1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ESV
“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. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 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; 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. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”
There are people today within the gatherings of the church
who will tell you that you don’t have to do anything to please God, for you
already please God just by your profession of faith in him.
They will also tell you that you don’t have to repent (leave
your lives of sin behind you) and that you don’t have to obey the Lord and his
commands. They will tell you that a confession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough
to ensure you heaven, and it doesn’t matter how you live your life from that
moment forward.
But that is not what the Bible teaches, and that is contrary
to the divine nature of God and his expressed will for our lives. Thus, it is a
LIE!
We do need to live (walk) to please God. We must live
morally pure lives. We have to abstain from sexual immorality. We must control
our own bodies in holiness and honor. And, that one is not just about living
morally pure. That has to do with rage and violence, too. For we are to do
nothing to transgress (disobey) and to wrong other people. We don’t return evil
with evil, and we don’t return good with evil, either.
There is no excuse for anyone, really, to purposefully and
to willfully harm another. Every time you wife, or you husband, choose to look
lustfully at another, or to flirt with another, or to have secretive chats with
another, or to fantasize sexual or romantic thoughts about another, or you choose
to look at porn, or choose to have an extra-marital affair, you hurt your
spouse. You wrong him or her. And, that is not love. That is hate.
Yet, there are many leaders within the church who are
telling you that God’s grace is free license to do those things, and that when
God looks at you that he doesn’t even see your sin. All he sees is Jesus, and
thus he just smiles on you while you are rebelling against him, and willfully
harming others, and degrading your own bodies with your thirst for lust.
That is not the God I know! That is not the God of the
Scriptures! Our God says you MUST NOT do those things! For, God has not called
us for impurity, but for HOLINESS!
And, do you know that it is not our profession of faith in
Jesus Christ which saves us? It is our walk of faith. For, the Scriptures teach
that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who WALK (in
lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God, and NOT according to our sinful
flesh. For, if we WALK according to the flesh, we will die in our sins. But if
by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live
(Rom. 8:1-17).
Oh, what lies we have been fed that tell us that we can just
“believe” in Jesus and now heaven is secured for us and that how we live doesn’t
matter. For, this cheapens God’s grace, and it is a slap in the face to Jesus
Christ who died that horrible death on a cross so that we would DIE with HIM to
sin, and so we would LIVE to HIM and to his righteousness (1 Pet. 2:24).
1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 ESV
“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to love all people,
including our enemies. But we are especially commended here to love one
another, for not everyone who professes Jesus as his Lord and Savior loves his
brothers and sisters in Christ.
Get on Facebook or Twitter and it will be obvious. For,
brothers and sisters in Christ are fighting with each other vehemently, probably
about some things that don’t even exist, if truth be told. For, they are
believing whatever social media presents to them, which ignites them, and which
is the plan (the scheme). For, the devil wants us fighting one another. So, don’t
bite!
But this love we are to have, one for the other, is not just
some warm affectionate feeling. It is a love which is centered in moral
preference. In fact, it means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is
holy, pure, righteous, trustworthy, upright, truthful, faithful, just and kind.
It is to prefer to live through Christ, and not in our own
flesh. And, this love embraces God’s will for our lives, and it obeys his
commands in His power, not snubs them.
So, if we are loving our brothers and sisters in Christ in
this way, we are not going to lie to them, cheat on them, steal from them, trick
and manipulate them, commit adultery against them, gossip, slander them, or
commit acts of violence against them. For, this kind of love is not what we
feel, it is what we do. And, we can love like this and not feel love towards
others, too.
Mind Your Own Business
So, if we are to live quietly and to mind our own affairs,
that would mean that we would not commit adultery, or gossip, or cheat someone,
would we? And, we wouldn’t get involved in angry disputes with others that turn
ugly, and we wouldn’t participate in violent protests where we are causing harm
to others. We can express our disagreements peacefully, when called for.
And, on another note here. Let me say what this is NOT
saying. This does not mean that we don’t share the gospel with other people. It
doesn’t mean that we don’t call out lies and that we cease from proclaiming the
truth. It doesn’t mean that we agree to being silent about Jesus so as not to
offend people with the gospel message. We are not to “stay in your own lane”
when it comes to sharing the truth that can set people free from their bondage.
Yet, we are not to live unruly lives. We are not to be out
of control. But we are to be under the Holy Spirit’s control. We are to do
nothing willfully to harm another, so we are not free to continue living in sin
just because of God’s grace. For, God called us to holiness. He did not free us
to live in wickedness without guilt! So, we need to live self-controlled lives,
which is really Holy Spirit controlled, for that is one aspect of the fruit of
the Spirit.
Bottom line? We just need to surrender our lives to Jesus
Christ as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable
worship of him. And, we are to no longer walk according to the flesh. We are
not to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. But we are to be
transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin to walks of
obedience to our Lord. And, there we will find peace. And, there we will find
love, too.
Lyrics by Charles Wesley, pub. 1741
Soldiers
of Christ, arise, and put your armor on,
Strong
in the strength which God supplies, through His Eternal Son.
Strong
in the Lord of Hosts, and in His mighty power,
Who
in the strength of Jesus trusts is more than conqueror.
Stand
then in His great might, with all His strength endued,
But
take, to arm you for the fight, the panoply of God;
That,
having all things done, and all your conflicts passed,
Ye
may o’ercome through Christ alone and stand entire at last.
Leave
no unguarded place, no weakness of the soul;
Take
every virtue, every grace, and fortify the whole.
From
strength to strength go on; wrestle, and fight, and pray;
Tread
all the powers of darkness down and win the well-fought day.
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