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1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 Episode 12
Last time we studied 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 and Paul said that the church was walking and doing what the Lord wanted but he wanted them to abound or excel. In other words, you can walk better and do more. The question we asked is how to please the Lord and the conclusion was by following his instructions for our life. Today we look further into this area of how we should live before others and treat others.
Questions:
- Have you ever bought something that only you could use or consume?
- Are you struggling to find the will of God for your life?
- Do you struggle with sexual purity?
- Are you different
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
8 He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
So Paul starts off by saying this is the will of God. Most people go through there life and ask the question what is the will of God for my life. The fact is that the Bible tells us his will for our life over and over. Here is a perfect example.
Paul is going to start with the idea of sanctification.
Every once in a while I will buy a Coke for only me. I tell the kids, this is my coke and I am the only one that can drink it. It is for my purposes. The coke has been set apart for me and my use.
What is sanctification? Well it simply means to be set apart for the Lord. In other words we belong to him and are for him. We have been set aside for his use. When you got saved you were set apart for him for all eternity. There is another type of sanctification and that is a practical process. Of course if we are set aside for his use, then it means that we should be separate from the world. We have been bought with a price and paid for by Jesus precious blood therefore we belong to him.
So how do we set ourselves apart for the Lord?
By studying God’s word and applying it in our life, so that our minds begin to look at things differently. We see what He wants for our lives, versus thinking like most people who don’t know God. As we begin to see things differently, it starts to change the way we act. We then begin to do his will more and more. I think Romans 12:1-2 says it best.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Our reasonable service is to live for Him, and separate ourselves to Him by being transformed by the renewing of our mind.
Are you still thinking like the world thinks or are you starting to see things the way the Lord wants you to see things. Are you proving that God’s will for your life is best, or that your will for your life is best?
Paul in particular writes about a few things that are outward signs of if we belong to God or this world. If we are living for Him or the world.
The first is sexual sins. The idea here is that in the society that these people lived in at the time, many men had prostitutes, mistresses and a wife. Even religions of that day promoted having sex with temple prostitutes. Most people wouldn’t look at a man as having a problem if he was fulfilling his own sexual needs in any way he found fit. The problem is that God would have a problem with it. This word fornication has to do with various forms of sex outside the bounds of marriage. Did you know that over 70 million people in the US have a sexually transmitted disease? That is 1 in 5. Did you know that 48% of men watch porn multiple times a week? In one survey 98% of women didn’t think it was wrong for their partner to watch porn. Did you know that two thirds of women between the age of 26 to 32 have had a child outside of marriage.
Our society really hasn’t changed much from the Greek society of Thessalonica. The problem of sex outside the marriage still exists. Paul wants to make sure that the Christians of that day did not participate in the normal ways of society and of course he wants the same for us today.
God has called us to holiness. Separation from the ways of this world, and instead following his ways. Why because his ways are best for us. God doesn’t hope that you will refrain from fornication, he insists on it. He gives us the Holy Spirit to give us power to overcome this issue in our lives, and to not take advantage of others. If we don’t yield to the Holy Spirit and ignore clear instruction, then God said that He will avenge.
People are watching what we Christians are doing. God wants us to be used for His purpose and to walk differently in this world.
Do you want to walk differently? Do you want people to know that you belong to God and are used for His purposes?