READ 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

Walking suggests progress, and we must make progress in the Christian life.

There is always a danger of Christians thinking they have no further need to progress in sanctification; but on this side of eternity, no believer has even come close to what God desires for him spiritually. 

Thanks to Paul's solid instruction when he was with them, the saints were living exemplary lives and he had commended them for that (1 Thess. 1:2-4, 7; 2:13-14). 

As a result, they might have thought their condition was ideal and in no need of improvement. 

But Paul knew they could do better and encouraged them accordingly. 

In this passage, we confront several ways that we should continue to walk as we seek to please the Lord.

1.  MAKE SURE TO CONTINUE PROGRESSING SPIRITUALLY – vs. 1

“…we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

Notice the words ''beseech” and “exhort”.  To beseech denotes a gentle, humble suggestion offered among equals.  To exhort means to come alongside and encourage.

Paul’s method of beseeching and exhorting the Thessalonians to grow in their spiritual walk is the way to accomplish growth.  Browbeating people never get the result that creates consistent spiritual growth.

2.  MAKE A COMMITMENT TO MORAL PURITY – vs. 2-7

If we are going to walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord, not only do we continue to grow spiritually, but we must commit to be morally and sexually pure. READ 2-5

When Paul ministered in Thessalonica, he gave the believers the commandments of God regarding personal purity. 

The word “commandments” is a military term. It refers to orders handed down from superior officers. We are soldiers in God's army, and we must obey orders.

Paul says to avoid succumbing to the culture of the day, “…even as the Gentiles which know not God” (vs. 5b). 

The Greek culture gave wide approval to all forms of sexual misbehavior. The idea that any kind of extramarital sex was wrong was quite foreign to the Greek mind. 

A blatant double standard existed. Wives were expected to be chaste, mothers of children, and keepers at home.  Married men, however, could do as they pleased. They could keep mistresses and concubines and frequent prostitutes with the full approval of society.  Prostitution was legalized, and the state brothels' profits were often used to build temples. 

Our own social norms, indeed, are fast degenerating into those of ancient Greece.  

Paul's warnings against immorality are as needful today as they were in his day, and they sound just as strange to our contemporaries as they did to his early Greek converts. 

Sexual sins now surface frequently even in the church, as they evidently did in the church of the Thessalonians.  Hence the need for teaching on sanctification: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication” (vs. 3). 

Sexual purity is not all that sanctification entails, but it certainly is a vital part of it.

No sin is more destructive of the family, more dangerous to health, or more debilitating to spiritual life. The Holy Spirit warns, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” Hebrews 13:4.

The norms of our permissive society are pushed to the hilt by television programming, modern advertising, and widespread tolerance of pornography and perversion. 

There is a general acceptance of couples living together without regard to marriage vows.  The norms of the world are now becoming the norms of the church.  Once it was a scandal to be involved in sexual sin, and the church openly disciplined the offenders. 

That is now rare. It is time to return to the standard set by the Holy Spirit.

The instruction we receive here in verse 4 is “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.” 

In other words, don't let your body control you, you control your body.  Don't be driven by your desires, instead, control your desires and filter them through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit's leadership in your life. Why? 

“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness” (vs. 7).

3.  CONSIDER AN ETERNAL PRINCIPLE – vs. 8

“He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit.”

Here is the eternal principle that we should consider: God has called us to be holy, and He has empowered us through His Holy Spirit to accomplish what He has called us to do. 

If you ignore the teaching of God, you forfeit the anointing of the Holy Spirit in your life. 

Paul has been talking about purity and faithfulness. He's been talking about walking faithfully with the Lord.  But if you ''disregard'' this teaching, you're not disregarding the teaching or principles of man. You are disregarding the teaching of God.

A holy walk involves a right relationship with God the Father (who called us), God the Son (who died for us), and God the Spirit (who lives within us). 

It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes our body the temple of God (1 Cor. 6:19-20). 

Furthermore, it is by walking in the Spirit that we get victory over the lusts of the flesh. 

To despise God's commandments is to invite the judgment of God and to grieve the Spirit of God. 

God has called us to holiness and to a consistent walk that is pleasing to Him. 

We are all walking in one direction or another.  We are either walking closer to Christ or farther away from Him.  Which way are you walking?

Your Friend and HIS,

Pastor Abbott

MEDITATIONS

1.  Are you walking in a way that brings honor and glory to the Father?

2.  Are you continuing to progress spiritually as you maintain your purity?

3.  Are you listening to the Holy Spirit whom God has given you as you walk each day in holiness and faithfulness?