Actions have consequences, spanning everything from pragmatic/amoral results—letting go of a glass object can result in it breaking apart on the ground—to deserved punishments for moral errors—including the prescribed penalty of death for cursing one's parents in Leviticus 20:9. With a particular focus on future divine judgment leading to permanent destruction or eternal life, Paul writes in his letter to the church in Galatia that we all reap what we sow. Despite the relative popularity of the phrase even outside of the church, some details tied to what Paul proclaims go largely unacknowledged, such as its connection to the loss of salvation.
Galatians 6:7-9—"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Those who sow on behalf of the "flesh" reap destruction, as in, cosmic annihilation. Only a chapter earlier, Paul addresses certain sins that he classifies as acts of the "flesh," deeds driven by submission to corrupt desires (Galatians 5:19-21)—idolatry, witchcraft, emotionalistic outbursts of rage, selfishness, drunkenness, and so on are presented as examples. As verse 21 states, and as Paul claims in 1 Corinthians 6:8-11 and Ephesians 5:3-5, "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." The more widely discussed fruits of the Spirit affiliated with eternal life are listed right after the acts of the flesh in Galatians 5:22-23 (and there are nuanced reasons why, for instance, not all love is a fruit of the Spirit any more than all hatred is an expression of the flesh [1]). According to verses 7-9 of the sixth chapter, everyone eventually reaps what they sow, either facing destruction or eternal life, though some consequences could be faced in this life. However, the manner in which we treat others impacts relationships ahead of death, not simply after the resurrection.
One person behaving in a given manner does not force another person to act in a particular way, but the former might apply pressure to the latter that makes a certain outcome more probable. We still can find ourselves reaping what we sow. An example would be the opposite of what Proverbs 15:1 calls attention to: a gentle answer turns away wrath, but wrathful words can stir up more anger, although this does not make the hearer behaviorally respond in any specific way. This is not causality in a true sense, but various factors in how people interact can absolutely promote relational harmony or havoc. As Paul says in the previous chapter of Galatians, if people bite and devour each other, they destroy one another (5:15); someone who sows needless discord, an act of the flesh (5:20), will likely reap what they sow in the form of dysfunctional relationships. But the ramification of Galatians 6:7-9 for after the resurrection are far more weighty than the fracture or forfeiture of present relationships with other people.
Of great importance is that Paul indicates a condition of reaping the future harvest, which is equated in context with receiving eternal life and thus any accompanying rewards for righteous deeds: the righteous person must not give up ahead of time. While Paul himself and Christ independently proclaim that sin does not automatically discard one's salvation (Matthew 5:17-19, 1 Corinthians 3:10-15), both also allude to how salvation can be lost. Jesus says anyone who denies him without repenting, without qualification as to whether the one denying him was beforehand truly committed to Christ, will be denied (Matthew 10:32-33), something Paul affirms (2 Timothy 2:10-12). It is possible to fall away from salvation and hence not enjoy the benefits of the eschatological "harvest."
Indeed, Jesus addresses the issue of someone who initially rejoices in Christ upon learning of him before falling away in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:20-21). Galatians 6 is just one place where Paul addresses the loss of salvation without using my exact wording. Those who live for the flesh without ever receiving salvation are said to face a destiny of destruction, not eternal life in the fire of hell as many people stupidly believe (Galatians 6:8). Those who give up and fail to practice what is morally obligatory, if they are saved, risk losing their eternal life, as continuous neglect of one's ethical duties forfeits the harvest. As Ezekiel 18 and 33 sharply emphasize, having been a righteous person in the past does not absolve anyone who turns aside to wickedness from deserving death for their current sins. Since death, exclusion from eternal and blissful existence in New Jerusalem rather than the supreme injustice of eternal torture, is what sin deserves (Romans 1:32, 6:23), the same criteria for receiving life or death in Ezekiel apply to the Biblical heaven and hell.
In no way does it follow logically that every sin, however accidental or minor, deprives a Christian of salvation and his or her eternal life after the resurrection. All the same, any sin committed flippantly or without any willingness to cease and repent places someone on dangerous grounds at best. The book of Ezekiel's statements relevant by extension to salvation and the second death in hell (18:24-26, 33:12-13, 18) should not be casually dismissed, for the righteous person who unrepentantly tosses aside their righteousness is no longer upright. Justice requires treating them as a sinner. Consistently, the Old and New Testaments posit a conditional threat to those who wane in their righteousness, with the New Testament making it very clear that this extends to after the resurrection: the incorrigible wicked and those who fall away from allegiance to God and morality will die unless they voluntarily desire forgiveness and turn away from evil. Galatians echoes this succinctly.
Let us not grow weary.
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