The word “ethics” is one of the most important words in the English language. Of the ten most IMPORTANT WORDS in the English language, “ethics” should be ranked toward the top of the list! It is a word that every SCHOOL TEACHER should DRILL into the minds of students. It is a word every SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER should CONSTANTLY MENTION TO THE CLASS. Why? When people lose the meaning of this word, they self-destruct. When society loses the meaning of it, it is only a matter of time before that society self-destructs.
WHAT IS “ETHICS”? It is THE STUDY OF GOOD AND EVIL AND MORAL DUTY. It refers to THE STUDY OF STANDARDS OF CONDUCT AND MORAL JUDGMENT.
When one says something is “ethical” or “unethical” that means it is good or bad according to our standards, or the standards of the society we live in. For example-
Illus: In some societies it is considered to be good manners (acceptable), for a person to belch after he has eaten. In others, like ours, it is considered to be bad manner (unacceptable), or wrong behavior.
Usually “ethics” has to do with more important issues, but every society has what they consider to be ethical behavior in their particular society.
As you know, many of the arguments we hear today have to do with what I CONSIDER TO BE APPROPRIATE, not being what YOU CONSIDER TO BE APPROPRIATE. There are GRAY AREAS where we may disagree.
However, THE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT SET FORTH BY GOD IN THE BIBLE ARE VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND PRACTICAL FOR EVERY DAY LIVING.
In 1 Thess. 4:1-12 Paul lays out some very basic ethics given to the Thessalonian Christians that should help us as we attempt to walk with Christ.
We need to:
I. LEARN TO LIVE TO PLEASE GOD
We read, “Furthermore then 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. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.” These were new converts. Paul shared with them something every Christian must be reminded of from time to time. God placed us here to LIVE FOR HIM, NOT FOR OURSELVES! In these two verses Paul told the Thessalonians they were to LIVE THEIR LIVES TO PLEASE GOD.
It is a fact of life, most of us live TO PLEASE OURSELVES. How sad, for selfishness ROBS US OF THE JOY THAT GOD HAS FOR US.
Illus: There is a story of a dog crossing a small pond on a foot bridge. He looked into the water and saw his reflection with a bone in his mouth. He thought it was another dog with a bone. Being selfish, he wanted that bone also. He began to bark, trying to scare the dog into dropping its bone. When he began to bark, his bone fell into the water. Selfishness caused him to lose what he had.
Illus: Perhaps Shirley McLaine, who has done nothing except live for herself, spoke for many selfish folks in a Washington Post interview when she stated, “The most pleasurable journey you take is through yourself--the only sustaining love is with yourself. When you look back on your life and try to figure out where you’ve been and where you’re going, when you look at your work, your love affairs, your marriages, your children, your pain, your happiness--when you examine all that closely, what you really find out is that the only person you really go to bed with is yourself. The only thing you have is working to the consummation of your own identity. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do all my life.”
Anyone who knows very much about Shirley McLaine can not help but feel sorry for her. Her life is marred with failures and disappointment because all she has done has been for self. But, while we feel sorry for her, we ALSO MUST FEEL SORRY FOR OURSELVES. The statement she made about her life can be applied to most of us.
Illus: That is, our motto about life seems to be, “I am the most important person in my life.”
It is not that we should not:
• Have a solid feeling of self-worth.
• Ever do anything that gratifies us.
The problem comes when we lift “self” above “God.”
Illus: The Lord tried to teach us that lesson in John 8:29, where we read, “...for I do always those things that PLEASE HIM.”
The apostle Paul tried to teach us that lesson. He said, 2 Cor. 5:9, “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, WE MAY BE ACCEPTED OF HIM.”
God’s Word teaches us that living to please God should be the motivation behind everything we do. This concept challenges the reality of our profession of being in Christ! In other words, “I CANNOT CLAIM TO KNOW AND LOVE GOD UNLESS I LIVE TO PLEASE HIM!
Notice, living to please God is not something we for a few weeks after we make a profession of faith, or just during church hours. It is something that continues for a lifetime. Look at the last half of the first verse of our text. Paul said, “...as ye have received of us how YE OUGHT TO WALK AND TO PLEASE GOD, so ye would abound MORE AND MORE.”
If we would live by this concept, LIVING TO PLEASE HIM, it would revolutionize our lives and our churches. Again, if we are going to have the proper ethics in the Christian life, we have to live TO PLEASE HIM!
II. LEARN TO CONTROL OUR DESIRES
We read, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.” One thing Paul spoke to the Thessalonians about was that they must control their sexual desires, along with the other matters of treating others right in business, etc.
It is a known fact that the sexual desires are the strongest desires among mankind. If we are going to have Christian ethics, we certainly have to consider this topic. Paul, who was concerned for the new Christians, was not going to bury his head in the sand and forget about this.
It is amazing how little is said from pulpits about what God’s Word says about the blessings and limits of sexual behavior. God’s Word has much to say on this subject.
We live in a world where sex is heavily promoted. Almost everywhere you turn there is bound to be some reference to sex, and 99% of the time it is an unbiblical reference. When...
• Madonna sings about being “A virgin, touched for the very first time...”
• George Michael singing, “I Want Your Sex,”
• Kenny Rogers singing, “Lay Down Sally,”
you are listening to talk about sex in its most base form!
It is being promoted in every form and fashion and we wonder why there is a sexual revolution going on! We see it in
• Advertisements everywhere.
• Soap operas daily.
• Billboards.
• Cartoons.
• Movies.
• The way people dress.
I am not telling you anything you don’t already know! The point is this--God made sex to be a good, “undefiled” thing, but people have taken it into the gutter. In our text we learn several things about God’s will concerning this subject:
God created sex for a purpose. Look at verse 3. We read, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” That means, anyone who is not married should not be involved in any sexual relationship!
Look at the word “sanctification.” He said, “As you know, the word “sanctify” means: “To be set aside.”
Illus: The offering plate that I hold in my hand is sanctified. It has been “set aside” for the purpose of being used to collect God’s tithes and our offerings to Him. They are not to be used for anything else.
Paul said that sex was to be “set aside” for marriage. It is not to be used for any other purpose.
Most of what the world has to do with sex is not of God. Lost people would give the impression that God created these bodies of ours for one thing -- TO DO WHATEVER FEELS GOOD.
That was not why God created these bodies! It is His will that our bodies be set aside, verse 4, “That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.” God has told us it is His will that we avoid sexual immorality. The word from which “sexual immorality” is translated is the same root word the English word “pornography” comes from. It refers to practices such as premarital and extramarital sex, homosexuality, lesbianism, sodomy, incest and bestiality. All of these are sins against God.
God’s plan was that one man and one woman be united for a lifetime in marriage, sex being one of the many privileges of that union, and He has not changed that plan.
Illus: Not long ago a teenager and his grandfather were having a conversation. The young man said, “Gee Granddad, your generation didn’t have all these social diseases. What did you wear to have safe sex?” The wise old gentleman replied, “A wedding ring.”
It is God’s will that we learn to control our own bodies in a way that is holy and honorable according to the Bible standards!
In Paul’s day, as in ours, God’s standards were in sharp contrast to the standards of the pagans who gave in to their lusts because they didn’t know God. Look at verse 5. We read, “Not in the lust of concupiscence (Longing for that which is forbidden), even as the Gentiles which know not God.”
Our sexual practices, as all other aspects of our lives, are directly tied to our relationship with God. Those who do not know God do not have any restraints. But, we who are children of God live by GOD’S ETHICS.
God created sex and He has the authority to set the standards of how to use it. He created it for the continuance of the human race, and for the pleasure of marriage partners. Hebrews 13:4 tells us, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
God’s commandments concerning sex are not for the purpose of robbing people of joy, but rather of protecting them so that they will not lose their joy!
Illus: Warren Wiersbe has said, “‘Thou shalt not commit adultery’ builds a wall around marriage that makes the relationship, not a prison, but a safe and beautiful garden.”
Paul instructed the new converts about CHRISTIAN ETHICS. They were to do was LEARN TO LIVE TO PLEASE GOD, and
LEARN TO CONTROL OUR DESIRES. Then he tells them...
III. LEARN TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
Illus: Olly & Olga lived on a farm in Iowa. Olga was living on a starvation diet of affection. Olly never gave her any signs of love, and Olga’s need to be appreciated went unfulfilled. At her wit’s end, Olga blurted out, “Olly, why don’t you ever tell me that you love me?” Olly said, “Olga, when we were married I told you that I loved you, and If I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know.”
Seriously, love is expressed in many ways. The Thessalonians knew how to love their fellow Christians. Look at verses 9-12. We read, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.”
Paul was telling them that he knew that they loved each other, but to keep working on it, and allow the love to grow. He also told them how to demonstrate their love for each other. His admonition was needful partly because the preaching of the second coming of Jesus had produced an awkward situation in Thessalonica. Because some thought Jesus might come momentarily, they had given up their daily work and were standing around, upsetting themselves and everyone else while they were waiting.
Ordinary life had been disrupted. They had abandoned the job of making a living, so Paul gave them this practical advice--”And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.” Paul knew it is not good to have much free time. That is especially true today when it seems almost everyone wants more “recreation” and less work.
You can visit any church in the world and it will not take you long to discover that the gossiping and trouble-making is done by the ones who have too much free time. As a result, many in the lost world consider the church a laughing stock as they hear about the many deplorable things in it today.
Paul said:
• Mind YOUR OWN business.
• WORK with the hands God gave you.
Why? The lost world is watching. Paul said, verse 12, “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are WITHOUT, and that ye may have lack of nothing.” When we are honest we win the respect of outsiders. Also, through our love for each other we can win the respect of those outside of the church.
Anyone who visits this church can tell within the first couple of minutes whether or not we love each other. The visitors also know whether or not we love them.
Illus: Charles Horton reported the results of a study in Lincoln, Nebraska, in which a lady attended 18 different churches on successive Sundays to rate their friendliness.
• She sat near the front of the sanctuary each time, and walked slowly to the read, then returned to the front using another aisle.
• On each occasion she was dressed neatly, and with a smile asked at least one person to direct her to the fellowship hall or church office.
• He used the following scale to rate her reception:
• 10 for a smile from a worshiper.
• 10 for a greeting from someone nearby.
• 100 for an exchange of names.
• 200 for an invitation to the fellowship hour.
• 1000 for an introduction to another worshiper.
• 2000 for an invitation to meet the minister.
Each of the eighteen churches earned less than 100 points.
The researcher concluded: “The preaching may be biblical, the singing inspirational and the sermon uplifting, but when a visitor finds no one who cares whether or not he/she is there, that visitor is not likely to come back.”
How would our church rate?
I would like to think we would rate high--but I know this--no matter how much we love each other and for our visitors, and for those outside these walls--WE CAN ALWAYS LOVE MORE AND MORE!”
Conclusion/Summary:
As we search the Bible for our standard of conduct--our ethic--we know there may be come areas that are not spoken directly about. We call these “gray” areas.
But, the standards that we have considered in this message are not “gray” at all. We are to:
I. LEARN TO LIVE TO PLEASE GOD
II. LEARN TO CONTROL DESIRES
III. LEARN TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER
