Resource > Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable) >  Galatians >  Exposition >  IV. PRACTICAL APPLICATION TO CHRISTIAN LIVING 5:1--6:10 >  A. Balance in the Christian life ch. 5 >  3. Living by the Holy Spirit 5:16-26 >  The works of the flesh 5:19-21 > 
Other sins (v. 21) 
hide text

Things like these (similar violations of God's moral will)

"The common feature in this catalogue of vices seems to reside not in the precise ways in which these fifteen items manifest themselves but in the self-centeredness or egocentricity that underlies all of them.192

Paul warned his readers here, as he had when he was with them, that people who practice such sins will not inherit the kingdom of God (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Eph. 5:5). The use of the term "inherit the kingdom of God"(v. 21) is in keeping with Paul's emphasis in this letter (e.g., 4:1-7; et al.). There are two important views as to what this exclusion involves.

Most interpreters understand Paul's words here to mean that people who practice these types of sins are not the kind of individuals who will inherit the kingdom (i.e., they are unbelievers).193Some who hold this view concede that these vices may mark some Christians, but Paul mentioned the fate of these sinners so the Galatian Christians would avoid these vices. Others who hold this view believe that no genuine Christian would practice these sins.

The second view is that Paul meant that Christians who practice these vices will have less inheritance (reward) in the kingdom than Christians who do not practice them.194

I favor the first view. Paul seems to have been contrasting unbelievers whose lives typically bear the marks of these vices with believers whose lives typically manifest the fruit of the Spirit (vv. 22-23). He said that those who practice these vices will not inherit the kingdom to warn his Christian readers away from them. I do not believe the Scriptures teach that genuine Christians are incapable of committing these sins (cf. Rom. 13:13). However, I believe that there will be differences in rewards for believers depending on our faithfulness to God (1 Cor. 3:10-15).



TIP #21: To learn the History/Background of Bible books/chapters use the Discovery Box. [ALL]
created in 0.03 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA