what the consequences would be if they continued to behave in a sinful manner.

The current deceptions, such as the pre-tribulation translation of the believers to Paradise, the overemphasis on the love of God, the overemphasis on grace, the "once saved always saved" doctrine, depend for their appeal and validity on the tradition that the purpose of the Christian redemption is to admit us to Paradise when we die physically. It is believed that the goal is to admit the sinner, on the basis of God's love and mercy, to a beautiful, peaceful environment where he will experience eternal joy and not the sufferings of Hell.

Would God come to Adam and Eve and bring them back into the garden, with access to the Tree of Life although there had been no change in their nature? In that case they would have been admitted back to Paradise on the basis of God's forgiveness, but they themselves would not have been changed. This is the concept of current Christian teaching.

If, on the other hand, the purpose of the Christian redemption is to transform us in personality so we are in the image of Christ, with the view of bringing us into total union with God through Jesus, then the pre-tribulation rapture, the excessive emphasis on mercy and forgiveness, the doctrine of "once saved always saved," lose their validity.

The doctrine of "once saved always saved" is completely unscriptural. A logical person could not read the New Testament and still hold to the idea that an individual who receives Christ can never fall away from God's blessing.

The faith-prosperity doctrine conceives of God as someone whose only desire is to make people happy. The proponents of this error have little understanding of the Kingdom that is coming from Heaven and go back to the Old Testament to emphasize the material blessings of the old covenant.

The concept that God wishes to shower the believer with material comforts and luxuries is related to the idea that God is anxious to receive sinful, self-centered believers into the highest realms of Paradise as soon as they have taken the steps required by whoever "led them to the Lord." (One wonders if they actually were led to the Lord or to the beliefs of a group!)

The present overemphasis on the love of God is based on the notion that God is so good He wants to bring everyone into Paradise. But when we stress the Kingdom of Heaven, the concept that we are being transformed into Christ's image and are being brought into union with God, then both the goodness and the severity of God are brought into focus. Goodness comes to those who are brought into harmony with God's will. Severity is the portion of those who resist God's will.

To be continued.