D. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (1 Cor 6:7-10, 15-20). 

1 Cor 6:9-10 NIV

⁹ “Or 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.” 

Paul was serious about warning the Corinthian believers that if certain sins are not dealt with, they will forfeit them from entering the Kingdom of God.  

There are those such as Joseph Prince who claim that Paul was talking to unbelievers, which is untenable. 

To better understand 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, we must look at the bigger context and consider the previous verses to see what Paul was saying that led up to this. 

The chapter begins with Paul addressing disputes between believers (1 Cor 6:1-5), even to the point where they were going to court against one another (1 Cor 6:6). 

Then we read in verse 7 through 10: 

1 Cor 6:7-10 NIV

⁷ “The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

⁸ Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.

⁹ Or 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.” 

When Paul wrote verses 9 and 10, it was partly because, at that point in time, some of the Corinthian believers were already cheating and doing wrong to other people in verse 8. 

That is part of the background information, which led to verses 9 and 10! 

Paul was warning them – don’t be deceived as wrongdoers like those who cheat like some of them have done, will not inherit the Kingdom of God. 

Neither will the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers…inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10). 

In other words, it is pretty clear that some of the Corinthian believers were not only wrongdoers or cheaters, but they were also sexually immoral and adulterers, etc, at the same time, and they too will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

So here is a clear teaching from Paul that believers through unrepentant sinning will be barred from entering the Kingdom of God.

Next, there are more evidence why the Corinthians were believers (not unbelievers) who have slipped back to their old pagan ways because among them were those who have started to visit prostitutes as stated in 1 Corinthians 6:15-16.

1 Cor 6:15-20 NIV

¹⁵ “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never!

¹⁶ Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”

¹⁷ But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 

Is Paul addressing Corinthian believers or unbelievers? 

Unbelievers will not even begin to understand what it means to be members of Christ’s body (V15). 

They will not be able to comprehend that having sex with a prostitute is equated to uniting himself with her in one body because two will become one flesh (V16). 

They will not have any idea that whoever sins sexually is tantamount to sinning against his own body (V18). 

They will not even begin to understand that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (V19). 

The clearest evidence that the Corinthians were believers is that they have been bought with the price of the blood of Christ and therefore they must honour God with their bodies (V20).

So these Corinthians who were sinning sexually were believers, and Paul had to warn them that the sexually immoral who are unrepentant will not enter God’s Kingdom. 

This clearly debunks Joseph Prince’s teaching that believers can never lose their salvation.   

Paul totally contradicts Joseph Prince’s teachings that all our past, present and future sins have been forgiven. 

If Paul agrees with Joseph Prince, Paul would have said,

“I am rather upset that these Corinthians were committing all kinds of sexual sins.

But thankfully, all their sexual sins, past, present and future, have been forgiven at the cross.

Thankfully, they received Christ as their Saviour and Lord five years ago.

Though they may lose their rewards in heaven, they will never lose their salvation because of the finished work of Christ.” 

Conversely, Paul’s message is that believers who persist in their sins will not inherit the Kingdom of God and forfeit their salvation. 

Hence, Joseph Prince’s doctrine that one’s salvation is always assured – no matter what – is debunked.    

One final point that must be clarified is that this passage does not mean that a Christian who lusts, instantly forfeits his or her salvation, since no adulterer will inherit God’s kingdom, and since Jesus equated lust with adultery (1 Cor 6:9-10, Matt 5:28). 

Again, this is the Straw man argument that Joseph Prince specialises in using against us, by misrepresenting and falsely attaching this view to those who believe that we can lose our salvation. 

The plain fact is that there is no scripture which teaches that the moment a Christian lust, the Holy Spirit departs from him, or that he forfeits his sonship and salvation in Christ. 

It also does not mean, like what Joseph Prince would want to accuse us with, that if a believer were to die one second after his sin of having an immoral thought even though he does not commit such sins habitually, God would cast him into hell. 

When Paul warns that no adulterer will inherit God’s kingdom (1 Cor 6:9-10), he was talking about the future, not immediate consequences. 

The words “will inherit” are future tense. 

To claim, based on that warning, that any Christian who lusts or commits adultery, instantly forfeits his or her salvation, is unwarranted. 

The truth is, the Christian who commits adultery places his future, ultimate salvation in jeopardy. 

The Holy Spirit, who indwells him, however, does not abandon him, but instead convicts him to bring him to repentance, a wonderful indication of God’s grace. 

On the other hand, would you, as a sensible believer, want to take any risk to prolong the sin that has engulfed you without repenting at the earliest opportunity, and gamble away your eternity?

In fact, by procrastinating to repent time and again, your heart may become so hardened to such a state that it may become impossible for you to repent. 

You are also not God, and hence, you do not know when your last day on earth is.  

So, the fine and delicate balance between the holiness and the grace of God must be maintained in a healthy tension, so that we don’t stray into an extremist and unbiblical position.  

In ‘Unmerited Favor’, Page 187, Joseph Prince wrote (regarding 1 Corinthians chapter 6),

“Paul had the perfect opportunity to teach the Corinthians to confess their sins of fornication when he wrote to them as they had clearly sinned.

But what did Paul do instead?

He said, “…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…?” (1 Cor 6:19)

He did not say, “Do you not know that your body was the temple of the Holy Spirit? Now, go confess your sins and restore your fellowship with God and perhaps He will put His Spirit back in you.”

There was not even one mention that they had to confess their sins.

Instead, Paul reminded them of their identity in Christ, and even in their failures. 

(George’s comment:

Notice Joseph Prince has sneakily substituted failures for the sin of patronising prostitutes so as to downplay the seriousness of it; notice how slimy he is),

he maintained that their body is (present tense) still the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Paul apparently believed that to remind believers to be conscious of who they are and what they have in Christ continually is the key to victory over their sins.”  

Joseph Prince is blatantly twisting the text, as he is quoting 1 Corinthians 6:19,

“…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…?”

out of context and hiding the other half of the truth in 1 Corinthians 6:18. 

He has also deliberately left out 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and only quoted 1 Corinthians 6:19. 

We have already gone through 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and Paul has clearly said there that believers who are sexually immoral and adulterers will not enter the Kingdom of God.  

Joseph Prince has also deliberately left out 1 Corinthians 6:18 and just quoted 1 Corinthians 6:19 – quoting it out of context. 

1 Cor 6:18-20 NKJV

¹⁸ “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 

Paul had clearly said in V 9-10 and V 15-16 that patronising prostitutes is a sin, and those unrepentant will be barred from entering the Kingdom of God.

Paul also commanded the Corinthians to flee sexual immorality in V18, not only because it is a sin against their own body (V18), but because their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit in (V19). 

So in the light of

V 9-10 (sexually immoral will not enter the Kingdom of God),

V 15-16 and V18 (flee sexual immorality as it is a sin against your own body),

“…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…?” in V19 (quoted by Joseph Prince in his book, Unmerited Favor, Page 187),

is placed there by Paul, as an indictment against the Corinthians, and not as an assurance of salvation to comfort them.  

The indictment is that one who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body (V18), and God treats this seriously as their body is the very temple of the Holy Spirit (V19). 

Because their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, they must honour God with their bodies as they have been bought with the price of the blood of Christ (V20). 

And what is unmistakably implied by Paul is that if they commit sexual immorality with prostitutes with their body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, they are dishonouring God. 

And no wonder Paul had earlier said that those who continue to commit such sexual sins, which has the effect of sinning against their own body and dishonouring the temple of the Holy Spirit, will not enter the Kingdom of God (V9-10). 

Joseph Prince has committed a heinous act by completely and deliberately misrepresenting what Paul said and meant.  

When Paul had used V19

“…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…?”

as an indictment against the sexually immoral,

Joseph Prince switched it completely around

and postured it as comfort of assurance to those who have sinned.  

How can such blatant distortion of scriptures be stomached? 

How can such gross and deliberate misrepresentation of scriptures be allowed to be committed without the church speaking out? 

I ‘Buay Tah Han’ (in Hokkien) already (meaning, cannot take it anymore), I don’t know about you!  

For your quick and easy reference, let me again reflect what Joseph Prince wrote in ‘Unmerited Favor’, Page 187,

“Paul wrote extensively to all these churches, and yet there was not one mention of the confession of sins in all his Spirit-inspired letters.

Why was this so?

Paul had the perfect opportunity to teach the Corinthians to confess their sins of fornication when he wrote to them as they had clearly sinned.

But what did Paul do instead?

He said, “…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…?” (1 Cor 6:19)

He did not say, “Do you not know that your body was the temple of the Holy Spirit? Now, go confess your sins and restore your fellowship with God and perhaps He will put His Spirit back in you.”

There was not even one mention that they had to confess their sins.

Instead, Paul reminded them of their identity in Christ, and even in their failures, he maintained that their body is (present tense) still the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Paul apparently believed that to remind believers to be conscious of who they are and what they have in Christ continually is the key to victory over their sins.” 

George’s comments: 

Joseph Prince, your statement,

“…do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you…?”

has been clearly quoted out of context, which I have already unveiled and proven. 

And now you are making a false conclusion that,

“Paul apparently believed that to remind believers to be conscious of who they are and what they have in Christ continually is the key to victory over their sins,”

based on that out-of-context statement that you made. 

This is nothing but deceptive and dishonest Bible exegesis to hoodwink the people of God. 

You have brazenly misrepresented Paul and implied that that’s what he would do, not only in the case of the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 but in every case of Paul’s dealing with believers. 

You have deviously given the impression that your doctrine of being righteousness-conscious and not sin-conscious is being drawn from the teaching of Paul.  

How can Joseph Prince, who have committed one deception after another, not invoke the righteous anger of every Bible-believing minister of God? 

How can pastors who truly honour God’s word remain nonchalantly quiet for the many evils that Joseph Prince has committed against the Holy word of God?  

Joseph Prince has falsely portrayed Paul as a nice grace teacher to the Corinthians that even the sin of patronising prostitutes was too little a matter to be raked up. 

He gave the false impression that Paul was very lax about their sexual sin and did not treat the issue of sin seriously, and worse, Paul even affirmed and assured them that they are in Christ, despite the evil that they had done. 

Joseph Prince clearly said in his book that Paul never asked them to confess and repent of their sins, but instead, assured them they are in Christ. 

This is a false portrayal of what Paul did in the Corinthian church and all the epistles.  

Joseph Prince is clearly saying that if a believer visits prostitutes, he doesn’t have to confess or repent.  

All he needs to do is to remind himself about who they are in Christ.  

This is the false teaching that he has been teaching all along that we should not be sin-conscious, but righteousness-conscious.

And when we sin, we should not focus on our sins or even confess our sins because they have all been forgiven.  

But we should focus on our righteousness and remind ourselves that we are still in Christ.  

We should not even mention the word, ‘sin,’ because all our sins, past, present and future have been forgiven. 

Tell me, if you are a pastor of a church, and one day when you found out that many of your church members are patronising prostitutes, how would you respond? 

Calm and collected as if nothing had happened? 

Assuring them of their salvation with no action taken to ask them to confess or repent? 

I will tell you how Joseph Prince would respond. 

He would respond in a nice and cool way, as he has described in his book. 

He would assure these people that their righteousness cannot be removed from them because of the finished work of Christ. 

And no matter what they do, even if they were visiting prostitutes, they never have to worry about their salvation. 

And he will not even raise the issue about their sins of visiting the prostitutes and the need to confess and repent.  

My goodness! – You don’t have to be a theologian or pastor to know that what Joseph Prince is advocating is horrendously repulsive and sickening.  

Remember, there is no such thing as a saved sexually immoral person in contrast to an unsaved sexually immoral person. 

Sexual immorality, whether committed by a Christian or non-Christian, is still sin. 

If God allows the sexually immoral who are unbelievers to go to hell and if He allows the sexually immoral people who are believers but unrepentant to go heaven, God will have a lot of explanation to do with the unbelievers. 

“What kind of a God are you?” 

Both are sexually immoral, but one goes to hell and the other to heaven! 

Sin committed by believers is just as serious as sin committed by unbelievers. 

In fact, it is more serious for a Christian to commit sin as compared to an unbeliever since he belongs to the Light, and hence, there is less excuse for a Christian to sin. 

Let’s suppose that the sin committed by the Corinthians was murder, instead of patronising prostitutes.   

So in order to be true to his doctrine, Joseph Prince would have to say that both Paul and he would do the same thing – that they would not confront the Corinthians over the sin of murder, and they would still assure them that they are still in Christ. 

At this point, Joseph Prince would protest, 

“George, the sin of murder is a serious sin, and Paul, and I, would have to confront them over the sin of murder.

As a matter of fact, we would have to report to the police, or we would be in trouble.” 

So, Joseph Prince, you are now saying that there is an exception to the rule. 

Why didn’t you declare that in the first place? 

I thought your doctrine is foolproof and watertight and applies to all kinds of sins – small sins as well as big sins? 

So what about the sin of kidnapping or the use of firearms? 

Joseph Prince would have to admit these are another two exceptions to the rule as anyone who commits the sin and crime of kidnapping or the use of firearms in Singapore could be sentenced to death. 

Wow, Joseph Prince, why are there so many exceptions to the rule? 

And they seem to be endless. 

Do you know what this means?  

This simply means that to be true and consistent to his grace doctrine,

Joseph Prince would have to say that though Paul and he would report to the police on the believer who had committed the sin of murder/kidnapping/use of firearms,

he would not be asked to confess to God any of these three sins. 

And Paul and Joseph Prince would still assure that murderer/kidnapper/one who use firearms,

that he is still in Christ, even though he had murdered someone/kidnapped someone/used firearms

– and even though he had not confessed to God and repented of his sin of murder/kidnapped someone/used firearms. 

The one who commits any of these three sins/crimes will probably be sentenced to be hung. 

Joseph Prince, by telling him that such sins of murder, kidnapping, use of firearms, do not have to be confessed and repented of, you are literally sending him to the pit of hell, after he is being hung to his death. 

How can a grace theology that sends people to hell be embraced by the multitudes as true doctrine? 

How can a wolf like Joseph Prince, who literally sends people to hell, be considered by many fellow shepherds to be a shepherd of God’s flock? 

Do you think Paul would have taught Joseph Prince such a twisted and perverted form of grace doctrine?  

I am bringing this out to show you how ridiculous, dangerous and even tragic, if one were to buy into the grace theology of Joseph Prince – that has absolutely nothing to do with the Pauline theology of grace and the Holy word of God?    

Let me relate to you a true but tragic story written by a brother (italics). 

What transpired can also be found on the internet. 

Please feel free to check this out: 

“George Sodini walked into a women’s aerobics class at an LA Fitness Club.

He turned out the lights and began shooting into the darkness, firing fifty rounds.

Within seconds, he killed three women and wounded nine others.

Then he shot and killed himself.

According to his blog, he had been planning the killings and his suicide at LA Fitness for months in advance.

In December, he wrote in that blog of the evangelical church he had attended for thirteen years, saying of the pastor,

“This guy teaches (and convinced me) you can commit mass murder then still go to heaven.”

Just one day before his murder spree and suicide, he wrote:

“Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told.

Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell.

Christ paid for EVERY sin, so how can I or you be judged BY GOD for a sin when the penalty was ALREADY paid.

People judge but that does not matter.

I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.”

The book he mentioned, ‘The Integrity of God’, is written by an author who teaches that believers cannot forfeit their salvation no matter how much they sin.

A few days later there was an article in our local newspaper titled, “‘Once saved, always saved’ — Deacon says killer rests in heaven.”

Here are a few excerpts: George Sodini rests in heaven now because he professed a faith in Jesus years before his shooting rampage, a ________ Church leader said.

Jack ______, a deacon at the church Sodini attended for years, said the Bible makes it clear that “professing a faith in Jesus as savior means you will have complete eternal salvation.”

“George is going to heaven, but he’s not going to get his rewards,” _______ said.

He said that Sodini won’t be offered all of heaven’s benefits because of his sin.

“George was a professing believer.”

Although many Christians who adhere to the doctrinal position of “once-saved-always-saved” would probably argue that George Sodini was never actually born again in the first place (and they might well be correct), the fact remains that the church he attended for 13 years made it easier for him to murder three women.

Worse, that particular church teaches exactly what a large percentage of evangelical churches do, that once a person is saved, he is permanently saved.

Believers are supposedly unconditionally eternally secure, regardless of their lifestyles.

No sin can keep them from heaven.

I can’t help but wonder how many people, just like George Sodini, are now in hell, when they fully expected to be in heaven, because they were trusting in a grace that God has never offered, a grace that is little more than a license to sin.” 

To shock you further, this is what Joseph Prince teaches – that one can leave the Lord and live a lifestyle of sin and still be saved and that he will not perish. 

Please view this 30-second video,

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GDUl3pG1OXgKsQtsh3I6IfP82W4-kbku

(Source: Joseph Prince 2016 – Can You Lose Your Salvation? Truth About Hebrew 6) 

This is what Joseph Prince said in the video,

“Okay, Pastor Prince, I know a friend, used to be a Christian, used to be this, bla bla bla.

Number 1, we do not know whether he is a professor or possessor.

But let’s say he is a possessor, he is saved.

He left the Lord and all that.

You would be surprised, even though he lived a lifestyle of sin, salvation is more solid than his lifestyle.

And maybe he dies young.

But in heaven, you are going to see him.

You going see him because salvation is not because of what he did.

He will never perish.” 

The fact that Joseph Prince is treating the person as a possessor and not a professor of Christianity, in no way mitigates his unbiblical view of salvation. 

This is because he defines a possessor of the Christian Faith as someone who can leave the Lord, is living a lifestyle of sin, and is still saved.   

He further said that “maybe he dies young” (without coming back to the Lord and repent from his lifestyle of sin), “he will still go to heaven, and he will never perish.” 

Joseph Prince has defended and will always defend himself with the usual line that he is against sin, and he hates sin. 

But these are mere politically correct statements that are made for public consumption and to ‘cover’ himself. 

What is worse is that this is yet another example of his double-talk. 

So don’t ever be deceived by his flowery and insincere words. 

If he is genuinely against sin and hates sin, why is he saying one could be saved and not perish, even though he has left God, and living a lifestyle of sin? 

By saying that a saved person could still live a lifestyle of sin makes a total mockery of the finished work of Christ. 

No verse in the Bible says that one could still be saved even though he has left God and is living an unrepentant lifestyle of sin in rebellion against God. 

Any right-minded believer will be able to discern a Christian who does not sin habitually. 

And whenever he sins, he confesses them to God and ask Him for forgiveness – and our gracious God will always forgive him.  

But it is a totally different story for another who has left God, living a lifestyle of sin and is sinning habitually as a way of life. 

Now we know why Joseph Prince said that Paul didn’t even confront the Corinthians who were patronising prostitutes to confess their sins, and on the contrary, affirm them that they are still in Christ. 

Hence, putting them all together, Joseph Prince must also be implicitly saying that if the Corinthians were to live a lifestyle of sin by continuing to patronise prostitutes, they would still be saved.    

This is because Joseph Prince teaches that once a person believes in Christ, he will still make it to heaven, even though he lives a lifestyle of sin.   

His theology of grace is that once the righteousness of Christ is imputed, it cannot be revoked, no matter what. 

This means that an adulterer, a child molester, a sex trafficker, a rapist, a murderer, and a drug-pusher, are exempt from condemnation for their sins because they have Christ’s righteousness imputed to them, while they are committing such sins as a lifestyle. 

This is preposterous, blasphemous and sacrilegious! 

Joseph Prince, you have gone against the basic teaching of Paul that it is an impossibility for one to be saved by grace and is still living a lifestyle of sin (Rom 6:1-2, 6-7, 11-22 and many other passages). 

Your claim that what you are teaching is what Paul had taught in the epistles is one big lie that has been deceptively fabricated by you! 

In the subsequent chapters, I will continue with many more passages in the New Testament that were written by Paul.