7 “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7–8 (ESV)
The Scripture’s call to holiness in general, and sexual holiness in particular, is clear and consistent. Holiness is a defining characteristic of God’s people; whether it was Israel in the Old Testament or the church in the New Testament. The identity and pursuit are the same; holiness.
Holiness, in the absolute and highest sense, belongs solely to God (Isa. 6:1-3; Rev. 4:1-8; 15:1-4). God’s holiness is reflected by believers consecrated to God’s service, as the Lord conforms them in all things to the will of God (Rom. 6:19, 22; Eph. 1:4; Titus 1:8; 1 Pet. 1:13-16). Personal holiness is a work of gradual development as the believer cooperates with the Holy Spirit (Phil. 2:12-13). It is accomplished by many circumstances, hence the frequent admonitions to watchfulness, prayer, and perseverance (1 Cor. 1:30; 2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:23-24).
“The Christian sexual ethic was no invention of human beings. As Paul makes clear in today’s passage, to disregard the Apostolic and prophetic teaching on sexual immorality is to disregard God Himself. True, the Scriptures were written by human beings, as its teachings on ethics, theology, and other matters come through the Apostles and prophets. However, what they wrote and taught was not the words of men but was and is the words of God (1 Thess. 4:8). Anyone who rejects the teaching of Paul and the other Apostles on human sexuality is rejecting God Himself,” states Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“Thus, one cannot be a Christian and believe the world’s false narratives about human sexuality or embrace a sexual ethic that approves of homosexuality, heterosexual fornication, bestiality, pornography, incest, adultery, pedophilia, premarital cohabitation, polygamy, or anything else forbidden by the Lord in His Word (Lev. 18; 1 Cor. 5; 6:9–11; 1 Thess. 4:3–7).”
The Apostle Paul, Silas and Timothy informed the Thessalonians God had called all of them. Called (ἐκάλεσεν; ekalsen) means to summon, appoint and invite. It also means God inviting sinners to partake of the blessings of the kingdom of God. This involves both a negative and a positive side. God’s call to sinners into a covenant relationship points to not what the believer forsakes but also pursues.
“Whenever the epistles refer to the “call” of God, it is always a reference to his effectual, saving call, never to a general plea. It is linked to justification (cf. Rom. 8:30),” explains Dr. John MacArthur.
“That God calls us to holiness, he proves by contraries, because he rescues us, and calls us back, from unchastity. From this he concludes, that all that reject this doctrine reject not men, but God, the Author of this calling, which altogether falls to the ground so soon as this principle as to newness of life is overthrown,” states John Calvin.
“Now, the reason why he rouses himself so vehemently is, because there are always wanton persons who, while they fearlessly despise God, treat with ridicule all threatening’s of his judgment, and at the same time hold in derision all injunctions as to a holy and pious life.”
Therefore, the believer in Christ forsakes impurity. Impurity (ἀκαθαρσίᾳ; akatharsia) refers to all moral uncleanliness. The converted sinner becomes a new person. Therefore, while forsaking what is unclean, God also calls the believer simultaneously to holiness. Carnal Christianity is not in the sovereign plan of God for salvation.
“He (Paul) reminds them that they had been endowed with the Spirit of God: first, in order that they may distinguish what proceeds from God; secondly, that they make such a difference as is befitting between holiness and impurity; and thirdly, that, with heavenly authority, they may pronounce judgment against all manner of unchastity — such as will fall upon their own heads, unless they keep aloof from contagion (contamination),” explains Calvin.
“Hence, however wicked men may treat with ridicule all instructions that are given as to a holy life and the fear of God, those that are endowed with the Spirit of God have a very different testimony sealed upon their hearts. We must therefore take heed, lest we should extinguish or obliterate it.”
Paul then says whoever disregards (ἀθετῶν; aatheton), rejects or revolts against this instruction rejects and revolts against God. It is He who gave the Holy Spirit to each believer (Rom. 8:1-9). All believers must take this instruction seriously.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a day filled with holiness.
7”Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts,” (Colossians 4:7–8 (ESV)
At the end of the Apostle Paul’s letters, he included final greetings. These concluding remarks usually included his mention of fellow servants of Christ who ministered to him and alongside him. For the next several weeks, we’ll discover some insights from Paul about his many companions. Today, it is Tychicus. Wo exactly was this individual?
Tychicus was one of many believers in Christ accompaning Paul when he collected and delivered offeringings for the Jerusalem church (Acts 20:4). He is often mentioned with Trophimus of Ephesus, Tychicus was perhaps a native of that city. Tychicus served as the courier for Paul’s letter to the Ephesians (Eph 6:21) along with Paul’s letters to Philemon and the Colossians (Col 4:7).
Commentator Walter Elwell says, “Most believe that he was also one of the two Christians (with Trophimus) who accompanied Titus in the delivery of 2 Corinthians (2 Cor. 8:16–24). Paul mentioned Tychicus twice in his later letters, first sending him to Crete to be with Titus (Titus 3:12), and later mentioning to Timothy that he had sent Tychicus to Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:12). Evidently, Tychicus and Paul were close friends as well as coworkers, since Paul frequently referred to Tychicus as a “beloved brother.”
Paul not referred to Tychicus as a beloved brother but also a faithful minister. This meant Tychicus was trustworthy, dependable, committed and honorable unto the LORD and also to Paul. The word minister (διάκονος; diakonos) means one who serves the needs of believers.
Tychicus was also a fellow servant (σύνδουλος; syndoulos). This meant Paul and Tychicus were fellow slaves belonging to Christ. In a day and culture in which ministers elevate themselves to semi-divine status, these two men identified themselves as slaves serving their LORD and Master; Jesus Christ.
Paul sent his fellow servant and faithful minister to the Colossians for two reasons. First, to let them know how Paul and his companions were while he was in a Roman prison (Acts 28). Second, to encourage their hearts in the things of God.
“The reasons for recommending Tychicus so highly are also similar to those given in the case of Epaphras. It stands to reason that Tychicus, having just now spent some time with Paul and being a man of sound judgment, would be the right person to supply all the necessary information about Paul and his companions and fellow-Christians in Rome,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
In our living for the Lord this week, may we emulate the example of Tychicus. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here.
4 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. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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.” 1 Thessalonians 4:1–6 (ESV)
The following article is by Dr. John Piper. Dr. Piper is a pastor, theologian, author and Bible conference speaker. This continuing excerpted message is from 2002 and is entitled This Is the Will of God for You; That You Abstain from Sexual Immorality. The featured text is I Thessalonians 4:4-6.
How Do We Fight for and Enjoy Sexual Purity in Our Lives?
If we had more time, I would love to go into great detail in the nitty-gritty tactical moves you can make in the power of Christ to fight sexual impurity. But what I want to do here is focus on one thing that the text focuses on, not only for the immediate rescue, but mainly for the long-term triumph over the next ten, twenty, thirty, sixty years of your life.
This central, long-term how is found in verse 5. Start reading with me at verse 4: “That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God.” There it is: “like the Gentiles who do not know God.” When you give way to lustful passion, you act like people “who do not know God.” This means: knowing God is the path to sexual purity. If you are struggling with sexual impurity in mind or body, the immediate and long-term strategy is to know God. Know God! “Knowing God is the path to sexual purity.”
Be careful here! Don’t nullify 1 Thessalonians 4:5 by saying with a cynical tone: “Good grief, there are world-class theologians who are in bondage to lust and who leave their wives. So what good is all this knowledge about God?” Indeed, there are. And I say with tremendous confidence: they don’t know God. To know ten thousand facts about God is not to know God.
Knowing God is the path to sexual purity. And if you are in bondage to pornography and fantasies or fornication or adultery the immediate and long-term strategy of this war is: Know God! Know God! Lustful passion is the mark of the Gentiles who do not know God. (See 1 Peter 1:14; Ephesians 4:22; Romans 1:23–28.)
Why would this be? Why would God ordain that the path to sexual purity is knowing God? The answer is given in 1 Corinthians 6:18–20:” Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.”
Or verse 13: “The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.” We have bodies so that God might be glorified in them. That is why God gave you a body — whether it’s tall or short, pretty or plain, brawny or feeble. This is what Paul said in Philippians 1:20: “It is my eager expectation and hope that Christ will . . . be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Our bodies are given to us so that in the way we use them Christ is made to look more valuable to us than anything.
Now we can see why it is that Paul would say that knowing God is so crucial in the war on lust and pornography and fornication and adultery. If, by some means, you get rid of lustful thoughts and slavery to pornography and fornication and adultery — without any reference to the knowledge of God, he won’t get any glory for your new behavior. In other words, God is not just interested in what you do with your body, he is interested in — he is passionately concerned with — why you do it. If there is no connection between your knowing God, and your sexual purity, God gets no glory and you are in the grip of another idol.
Knowing God is the path to sexual purity because the purpose of sex and the purpose of the body is to magnify the supreme worth of God and the infinite value of Jesus Christ. He will not be seen as supremely worthy and infinitely valuable if knowing him is not the key and the path of our liberation. “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). And Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Knowing God, knowing Christ, is the path to sexual purity.
But we should ask in closing: Knowing what about him? Knowing him in what way? Let me mention three things about God that he may use to set you free and keep you free.
Know the Patience of God
Look at verse 1: “Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.” Do you see what this says about God? It says these Christians have room for improvement — “excel still more and more.” And it says that they are pleasing God — “just as your actually do walk.” In Christ, God is not an all or nothing God. He knows our frame. He covers our sin. He is pleased with our successes through faith, and patient with our failures. So, know him in his patience, all you struggling saints. Let this knowledge encourage you: you are walking in the way that pleases him — do so still more and more.
Know the Power of God
In the previous chapter, 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13, we read Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.”
We defeat the deceitful pleasures of lust with the superior pleasures of knowing God.”
Notice: he asked Christ to establish them blameless in holiness at his coming. In other words, holiness is the work of Christ. Yes, we must pray for it, and yes, we must fight for it. But in the end, be encouraged! You are not left to yourself to win this war. Know God’s power on your behalf through Jesus Christ.
Know the Preciousness of God and the Pleasure He Is to Us
I say this because that is simply what it means to know God in Christ. God is the most valuable person in the universe. He is the sum and source of all true pleasure (Psalm 16:11; 37:4). And knowing this in our experience is what triumphs over temptation. Knowing the preciousness of God and the pleasures of his fellowship will strip pornography of its power. We defeat the deceitful pleasures of lust with the superior pleasures of knowing God. Paul said it like this: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).
So, let us be a people who seek sexual purity with all our might, by knowing the patience, the power, and the pleasures of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Lord, give us one pure and holy passion. Give us one magnificent obsession. Give us one glorious ambition for our lives: to know and follow hard after you.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a God honoring day in the Lord. Dear Lord, continue to establish our hearts blameless in holiness.
3”For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–6 (ESV)
Today’s focus again concerns I Thessalonians 4:6. This featured verse provides the purpose clause for what the Apostle Paul stated in 4:3-5. The Lord’s revealed, moral will for believers in Christ is to abstain from sexual immorality. Believers do so by understanding how to control their bodies in holiness and honor, and not in passionate lust like the unconverted.
Believers in Christ are to obey the Lord’s will regarding a biblical, sexual ethic. Exactly what does this mean?
First, believers are to abstain from sexual immorality. The Bible defines sexual immorality, or fornication, as any deviation from God’s design for physical intimacy. It is to be solely between a binary male husband and his binary female wife. In other words, sex is to be shared between a heterosexual, married couple. Anything else within this subject God considers sin. This is a biblical refutation of the LGBTQ+ movement and philosophy.
Second, believers are to understand how to control their own bodies in holiness and honor. Such behavior is not only to be displayed before other people, but also before God.
Third, believers are not to exhibit passionate lust like those who do not know the Lord. This deviant behavior is the cultural norm of the fallen world. Consequently, believers are not be conformed to the world, but rather to be transformed by the renewing of their minds with the Word of God (Romans 12:1-2) and to put sin to death (Eph. 4:17-24; Col. 3:5-17)
Fourth, believers are not to sexually sin against other believers or unbelievers. Rather, believers are to be holy and honorable as is the Lord (I Peter 1:13-16).
Fifth, to sexually sin against another individual is to invoke the vengeance of God. The biblical text describes the Lord as an avenger in all these things. An avenger (ἔκδικος; ekdikos) is one who punishes sin. The Lord is a justice giver towards those who violates His will in this area of behavior.
“Sexual immorality is sin, and God will judge all sin (Rom. 6:23a). All such sins (all these things) refer most likely to the various forms of sexual uncleanness not specifically mentioned in the context but covered by the general term “sexual immorality.” Everyone who fears the wrath of God should abstain from immorality because judgment follows such sin as surely as day follows night. That God always judges sin is a basic Christian truth which Paul had taught them and warned them about when he was in Thessalonica,” explains commentator Dr. Thomas Constable in the Bible Knowledge Commentary.
“Sexual sins are sins against the Lord, but they are also sins against other people. Our pursuit of sexual purity is a tangible way we can love our neighbors as ourselves, for sexual immorality hurts people besides ourselves and it makes us more apt to overlook sin in other areas of our lives. May our love for our neighbors motivate us to sexual purity this day and always,” concludes Dr. R. C. Sproul.
Paul solemnly warned the Thessalonians, and believers in Christ today, concerning this issue. To solemnly warn (διεμαρτυράμεθα; diemartyromai) means to admonish or instruct with regard to some future event or action.
God is serious about His original design and purpose for sexual intimacy. He will ultimately respond to any deviation and rebellion against such sins (Rom. 1:18-32; Col. 3:4-7; Heb. 13:1-4).
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
3”For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–6 (ESV)
Today’s focus concerns I Thessalonians 4:6. This featured verse provides the purpose clause for what the Apostle Paul stated in 4:3-5. The Lord’s revealed, moral will for believers in Christ is to abstain from sexual immorality. Believers do so by understanding how to control their bodies in holiness and honor, and not in passionate lust like the unconverted.
“With respect to the Christian sexual ethic, we seek to obey the Lord here because He is our Creator and thus has the right to impose His law on us. But God does not have arbitrary reasons for His laws; they are, in fact, intended for our good and for the good of others,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“We see this, for instance, in 1 Thessalonians 4:4, where we are told to control our bodies “in holiness and honor.” Sexual sin is, among other things, dishonoring and degrading to human beings. Many people argue that we enjoy emancipation and an elevation of dignity when we indulge in whatever sexual activity we want, but we end up dishonoring ourselves and other people when we break God’s law. We become slaves to corruption rather than free people (Titus 3:3; 2 Peter 2:19).”
The reason for Paul’s instruction is implicit and explicit. The implicit reason for abstaining from sexual immorality is the believers’ obedience to God. Moral, obedient righteousness is a defining characteristic of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and God’s temple (I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; I Peter 1:13-16).
Paul also provides the explicit reason, which is “…that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter.” Sexual immorality doesn’t just harm the individual, but also others; especially within the nuclear, extended and church family relational structure. Sexual sins can irreparably damage harmonious relationships.
To transgress (ὑπερβαίνειν; hyperbainein) means to sin against someone. To wrong (πλεονεκτεῖν; pleonektein) means to defraud or exploit another individual. This may occur not only in the unrighteous sexual activity, but also in the consequences, physically and relationally, due to the ungodly behavior.
“In the previous two verses Paul’s appeal was based on the importance of sexual purity for the sake of the Christian himself. In this verse (vs.6) Paul appealed on the basis of the other person involved in the immoral act. The brother here is most likely another human, not necessarily another Christian male. This seems clear from the fact that this person is a victim of illicit sex. Sexual immorality wrongs the partner in the forbidden act by involving him or her in behavior contrary to God’s will and therefore under His judgment. Two or more people practicing sex out of God’s will are calling God’s wrath down on themselves (Heb. 13:4). The initiator of the act takes advantage of his partner in sin by fanning the fire of passion till self-control is lost,” states Dr. Thomas Constable in the Bible Knowledge Commentary.
“Paul says that no believer should “transgress and wrong his brother” by engaging in sexual immorality (v. 6). The wronging in view here has to do with defrauding another person of something. Since the Apostle says that our bodies belong not to ourselves but to our spouses (1 Cor. 7:4), sexual immorality steals from other people because we are using for ourselves what rightly belongs to someone else. This is particularly easy to see in the case of adultery, narrowly considered, but it is also true of extramarital sex between unmarried people and other sexual sins,” concludes Dr. Sproul.
I encourage you to be cautious and careful for any unguarded moments. One such moment can result in a lifetime of regret and remorse. Joseph understood this truth (Genesis 39:1-9). King David did not (2 Samuel 11-12).
Proverbs 6:32–33 (ESV) says, “32 He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. 33 He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.”
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a God honoring day in the Lord.
The following article is by Rev. Thabiti Anyabwile. He is a pastor at Anacostia River Church in Washington, D.C., and author of many books, including The Gospel for Muslims. His article is entitled Lust & Chastity.
We often think that “our day and age” differs significantly from previous eras. We tend to think that our day presents more dangerous and stubborn problems, requiring more complex and sophisticated solutions, from wiser and nobler people, namely ourselves. Someone has dubbed this attitude “chronological snobbery.”
But one thing puts the lie to this self deception — the continuing existence and destruction of lust.
Earlier Christians wisely included lust among the deadliest sins. For lust is the impregnated parent of all forms of sin. James explained that “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14–15).
From the first stolen bite of forbidden fruit to the avaricious gaze of mall-bound window shoppers, lust has coursed through the hearts of men like the most poisonous venom.
Lust involves any strong desire, craving, or want that opposes the holy will and command of God. Lust perverts, twists, and defiles all that is good and beautiful, and this is particularly true with sexual or carnal lust.
For example, some people today tout homosexuality as an “orientation” equal in virtue to heterosexuality. They appeal to the “love” shared between two persons of the same gender, and on that basis, contend that equality and public acceptance must be guaranteed. To some, these sexual passions are so strong as to appear innate. Moreover, we are told that homosexual desires are private, harmless to others, and beyond the censure of society.
But if that is true, what are we to think of a passage like Romans 1:26–27? The Bible defines homosexual desires as “contrary to nature,” not an equal alternative orientation. Homosexuality is a “dishonorable passion” that “consumes” men and women, leading to shameless behavior. The strong emotional pull of lust and the affections shared between persons in a homosexual relationship — whatever those affections may be called — cannot properly be called “love.” After all, love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing” (1 Cor. 13:6), and homosexuality is wrongdoing. Moreover, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah over what today would be called “private” decisions indicates that lust is a serious social problem.
And herein is the ultimate problem with lust: Those overcome with lust “receive in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Rom. 1:27) and will face the Lord as “an avenger in all these things” (1 Thess. 4:6). God keeps “the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority” (2 Peter 2:9–10). Lust blinds men to the fact that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a holy God.
What is the antidote to this ensnaring, soul-destroying vice? It is the cultivation of chastity.
Cultivating chastity begins with the knowledge of God and His will. The apostle Paul captures this relationship well. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 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” (1 Thess. 4:3–5). Unbelieving Gentiles are given over to lust because they do not know God. But those who do know God and His will pursue moral and sexual purity. And how can it be otherwise since God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)?
Moreover, this knowledge of God produces weeping over vice. Consider the Bible’s description of Lot during the days of Sodom and Gomorrah: “That righteous man lived among them day after day…tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard” (2 Peter 2:8). Lust grieved Lot. Likewise, the psalmist wept over the broken law of God in his day (Ps. 119:136). And the true disciples of Christ are the blessed who mourn (Matt. 5:4). They are also the pure in heart who will see God (Matt. 5:8). The road to chastity begins with weeping, but it ends in the beatific vision of God Himself.
Christ Jesus gave Himself to purchase a lawless people (Titus 2:14), who are then made clean in conscience, heart, and soul through faith in Him (Heb. 9:13–14; James 4:8). This is why Paul could borrow the image of chastity to describe Christ’s ongoing purification of the Bride (Eph. 5:27) as well as his own labors on behalf of the Corinthian church: “I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). When we see Christ we shall be like Him — pure (1 John 3:2–3).
Thus is the superiority of chastity over lust demonstrated. Lust works its way toward death. Chastity leads to the glories of heaven with Christ Jesus and the Father. Can there really be any doubt as to which path is best?
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a bless day in the Lord.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 (ESV)
“Pastors and elders in the church commonly receive this question from members in their congregation: “How can I know God’s will for my life?” It is an important question, for Scripture tells us in many places that obeying God’s will for us is an essential fruit of our salvation and that if we do not strive to follow God’s will, we should question whether we actually know Jesus (e.g., 1 John 2:17). Those who love Jesus want to follow the will of God,” explains Dr. R.C. Sproul.
“Scripture generally speaks of the will of God on one of two senses. Sometimes, as in Ephesians 1:11, what is meant is the eternal purpose of God that determines history. We cannot know the content of this will that determines history or through a special revelation (prophecy). Theologians often refer to this history determining will as the ‘decretive,’ ‘hidden, or ‘secret’ will of God.
The second sense of which Scripture speaks of God’s will is the duty God has announced through revelation (I Thess. 4:3; 5:18). This is the ‘prescriptive’ or ‘revealed’ will of God, which tells us those things that the Lord finds pleasing in His sight (Deut. 29:29).”
The Apostle Paul explicitly explained to the Thessalonian believers what the ‘revealed’ will of God was for their lives. It was to abstain from sexual immorality. This meant to know or understand how to control one’s own body in holiness and honor.
To control (κτᾶσθαι; ktasthai) means to presently and personally possess or acquire sexual control over one’s body. This is to be done in relationship of holiness and honor. Holiness (ἁγιασμῷ; hagiasmo) refers to consecration and dedication to God and to be set apart from sin. Honor (τιμῇ; time) means respect and high value.
“One avoids sexual immorality by learning how to control his own body with its passions. Self-control in response to one’s sexual desires, Paul taught, could and must be learned. Christians are not the victims of circumstances or their fleshly passions. Sexual desire can be controlled by the Christian through God’s power. Paul did not specify how to control one’s passions. He implied that there may be several ways,” states commentator Thomas Constable in the Bible Knowledge Commentary.
“But the Christian should choose a method that is both holy (hagiasmō) and honorable (timē). That is, the action taken as an alternative to sexual immorality must be behavior that is set apart to the Lord in its motivation and recognized by others as intrinsically worthy of respect (cf. 1 Cor. 6:13–20). Each Christian is responsible for his own body and behavior, not his neighbor’s (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13). Every young Christian, like the Thessalonians, should learn how to deal appropriately with sexual temptations.”
Following his affirmative declaration about the will of God, Paul then stated a corresponding negative declaration. Believers in Christ are not to live “in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;”
The word passion (πάθει; pathei) refers to lustful, sexual desire. Lust (ἐπιθυμίας; epithymias) are evil desires and cravings. These are the characteristics of heathens who do not know God. These are they who are not in a covenant relationship with God by grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
“A heathen is one who does not know God. Here Paul put his finger on the key to overcoming sexual temptations. A Christian can overcome because he knows God; this makes all the difference! Paul did not say the heathen do not know about God. The reason they behave as they do is because they do not know God personally, even though they may know about Him. When a person comes to know God by faith in Jesus Christ, not only do his attitudes toward sex change, but he also discovers that God gives him the ability to act toward sexual temptation as he could not before. Knowing God is basic to living a holy life. This is why maintaining a vital relationship with God is essential to maintaining a clean walk before God,” continues Dr. Constable.
Pagan society in Paul’s day differs little from pagan society in our day. There is little inducement for sexual purity in our contemporary ungodly culture. The Gospel of Jesus Christ alone brings a moral awakening and insight of God’s righteousness and righteous, moral standards.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blesses, holy, and honorable day in the Lord.
“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. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;” (1 Thessalonians 4:1–3 (ESV)
The following excerpt is by Dr. Walt Mueller. He is founder and president of The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding, author of several books, including A Student’s Guide to Navigating Culture, and host of the podcasts Youth Culture Matters and Youth Culture Today. His essay is entitled A Sexualized Society.
We see and hear sexualized messages trumpeted countless times over the course of our lives through marketing, film, television, music, and social media. In popular music, for example, research estimates that depending on genre, 40 to 60 percent of songs contain sexual lyrics. The familiarity with this ever-present cultural narrative desensitizes us to any shock value that may have once existed, so much so that we’re hard pressed to even notice the sexual content anymore. We all need to see these seductive lies for what they are while embracing God’s good design for His creational gifts of sex, sexuality, and gender.
While it may be nuanced in ways that we’ve never seen before, this cultural narrative is nothing new. Its roots go back to the garden of Eden, to the time when all things were the way they were supposed to be, including humankind’s understanding and experience of sex and gender, gifts given to them by God and declared by Him to be “good” (Gen. 1–2). But the wrecker of this world approached our first parents to whisper his seductive lies into their ears so that they might question God’s sovereignty and design, being enticed to rebel against God by asserting their own sovereignty over all of life (ch. 3). As a result of their rebellion and sin, everything came undone, including humanity’s knowledge, understanding, and practice of the good gifts of sex, sexuality, and gender.
In our day, the seeds of the sexual revolution have grown to the point at which their roots go down deep into the soil of our lives, bearing fruit that has come to taste so familiar that we don’t even question whether to believe or to behave as we are told. I remember a news segment that I saw at the height of the scandal involving President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. A roving reporter went from table to table in a diner, asking folks their opinion on the president’s behavior. One grandmotherly woman expressed her culturally shaped attitude this way: “He had an affair. So what? That’s what men do.”
Pushing back on this sexual narrative can seem like an overwhelming task. But telling the truth about God’s design for sexuality requires us to understand the perfect storm of forces that have led us to believe that “when it comes to sex, you can do whatever, whenever, wherever, however, and with whoever.” Knowing the big lies that nourish the roots of our confusion will help us spot the lies, call out the lies, and correct the lies that have become part of the cultural air we breathe.
What are these big lies? While there are many, here are three interrelated lies woven together into the cultural tapestry that inform (or more accurately de-form) our understanding of sexuality and gender.
Lie #1: You are the boss of you. Nobody but you deserves your highest allegiance and honor. No authority surpasses your rulership over yourself. Not your parents, your boss, your teachers, the government, or even God Himself. This is the first and oldest lie of all. Self-worship and self-sovereignty are exactly what Satan tempted Adam and Eve to embrace in the garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1–5). The first four words spoken by this enemy of God—“Did God actually say . . . ?”—led our first parents to question God’s love and authority. They then chose to rebel against God by going their own way rather than His way. This choice to sin against God resulted in the corruption of God’s creation, which immediately undid everything good, including sex and gender. Satan continues to propagate this lie, urging us to choose our plan for sex and gender rather than God’s plan, fueling our doubt of God’s Word by continually whispering in our ears, “Did God actually say . . . ?” In her First Things article “Reflections on the Revolution,” Deborah Savage, a child of the sexual revolution, reminds us of this truth: “Human sexuality is at the core of man’s essence, which is why the serpent never tires of meddling in it.”
Lie #2: Follow your heart. This lie leads us to believe that since we are sovereign and have authority over ourselves, the only authoritative standard to follow is the one that we feel inside. And since our emotions can and will change from moment to moment, so will our standards. The most dangerous part of this lie in relation to our sexuality is that, while it recognizes that God has placed in us sexual desires, it ignores that these desires have been corrupted and are good only as they follow His original design. When not held in check by the good self-discipline needed to indulge these desires within the borders and boundaries of biblical sexuality, we are left to the whims of our ever-changing emotions dictated by hearts that are “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jer. 17:9). In a world where the only sin is to believe in sin, you can do whatever you want. Perhaps no message has been promoted more frequently over the last six decades of pop music than a phrase that sets up personal pleasure and fulfillment as the ultimate object and outcome of the sexual revolution: “If it feels good, do it.”
Lie #3: You must be true to your authentic self. The philosopher Charles Taylor called attention to our contemporary social imaginary, which is “a collective understanding about how the world should be and how we should live in it.” In today’s social imaginary, we are encouraged to embrace expressive individualism, a way of thinking and being that has convinced us that everyone’s quest for self-expression should be celebrated. Once you’ve looked inside and listened to your heart, you need to be true to your authentic self. Since your highest goal in life is to be happy, doesn’t it make sense that expressing yourself sexually is the pathway to happiness? Or if you feel that you’ve been born into the wrong body, go ahead and express your “true” self by taking steps to change your body to conform to what you feel. Your identity is something that you make rather than something you’ve been given. This culture of authenticity is one in which each of us has his or her own way of realizing one’s humanity, and that it is important to find and live out one’s own authentic self, as opposed to surrendering to conformity within a model imposed on us from outside, by society, by the previous generation, or by religious or political authority. This attitude is no longer questioned but is simply accepted as the way things are supposed to be. The Apostle Paul doesn’t call this the social imaginary. He calls it “the course of this world” (Eph. 2:2).
The reality is that whoever speaks to a child first about sex and gender will set the bar for what is understood to be true, resulting in everything they hear after that being measured in light of whatever they heard first. Consequently, we must speak up first and teach them the truth. And “the talk” is never once and done. It must be “the talking.” Home and church must faithfully offer biblically based correctives to the cultural narrative on sex and gender, and they must do so over and over. Here are three essential elements to communicate as part of the biblical corrective.
God is our loving authority on sex and gender.As Christians, we are called to follow the way and will of God as contained in the Bible, which is the Word of God revealed and written as God’s authoritative rule for all matters of faith and practice. The Bible is the Christian’s authority. The culture teaches that we are to live under no other authority except the authority of ourselves. The cultural mantras “you do you” and “follow your heart” teach us to live under the authority of our own personal desires, feelings, and intuition. But God calls us to deny ourselves and our untrustworthy intuitions and instead live under His loving and life-giving authority. God tells us that our hearts are not to be trusted (Jer. 17:9). We should never allow our feelings to dictate and misshape our understanding of truth. The Bible is God’s gift to us, and it teaches us God’s plan, purpose, will, and way for how things are supposed to be. We are to believe and behave in ways that are firmly rooted in biblical truth (2 Tim. 3:10–17). Judge your feelings by Scripture rather than judging Scripture by your feelings.
God has given us His order and design for sex and gender at creation. God’s order and design for human sexuality, marriage, and gender are clearly stated in the creation narrative, reflected in the teachings of Jesus Christ, and maintained consistently throughout the Bible. Genesis gives us God’s master plan for sexuality, marriage, and gender, a plan that is consistently affirmed by Jesus Christ (Matt. 19:4–6) and throughout the rest of Scripture. This order and design serve as our pattern for living today.
God’s will and way for gender, sexuality, and marriage are clear.God has revealed His grand and glorious plan for humanity in the creation account. If we want to know what it means to be human—to be fully human—we find that plan and purpose “in the beginning.” What is that plan? We need to know that everything God created He stamped as “good.” But when He finished creating human beings, He said “very good.” And what He pronounced as “very good” was male and female, the gender binary that He designed and assigned—male and female only, both fully human and equal in dignity. Our first parents were given complementary biological forms and purposes so that they might work together to care for God’s good creation, to be fruitful, and to multiply. God gave each of us sex organs (and even genes in our DNA) that tell us what gender we are, either male or female. This is the way that things are supposed to be. Jesus affirms this in Matthew 19:4 when He says, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?” Rejecting God’s design and attempting to alter one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within us and rebellion against God. To do so undermines one’s humanity and diminishes one’s flourishing.
As I help parents understand and respond to the cultural narrative and its influence over all of life, I point them to the question the psalmist asks in Psalm 11:3: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” Scripture points immediately to a statement of fact regarding God’s sovereign control even in the midst of a culture bent on self-sovereignty: “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven” (v. 4). Yes, God is, and God is in control. We need to think about our God-given role in the lives of our children and grandchildren as stated in the resolve of the psalmist:
O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. (Ps. 71:17–18)
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” (Colossians 4:6 (ESV)
“Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” ― Benjamin Franklin
“Men of few words are the best men.” ― William Shakespeare, Henry V (3.2.41)
“Women speak because they wish to speak, whereas a man speaks only when driven to speak by something outside himself-like, for instance, he can’t find any clean socks.” – Jean Kerr
“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” – King Solomon (Proverbs 25:11 (ESV)
The New Testament Scriptures are not silent regarding the believer’s speech, talk and conversations. Today’s biblical text says a believer’s speech is always to be gracious. Gracious (χάριτι; chariti) refers to kindness, thankfulness and good will. Notice, the text says this gracious speech is “always” to characterize the believer.
“Believers are to speak words which are spiritual, wholesome, uplifting, kind, sensitive, purposeful, complimentary, gentle, truthful, loving, and thoughtful,” explains Dr. John MacArthur.
How often are our words characterized by such adjectives stated by Dr. MacArthur? I shutter to think how my words are perceived by those to whom I speak. Am I known as one whose speech is filled with kindness, thankfulness and good will?
The Apostle Paul also used the expression “seasoned with salt.” In the ancient world, salt was not only used for flavor, but also as a food preservative. In the same way, our speech should be a blessing and a purifying influence in this morally decadent world.
Ephesians 4:29 (ESV) says, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
“Let your speech always be gracious … note always, that is, both in addressing a group or in talking to the neighbor, both when conversing with an equal or when replying to someone in authority, to rich and poor alike, not only in proclaiming the message of salvation but also in discussing the weather,” explains Dr. William Hendriksen.
“When gracious speech becomes their habit, they (believers) will not use improper language when suddenly confronted with a difficult situation; for example, when summoned to appear before a worldly judge or when persecuted for the faith.”
“Negatively, such speech will not be abusive (Rom. 1:29–32; 2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:19–21, 26; Eph. 4:31; Titus 3:2). Neither will it be vindictive. It will be patterned after the example of Christ who “when he was reviled did not revile in return” (1 Peter 2:23). Positively, it will be truthful and loving. Perhaps the best description of gracious speech is found in the words of Paul himself: “speaking truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).” and the best example in the words of Jesus, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34),” concludes Dr. Hendriksen.
The phrase “so that you may know how you ought to answer each person,” refers to speaking the right words, to the right person, at the right time. It is not only imperative to know what are the right words to say, but also when to say them, and to whom.
May the Lord continue to give us grace in order for us to be gracious to one another; especially in our speech.
“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. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;” (1 Thessalonians 4:1–3 (ESV)
The following article is by Dr. John Piper. Dr. Piper is a pastor, theologian, author and Bible conference speaker. The following excerpted message is from 2002 and is entitled This Is the Will of God for You; That You Abstain from Sexual Immorality. The featured text is I Thessalonians 4:1-3.
I want to call us this morning to personal holiness, especially in our sexual lives. We like our sex just fine. So, let’s go first to this text and simply make as clear as we can; what the Bible means by sexual purity. Then we will look at why it’s important.
What Does the Bible Mean by “Sexual Purity”?
Verse 3 gets to the point: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification [or your holiness], that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” This phrase, “sexual immorality,” (porneia), means mainly fornication — that is, two people acting as if they are married when they are not married. Touching each other and sleeping together in a way God designed only for a man and a woman married to each other. God said this close physical relationship is for married people only. “A man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24; 1 Corinthians 7:2; Exodus 20:14). So “sexual immorality” includes sexual relations before marriage and wrong sexual relations among married people.
Verse 6 also has fornication and adultery in view, because it says “and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter.” This means that another Christian’s wife or daughter is in view and the sin in view is mainly sexual relations with a woman that is not your wife, but belongs to another man. You would sin against her and him.
But let’s not think that the only sexual sin in view here is the behavior of sleeping with a woman not your wife — or a man not your husband. Paul refers in verse 5a to “lustful passion.” “Possess your own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion.” The issue here is not just behavior but also sexual desires that dominate your life in ways they should not. For our day I think we could include here desires that lead to the use of pornography, and desires that lead to a fantasy life and masturbation that is so often embedded in it — for men and women.
I have reports on all hands that this issue is huge, and that the easy access to internet pornography and cable TV is capturing many men and women and making slaves out of them. The positive alternative to this is described in verses 1, 3, and 7. Verse 1: “How you ought to walk and please God.” Verse 3: “This is the will of God, your sanctification [or holiness].” Verse 7: “God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification [or holiness].”
When God calls you to himself, he justifies you freely by faith in Christ on the basis of Christ’s blood and righteousness, and he calls you to a life of holiness, which in this context refers explicitly to sexual purity. This is the practical fruit of justification by faith.
Why Should We Be Concerned with Our Sexual Purity?
Now the why. I’m going to deal with this quickly because I really want to move to the “how” — which unpacks the practical effects of the “why.” Why should we be concerned with our sexual purity? The text mentions at least five incentives to fight this battle.
1. The incentive of pleasing God. Verse 1b: Paul exhorts us “how you ought to walk and please God.” Sexual purity pleases God.
2. The incentive of doing the will of God. Verse 3: “This is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.” Sexual purity is God’s will, and Christians love the will of God. Christlikeness means that we delight to do God’s will (Psalm 40:8; Hebrews 10:7).
3. The incentive of honor. Controlling your body in purity is a matter of honor — either being honored by the community or showing honor to your wife and other women, or to your husband and other men. Verse 4: “That each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.” Sexual purity is the honorable thing to do.
4. The incentive of Christian love that seeks the good of others. Sexual purity is the loving way to treat others. Verse 6: “That no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter.” When we sin sexually, we are not seeking the highest good of others, neither the woman or the man we sin with, nor the person we fantasize about nor the person in the pornography, nor the spouse or parent of any of these. It is not Christian love that moves us in any of this. It is simply selfish desire. But Christians are people deeply moved by love for others. Christians love people; they don’t use them.
5. The incentive of God’s vengeance. Verse 6b: “because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.” If you turn from the Lord as your treasure and your all-satisfying pleasure, and make a master out of sex, sooner or later you will meet the wrath of God.
Far more could be said about the what of sexual purity and the why of sexual purity, but most urgent is the how of sexual purity. I turn to that now, and it will be plain that the what and the why are all woven into the how.
May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a holy and God pleasing day today.
His Word Today 