Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Galatians 5:19-21
5:19-21 The works the Judaizers proclaim only seem to be good. In reality, legalism produces bad works, the works of the flesh. Paul has similar vice lists, with similar warnings, in 1 Cor 6:9-11 and Eph 5:5-7.
What do these sins have in common? There are sexual sins (adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness), verbal sins (outbursts of wrath), attitudinal sins (hatred, jealousies, selfish ambitions, envy), substance-abuse sins (drunkenness), occult sins (idolatry, sorcery), and sins not easily categorized (murders, revelries, contentions, dissensions).
These vices are all interpersonal offenses: either between two people, or between a person and God. They are the types of sins that caused Israel's oldest three sons to forfeit their inheritance, the birthright and the blessing. Reuben, Simeon, and Levi received scathing words from their dying father, which explained their failure to receive the double-portion inheritance (Gen 49:3-7).
Those who practice [lit., those who do] such things could hypothetically refer to anyone who committed any of these sins. But since even spiritual believers sin every day if not every hour (cf. 1 John 1:8, 10), that is surely not what is meant here. The context shows that Paul is talking about a lifestyle. He is saying that the prodigal believer who lives in the spiritual foreign country forfeits his inheritance (Luke 15:11-32). Obviously, Paul is picturing the lifestyle typical of unbelievers (cf. 1 Cor 6:1-11). If believers live like unbelievers, they will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Inheriting the kingdom refers to ruling with Christ in His kingdom, not to getting into the kingdom (cf. Matt 19:29; Rev 2:26). All believers will enter the millennium (1 Thess 5:10), but only believers who live for God will rule with Christ.
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Will Not Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (cf. Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-5)
(Salvation) Interpretation: Those who are characteristically sinful will not enter heaven.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: Believers who sin will not enjoy rewards in the kingdom.
Second (Discipleship) Interpretation: Believers should not sin like those who are unsaved.
These three passages are treated together because the message seems the same. Those who practice these sins will not "inherit the kingdom of God." The lists of sins are different in each passage, and the severity of the sins varies from murder to envy. Those who hold a (Salvation) interpretation take these passages to mean that Christians who do these things will lose their salvation or that people who do these things prove they were never saved in the first place. In either case, they are excluded from heaven or the kingdom of God based on their sinful behavior. This interpretation is contrary to salvation by grace, which by definition, is not by human performance.
The most important interpretive questions are: what does it mean to "inherit the kingdom of God," and who is Paul talking to? In the first (Discipleship) interpretation, some have argued that the idea of inheriting the kingdom of God is more than just entering the kingdom; after all, the author doesn't say, "enter the kingdom of God." They would say that inheriting speaks of enjoying a reward in the kingdom, such as ruling with Jesus Christ. In this understanding, believers who sin like unbelievers will forfeit their reward in the kingdom of God. At least that view sees the obvious, that Paul is writing to believers. However, the idea of inheriting the kingdom of God is best understood here as entering the kingdom. We can see how the idea of obtaining eternal life is used synonymously with inheriting the kingdom when we compare Matthew 19:16 with its parallel accounts in Mark 10:17 and Luke 18:18. The concept of inheriting the kingdom included not only entering the kingdom, but also enjoying the rewards of it, for no one would conceive of entering the kingdom without enjoying its benefits to some degree.
The second (Discipleship) interpretation also considers these passages as truth relevant to believers. In the 1 Corinthians 6 passage, it is easy to see the spiritual state of the readers. They are clearly believers because Paul tells them they should judge matters in the church and rebukes them for taking a "brother" before "unbelievers" in the court system (1 Cor. 6:1-8). The "unrighteous" in verse 9 would be the same "unrighteous" unbelievers named in verses 1 and 6, so the contrast is between believers and unbelievers. After listing the sins of these unbelievers who will not inherit the kingdom of God, he says "And such were some of you. But you were washed... sanctified... justified" (1 Cor. 6:11). This strongly worded contrast makes the most sense if he is contrasting the saved position of the Corinthians (the three verbs are in the passive tense emphasizing position) with those who are unsaved.
The Galatians 5 passage also is written obviously to Christian readers. Paul exhorts them to "walk in the Spirit" in order not to fulfill the lust of the flesh. Either option is possible for Christians (Gal. 5:16). He then lists the sins of the flesh concluding that those who do these things will not inherit the kingdom of God. We should understand the phrase "inherit the kingdom of God" the same as in 1 Corinthians 6:9.
The controlling subject of Ephesians 5 is behavior that is "fitting for saints" (Eph. 5:3). The contrast between believers and unbelievers is prominent in Ephesians 5:1-18. The readers should conduct themselves like the new people that they are in Christ, not behave like those without Christ. Now that they have come out of that darkness, they should "Walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:10). So we have the same contrast of the believer's behavior with the unbeliever's behavior.
In all three passages, Paul's message to the Christian readers is simply this: Do not behave like those who are not going to enter heaven, the non-Christians. Such sinful behavior is incongruous with the believer's new position and new identity. Both of the (Discipleship) interpretations make more sense than the (Salvation) interpretation that says Christians who behave badly will lose their salvation, or that bad behavior proves these people were never saved. The readers' salvation is not in question in any of these passages, thus it fits best under (Discipleship). I prefer the second (Discipleship) interpretation.
It may be hard to accept that Christians could possibly behave as murderers, fornicators, and such, but life experience and the Bible both testify that it happens. King David murdered and committed adultery, and the man in 1 Corinthians 5 had sexual relations with his stepmother. As a pastor and Christian, I have had to deal with believers who had committed horrendous sins. Christians who act like that are behaving no different than the hell-bound unbelievers around them. There ought to be a great contrast between the lifestyles of believers and non-believers.