Jesus used the expressions, "enter the kingdom," and "inherit the kingdom."  

A little research shows a substantial difference between those two expressions in usage or application. Some of the confusion arises because He also used the expression "inherit eternal life," as recorded in Mark and Luke. This appears to suggest that the "inherit" expressions might refer to salvation itself. They do not.

Please read: Setting the Scene: God Does Not Always Make Things Easy to See here.

See also: God Promises That We Will See and Hear here.

While Jesus promised that "when the Spirit of Truth comes He will guide you into all truth," (John 16:13) that actually depends on us being willing to examine or accept new ideas, and actively search out more than what we think we already know. 

In 2019, a popular Australian Rugby (football) prodigy posted on his Instagram account that "Hell awaits Drunks, Homosexuals, Adulterers, Liars, Fornicators" and more. He supported that claim with Galatians 5:19-21.

The backlash was swift - Rugby Australia cancelled his multi-million dollar contract, while tens of thousands of Australian Christians posted in his support, with many contributing to his legal fighting fund. Social media exploded with similar inflammatory posts in support of his claim. In the six plus years that followed he seemed to have lost his way, football-wise, in that while he had played football in minor leagues overseas, he was now essentially out of public view in Australia.

His claim has not been unusual in Christian circles. At the time I wanted to rebut it, but knew that I needed to study it more deeply to be approved, "a workman rightly dividing the word of truth." To this end I examined every reference in the New Testament to "enter the kingdom," “inherit the kingdom" and "inherit eternal life," and some other words as well, such as "reward" and "inheritance."

Below is the result.

Someone wrote:

“There are certain things that God makes clear are incompatible with the faith. Romans 1 lists a lot of them. It literally says that those who practice these things “will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

This is a common misunderstanding, and not an accurate reflection of what Scripture teaches.

Romans 1 talks about the wrath of God in regard to sexual and other sin, but it’s not at all like the way we experience anger or wrath. 

“Will not inherit the kingdom of God” is in Galatians 5:21 and also in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, but not in Romans at all.

Romans 1:18 says that “God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness’” and the following verses describe some of those acts of ungodliness, including idolatry and homosexuality. Then, twice in the same chapter, Paul describes how God’s wrath is actually demonstrated:

“Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts…abandoning them to the power of sin.” v24

We tend to think that God’s anger is like human anger, but it is not, not at all. Paul confirms this in verse 28:

“And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a base mind to do things not proper.” 

In other words, God’s wrath is revealed by Them allowing us to do what we want to do, even if what we want to do is wrong.

There are two ‘kingdom’ expressions used in the New Testament, ‘enter the kingdom’, and ‘inherit the kingdom’. There are three ‘inherit’ expressions used, "inherit the earth," ‘inherit the kingdom’, and ‘inherit eternal life.’ What is the difference between these seemingly similar figures of speech?

• Eternal life is the ‘container’ for salvation and reward. 

“He who believes on the Son has eternal life.” John 3:36a

That’s something that happens instantly, now, in this lifetime - it is not determined in the next, nor on Judgment Day.

Salvation is what occurs when we ‘enter the kingdom’. That is the start of our eternal life.

We ‘enter the kingdom’, according to Jesus, when we are born again. 

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily I am saying to you, If anyone should not be begotten out of water and of spirit, he can not be entering into the kingdom of God."  John 3:5 (Concordant Literal New Testament)

That is our second birth. To be ‘born again’ we must be of human origin (literally, born ‘out of water’, the first birth in the verse above) and born ‘of the spirit’ as well. He then said that “what is born from the flesh is flesh" (being born ‘out of water’) and "what is born from the Spirit is spirit” (being born again affects our spirit) in John 3:6.

According to Ephesians 1:5 God the Father "planned for us to be adopted as His own children," in such a way that we become "a new creation" (an entirely new species, actually) where "the old has passed away" and "the fresh and new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Jesus emphasised that salvation is permanent, just like a human child is permanently connected by its DNA to its parent(s) whether the baby survives or not, and irrespective of that baby's subsequent behaviour. 

In John 3:10a Jesus makes this claim:

“He who believes on Him (the Son) is not judged; for him there is no condemnation.”

It’s all a matter of faith, as Jesus confirms in John 3:10b.

“But he who does not believe is judged already.”

Or as Paul puts it in Ephesians 2:8-9:

“For by grace (a free gift from God) are you saved through faith (believing something that we cannot see or apprehend with our five senses) and that not of yourselves (not through our own efforts) it is the gift of God, not of works (there is the confirmation that works don’t produce our salvation) lest anyone should boast” (about what they have achieved).

Jesus confirmed that once we are in the kingdom, we cannot get thrown out of the kingdom.

“...and he who comes to me I will never cast out.” John 6:37b

“Cast out” is something that can only occur after someone has actually entered somewhere. In other words, once we enter the kingdom we cannot be removed for any reason. 

Jesus was not saying that He would not reject anyone (in fact, He never rejects anyone who comes to Him, either) - 'reject' implies that you cannot even enter. Instead, the Greek word used, ekballo, is the same word used when Jesus would cast out or eject a demonic spirit that had gained entrance into someone. 'Reject' is a completely different word in the Greek, yet some translations incorrectly use that English word in this verse.

• What about "Strive to enter through the narrow door?"

This is Luke 13:23ff

"And someone said to Him, 'Lord, will those who are saved be few?

"And He said to them, 'Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and not be able.'" v23-24

In John 10:9 Jesus declared that He was the entry point. "I am the Door.  Anyone who enters in through Me will be saved." 

There is no other name, no other way by which we can be saved. For one reason or another many will try to enter the Kingdom through some other means, without success. Whether through good works or following some other leader or religion, the broad, easy way leads to destruction. Not even following a particular Christian church or denomination will make the cut - it just has to be a knowledgeable, personal relationship with the Son of God, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

In Luke 13, Jesus continued with a picture of Judgment Day:

"When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'

"Then you will begin to say, We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil.'" v25-27

This is not an indictment of their works, since good works won't gain anyone an entrance into the house, and bad works won't exclude anyone, either, but of their not entering in to that special relationship with Jesus, through faith. By calling them "workers of evil" He is not necessarily saying that their works were bad and that those the bad "works" kept them out of the Kingdom. The "evil," which is to their detriment, is that they did not come to Jesus in their lifetime, and perhaps led others away as well.

• What about "Depart from Me, I never knew you?"

This section in Matthew 7, verses 21-23, can be a cause of concern for some:

"Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." v21

That looks serious. Is it not sufficient to just "call on the name of the Lord" to be saved? Are works equally important for salvation?

Well, not if we believe the other words of Jesus, and the Apostle Paul, as already noted. However, taken in isolation this verse could strongly imply that works are essential for salvation. But taken in context we can see something else at play.

"Many will say to Me on that (judgment) day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many mighty works in Your name?" v22

There are people, ministries which seem spectacular, powerful, effective, far-reaching, but the personal lives of the leaders are a mess. They are controlling, abusive, manipulating, emphasising and living in the conditional promises, practices and stories of the Old Covenant. They draw great wealth, power and prestige to themselves, but the fruit of Matthew 5-7 is not evident. It is almost as if they have seized on ministry as just another job, a means to an end that does not glorify God., and certainly not the God of the New Covenant.

We are not in a position to judge them or weed them out or pull them down; according to Jesus that will be done by the angels at the end of the age, and then they will appear before His judgment seat.

"And then I will say to them openly, I never knew you" (you did not actually come to Me); "Depart from Me, you who act wickedly."  v23

The first part of verse 23 accurately describes why they are rejected: Jesus did not know them. He knew of them, but they had never come to Him, and ultimately their actions are a reflection of that, rather than the cause of their rejection.

• Paul Describes a Different Situation in Romans 1 and 2

"For in the gospel a righteousness which God ascribes (hands out or applies) is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith..." 1v17

"For ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature has been clearly discernible through the things that have been made..." 1v20

"For God shows no partiality; with Him one man is not different from another...: 2v11

"For it is not merely hearing the Law that makes one righteous before God (going to church alone is not enough to get one saved) but it is the doers of the Law who will be held guiltless." 2v13 

Note that the use of the word Law is figurative, implying any word that comes to us from God, including the intrinsic knowledge that each person born physically has of God. We have to put that word that we hear into practice, by calling on the name of the Lord, or believing on Him, but wait, there's more!

"When Gentiles who have not the Law (unbelievers, and/or those who have never heard the gospel) do instinctively what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves (they fit into a special category that God designates), since they do not have the Law." 2v14

"They show that the essential requirements of the Law are written in their hearts (that's remarkable, since that is a feature of the New Covenant), with which their conscience also bears witness; and their decisions will accuse or defend them  2v15

"On that day when...God by Jesus Christ will judge men (all people) in regard to the things which they conceal." 2v16

That is remarkable; it's also not as widely recognised as it should be by large swathes of Christianity, that those who have never heard the Gospel are judged according to their actions. Their actions will ultimately show whether they acknowledged the revelation of God that God had applied to their hearts, or not.

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus is recorded as saying:

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5.

How can someone inherit the earth, the planet on which we live? Well, you cannot, unless you consider the plot of land where you body is eventually buried to be an ‘inheritance’. 

The Greek verb translated as ‘inherit’, ‘kleronomeo’ literally means “to enjoy the allotment,” where an ‘allotment’, a word seldom used these days, refers to wages or some benefit paid out for work done. That cannot refer to salvation, which is a free gift. Instead, it refers to some sort of reward ultimately paid out for Christian service. 

This verse makes sense when we add a preposition following the word ‘inherit’.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit on the earth.”

A meek person is someone who is calm and peaceable, who doesn’t push back and who probably doesn’t push forward all that much, either. They will see a reward, but it will be in their lifetime while earth-bound. On the other hand, people who push forward, especially in presenting Jesus to the world, can expect problems in their lifetime, but a glorious reward in eternity:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (In other words their reward will be in Heaven. Verse 12 below confirms this.)

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you falsely on My account.

“Be glad, for your reward in heaven is great…” Matthew 5:10-12

How do we know that this reward in heaven is our ‘inheritance’?

“Never return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but on the contrary blessing. For to this you have been called, that you may yourselves inherit a blessing from God.” 1 Peter 3:9

Jesus also taught about a reward system that operates in the kingdom of God, based on what we do. This is on top of and in addition to salvation

“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father, with His angels, and then He will reward every man in accordance with what he has done.” Matthew 16:27

That reward is not salvation, since salvation comes according to what we believe, not according to what we do. Jesus gave examples of even simple acts of kindness which build up our reward in Heaven. He also called it ‘treasure in heaven.”

“Gather for yourselves treasure in heaven…” Matthew 6:20

“And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is My disciple, surely, I declare to you, he shall not lose his reward.” Matthew 10:42

“Sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven…” Matthew 19:21

“Take care not to do your good deeds publicly…otherwise you will have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 6:1

Paul explains in much more detail how this reward system works, in 1 Corinthians 3:6-15. His example concerns ministry, but apples equally well to any other endeavour.

“He who plants and he who waters are equal, yet each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor.” v8

He then likens our work to six different items of value, from gold to straw. Giving a drink of water to someone who isn’t really thirsty is probably worth straw, for example, while risking your life to save someone else's life could be worth diamonds, silver or gold.

“But if anyone builds upon the foundation (which is Jesus, according to the previous verse) whether it be with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw 

“The work of each one will become known for what it is; for the day (of Judgment) will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the worth of the work each person has done.” v12-13.

In terms of Judgment Day, fire and sin go together, so that it seems that the things we have done wrong will produce a fire that will consume the lesser good deeds we performed (likened to straw, hay and wood), but cannot destroy things of great value (likened to precious stones, silver and gold).

“If the work which any person has built on this foundation survives, he will get his reward.

“But if any person’s work is burned up, he will suffer the loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” v14-15.

Once again, there is no suggestion that failure produces exclusion; instead, salvation is once more assured no matter what, although the person who has not fared so well in either wrong-doing or good-doing will only scrape through, somewhat singed himself. But he will still make it through!

Could reward and inheritance be two separate items? Not according to Colossians 3:23-25.

“Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily for the Lord and not for men,

“Knowing that it is from the Lord that you will receive the inheritance which is your reward.

“For he who deals wrongfully will be punished for his wrong-doing.”

The wrong-doer will be punished through loss of inheritance/reward rather than be ejected or excluded from the kingdom. Jesus was adamant that expulsion could never happen, and Paul agrees.

But what about the child mentioned earlier who just doesn’t perform, or worse, just acts wickedly? That child can lose their parental inheritance, but they can never lose their biological connection to their parents. And so it is in Scripture.

Paul has that well-covered in Galatians 5 and 1 Corinthians 6.

“Now the doings of the flesh are clear: they are immorality, impurity, indecency,

“Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger,, selfishness, divisions, factions,

“Envy, drunkenness, partying and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 (In other words, "shall not inherit - receive a reward - in the kingdom.") 

If those things are exclusions to salvation, then few of us would make it through. However, if they are malpractices which reduce our reward on Judgment Day, as asserted elsewhere, then that makes a lot more sense. Even Jesus spoke of an assessment that would operate on Judgment Day, not to exclude, not even to clarify, but to help assess the reward that was intended for all believers:

“But I tell you, on the day of judgment men (people) will have to (even) give account for every idle word they speak.” Matthew 12:36

He is not saying that we will have to explain or justify our words, but that the foolish ones, even, will draw away from our inheritance. In other words, the size and quality of our inheritance/reward will be also assessed on even the smallest details.

What about 1 Corinthians 6, which seems to connect actions with righteousness?

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” v9a (In other words, the unrighteous will not inherit - receive a reward - in the kingdom of God.)

That’s obvious - the unrighteous are those who have not yet entered the kingdom of God. You have to be born again in order to enter, and that comes through an act of Holy Spirit in response to us believing what God the Father has shown us about Jesus. That’s how we become the righteousness of God: through believing, through faith, in and through the shed blood of Jesus, not through our actions. (See Romans 5:8 and 2 Corinthians 5:21.)

In this context, in this verse, the unrighteous, the unsaved are one category who will not and cannot inherit (receive a reward) in the kingdom of God. But Paul now mentions another category, those who are saved, yet persist or participate in actions which are deemed ungodly:

“Do not be deceived; neither the impure, nor idolaters, not adulterers, nor those who participate in homosexuality,

“Nor cheats, nor greedy graspers, nor drunkards, nor foul-mouthed revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” v9b-10 (In other words, the people listed as examples will not inherit - receive a reward - in the kingdom of God.)

If ‘inherit the kingdom” refers to getting saved, then none of us have a chance. But it doesn’t, we have already established that that is covered by the figure of speech, to “enter the kingdom.” All that Paul is really saying is that those serious offences result in a serious loss of reward on Judgment Day, but for some reason homosexuals get singled out as ‘the enemy that needs to repent’. 

In the very next verse, which doesn’t get read because people want to single out one group for their actions, Paul shows once again that our actions have nothing to do with our salvation, but it's our faith, instead. God the Father sees us according to our relationship with Him, not according to our past or present actions:

“And such some of you were. But you were washed clean, and you were consecrated (set apart, made holy); and you were justified (made righteous/made right with God) in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit of our God.” v11

If actions invalidated or affected righeousness, then the father of faith, Abraham, would have lost his righteous standing with God. Both before and after God’s declaration of righteousness was applied to Abraham (Genesis 15), that man of (sometime little) faith sold his wife for sex (Genesis 12, Genesis 21) in the mistaken belief that he needed to to do that to protect his own life. Could not God bring His word to pass in a foreign country? 

Abraham also willingly had sex with his wife’s foreign maid in the hope of producing the son of promise, but that produced the father of Islam instead. He didn’t lose his righteousness, but he will surely lose some of his inheritance.

Paul also separates salvation and reward in Ephesians 1:

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, in accordance with the generosity of His grace…” v7

That's salvation.

“In Him we also obtained an inheritance…” v11a

That's eternal reward.

The rich young ruler asked a question in Luke 18 which probably adds to the confusion:

“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” v18

We have been taught to associate, even equate the expression “eternal life” with salvation, but Jesus shows otherwise in His answers. The first part of His answer is all about doing good deeds - salvation is NOT works-based, and so the context must be in relation to eternal reward, to inheriting in eternal life.

“You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, honor your father and your mother.

“And he replied, All these have I kept from my youth.

“And when Jesus heard it He said to him, One thing you still lack. Sell everything that you have and divide among the poor, and you will have rich treasure in heaven.” v18-22a

There is the eternal inheritance, the inheritance in eternal life, except that Jesus called it “rich treasure in heaven.” He had not yet spoken of salvation, that was to come in His next few words.

“And come back, follow Me.” v22b

There was the faith invitation, the way to enter the kingdom, not by giving away his possessions but by following Jesus. However, the young man did not believe Jesus and so did not enter. We know that from the following words, also.

“But when he heard this he went away sorrowing, for he was exceedingly rich.

Jesus observing him said, How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” v23-24

Once again, the invitation to enter the kingdom was not through selling all he had, but through following Jesus. Selling all he had would give him “rich” inheritance in eternal life (he already had an inheritance through following the commandments), while following Jesus would give him salvation.

In John 3 Jesus defined entering the kingdom/salvation as being born again, and timed it as occurring while we are flesh and blood, (that is, while we are alive).

In 1 Corinthians 15:50 Paul defined inheriting the kingdom as only occurring when we are no longer flesh and blood, that is, once or after we have died.

“But I tell you this, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God…” 

If “inherit the kingdom” is a figure of speech implying or representing the act of salvation, then that verse would read, by substitution:

“But I tell you this, flesh and blood (humans) cannot get saved.”

And that, we know, is simply not true. In fact, the reverse is true: only flesh and blood (humans who are alive) can get saved, through believing in Jesus. That can only happen while we are alive. That decision, made while we are alive, determines our whole future in eternity.

Taken in isolation, many of the Scriptures used above could imply that those who commit wrong deeds could end up losing their salvation. That is how this misunderstanding has arisen, by taking Scriptures in isolation.

However, while "The wages of sin is death..." is true (Romans 4:6a), and while sin, death, the devil and hell go together, there is an alternative existence, not based on actions good or bad, but based on the love and generosity of God, who "wishes all men to be saved and to know the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4)

Much of that truth in regard to salvation is set out above, but if we finish Romans 4:6b it sums salvation up very nicely:

"...but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus."

Eternal life in Jesus goes on forever. It is not here today, and gone tomorrow, or on Judgment Day. That's why it's called 'eternal' life. And like all free gifts from God, they can never be taken away, or taken back. (Romans 11:29) Ever.

But there is definitely something else handed out or taken away on Judgment Day. Jesus also spoke about it in the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, and the Parable of the Minas in Luke 19. You can read more about this in God's Reward System.

In much the same way that we can inherit some of our eternal reward on earth now, on Judgment Day we also get to inherit our eternal reward for the good we have done on Earth. And for the bad we have done, some or maybe all of that inheritance we earned on Earth will go, burned up. That inheritance/reward comes at that one time as part of eternal judgment, which takes place in eternal life, when we have entered (through death and resurrection) the Kingdom of God.

That inheritance might place us in charge of cities (Jesus' parables) or it might be in gold or silver or precious stones or their equivalent, or it might be none of those things. God is amazing, and I keep marveling at what They do next.

And that is why some people, many, maybe all, in fact, will lose part or all of their inheritance in the kingdom, which ultimately is also known as their inheritance in eternal life.

But they won't lose their eternal life itself. That is assured.

Too simple?

No, too good, but that is what God is like.

Subsequently the football player revealed that in the months prior he had "asked God to bring a challenge on that would really test my faith." 

This idea (that God brought the challenge on) is questionable, in that Job 1-3, Zechariah 3 and Luke 24 teach that when we make mistakes, we give the enemy power over us to do us harm. It is true that the harm they can do to us is moderated by God (verifiable in those same three references and 1 Corinthians 10:13), but nonetheless, bad things still happen. 

You can read more about how this works in Job's Mistakes.

In this man's case, his career opportunities plummeted, and while he recently had a training session or two with the Australia Rugby team (November 2025) he has still not walked back from his comments, and the initial post is still present online.

The furor that arose in Australia was unbelievable, with an incredible number of people supporting the false notion that "homosexuals go to hell" when instead they, along with liars, cheats, angry people and the like lose some or perhaps all of the reward that they have generated through performing good deeds while on Earth.

A few months after this, disastrous bushfires began across the nation and lasted until March 2020. Australia had never seen anything like it before, and they brought catastrophic destruction all around the country. Christians claimed that it was God's judgment on Australia's legalisation of same-sex marriage some years earlier, but God doesn't bring temporal "judgment" or penalties under the New Covenant. (See Isaiah 53.)

Instead, with the intense media coverage and prolific, incendiary comments from thousands of misinformed Christians misusing verses of Scripture to push people away from the kingdom, the enemy were empowered to bring unprecedented destruction. 

Biblical Misunderstandings

Cessationism

Did God Forsake Jesus on the Cross?

Enter vs Inherit the Kingdom (this page)

See also God's Reward System 

Fully God, Fully Man?

In Jesus' Name

Paul's 'Thorn in the Flesh'

The Prisoner of the Lord?

See also Biblical Myths