DO this. . . DON'T DO this. . . sex - 1 Thessalonians 4.1-8

DO this. . . DON’T DO this. . . Sex

"Finally, brothers we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality, that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God, and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. 1 Thessalonians 4.1-8

Good Morning, Friends. . .
Well, now we are getting to it! Up to now Paul has mostly been taking care of ‘family business.’ Now he calls the believers to consistent, holy living, saying this is “God’s will” for them. How often people comment that they wish they knew God’s will. . . and here it is clearly delineated—‘be sanctified’. What does it mean to be ‘sanctified’? Actually, it means to be set apart. . . holy. . . consecrated to God. As followers of a righteous God, we are called to the process of sanctification—that of being conformed to God’s image, and becoming more like Christ, rather than letting the world squeeze us into its mold. Paul wants to stress to the Thessalonian believers that their lives should look different than the pagans around them.

It is beneficial to know a little more about first century Thessalonica, a large port town of about 200,000 people, situated along a major land route as well, with a view of Mt. Olympus in the distance. Hers was a population tainted by sexual immorality, largely because of several cults. Therefore, as Paul called the Thessalonians to holiness, he immediately spoke to avoiding sexual immorality. For those coming to Christ from the Cults of Cabirus, Isis, or Dionysus or any other, they would need clear teaching about proper Christian conduct. In one sense, he is positive; in another, he is negative. DO exercise self control of your own body. . . DO NOT have any part in sexual sin. [It was just a couple weeks ago that we studied self-control, one of the fruits of the Spirit. Growing in self-control and self discipline should flow naturally for the believer who is being transformed, becoming more like Christ.]

Studying about first century Thessalonica, I realized that there were some strong parallels to our modern-day culture. While it might not be cults that have influenced our moral conduct, nonetheless we suffer from some of the same backward thinking she did. Our moral decline has been steady for the last 40-50 years as shapers of popular thinking have strived to remove God from our society and put in his place tolerance. . . to just about anything, including abhorrent behavior. Folded into that is moral relativism—that there really isn’t any ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, but whatever seems right at the time. . . that there isn’t absolute truth, but truth as one wishes to define it personally. . . that what matters most is feeling good one’s self. Even as I type the words, I shudder inside to think how our Creator feels about his creation thumbing their noses at his design for them.

What’s the solution? Find out what it was/is that the Creator had in mind for his children, for as Jesus said ‘He came to give life, abundant life—life to the full!’ John 10.10 That will right our backward thinking into right thinking.

Does the notion of holiness put you off? Don’t let it. God calls us to it; in fact, he said that no unholy thing will enter Heaven. Yikes! Indeed, in Leviticus and again in 1 Peter, it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.” That is not a clarion call for a life of do’s, don’ts, and the resulting guilt when we don’t and do—it is what the Architect had in mind when He drew up the blueprints for us. And as we become more and more interested in following Christ, our view of sin and holiness changes. . . our desires change. By understanding the precepts in God’s Word, and seeking to be obedient—we wish to honor God—with our thoughts, words, and actions. Oh, and for those of you who have always thought that in doing so, you would be a freak, and that a desire to grow in holiness would mean a boring, lifeless existence. . . think again. Ironically, it leads to fullness in life.

With that in mind--how does one ascertain God’s mind about sexual matters? ‘Let’s start at the very beginning. . . a very good place to start.’ God created Adam and Eve, and established the first couple, the first marriage, the originators of mankind. He did not set up Adam and Steve, or Eve and Sheryl, or Adam and Eve and Lucy. . . one man, one woman—married for life, with no adulterations. (Look up the word ‘adulterate’—it means-> “render something poorer in quality by adding another substance, usually an inferior one” . . . now, how accurate is the term ‘adultery’?) The ravages of sexual immorality can be seen everywhere in our world, so it behooves us to understand the original blueprint for our sexuality, and not just accept what ‘the world’ is peddling.

Now, as I reread Paul’s words, “God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life,” I understand a lot more. Growing in the grace of God, I want to get rid of the impurities in my life, or the ‘sin’ in my life, as it pulls me down, ties me up, and renders me less who I was meant to be, and of poorer quality, because it adulterates my life. There is a reason that holiness is mentioned more than 600 times in the Bible; God wants us free to live life unencumbered. I like to quantify the matter by challenging myself to raise my holiness quotient, which is partly the work of the Holy Spirit living in me, and partly my discipline to seek out what it means to ‘be holy even as He is holy’, and then bringing my life into alignment with that. Honestly, it is a beautiful thing.

“Come, Lord Jesus~ purify us, and grow us to be more like You!” Amen. PODCAST: pastorwoman.com


Christine (DiGiacomo)