God's Will: Holiness

Introduction

A. The first three chapters of 1 Thessalonians serve as an introduction in which Paul discusses his feelings and his desires. He worried about this young church. He was concerned about their faith, their strength, their perseverance. Timothy has just returned from the city and made a good report. Paul is greatly encouraged by their faith, love, and hope. These young Christians live with faith in God awaiting the return of Christ. Paul is pleased with their growth in such a short period of time. He longs to be with them and as soon makes that possible he will return to them. But Timothy also brings back some questions from the church in Thessalonica. How do we know that? Let’s look at the clues which Paul gives us. Notice in 4:9 “now about…” and also in 5:1 “now about…” These two clues tell us that Paul is responding to two things which this new group was concerned about. This is exactly like 1 Corinthians 7:1 in which Paul begins with “now the things you wrote about” and then continues to answer their questions in much the same way in 1 Cor. 7:25 “now about…”

B. The theme of 4:1-12 is how do we live so as to please God. Paul commends the Thessalonians because they are trying to please God with their lives and in fact asks them to continue that direction with increasing diligence. But how are the Thessalonians to please God. First, they are to be holy and that means avoiding sexual immorality. Second, they are to treat each other with brotherly love. We will divide the lesson this morning into two sections so as to give emphasis to each point that Paul is making. Remember this is all under the umbrella of living in such a way as to please God. As Paul already wrote in 2:4, he was trying to please God and so should these new Christians have the same motive.

Holiness

A. What does God want? God wants to be in relationship with us. That is first and foremost. Whatever command God gives is designed to make sure that we stay in relationship with him and that we are to be as close to him as possible on this earth. His commands then are not burdensome nor do they take away our joy. Instead his commands encourage us and add to our joy because we know we are pleasing the one who made it possible for us to be with him. Such is the case with 4:3-8. God wants us to be sanctified or holy. This word sanctified or holy means to be set apart for a purpose. For instance, in the Old Testament dishes used in the temple were “holy” dishes. In this case, the dishes could not act with purity or with moral excellence. Instead, we should understand that the dishes were set aside for a purpose. What made them holy was that they were used for one purpose only and not for another. Set apart from any other common dish, temple dishes were strictly used for God’s glory.

B. This is what it means to be holy here in 4:3. We are set apart for a purpose. Our bodies are set aside to honor God. When others look at us we look just like every other human being, but our holiness is not found in how we look but in how we use our bodies for God. When our bodies are set apart for God, then we do not join our bodies sexually with another who is not our spouse. Paul’s intent includes all forms of sexual immorality—before marriage or with another who is not your spouse after marriage. Paul encourages his readers to learn how to control his own body or vessel in such a way that it reflects holiness.

C. There are three reasons why we should abstain from sexual immorality. First, verse 6 God will punish such behavior. Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 6 that of all the sins that one might commit, sexual sin is a sin against our body. This body is intended to be holy—to be set apart for God’s purposes. When we use our body in unholy ways, then we sin against God’s will. God will punish. Second, verse 7, God called us to a pure life and sexual sin reflects that we reject God’s call for purity. Third, verse 8, sexual sin is a sin against God’s Spirit of holiness. Translated “Holy Spirit” the wording actually emphasizes the Spirit of Holiness. When we become a Christian, God’s Spirit comes to live within us. The Spirit is our constant companion. Among many of his tasks one thing he does is help us to be holy. The Spirit is a spirit of holiness. When we sexually sin, we sin against the Spirit who is trying to make us holy. Thus, because God’s Spirit lives within us, then we should avoid sexual immorality.

D. Let me give some simple ways to avoid sexual immorality. This is really not difficult. As with any sin the difficulty occurs when we do not learn to control our thoughts and actions. First, avoid the temptation. Teens are especially prone to find themselves in tempting situations. Avoid those situations. Date in public places. Refuse to allow for seclusion except in well lit places. Second, avoid pornography. With the Internet, pornography is now readily available. With just a few keystrokes, we can see things which twenty years ago were reserved only for the very deranged or bold. We have to train ourselves to avoid such things. Third, remain strong with your spouse. Date your spouse. Spend time together. Don’t allow your relationship to become predictable and routine. Ditch the kids and take some time away. Make sure that you focus on your spouse rather than looking around for what is available. [Songs reflecting commitment to holiness.]

Brotherly Love

A. While we do not know for certain what difficulty the Thessalonians were having concerning brotherly love, we can make a fairly educated guess. In 2 Thess. 3:11, some of the Christians quit working. They were idle. This doesn’t mean lazy, it means they gave up their jobs. They became busybodies rather than busy at work. In addition, it appears that because they were fellow Christians there was the feeling that they should be financially supported although they were not working. Paul speaks against that idea and instructs those who are not working to go back to work or not to eat.

B. What appears to be happening in 1 Thess. 4:9-12 is a precursor to the stronger language in the second letter. Brotherly love is defined in verse 11 as leading a quiet life, to mind your own business (don’t be busybodies), and to earn a living so that outsiders will respect you and so that no one has to support you. Brotherly love then is not becoming a burden to your fellow Christian if at all possible. Why? In this case, it appears that some of the Christians were taking advantage of their fellow Christians love and in so doing were deadbeats when it came to the community. Thus, the question posed to Paul may have been something about “how far are we to take this brotherly love.” This would have been brand new territory for these Christians. The word used for brotherly love was almost exclusively used for blood brothers and sisters. Paul then takes a common word and gives it new meaning. These new Christians are struggling to understand the full implications of this word.

C. This reflects God’s desire to see that we look at each other through the eyes of family. Paul is using words which strongly suggest and are used for family members. Christians then are to see each other as family. Just as it would be intolerable for a blood brother to take advantage of the generosity of a family member so it would not be in keeping with God’s will for one Christian to take advantage of the love and generosity of another. This is not brotherly love. ILL. “Loving: Caring for each other.” Until we see people we are not pleasing God.

D. So what does it mean to please God? According to Paul, pleasing God means to be holy by avoiding sexual immorality and to practice brotherly love. But the very question “what does it mean to please God?” demands that we shift our thinking away from us and towards the one who gives us life. The question is not “how can I live a fulfilled life?” but “How can I please God?” The focus of our lives must be on God. Where is your focus? Are you concentrating on the giver of life? Selfishly we look for gratification whether sexually or in terms of self-love. But when we live to please God we avoid sexual immorality and seek to see others as family. Are you pleasing God with your life? Invitation.

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