“…I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!” (Galatians 5:21 NET).
Advertisers, marketing executives, small business owners, public service organizations, and multi-national corporations all have one thing in common: each of these entities seeks to identify and communicate with the members of a target audience.
A “target audience” represents a specific group of people that an organization wants to reach with a message, advertisement, or information campaign. Individual consumers within a target audience can be further separated by age, demographic, income, geographic location, and other relevant factors. Taken together, the individual segments within a target audience comprise the target market for a product or service.
For instance, have you ever had an advertisement seem to “follow” you as you visited various websites on the internet? This can occur when advertisers collect information from the previous websites you’ve viewed and use that data to establish you as a member of a target audience based on your browsing history. Once someone has been identified as a member of a target audience, he or she is more likely to see advertisements that are tailored to a specific marketing campaign.
With this in mind, we can say that the message of of Galatians 5:21 is also directed towards a target audience as well. That audience is “those who practice such things…” (CSB), or those individuals who habitually engage in the behaviors given to us in Galatians 5:19-21. A secondary audience for this message might also include those who are tempted to engage in one or more of these actions.
Its important to note that the term “practice” implies a lifestyle, mindset, attitude, or customary behavior that excludes someone from inheriting the kingdom of God. A person who struggles to overcome sinful behaviors is someone who falls outside the target audience for this message. The same is true of someone who falls in a moment of weakness and later repents. This does not excuse such behaviors but it does remind us that an isolated lapse in judgment is not the same as a habitual practice.
One source concludes with this sobering reminder…
“The passage does not teach that a drunkard cannot be saved, but it does say that those whose lives are characterized by the above catalog of fleshly works are not saved. Why should Paul write in this manner to churches of Christians? The reason is that not all who profess to be saved are true children of God. Thus throughout the NT the Holy Spirit often follows the presentation of wonderful spiritual truths with the most solemn warnings to all who profess the name of Christ.” (1)
(1) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad Thomas Nelson Publishers p.1924
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