Whenever both parents die, they usually leave an inheritance to their children. If the parents are poor, they leave very little to their children; if the parents are rich, the inheritance is large. You and I are children of God and the whole universe belongs to Him. Just imagine the inheritance that God can give to you. Jesus described the final judgment in Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” That is the inheritance that awaits you as a faithful child of God.
God’s inheritance is rich. Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” His inheritance will not corrupt, be defiled or fade away. 1 Peter 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” He has not revealed a lot of details about your inheritance; maybe because you would not be able to comprehend it. But you can be assured that it is wonderful and greatly to be desired.
To receive your inheritance, you must overcome in this life. Revelation 21:7-8 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” If you do not overcome and are unrighteous as described here, you will not receive the inheritance and instead you will have your part in the lake of fire. A similar list is given in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” The writer makes a point that some in Corinth had lived unrighteous lives, but no longer; they were washed, sanctified and justified. Perhaps you previously were unrighteous such as those in the list, but you were born again to a new, holy life. The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. There are similar lists of unrighteousness given in Galatians 5:19-22 and other places. These lists all provide the same warning that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.
In reading over the list of the unrighteous that will not receive the inheritance of God, we can make some observations. The sexually immoral will not receive the inheritance. They may be fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals, or sodomites. God sees sexual immorality, in any of its various forms, as unrighteousness He will not tolerate. Idolaters and sorcerers are listed, but so are the covetous; covetousness is described as idolatry in Colossians 3:5. Murderers, drunkards, and thieves make the list. But so do the unbelieving, the cowardly and all liars.
It is good to recognize those unrighteous that will not receive God’s inheritance. But as a faithful Christian, none of these should describe you. You have been washed, sanctified and justified. Make every effort to be righteous before God so that you can receive the inheritance. Hebrews 6:11-12 “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”