19:1 Yahuwah said to Mosheh,

² "Speak to the entire assembly of Yisrael and say to them: 'Be holy because I, Yahuwah your Elohim, am holy.

³ "'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

⁴ "'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

⁵ "'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to Yahuwah, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.

⁶ It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.

⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.

⁸ Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to Yahuwah; that person must be cut off from his people.

⁹ "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

¹¹ "'Do not steal. "'Do not lie. "'Do not deceive one another.

¹² "'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your Elohim. I am Yahuwah.

¹³ "'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. "'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.

¹⁴ "'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your Elohim. I am Yahuwah.

¹⁵ "'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

¹⁶ "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am Yahuwah.

¹⁷ "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.

¹⁸ "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahuwah.

¹⁹ "'Keep my decrees. "'Do not mate different kinds of animals. "'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

²⁰ "'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.

²¹ The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Appointment for a guilt offering to Yahuwah.

²² With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before Yahuwah for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.

²³ "'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it as uncircumcised; it must not be eaten.

²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to Yahuwah.

²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

²⁶ "'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. "'Do not practice divination or sorcery.

²⁷ "'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

²⁸ "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am Yahuwah.

²⁹ "'Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.

³⁰ "'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahuwah.

³¹ "'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

³² "'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your Elohim. I am Yahuwah.

³³ "'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.

³⁴ The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Mitzrayim. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

³⁵ "'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.

³⁶ Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am Yahuwah your Elohim, who brought you out of Mitzrayim.

³⁷ "'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am Yahuwah.'"

Let's break down the teaching on how to be holy into smaller chunks.  Each of these instructions tell us the various aspects of holiness.

Holiness Laws

19:1 Yahuwah said to Mosheh,

² "Speak to the entire assembly of Yisrael and say to them: 'Be holy because I, Yahuwah your Elohim, am holy.

³ "'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

⁴ "'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

The Hebrew more literally reads, "Holy ones you shall be, for holy am I, Yahuwah your Elohim."  The Hebrew word is vAdq (kadosh), which means to be set apart, consecrated, holy, separated.  The noun is in the plural because Yahuwah is calling the entire nation to separate themselves.  Since Yahuwah is separate from the sinful activities of the world, we who belong to Elohim must also separate ourselves from those practices as we "transform ourselves my the renewing of our minds to the image of Messiah."  This renewing of the mind is done by understanding and following the commandments given to us from the mouth of Elohim.

Holiness is first here described by alluding to three of the Ten Words of the Covenant.  You must respect (honor) you father and mother.  You must observe the Sabbaths of Yahuwah.  And you must separate yourself from idols made of cast metal (have no other Elohim besides Yahuwah).

Regarding the Shelamim/Fellowship Offering

⁵ "'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to Yahuwah, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.

⁶ It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.

⁷ If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.

⁸ Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to Yahuwah; that person must be cut off from his people.

The shelamim offering is thought to be a "peace offering" or "fellowship offering."  The shelamim is offered not for sin, but for approaching Yahuwah in peace for fellowship or friendship.  The instructions for the shelamim offering is given to us in detail in Vayiqra 3.  The shelamim, like the tithe offering and the first-born offering could be eaten for two days.  All other edible offerings must be eaten on the first day only and then burned. (Pesach lamb could only be eaten that night, then burned the first morning)

Harvesting Laws

⁹ "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

Yahuwah shows great care and concern for the poor and needy.  Those who do not have the privilege of being born into an inheritance of land in Israel still need food.  Thus, the Israelites are told to leave a portion of their crops for those who have no other source of food.

Laws Regulating Loving Your Neighbor

¹¹ "'Do not steal. "'Do not lie. "'Do not deceive one another.

¹² "'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your Elohim. I am Yahuwah.

¹³ "'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. "'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.

¹⁴ "'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your Elohim. I am Yahuwah.

¹⁵ "'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.

¹⁶ "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am Yahuwah.

¹⁷ "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.

¹⁸ "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahuwah.

Yahusha Messiah has taught us that to love Yahuwah our Elohim is the greatest commandment.  But the second greatest is that of loving your neighbor as yourself:

Yahusha replied: "'Love Yahuwah your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'   This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:37-40)

Vayiqra 19:18 gives us the command to love your neighbor.  But this command is a summary of that which precedes it.  In other words, the commands which come before "love your neighbor" actually describe and define what "love" means here.

To love your neighbor means much more than just to have happy feelings toward your neighbor.  Love for him encompasses responsibility for him ("Am I my brother's keeper."  Yes!).  And love for him requires action on my part.  The commands which define "love for neighbor" are given in verses 11 through 18.  These are listed in the chart below:

Christians who think they are obeying Jesus' command to love your neighbor as yourself ought to study this short list of details about loving neighbor.  Loving him is not just to wish for your neighbor's good or to wave and smile at him when you pass him.  Loving him requires us to act righteously toward him and even to confront him when he is walking in sin.  Doing so may save his life (see James 5:19-20)!

Law Forbidding Mixing Species

¹⁹ "'Keep my decrees. "'Do not mate different kinds of animals. "'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.

The prohibition of mating different kinds is alluded to in Vayiqra 18, where neither men nor women are permitted to mate with animals.  Such activity is an abomination.  Likewise, different animal species are not to be mated.  Elohim created all things orderly in the beginning.  Each species of creature and plant, bird and fish were created to reproduce "after their own kind."  To try to mix them would be working against nature and against the will of Elohim in creation.

Mixing seed produces cross pollination which results in compromised plants and a compromise of the properties of the new plant.  Each plant species has a specific purpose in creation and in nutrition which is diminished and perverted when intentionally interspersed.

Many think that wearing clothing woven of two kinds of material simply reflects an attitude of crossing the boundaries established by Elohim for mankind.  By mixing threads we are indicating that mixing clean and unclean and mixing holy and unholy are also acceptable.  This may be an intended meaning of this prohibition.  But more likely, the unknown harm that can result from the electromagnetic properties of mixed materials is what is being prohibited by this instruction.  The natural protection provided by the properties of a material may be minimalized by mixing materials not alike.

A Law Concerning a Slave Girl

²⁰ "'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.

²¹ The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Appointment for a guilt offering to Yahuwah.

²² With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before Yahuwah for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.

All acts of adultery - that is, sleeping with a married person not your own spouse - is punishable by death.  But sleeping with a virgin slave girl not yet given to a man is an exception.  Because the virgin is a slave, not yet given to the one promised, sleeping with her is not a capital crime.  Any free virgin pledged to a man is considered married, and thus it would be adultery for any other man to sleep with her.

The guilty man could find atonement for this sin.  And he had to be punished, presumably according to the judges ruling.  Yet he must bring the ram for a guilt offering to receive forgiveness from Yahuwah.

The Law of the Fruit Tree

²³ "'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it as uncircumcised; it must not be eaten.

²⁴ In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to Yahuwah.

²⁵ But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

The reason for law of the fruit tree is not clear.  The Hebrew literally reads that this young fruit is to be considered uncircumcised.  This may be because it is immature (this is only a guess on my part).  In the fourth year it can be given to the priests only.  After that it may be eaten.

Law Forbidding Eating of Blood

²⁶ "'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. "'Do not practice divination or sorcery.

The Holiness Code includes the prohibition against eating blood.  The greater explanation of this is given in Vayiqra 17:10-16 (see Parashat Acharei).  Eating blood defiles the person and makes him decidedly unholy.

Divination and witchcraft are demon worship and are an open-faced betrayal of Yahuwah.  The punishment for these is death.

Prohibition of Cuttings For the Dead

²⁷ "'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.

²⁸ "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am Yahuwah.

With the above two passages of Torah which prohibit cutting the beard as a mourning ritual, we approach Vayiqra 19:27, which in the Hebrew reads:

 ~k,_v.aro ta;ÞP. WpQiêt; al{

^n<)q'z> ta;îP. taeÞ tyxiêv.t; al{åw>

 Again, the popular English Bible translations interpret as follows:

Leviticus 19:27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. (king jimmy version)

Leviticus 19:27 'You shall not round off the side-growth of your heads nor harm the edges of your beard. (NAS)

Leviticus 19:27 Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.  (NIV)

Leviticus 19:27 You shall not round off the side-growth on your head, or destroy the side-growth of your beard. (New Living)

My translation is:

You shall not trim the side of your heads and you shall not ruin the side of your beard.

Is this prohibition parallel to the other two, or is this referring to a different situation?  Let's look at the immediate context (the next verse) of this prohibition:

28 You shall not slash your body for a dead person or incise a tattoo on yourself. I am Yahuwah.

Wow!  There it is again!  This prohibition given to all Yisrael to refrain from cutting or marring the hair on ones head is immediately followed by another prohibition against ritual self-infliction of injury on behalf of the dead. 

Following the Hebrew language pattern, one may even translate these two verses without a period (i.e. as a continuation of the same thought) by rendering it as follows:

You shall not trim the side of your heads and you shall not ruin the side of your beard and you shall not slash your body for a dead person or incise a tattoo on yourself. I am Yahuwah.

The phrase "for a dead person" actually should be understood to apply to each of the three prohibitions and to the prohibition that follows regarding tattooing the flesh!  Just as in the preceding two passages in the Torah, this one also is clearly speaking to the specific practices done by the pagans when they mourn for their dead.  These practices of cutting the flesh and cutting the hair on the head for the dead are always prohibited for Yahuwah's people, whether priests or otherwise.

Nowhere in the Torah are the sons of Yisrael ever told that they must never cut their hair or trim their beards.  What the sons of Yisrael are told to do is to refrain from participating in the ritual mourning practices of the pagans.

There is one case in Scripture when a man is commanded not to cut his hair or beard.  This is the Nazirite vow (Bamidbar 6).  In this instance, one who takes this vow is to do so for a predetermined length of time, after which, he may again shave and drink of the fruit of the vine.  But this is the only time when the Scripture commands one to refrain from cutting the hair or the beard (apart from the case of mourning for the dead).

Rabbinical interpretation has all "Torah-observant" Jews letting their hair and their beards grow long and ragged.  This is a long standing tradition that has handcuffed Jews for centuries, yea, even millennia.  But there is no requirement in the written Scriptures for obedient members of the community of Yisrael to let their hair and beards grow unchecked. 

As in the background graphic depicting a devout Jew with a long beard, the Jews wear their beards as a sign of their obedience to Torah.  Ironically, the long beard is not a requirement of the written Scriptures.  Rather, the long, untrimmed beard can be interpreted as a sign worn by one who is entrapped by the Oral Tradition of the Rabbis!  There is nothing intrinsically wrong with growing ones beard untrimmed.  But one must be careful that we do not grow our beards "for a show" like the Pharisees who did many things "for a show" such as praying long, loud public prayers, and wearing their tassels very long so as to be noticed and thought to be "more righteous."

Miscellaneous Laws

²⁹ "'Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.

³⁰ "'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahuwah.

³¹ "'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

³² "'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your Elohim. I am Yahuwah.

³³ "'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.

³⁴ The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Mitzrayim. I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

³⁵ "'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.

³⁶ Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am Yahuwah your Elohim, who brought you out of Mitzrayim.

³⁷ "'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am Yahuwah.'"

These laws address property treatment of a daughter, proper respect and worship of Elohim, singularity in worship of Elohim, respect for the elderly, proper treatment of the alien, honesty in business affairs.

The rising in the presence of the aged (Hebrew says, "grey-haired") is interesting to me.  I don't see many people who claim to be "Torah observant" or "Torah positive" or "Torah seeking" doing this commandment.  I'll believe them when I see them actually rising in the presence of the elderly.

The Use of the Holiness Code in the Book of James and 1 Peter

James' use of the Levitical Law of Holiness in his epistle is striking. Besides the obvious allusion to the moral code of the Ten Commandments James makes in 2:11, which, he insists, the believer must obey lest he be found to be a transgressor, this epistle is saturated with other applications of the holiness code which pertain to the life of the community of New Testament believers. Like Paul, James calls the believer to a life of holiness: "just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy" (1:15,16; cf.Leviticus19:2).

Second, James insists that disciples of Messiah should "love your neighbor as yourself" (2:8; cf.Leviticus19:18). Third, he urges them to stop showing favoritism on the basis of social status (2:1-4), which Leviticus19:15 also forbids: "Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly." Fourth, James writes, "Brothers, do not slander one another" (4:11), which reproduces Leviticus19:16: "Do not go about spreading slander among your people." Fifth, Leviticus19:13, "Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight" corresponds to James' warning not to hoard money: "Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you" (5:4).

A sixth parallel between James and Leviticus is about swearing. Leviticus19:12 commands its readers to "not swear falsely by my name." James, after his Master, interprets this to mean "do not swear - not by heaven or by earth or by anything else" (5:12). And seventh, "Rebuke your neighbor frankly" (Leviticus19:17) finds its counterpart in James 5:19,20: "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." Walter C. Kaiser Jr. notes that these commands James gives to the Messianics are taken

from what is generally called the "Law of Holiness" (Leviticus18-20). Thus, from the heart of what many would regard as the ceremonial law comes the basis for the practical, ethical, and moral nurturing of NT believers! (Uses of the Old Testament in the New, p.222. 

In chart form, note the verbal parallels between the Holiness Code of Leviticus and James' epistle:

Holiness Code of Leviticus	James' Epistle
19:2  Speak to the entire assembly of Yisrael and say to them: 'Be holy because I, Yahuwah your Elohim, am holy.'	1:15-16 "Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy"
19:18  "love your neighbor as yourself."	2:8  "love your neighbor as yourself"
19:15  "Do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly."	2:1-4  "My brothers, as believers in our glorious the Master Yahusha Messiah, don't show favoritism...."
19:16  "Do not go about spreading slander among your people."	4:11  "Brothers, do not slander one another"
19:13  "Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight"	5:4  "Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you"
19:12  "Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your Elohim. I am Yahuwah."	5:12  "do not swear - not by heaven or by earth or by anything else"
19:17  "Rebuke your neighbor frankly"	5:19-20  "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner away from his error will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."

In his first epistle, Peter also alludes to the applicability of the Levitical Law of Holiness to the life of the church where he quotes that phrase frequently repeated in the holiness code, "be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15). Other parallels include the following: Leviticus 18 lists unlawful sexual relationships for the community of believers, and Peter summarizes these is 2:11: "Dear friends, I urge you...to abstain from sinful desires." Leviticus 18:3 instructs the sons of Yisrael, "You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live...do not follow their practices," and Peter passes on these instructions to the Messianic community: "As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance" (1:14).

How can anyone doubt that the Holiness Code of Leviticus was at the forefront of the New Testament writers minds as they were penning the instructions for the Messianics?

20:1 Yahuwah said to Mosheh,

² "Say to the sons of Yisrael: 'Any Yisraelite or any alien living in Yisrael who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him.

³ I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name.

⁴ If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death,

⁵ I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.

⁶ "'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.

⁷ "'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am Yahuwah your Elohim.

⁸ Keep my decrees and follow them. I am Yahuwah, who makes you holy.

⁹ "'If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.

¹⁰ "'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife-- with the wife of his neighbor-- both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

¹¹ "'If a man sleeps with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

¹² "'If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.

¹³ "'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

¹⁴ "'If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.

¹⁵ "'If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.

¹⁶ "'If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

¹⁷ "'If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.

¹⁸ "'If a man lies with a woman during her monthly period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them must be cut off from their people.

¹⁹ "'Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father, for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.

²⁰ "'If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.

²¹ "'If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.

Verses 2 through 5 were given to a discussion of the abomination which is Molech.  Anyone worshipping Molech by offering their children to Molech are to be stoned, because such worship defiles the sanctuary and dishonors Yahuwah's name.  Who is Molech?

On a hill east of Yerushalayim, Shlomoh built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. (1 Kings 11:7)

Molech was the "detestable" god of the Ammonites.  The Scriptures elsewhere condemn the offering of children to Molech.  This practice is alluded to by the 12th century rabbi Rashi, who, commenting on Jeremiah 7:31 stated:

To think that people actually placed their children on the statue of Molech to be burned to death!  No wonder Yahuwah is so adamant about staying away from the practice of Molech worship.

Some of the sexual sins are so detestable before Elohim that they require the community to put the perpetrators to death.  Others require the sinners to be cast out of the community.  This matter of sexual purity is very important to the heart of Elohim.  Adulterers are to be put to death.  Messiah confirmed that there is no lawful reason for divorce except for adultery.  The punishment for these kinds of sexual sins is severe:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of Elohim. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

Preachers will always try to explain away Paul's clear statement by insisting that Jesus forgives all sins - past, present and future - for the believer.  But I wouldn't want to tell anyone that because Paul's statement carries the weight of authority while preachers are quite fallible, and may be wrong about this.