A Plea for Purity
1 Thess 4:1-8
As we found
in the book of Ephesians, so too we find in this epistle. The apostle and his
dear friends could not address the Christian Love in Thessalonica without a
contrast to the lust found among the Pagans, their relatives, friends,
co-workers and neighbors.
Most of these cities were given over to the pleasures of the flesh
and entertainments of the mind that were questionable by even the standards of
ethics among the Greeks. Yet, they prevailed. Even the gods were busy about
their own pleasure. Therefore, the gods were to be emulated. Children were told
the stories about the gods from the time they were born. And, the same stories
were read to old people who were infirm and dying. The entire culture was
caught in sexual sins of all sorts--some I refuse to mention in the company of
children. But, in reality it was only worse than our culture in degree, not
content.
Paul, Timothy and Silas would have experienced this firsthand
during their short visit to this place and then Timothy and Silas on their
return trip. It may have been Timothy who brought back word about the
devastating effects of these systemic sins--that is sins that were an integral
part of the lifestyle and expected to be practiced as part of pagan worship in
the great temples of the day.
We know about many of these practices because of the Roman attacks
on the city in 390 by the Christian Emperor Theodosius. The imperial army was
sent to stop the wickedness in the city and to instill order and civility. In
the first century, the religions of Thessalonica and in Macedonia were
flourishing. It laid a dark backdrop for the preaching of the gospel.
It is assumed that some connected with the church did not just
know about what was going on in their city, but had partaken of these things,
even as devout Jews. Scholars also assume that some may have secretly attended
the temple worship while identifying with the Christians. Thus, the mention of
these things in the middle of an epistle was intended to provoke some degree of
repentance from anyone who still had a stake in Paganism. The letter written by
the Apostolic band, under influence of the Spirit was the start of sorting out
all of these things. If they had already forsaken the pagan ways and ideas,
they had reason to take comfort in the work of God among them and within them.
Let's read the text:
4:1 Finally
then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound
more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please
God; 2 for you know
what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should
abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of
you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in
this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.7 For
God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.8 Therefore
he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given[a] us His Holy Spirit.
Let's take
a deeper look:
I have
three main points with a number of sub-points.
The main
points are:
1.
Pleasing God
2.
Sanctifying Grace
3. The
Danger of Rejection
1.
Pleasing God
A. Urge and Exhort-- Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord
Jesus
Time and time again, these writers, especially Paul, could have
asserted their apostolic authority but didn't. They could have commanded the
people in the name of the Lord. But, they didn't. They opted for a more gentle
way of saying what amounts to the same thing. To the brethren in Thessalonica,
the apostolic urgings and exhortations were sent.
Most parents will know that the constant commanding of children
and spouses does not always achieve loving obedience. Knowing the character of
these brothers and sisters, Paul and his fellow-laborers write in a more gentle
manner with the expectation that these things will be heard, taken up as their
own and whatever is needed will see follow-through. That's not how people
always respond. For many who nod their heads while in the pew; there are some
who never follow through on what they know to be right. They just pile up more
and more to answer for in the great day.
The Thessalonians were urged and exhorted. Urging is what parents
often to do their babies when they are starting to crawl and then walk. The
parents urge the babies to come to them. The babies hear a familiar voice, can
see the familiar face, trust in the one calling for them, and they come with as
much effort and skill as they can muster. All the while while the babies are
being urged, they are being exhorted and encouraged with the loving words of
the parents. The tone is often changed to be more child appropriate. This is a
picture of what the Apostolic Band is doing with the Thessalonian believers.
These words are for their good and implied, for the glory of God in His Church.
Since this is for your good and your growth in grace, carefully consider these
things.
But, don't consider them because we are saying them, we urge and
exhort in the Lord Jesus. A letter from an Apostle, a prophet and a man who
would become an elder and apostolic deputy was to be treated as a letter from
Jesus Himself. That is where the authority of Jesus is invoked. They are
obligated to listen and obey--as they had listened and obeyed about so many
things in the past.
This is
part of what they are urged to do:
B. Abound More and More-- you should abound more and more….
This is why I can say they had already listened and obeyed. They
were already abounding and now the desire is that they abound even more and
more--a superabounding life as a church. A particular church can never abound
too much. Many can have a wonderful life of instruction and fellowship, but
there is always room for improvement. Remember all that has been said about the
non-existent entity of the perfect
church? Some can be more complete than others, but, none are without need in
some area or another. It is hard for a people to see their own spiritual needs.
That's another reason urging and admonition is helpful. How are they to abound?
C. Ought to Walk-- just as you received from us how you ought to walk
They refer back to the teaching ministry exercised among them
initially by all three, secondarily by Timothy and Silas with word for them to
return to Paul with haste. So, it doesn't look like a lot of time to be
instructed, but even with a small amount, they were abounding--these are the
better than the Berean believers. What a joy it is just to think about them. We
can understand Paul's desire to hear about them and beyond that to see their
faces.
They ought to walk just as they had been taught by the Apostolic
Band. This means the believers were taught about righteous living right after
they were converted. In our day with so-called grace oriented ministries who
believe Christian living is something to be taught after a crisis or consecrating
experience, not so with the Apostles. Christian living, right Christian living,
is a consequence of the gospel work abound the mind and heart. As the Apostles
had learned how to walk the Christian Life, so too the Thessalonians were to
walk. There was no expectation of on-going carnality in their lives. Those who
God saves He also sanctifies--and that process starts right away. We see its
effects in the church, and we read of the encouragements for them to continue
on to the point of superabundance.
They were to be….
D. Pleasing to God-- and to please God;
These three words are the most
intriguing in this paragraph to me. As Reformed believers we do a good job of
understanding our native depravity and the remaining effects it left behind
once we were saved. However, we have not always articulated a clear doctrine
that says, "Believers, in this life, can be pleasing to God." I would
go so far as to say, ….ought to be pleasing to God." We find it too
convenient to hide behind our sin. If the "ought" before walk is
understood grammatically, it also refers to pleasing to God.
Reformed Believers are great at
explaining how someone ought to be right with God, but pleasing to him is also
important.
The number one problem is we tend to
be self-absorbed even to the point where we think the church ought to serve my
own concerns and only mine rather than studying what the real needs of all are
added to the commands of the Word and then believing that is what we ought to
do. It is driven by the Word informing us. When we are self-absorbed, we want
others to cater to our own preferences. That's the number one problem in our
culture today. There are others.
Self-absorption keeps many from
being fully pleasing to God. And, some who think they are, are not--but only
doing what they have learned to do to feel a certain way.
What is it to please God? Micah did
a great job last week. He spoke about people having their devotions every day
and then think themselves righteous when all they have done is had their
devotions. Pleasing God is only possible when the believer has been changed and
therefore sets his affections and attention on obeying God as thoroughly as
possible.
Enoch was pleasing to God. Gen 6:8.
As a matter of fact, Enoch was taken to be with God forever. He was just a few
generations from Adam. Not a lot of revelation had been given. But, it was
enough for Enoch to live in such a way that he obeyed God and lived for his
glory.
Acts 7:20 tells us that Moses
pleased God. We know Moses better than we do Enoch. When we read his
biodraphical information in the scriptures we see he was a great man, even a
good man, but had imperfections. Yet, God was pleased with him.
Gen 6:8 likewise is about Noah who
found favor in the eyes of the Lord. What wonderful reminders that it is
possible for men, even in the Old
Covenant, to be in such a way that they were pleasing to God.
Col 1:10 reminds believers in the
New Covenant to be pleasing to God as they walk worthy of their calling.
And, ultimately, in this age, it is
justification by faith and union with Christ that makes us worthy to stand
before a holy God--yet, with remaining imperfections, being incomplete in
righteousness and holiness. However, because of Jesus, God know what it is to
be in the flesh. Because of Jesus' prayers for us, and his righteousness on us,
the Father stands favorably disposed to us as his people. Therefore, I believe,
it is possible to be pleasing to God. It may be understood in some things or in
all things that pertain to the Christian life. But, there is encouragement to
be found--not having a righteousness which is of the Law, but one of faith in
Christ. It is a benefit he purchased for his people. Because of his work for us
and then in us by his Spirit, we can be transformed into something new and
sanctified over time. The process is not the same in degree or completeness in
each believer. But, it must be there to some degree. One might grow in maturity
quickly, like the Thessalonians; and another might stay in immaturity like
those Hebrews who needed milk instead of meat. All should be changed to some
degree or another. Then, God is pleased with the work He has done in us and our
response of faith out of love to him. Love not to gain his favor and attention,
but our loving response to the one who first loved us.
It is like the baby on the blankey
crawling across the floor at his mother's prompting. The baby has unquestioned
love for his mother and willingly follows her prompting commands. It is a form
of infantile obedience for the baby to come when called. Aren't parents pleased
when the baby hears and crawls to them. I think that is analogous to God taking
pleasure of a sort from us. He knows our frame, he knows our frailties, yet, he
leans over and tells us what he wants. He is pleased with even inftile
obedience that is true obedience, He is pleased with our seeking his
righteousness, rather than self-righteousness. I believe he is pleased with our
feeble attempts to do something for him. As we Walk with God, we seek out ways
to please Him. The main means of this is to walk in His ways realizing…..
E. Their Commandments were Christ's
Commands--2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord
Jesus.
The Apostolic band did not speak their own words. They didn't make
anything up. They didn't wing it based on feeling or experience. They based
their teaching ministry among them on something real and objective--the
commands of Christ given to them through the Lord Jesus. They were just the
agents to deliver the Word. The commands were the Ten Commandments and that
could include the summaries of them and other things the Lord commanded while
on earth. That is what the Great Commission is all about--"all things I
have commanded you", in the words of Jesus. That is the parameters of what
is to be taught to disciples in churches. The Apostles would have found them
loving because they were told about Christian Love--yet, they had no need to be
taught, they took to love
supernaturally, by virtue of a work of God among them and in them. This would
have been pleasing to the Lord.
All of
this is evidence of a work of grace within them and a powerful work of Spirit
in shaping them into a gospel church. God does not grant salvation from sin and
then leave believers alone to fend for themselves. If there is no Christian
fruit--there is no Christian root. A tree grows fruit consistent with what it
is by nature. Apple trees give apples, fig trees, figs, and so on. A Christian
root produces Christian fruit in the life for all to see. As they grow in
grace, there ought to be more and more fruit. When we see it, or others do, we
should thank God for his work in us.
It is the
will of God that we grow in grace.
2.
Sanctifying Grace--the Will of God--3 For this
is the will of God, your sanctification:
There are many false views of sanctification in our day. Many see
it as the other side of justification by faith. They dangerously see it as a
definitive one time act putting us in a privileged position with God in Christ.
They believe this is so thorough that when the Father looks on his people, he
only sees Christ's righteousness and not the actual sins of the people. This is
often called positional sanctification. The language of in Christ is often used
to show a privileged position. If this were the case, just about every New
Testament writer would have been wrong for writing their epistles and gospels.
If God could not see their sin, his Spirit would not inspire books that point
them out and call for repentance. Since the epistles do, we must still be in
need of teaching in order to put that remaining sin to death--oh how our flesh
fights against any godly change.
And, what they are about to write, if taken on its face value with
proper God-given force would shake even the church to its foundations.
The
Church, a group of believers, in the context of their sanctification, which is
God's will with no exeptions, that there is a place….
A. A Place for Abstinence-- that you should abstain from sexual
immorality;
Well, so you don't have a
problem with that, yet…. Do you realize these words are given in the context of
marriage. That is where the work goes from here.
The word for sexual immorality means
more than that. It means any and all sexual perversion. The word is porneia and
covers anything from pornography to the most vile of acts among those of the
same gender and everything in between.
Paul is saying, in the context of
your marriages, you should abstain from all porneia. It is this Greek word that
encompasses all of the sinful acts and thoughts of things immoral in the Pagan
world. Those things the pagans do--don't do them.
The question I get asked the most in
marital end premarital counseling is about lust and love. It has many forms,
but goes something like this. In marriage, lust isn't lust, is it, it becomes
love? Or, Once we are married I can lust for my spouse, right? The answer to
both of those and to all other versions of the question is "NO!" It
is never right for a Christian mind to indulge itself in porneia. It is never
right for the Christian body to imitate porneia. It is those things the Pagans
do.
What do Christians do?
B. Possessing One's Vessel--4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel
in sanctification and honor,
You get to understand your spouse and his or her needs and you
seek to please them accordingly. Read 1 Cor 7 sometime. It is informative on
these matters.
A vessel is a delicate pot. Many of them were beautifully
decorated. They were held in high regard and when used to decorate, held in a
prominent place. Each man in particular, should know how to live with his own
vessel in holiness in such a way that your lives together are for each other's
sanctification--including your marital relations with each other. There is no
place for lewdness and lasciviousness. There is plenty of room for
distinctively Christian expressions of love. We are not like the Pagans.
We have
C. A Distinctively Christian Ethic--5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know
God;
It's not just me saying it. I only repeat the ideas I find in this
book. When a Christian possesses his own vessel it is not in ways associated
with negative and sinful emotions--the passions. It ought to be patient, kind,
gentle, fulfilling, focused on the spouse, and so many more beautiful actions
and ideas. It is not the way we naturally think. But, it is another area where
we need the Lordship of Christ over our lives--all of our lives.
As a man thinks in his heart, so he is. If one is going to think
lustfully about his spouse through the day, it will affect how he relates to
others as well. Thoughts stir up our affections to action--even though we
usually suppress them. Thankfully with the fruit of self-control we have a
helper. In the Gentile world, people would see someone they wanted and would go
after him or her. There was an understanding of openness in marriage among
people associated together. The Apostles do away with that nonsense with the
strongly worded next verse:
6 that no one
should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the
Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified
One man, one woman--not like the Gentiles and pagans who do
whatever their lustful minds imagine.
This is important for the believers because they are to be
sensitive to the commandments of Christ they have been taught--that include--no
adultery. All of that is considered unclean and dirty. But, there is a
beautiful …..
D. God-Centeredness--7 For God
did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
Does holiness impact every area of your life? Even the areas we
are uncomfortable hearing about in real life? It is God's Word for all his
people. We have been called to holiness in holiness. Holy has two parts to it.
It is to be separate and different and it is to be morally perfect in the
pursuit of virtue. IN our day, many reduce holiness to the first part of the
definition. Our holiness is to grow in a way that we separate ourselves from
sin and sinners in ever growing degree. Yet, we have to live in the world. That
is our great dilemma: How to be pure in a world that doesn't care to be.
God's standard is this: Be holy, as I am Holy. When you understand
the holiness of God, you will understand how far we have to go--but, bless God,
for his own sake and that he will have a testimony in the world, he works to
that end.
3. The
Danger of Rejection--
A. Not Man--8 Therefore
he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given[a] us His Holy Spirit.
B. But God--
God, who has also given[a] us His Holy Spirit. Why? To make us
Holy…do you know anything of that work? If not, you are still in your sin and
you need Jesus as never before. If you see his work, come to Jesus to dine with
him in the Supper he has given for our good and his glory in the gospel
churches.
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