1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, Do You Know What to Do?

The Call to Walk and Please God

First Thessalonians chapter 4 reading verses 1 to 12. Here are the word of the Lord. Finally then brothers we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus. That as you receive 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 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 to impurity but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this disregards not man, but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you 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 to be and be dependent on no one.

May the Lord has blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. It's important to know what to do. I can be sick. What do you do when you stay home? We stayed home all week long. This is like the first we've encountered real people in this past week.

I bet for each of you. You know what to do for your job that the rest of us not trained in that job in it. Don't know if you run a restaurant. You know what to do. I wouldn't know where to start. I Guess if I had to guess how do you start with a restaurant?

Well after you've gotten the location the shop I need to get appliances, which ones do I need? I don't even know that. With then I have to get the raw food. Where would I get it from? Who do I order it from?

What's a good price. I wouldn't know that there's probably things that I don't even know to ask about. I mean I'm so Ignorant of how to start with it. I wouldn't know probably something I'm not even able to think about consider because I've never done it before.

What do I offer in my pretend restaurant practically every day? What do I do? What time do I need to start in the morning to start lunch lunch start opens at 11? What time do I need to be there? What's the first thing I need to do when I open the door?

What do I need do any sauces do any packets. Do I need chopped meats and vegetables. There's regulations on food storage and cleanup and ventilation. I have to know I have to abide by it or the Health Department can close me down.

How much do I charge if I it can't be too little or I go bankrupt if I charge too much the customers won't buy for me. You need to know what to do or maybe it's teaching or editing our retail business or florist shop or police work or a Custodian or a software engineer or physical therapy.

What what do you do? I tried to show up at any of these jobs. I wouldn't know where to start. Now if you've done it for years. Maybe you you now at the point where you kind of do it without thinking so much.

So you think well, this is easy anyone could do this. But in reality most of us wouldn't even know where to start to do what you do. We need to learn how to do things practical things. A lot of liberal arts education like history.

Literature philosophy sociology psychology and even I guess theology produce people like me who have learned lots of information and ideas and fancy words. But not necessarily how to do anything. So a week or so after framing his diploma in medieval literature.

Graduate can't find a job now who cares if a cashier understands Scandinavian poetry from the 11th century. Can he or she work a cash register? Take orders handle money. When it comes to giving a job employers are pragmatic.

Do you have the skill? You know what to do? They don't care whether you can discuss the origins of Beowulf and they don't care about the student loans. You acquired from learning the origins of Beowulf.

Can you do what our company needs done? They're practical even if the graduate in medieval literature expert on the origins of Beowulf. Gets a job teaching medieval literature. He or she still needs to learn.

Practically how to teach how to manage a class. What about for you? What do you do? Besides your job or keeping up your home. Do you know what to do? With life, you know how to live since you profess to be a believer in Jesus.

Do you know how to live like he wants you to live? Do you know what to do here? We see some of what we need to know to do in three major parts first generally then specifically and finally charitably.

Sanctification Is the Will of God in Daily Christian Living

Do you know what to do? Generally as a Christian, what do you do now? You're a Christian was it wasn't me you wake up in the morning. How do you start. Paul says that the Thessalonian Christians already know so he's not telling them any new information here.

But he is doing two things first. He says asking or imploring. Begging nicely or an urging that is encouraging is exhorting them the brother as he calls them. He's asking and urging that they continue to do what they've already started to do.

They must do more of what they've. They're already doing as you receive from us the instruction. In other words as you receive from us Paul says how you want to to walk. Notice, it's not just how you ought to Theologize.

To believe but how you ought to walk and to please God notice that Paul is talking about how they they live walking. Practically now some people get into theology because they love otherworldly debates about abstract matters.

Some people like get into it because they just. They like to escape to this fantasy world where they can discuss these things and don't have to deal with anything practical on earth in their own lives.

Change anything and how they live they can just think. One reformed man loved theology to discuss infralapsarian ism versus super elapsarian ism. I want to discuss that everybody up for that whether God in his logical order of decrees before the fall did he first?

Decree that man would be created and have a choice and so choose sin. He could see that and so God didn't decreed who the elect would be. After decreeing that he would allow sin that's infralapsarian ism infra means after the lapsarian lapse means the fall after the fall or.

Did God first decree to have an elect people? That's his first decree. He's gonna have an elect people the church and so then decreed the fall the lapse to happen to get the elect. Well that kind of thing he thought was important to talk about think about consider debate, but actually going to church.

Giving to the church meeting practical needs being part of the body. Well, that wasn't important at all. There's a kind of person who loves theology, but doesn't care about what the Bible says to do. Understand there's some people out there that will just debate every little phrase some kind of one little word to get some right.

Doctrine they think is so important and critical but then they don't care about what what Scripture says specifically how you live. Well here Paul is telling the Thessalonian Christians that they've been trained how to walk and how to please God.

Now some are important people would insist that since our all our righteousness is filthy rags and that's true that we can't please God at all, so except by the imputed righteousness of Christ and so let's talk about Justification or imputation like from Romans 5 remember that propitiation not walking.

I'll talk about walking. Some people are allergic to getting down to practically talking about how we live now what is true we can only be made right with God by him by God counting Christ perfect life to us.

That's justification understand that's being justified. God counts Christ perfect life to us. That's justification. That doesn't mean that now that we're justified. He doesn't care how we live. We can just live any way we want and he'll just keep counting Christ's perfect life to us and and that's fine.

We that's it. Well now he does he tells us how to walk. Here that's to live daily and if we walk we can please him how to walk and how to Please God he says in verse 1 or or not. We cannot please him.

We walked the wrong wrong way if we use theology as an excuse not to think. About how to please God in our daily living. So filling our minds with these abstract infallibility and super lapsed eruditism, but we don't think I don't please God.

We think that's good theology. Well, God is not pleased with our theology. Justification being right with God in a reconciled relationship with him is based on grace through faith not works not on how you walk.

Or as you cannot get right with God by walking in a way that pleases God that's not what this passage is saying. But once you are justified you are made, right? You're in a good relationship with him.

He expects you to live, right? Our daily walk isn't the basis of our justification our justification is the basis of our daily walking and Now we please God by walking, right of the Thessalonian Christians had received from Paul not just theology but knowledge as Skill or practical skill nothing about a doctrinal abstract.

We've got a liberal arts kind of knowledge. We're talking about engineering's practical knowledge. And how to live to please God he commends them near the end of verse 1 that they're doing it. The walking that they're pleasing God he says just as you are doing right now.

He's commending them in verse 2 and encourages them to keep doing it do so more and more. Keep up the good work in verse 2 for you know, they know how to walk to live the Christian life. You know what instructions we gave you?

Almost Paul instructed them on how to walk practical things. He wasn't always discussing just yeah, you do theology, too. But he would do practical things we instruct you know how to walk daily life in a way that pleases God.

So they know these instructions and he's going to repeat some of them here for us. But first generally know That God is pleased or not by how you live and by whether you as a justified person a person to whom the right life of Jesus has been counted.

Are living like the one? Whose life is counted to you? Know how to do that how to walk then do it. Paul gave him instructions practically on how to please God in verse 2 through gave these instructions through the Lord Jesus through Teaching his teachings like the sermon on the mount or the kingdom of God and so with his authority so even here at Thessalonians, this is Through the Lord Jesus.

This is the Lord Jesus's teachings for us. They've heard it from the Lord Jesus they've heard it. We're hearing it now through Thessalonians from the Lord Jesus for because in verse 3. This is the will of God.

A Lot of people claim they want to know the will of God. That's a frequent question people want to know. I want to know the will of God for my life. And usually they mean well what career to pursue? What job to take and where to move who today to marry specific things like that?

But first Paul wants them to know one general thing the will of God for them for you is there your Sanctification. That is being made holy. This is the will of God your sanctification he says. Verse 3 sanctification literally means becoming holy.

God is holy. He set apart from the rest of creation by his moral perfection his purity. He's perfectly good without any mixture of greed or selfishness, of course for God to be holy. Means that he keeps his own first commandment, but I have no other gods before me.

He doesn't have any other gods before himself keeps the greatest commandment to he loves himself. With all his heart and mind and souls. He is the perfect being so he can love himself with all his being.

He can seek his own glory to glorify and enjoy himself forever. Without that being selfishness now if you love yourself with all your heart mind and soul and you have no other gods before yourself. You are an idolater and you're not loving God.

You're not like God. But God can do that because God by definition is the standard of right and wrong. He's the spiritual center of the universe and we are not. So when we become more holy we become more like God and that we become more God centered.

Having no other gods before him. Living according to his word because we accept it as the truth glorifying and enjoying him. So sharing God's character now the will of God generally for us justified people is to become more Sanctified more holy more like God.

If you love God you long for holiness. To be more like him more fruit of the Spirit more patience more self-control but for the unjustified Sanctification. Sounds deadly. Says it's to them. It sounds like enduring long boring prayers and fasting and hollowed-eyed Gauntness and stone cells and no marriage.

So no sex and no jokes or laughter means getting up early at 5 a .m. And afflicting yourself and denying yourself and listening a long Dreary sermons and those horrible songs. We have to sing all that for what?

For a God you don't really care about. Now if that's your idea of holiness and you recoil at it, I don't think it is anyone here your first need though. Is it? Sanctification so many things like that.

It's justification. It's being right with God reconcile with him so that the God. You used to care nothing for. You didn't even know if he existed and you didn't care if he did. Now you love and you want to live in a way that is pleasing to him.

So in other words, how do you know if? The will of God for you is Sanctification here Paul says to these Christians the will of God for you is sanctification. How do you know if that's true for you is the will of God for you?

Sanctification to be more holy. Well. You know. If you want to be more holy. If that's the will of God for you, you will want to be more holy if you don't. Well, you need to go back to the beginning to where.

You're getting right with God to justification in the first place because God's general will. For his believers for his people is to make you more holy. Well specifically, what does that mean? It's the second point specifically.

Abstaining from Sexual Immorality and Honoring the Body

Do you know what to do? Specifically well specifically he says from the second half of verse 3 to the end. It's a verse 8. I think he lives here three practical ways each of them a variety of the same idea to be holy in a corrupt world.

He lists each of them marks them each with a that this is the will of God for you. Generally that your sanctification being more holy that and that. Specifically what it means to be sanctified is first.

That you abstain from sexual immorality. And the word they're translated sexual immorality in Greek is pornea. Which may sound familiar where we get the word porn from porn is literally immorality pornography immorality writing.

Porn is really just immorality. That's what the word means. Pornia just generally means immorality and any kind of sexual conduct outside of marriage. It's not just not just fornication and I'm just adultery are just kind of extreme forms of perversity.

It covers all kinds of sexual conduct outside of marriage and calls them all immoral and. From those we should he says abstain abstain from sexual immorality. Abstaining keep yourself away from be distant from go out of your way to avoid.

Don't just be content not indulging in it yourself. But keep as far from it as you can. Don't tempt yourself by getting a compromising situations. But maybe alone with a person the opposite sex or even unmonitored online.

Conversations with someone like that or by viewing porn or other salacious material. It's just all about titillating. Avoid it if necessary have your TV or internet set so such programming is blocked.

I Know you're gonna do it, but that makes you have to think about what you're doing. You know put obstacles in your own way to getting involved in immorality if you can't have HBO or other such channels without being tempted to view some of their Somewhat pornographic shows and don't have HBO.

Have your viewings open so someone else like your spouse or another church member can see it. There's an online app called covenant eyes. We want specifics. Well, here's specifics. Covenant eyes which reports your internet activity to someone else.

To hold you accountable do that do these specific kind of things that you need to do to avoid Immorality. Don't think well, I'm too sophisticated for that. I don't need that kind of thing. That's for the week.

I'm better than that. Don't think you're too sophisticated that you can watch some things that might tempt others but not you. You're above such you think I'm above all that kind of legalistic Puritanical control it's not for me.

Maybe you are but you're not just called to barely avoid falling into the sins themselves. But to abstain to avoid coming even close to them the Thessalonians like us lived in a moral culture Greece. Greek culture here that they're in was famously just are wildly immoral.

It's not it's not it's not clear. They had any sexual ethics at all. It's like whatever you felt like doing is you just indulge yourself in it wasn't at all. Okay, we need to think clearly about this because it wasn't at all like the pharisaical Jewish culture of this time.

So don't read this. You know what? This is the Bible people will all puritanical back then and strict. No, and maybe that's true and where Jesus was in the Gospels not here in Greece where Paul is keep in mind.

We're far out of Israel here. No one is stoning adulterers here in Thessalonica because if they did hardly anyone would be left. Famous Greek leader named Demostheses said a little before this time for the For the time Thessalonians was written.

He said quote. He's not admitting. This is a sin. This is kind of like he's this is the way we live. We keep prostitutes for pleasure. We keep mistresses for the day-to-day needs of the body and we keep wise for beginning children and for the faithful guardianship of our homes.

And that's like this is way this is it. He's proud of that and so into this culture. Comes Paul and his team with with the gospel and the Thessalonians accept the gospel some of them did anyway. Accepted as the Word of God.

Remember last time they accepted as the Word of God not just Paul's opinions and he instructs them. Specifically you have to abstain from sexual immorality and they're like to me to them. That's like mind-blowing.

What do you mean? It's just like saying it's just be like saying you have to abstain from hamburgers abstain from pizza. They're so common. It's everywhere. Well, you're gonna have to change got to be totally different from your culture.

We need to tell people that specifically today new now porn is easily available. But sometimes you have to practically have to go out of your you have to go out of your way to avoid it. It'll come in your own email.

There's nothing you could do even you didn't solicit it. People see some nothing unusual about living together before marriage. Sex before marriage is now just normal in the culture. I mean, it's right as normal and adultery is treated like a minor piccadillo, you know.

Now we call it cheating as if it's on the level of not reporting all your strokes at putt-putt. You know that that's cheating adultery is not just cheating that just makes it something small. That's our culture though.

That's where we live. And the good thing is that it's a good thing about that is that it makes us In this basically the same as the culture here of the Thessalonians. So what Paul says of the Thessalonians here is applies right to us.

Other words our culture today is. Almost the same as the Greek Roman culture of that time if that Paul was surrounded by so it applies right to us. Takes very little adjustment and that nice. It's convenient.

It is it and the word is staying from sexual immorality. So these instructions are just as on target for us as for them. It doesn't matter if the culture around us now thinks it's normal as though we can change what is right or wrong if we can't.

Now if they accuse us of being hung up or prudish. Like they did when vice president Pence when he said he doesn't have lunch alone with a woman other than his wife. And they'll do that kind of thing to you.

Oh, that's so he's so primitive and was he so hung up like that. It doesn't matter how widespread our culture's acceptance of sexual immorality becomes. It's still something we are to avoid specifically.

Well, no specific example it's grounds for church discipline a Church member who engages in sexual immorality after a process of challenging the person confronting the person hopefully generally. But then in groups if he or she doesn't repent.

Such a person will be expelled from the church and any other church the unrepentant goes to. Will be told of that. It will be told this person is in unrepentant sin because we have bound them on earth.

Remember the command what you're bound on earth has already been bound in heaven so what we bound on earth they Means they are already bound in heaven and every other church then needs to know about that until they repent.

Jesus said it. I'm just telling you what he said. Do you know what to do? Generally this is the will of God for you your sanctification specifically first that you abstain from sexual immorality and second in verse 4 that Each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.

Now the word there for body is actually vessel or like container or instrument. Or it could be translated utensil. It's the same word is Romans 9 remember Romans 9. I'll tell you about vessels of wrath.

In other words God's instruments either could be to bring wrath on someone else. God's God. Vessels of wrath of the Old Testament was the Assyrians and the Babylonians. He used them to bring wrath of the Israel or it could be mean their containers of wrath.

Like glasses or pitchers or cups are to be vessels containers of water or drinks to hold to receive wrath. Well here in Thessalonians, it's the idea that your body is a vessel that contains you. So when it's an instrument the body is an instrument that you use it's a utensil that you wield.

Like a fork or a chopstick. Can you handle your utensils? Well, probably you can. Can you handle your body? Well, you can control of it. You should have a specific skill of Controlling your body just like you have a skill of controlling your fork.

Hopefully you're not like a child clumsy. Stabbing your food half the time it squirts off the plate because you can't hit it right. Dropping it. Are your bodies like a cup? It's a vessel it contains you and you but you can handle it.

You inside can handle it without spill it not like a toddler needs a sippy cup. Because he'll spill a normal one, you know how to control it. You know control your body. It's your vessel. So you master it you make your body do what you tell it to do.

And you tell it to avoid sexual immorality. So stop having the idea is now just kind of assumed in our culture taught loudly in our culture. That you can't control your body. I mean, that's the assumption today, but you can't really control your body.

You're controlled by your body. If you have urges to do this or that. Yeah, if you just have an inclination. Orientation they now call it to have sex with that kind of person. Well, that's who you are.

That's your identity and you can't stop yourself from doing it. That's almost like an unimaginable thought. That yeah, you can be oriented to do all kinds of things, but you need to control that if it's wrong, you don't do it.

You are but the culture says you are your desires you and so to be whole and to be happy. We're told you have to give in to those desires you have to be controlled by your body rather than control it but Here Paul is saying you've been justified.

The body is your vessel. And so if you're right with God then to be happy, you'll need to be sanctified. You need to control your body handle like you do a fork or a cup to be whole. You need to be holy.

You'll control your body like a musician controls his musical instrument makes it produce the sounds he wants it to make. What a good musician does right the the instrument makes the sounds the musician wants it to make he's perfect control of it.

So we control our body in the same way that it does the things we want it to do. Not that it tells us what to do control it and holiness and honor. So we make our body. Produce holiness and honor to live holy and honorable lives to control it.

So you make it live holy not like the world is tempting it. But set apart for the Lord because your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. Controlling so that near that near the end here verse 8 you have the Holy Spirit so that you can live.

That gives you the power to live honorably to control your body. So control it in honor. So it's honorable. It doesn't get to have sex whenever it wants to it's under control. That doesn't mean no sex because in marriage sex can be a holy and honorable but only in marriage.

Is it holy and honorable so you control your body? So it does what is honorable not degrading yourself and following your passions right the Dishonorable ways the passions are telling you what to do. The honorable way is you can you can control the passions now, that's what he says in verse 5.

Not in the passions of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. It's an interesting sentence. It's telling us what not to do. We don't live in the passions of lust and Not because that's that's the way that the Gentiles who do not know God noticed by the way.

But the subject of this sermon but notice by the way that in that verse verse 5 Gentiles is no longer defined ethnically. You know, but by not being Jewish, that's the original definition of the word Gentile someone who's not Jewish.

But here is defined as someone who doesn't know God. What Gentile is now someone who doesn't know God and lives like it. Thessalonians Americans and all these people around who were indulging in sexual immorality.

Who aren't even aware that it's something to be ashamed of. Who think there's something wrong with you if you don't go along their problem isn't first their lack of sanctification of Not being holy. We need to teach them to right and wrong.

We need to teach them these ways of living are immoral and so that they'll apply themselves to be disciplined. Really they can't there. That's not their problem. Their problem is the root of that problem.

They don't know God. If they knew God. They'd know what to do control their bodies and holiness and honor. If you're driven by lust so that you're under its control. You need to know God. Hope there's no one here.

But you sometimes people out there you need to tell people out there under the control of lust. Your problem is that you don't know God if you knew God. You'd know what to do. Do you know what to do? This is the will of God.

Generally your sanctification specifically that you avoid sexual immorality you control your body. And third and verse six that No one transgress or it means trespass step over the line and wrong his brother in This matter so we still talk about sexual morality our culture sexual morality has developed.

It's a fable. That it lives in this fantasy world that it lives in that as long as Their conduct it is is between quote consenting adults. Well, then no one else is hurt and is no one else's business.

But people are not just individuals. They come as part of families. They come with spouses maybe with future spouses or with parents with fathers who want their daughters cared for. For Christians they come as part of churches if you transgress that is you step out of the line.

This sex is only for marriage. And so you transgress into sexual immorality then you've not just sinned against your own body. You have but not just that by letting it control you when you supposed to control it.

Not just that and not just against the other person. You've done that too, but not just that but also. Against their family against their perhaps against the father who wanted to deliver a virgin to be married.

Against perhaps a future husband or a current husband if she's married or a church that they're a part of. You've transgressed against all these other people. In other words, there's always someone else you are affecting and if that person You're affecting that father or their future husband or some desperate grandmother.

Who's praying that her granddaughter isn't taken advantage of by selfish men. That person is a believer a brother or sister. Then you wronged him or her you've transgressed trespassed against that person to not just between you and them and He says in the middle of verse 6 the Lord is an avenger in all These things those that all there's no exceptions.

He takes vengeance on those who transgress Against his people like that. He will bring vengeance down on you for what you've done to some father some future husband to some praying grandmother. Or to some church you've hurt.

He will punish you. I Told you that sexual morality brings church discipline about eight years ago. We did just that because a church member had succumbed to sexual immorality. Even though I think she was being taken advantage of she was responsible for her actions and we did what?

The Bible commands us to do. That sin hurt us as a church and her mother who was a church member at the time and as we were going through this. Our psalm of the week happened to be one of those imprecatory songs.

You know what? That means imprecatory song cursing Psalms. Cursing on God's enemies and I applied that to that young man taking advantage of our church member by name. Into my prayer that God's wrath would come on him.

Eventually, I think our actions helped bring an end to that unhealthy and moral relationship. We've got went through the whole process finally church discipline and expelled her as a member and that young man and in like I said earlier we informed other churches you try.

To go to look this is what she's she's involved in and the young man. She was involved with at that time had a thriving business. But just last year, I believe it was just last year. One of his workers his employees was hurt on the job he fell off a roof and Was going to sue him apparently didn't have the insurance or whatever.

He's supposed to have and so he fled the country and it supposedly I was told as in now either in Germany or Ukraine. You know running away from I guess losing his money and from the government or from lawsuits.

The Lord brings vengeance on those who trespass who only think of their sexual urges only think of themselves. Who only think it's between them and their partner? They don't really care about the partner either and so transgress a brother or sister or church like us.

Notice at the end of verse 6 we told you beforehand. Before you're tempted to sexual immorality. We've told you already Paul is saying and we solemnly warned you. We warned you that God takes sexual purity seriously and will bring down punishment and anyone who steps over the line.

Because any of his people violating his people in verse 7 giving the reason why he's solemnly warning against God's vengeance. God has not called us for impurity. He doesn't give us grace for salvation.

So that we can then take that and use it to live in sexual sin. He never does that. He calls us instead in other words, but in verse 7 a strong contrast instead of the sexual impurity. He on the other hand to live a holy life in sanctification growing in holiness therefore.

Because of that because he doesn't call us to impurity but to grow in holiness. The conclusion in verse 8 since God is vengeful. When it comes to sexual impurity telling us to stay far from it as we possibly can to not sin against the family or the church of someone we might be tempted to with therefore whoever disregards this disregards this warning.

Disregards the fact that he takes vengeance on all these matters. Whoever disregards this he says disregards not man. Otherwise, this is not my opinion. He's not just disregarding me what I think. But God.

This is God's Word. This isn't just ancient cultural hang-ups from unenlightened puritanical people this is God and He's given us the Holy Spirit given the Holy Spirit to you so you can be holy. That's the will of God.

For you, do you know what to do? How about not only with your body. But with your money. Now we're getting specific, aren't we? Can you control your cash in a holy way? The will of God for you is that you handle your money two ways charitably and responsibly starting at verse 9 concerning brotherly love.

The Greek word is literally Philadelphia concerning Philadelphia. It's not talking about a city in Pennsylvania. They know what they are to do. Paul says in verse 9 that they've been taught by God. God has enabled them To love one another to have Philadelphia.

That love wasn't just a feeling it was a dissentiments. It's not sweet words cards nice cards sent to each other. Occasionally it translated to practical action. They were showing brotherly love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia.