Paul’s
letter to the Thessalonians is a letter
to a church which is in good spiritual
shape, and that is good to know. Thank God, that although the battle against the enemy of our souls is
relentless, making us sometimes very
discouraged, there are also times
in which we can see the church
of God surging ahead, gaining ground, leaving us very encouraged. I have seen
this in my life on earth.
Paul
was very encouraged by the testimony of this
church which had come into
existence by the preaching of the gospel
on his second missionary journey [1]. All the marks of a God-centered church were found among them. There was evidence
of faith, hope and love (1:
3 cf. 1 Cor. 13 ). Despite much affliction they were
full of the joy of the Holy Spirit (1:6)
and they were a real example to
believers in the provinces of Achaia and Macedonia (1:8) . They were standing fast in the Lord (3:8) and that was wonderful to see.
But then
there is always the tendency to rest
upon our laurels and so in In 4:1 the apostle Paul writes to them saying , “ Finally, then, brothers,
we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you
ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more
and more.
He is asking them not to sit on their laurels. Paul ‘asks and urges’ the
Thessalonians to please God in their walking more and
more i.e. progressively and
increasingly ! In the Christian life there is always room for more growth. A
God centered life – a life that truly pleases God is a life in which
progressive sanctification
is observable. Paul is certain of
the solid foundation of the Thessalonian Christians, for he sees
the evidence (4:1) … “ just as you are doing “. But there always
remains room for growth: “We
urge you … that you do so more and more…”
The basis of
Paul’s appeal is
not a legalistic framework , but it
is the command of Christ. He
is not some control freak pastor. No! He urges them in the Lord
Jesus ! (4:1) – and again in 4:2 “ For you know
what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus“ – and again in 4:3 he says, “ This is
the will of God …” .
As we
too sit under the authority of the Word of the Father and of
the Son, and inspired by the Holy Spirit[2],
let us take care to listen very carefully to this
exhortation as it comes to us at
this time by the providence of God.
Paul
says : “This is the will of God , your
sanctification” (4:3) .
It is God’s will that you should grow continuously and progressively in our
sanctification.
‘Sanctification’
is the process by which the believer is progressively brought to greater
spiritual maturity and Christ-likeness. This process begins at conversion
(justification) and continues throughout the believer’s life.
It is the process following our justification by which the old
ways and the old habits of our lives are
increasingly done away with and replaced with by new
ways which please and glorify God. Those who hear God’s Word and obey what it says will grow faster in sanctification than those
who display poor
spiritual discipline. Those who
make use of the means of grace
such as prayer (private and corporate), private and public
reading and meditating upon the Word of God, regular
worship patterns, and Christian fellowship, using their spiritual gifts to the glory of God will
display faster growth and
Christian maturity and therefore will display
greater evidences of sanctification.
Two specific areas in which believers need to
grow in order that they may please
God :
Although
there are many aspects in which believers need grow in their sanctification, Paul, for reasons unstated in
the text, specifically highlights the matters of
(i) sexuality (4:3-8) and (ii) brotherly love (4:9-12) ...as the special focus of God’s transforming and sanctifying work in the lives of the Thessalonian Christians, and therefore by way of application also in our lives.
(i) sexuality (4:3-8) and (ii) brotherly love (4:9-12) ...as the special focus of God’s transforming and sanctifying work in the lives of the Thessalonian Christians, and therefore by way of application also in our lives.
Note,
that in both these areas Paul wants them to do this “more and more” (see 4:1,10). Today we will
only focus on the matter of
"sanctified sexuality."
The Sanctification of our Sexuality :
4:3 For this is the will of God, your
sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality…
The word
translated as "sexual immorality" (Gr. porneia)
refers to any forbidden sexual activity, such as pre-marital, extra-marital sex and prostitution. Such sins were
rampant in the Greek- Thessalonian culture, as they are in our own
modern culture. Paul asks and urges
them to “abstain from sexual
immorality… this is will of God for every believer.
How
must we do that ?
4:4,5 gives the answer - “that
each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not
in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;…
Everything begins with self-control of one’s
body. The Bible teaches us that
we must be the master of our bodies-
controlled by Him who rules in our lives
. The governing principle here is love (1 Cor.
13:4-7), which means taking
the other person into consideration. Porneia
is borne out of selfishness. The proper
expression of our sexuality is in
the context of a covenant of marriage, and
in that context it is
important that we use
our sexuality not in a selfish way but in a way that serves
our spouses . We are not to do what is common among the gentiles who do not know God and who
operate according to their self
-centered urges, in “the passion of lust”[3].
They are not thinking about the other person ; they are merely thinking about
gratifying themselves.
If we come
out of a self - gratifying culture, is it possible to change
and live like this? Yes! Remember
that if God dwells in you , you have the power and ability to overcome sin (2 Peter 1:3,4 ; 1
John 5: 1-5) – no matter how much you may have
struggled with sexual sin in the past. When you are in Christ you are no
longer a slave of sin. You are now a slave of Christ and therefore
you are under the power of Christ and
with your eyes on the Lord Jesus you
are able to overcome your self- centered drives. It is possible for a believer to lose
this perspective and to backslide , but no true believer will remain in sin .
Like David when he sinned , the true
believer is broken and repentant,
and despite the sin , they
will return to the Shepherd , broken , bruised and bleeding
and He will restore them .
4:6 “…that
no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an
avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
According to
this verse, sexual immorality must be avoided, not only because it violates
God’s will, but also because it has a devastating effect on
other people – particularly the relationships which we share
as Christian brothers and sisters. These may be seriously damaged or even
destroyed by sexual immorality. We have seen this often in our own
community . The Scripture says that "the Lord is the
avenger in all these things." Please note that sexual sins
are not inconsequential and God
judges these and the apostle Paul issues a strong warning concerning
this.
4:7 – 8 “… For God has not called us for
impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards
not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. God’s will for each believer is that they
should become more and more conformed to Christ’s moral character. Paul’s point
here comes with a solemn warning
and 4:8 warns us
that the rejection of this exhortation is literally the rejection of "the
God who gives His Holy Spirit to you." Since the call to sexual purity finds its
origin in the will of God, its rejection is tantamount to disregarding
and dishonoring of God Himself. That is very serious, and God says that He will
not leave a sexual offender unpunished. (see also Hebrews 13:4)
Paul expresses a similar point in 1 Corinthians 6:15-20
where he argues that the believer’s body is the "temple of the Holy
Spirit." You dare not defile God’s property . If you do , you
insult God – and God is not mocked .
APPLICATION :
The Holy
Spirit warns us today that we must not underestimate
the effects of sexual sin. Tragically, our
Namibian culture has loose views on sexual morality and we are currently bearing huge
consequences and scars in the heart of this nation. Because
of casual sex and lack of self control in this regard many children are born in
anger, and God alone knows where it will end.
SUMMARY :
1. sexual
sin is a plain act of rebellion against God who warns
us in His word, and He plainly tells us that He will punish
such sin.
2. Sexual
sins hurt fellow believers. They damage the name of God ; they damage the
character and lives of the people involved and they damage
relationships in the church .
3. Even
though every sin has
consequences when unrepented of, yet sins like
adultery or fornication (and murder) have severer
consequences. Why ? Because adultery and fornication are physical
sins. Greed , lust , envy , pride , hatred are essentially sins of
the heart - and although these sins are very serious if not
repented of, sexual sins are
more severe than the heart sins that precede them . Sexual sin is
an explicit sin . "Heart sins" damage you and your relationship with
God ; Sexual sin damages you , your relationship with God and your
relationship with others. .
Why is this
an important reminder ?
- Everyone needs a regular
reminder of these things .
- The Bible believes in
preventative counseling .
SUMMARY: 6 things that will help
you to please God and resist sexual sin
- Purposely Walk to Please God (v.1)
- Remember the instructions given (
v.2)
- Remember the will of God (v.3)
- Control your body (v.4)
- The incentive of Christian love which
seeks the good of others( v.6)
- Remember the wrath of God (vv. 6-8)
Knowing and fearing
God is ultimately the path to sexual purity. We have bodies so that God
might be gloried in them. That is why God gave you a body . And if you are in
bondage to pornography and fantasies or fornication or adultery the strategy is
this : Repent and get to know God!
Lustful passion is the mark of the Gentiles who do not know God.
May God
increase your joy as you make your sanctified sexuality a part of your worship of God
. Amen!
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