Alba 1-21-2024
GOD CALLS US TO HOLINESS
I Thessalonians 4:1-8
Little Rob Thomas was motivated more by recess than by any of his classes. For an hour one day, when he was in the second grade, Rob had avoided working on his math sheet. Then the teacher told him that every problem would have to be done before he could go out for recess.
Within two minutes he had written an answer for every problem. Unfortunately every answer was wrong, and the teacher sent the worksheet home for him to do over.
“You’ll have to do all these problems again,” his dad told him. “Why?” he asked. “They’’re all wrong,” his dad replied. “So?” he shrugged. “Nobody’s perfect.”
While his answer was flippant, it is true. None of us is perfect. And yet God calls us to holiness. That means that in spite of our tendency to be unholy, holiness is possible or else the Lord would not expect it of us.
Knowing that we have trouble in that area, the Lord has given us direction to help us understand what holiness looks like in various areas of our lives. That is why the apostle Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 4:1-8 these words: 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 us His Holy Spirit.
Note: The Lord did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness. And to be specific, this text calls us to holiness in sexual conduct. In fact it is clear from these verses that if we are going to walk in a way that is pleasing to God, this will be a priority.
Verse three tells us that it is God's will that we be sanctified. That means, set apart for God's purposes, not common worldly things, but for all things good.
To sanctify an object means to wash, cleanse, consecrate or set it aside for a special purpose. Sanctification is how God transforms a person, making him or her fit for a holy purpose. Sanctification includes a change of heart, a desire to love God and live among other people in a way that pleases God.
It doesn’t happen all at once. This means that Christians should expect to see changes in their lives, to grow and become more loving, kind, humble and self-controlled in their life. While there may be occasional setbacks and life-long struggles, God works with us to make His people holy.
Again, notice how verse three says that sanctification specifically includes abstaining from sexual immorality. The King James Version says, “abstain from fornication.” That seems to be more specific, but it still doesn't include all that scripture is saying. That's because the original word from the Greek language is pornea.
Just by hearing the word you get an idea of what it can include. It is from that word that we get the word pornography. Pornography is defined as sexually explicit videos, photographs, writings, or the like, whose purpose is to elicit sexual arousal. But this word in scripture includes even more than that.
The term is broad in its meaning and covers all forms of sexual sin, and refers to any sexual relationships that are not endorsed or blessed by God. That includes homosexuality, bestiality, incest, pornography, rape, sex before marriage, adultery, and fantasizing in the mind. We can know God's will in this matter because He spells it out in the Old Testament.
Let me list for you from Leviticus 18:6-23 some of the sexual activities prohibited by our Lord. Each of these assumes that the proper context for a sexual relationship would instead be with the person to whom one is married.
(1) Do not have sexual relations with any close relative who is a blood relative. (2) Do not have sexual relations with any person who has become a close relative through marriage. (3) Do not have sexual relations with a woman during her monthly cycle. (4) Do not have sexual relations with any person who is married to someone else. (5) Do not have sexual relations with a person of the same gender. (6) Do not have sexual relations with an animal. Those who engaged in these practices defiled (polluted) themselves!
If we ask why God gave these commands, the answer is found in Leviticus 18:1-3. These were the practices of the unbelievers who inhabited the land from which the Israelites came (Egypt) and to which they were headed (Canaan)! Though these were clear perversions of God’s plan for sexual expression in a marriage, they were not uncommon!
Obviously, the temptations in this area have been here down through the centuries. That is why Paul warns the Christians in Thessalonica, and why we need such warnings today. It is still all too evident that this is an area that keeps people from being holy before the Lord. But Peter reminds us, “It is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'” (I Peter 1:16)
It is God’s will that we abstain from sexual immorality because it is destructive and it wreaks havoc in our lives. The consequences of sexual sin are different than any other sin.
I Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.”
There are physical consequences in the form of unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, or infections, many of which are incurable and some that can even lead to death. There are relational and emotional consequences.
And then there is abortion which is looked at as a solution, but doesn't take into account the life of the child. People often struggle with emotional issues and memories stemming from sexual sins for the rest of their lives. Only God can heal the hurt, and will provide forgiveness to those who yield to Him and go and sin no more.
Verse six says that sexual sins “take advantage and defraud” others. And those others are the people who are closest to us. How many people have lost family and friends due to something we call an “indiscretion”?
People who are engaged in sexual sin are usually so preoccupied in satisfying their lustful desires that they rarely stop to think about the victims. They don’t consider the effect of their choices on the people they know and love.
Sherman Nichols, who used to minister with Villa Heights Christian Church in Joplin, said: “In my files, I keep a list of the people who would be affected by it if I were to fail in this area. It takes up a whole sheet of paper, because sexual sins wrong others, not just God. It helps to remember exactly who is being let down, who is being hurt, if I give in to Satan’s temptation to compromise myself by being impure.”
There is a lot of wisdom in that. Of course, most people who have an affair have excuses to justify themselves: The marriage wasn’t as good as they wanted it to be. They didn’t intend to get caught up in the affair. They got carried away in the moment. Or they found their “soulmate.”
We use a lot of excuses to do what we want to do, even if it is wrong. Things such as “It doesn't really matter,” “I'm not hurting anyone.” All are excuses we make, but they are just excuses. God doesn’t leave room for excuses.
You and I are not helpless in the face of temptation. We have the resources to fight and win against sexual temptation. “I couldn’t help myself” just doesn’t cut it. We are responsible to God for what we do in and with our bodies.
But many people have opted for sinful behavior, claiming that this is what makes them happy, and surely God wants them to be happy, so it must be His will.
Here's the problem with that. Do you remember the 1983 film starring Clint Eastwood when he said, "Go ahead, make my day"? He was ready to shoot to kill. Apparently it would make him happy to do it. That kind of happiness is not an excuse for doing what is wrong.
And for years it was claimed that homosexuals were “made that way”. In other words, “Don't blame me. Blame God if you think it is wrong.” Here's the thing. God never leads us to do things contrary to His Word. The temptation may be there, but as in the model prayer, God can lead us away from temptation.
James 1:13-15 tells us, “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
Even though we are all born with natural biological desires and tendencies (some of which are twisted along the way), scripture makes it clear that we are not obligated to act on these desires. We are not slaves to these desires.
Sex is a good gift from God. He created these bodies in which we live. And God made sex to be enjoyed between a husband and a wife. There is only one legitimate arena for sexual expression: the marriage bed which must be kept pure.
The truth is, God invented sex! In fact, He gave us the desires that drive us toward relationships, pleasure, and intimacy. But God’s design is for sexual intimacy to take place between a man and a woman within the confines of marriage. Any other activity... any other activity, is outside of God’s plan.
Now, we can’t control everything. We are bombarded by sexual images, and we can’t avoid the temptations of life. You could lock yourself in a monastery, but you still wouldn’t be safe from temptation. However, if we are wise, we will set ourselves up for success and avoid dangerous situations.
In other words, stay out of those places where we know we’re going to be tempted. If we don’t want to get stung, stay away from bees. If we don’t want to get burned, stay away from fire. When temptation comes, we need to ask for help.
Like the boy who was trying to save all the pennies he could in order to buy a baseball bat. But he had a hard struggle. One night when he was saying his prayers, his mother heard him say fervently: “O Lord, please help me save my money for a baseball bat. And, God, don’t let the ice cream man come down this street!”
One of the ways to avoid any kind of temptation is to stay out of the devil’s territory. All sexual sin separates us from God.
All sin, things like pornography, premarital sex, same-sex relationships, adultery, etc., separate us from God. That is why our sexuality must be surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God's commandments are not meant to steal our joy, they are meant to protect us so that we don’t lose our joy.
Think about it like this. Let’s say we want to get on the freeway and see an off ramp sign that says, “Do not enter.’
Would we get upset at that sign and those who placed it there, because as adults we can decide for ourselves what we want to do and where we want to go? Would we say that the sign restricts our freedom? Or is there to save our lives?
We need to resolve in our minds before anything else happens, “What is our standard of authority?” Is God’s Word going to be our standard for living? Or will we live by the standards of this world, and simply make up our own standards as we go along?
In other words, it all comes down to whether or not we believe that God knows more about what’s good for us than we do. Actually, it’s really simple; God has a set of rules for living. If we play by His rules we win, if we don’t, we lose.
Sex is a gift from God, but it must be used wisely. Water is also a gift from God, and we cannot live without water, but if we get too much water we’ll drown. Fire is a gift from God. We need fire to get warm and cook our foods, but if we get too much fire, we’ll get burned.
In other words, if we misuse something, there are consequences. Verse 6 says that God in judgment avenges wrong doing. We know that Sodom and Gomorrah went up in smoke because of sexual sin. King David lost a son because of his sexual sin. King Solomon’s walk with God was shipwrecked because of his sexual practices.
But if we sin, I have some good news. We are not to wallow in our sin. Instead we can confess our sin and failure honestly, and ask God for forgiveness.
After King David sinned, he wrote a prayer of repentance in Psalm 51:10-12. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”
If you have broken any one of God’s commandments, if there is sexual sin in your past, or even in your present, you can know that God still loves you. No matter what has been done. No matter who we are, we all need a Savior. And praise God, we have a Savior!
Our first step is full commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. He died for us. He went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He did it to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He did it to provide a way for our forgiveness.
So how is it that you and I can live a life that is pleasing to God? The short and definitive answer is this: We must commit to living a holy life: this is God’s will for us.
Living a holy life entails and encompasses many different things: One very important thing as it pertains to living a holy life is that we commit ourselves to being sexually pure.
Ours is a special calling: We have been called into a holy service, for a holy use, to walk in holiness.
CLOSE:
Is anyone living under the deception that no one else will suffer from their choices? Don't be fooled! We reap what we sow. But God, who called us to holiness, is able to make us holy if we will submit to His instruction and walk according to His Spirit.
In the documentary “Grizzly Man”, Timothy Treadwell walked, talked and lived among the grizzlies that inhabit Alaska. He said that they would not harm him because he understood them and knew how to handle them.
In the documentary you can watch anxiously as he touches them and stands close by as they feed. We are amazed that he goes unharmed. Then, suddenly everything turned for the worst.
In October of 2003 Timothy and his girlfriend are attacked and eaten by an ornery bear. The mistake Timothy made was to treat the world's most dangerous carnivore as if it were a toothless pet.
I'm afraid that too many make the same mistake when it come to sexual immorality. They play with it, talk to it and even live a lifestyle filled with it.
All the while believing that it will never come back to get them. If this is the case with you, or someone you know, may I give the warning. They are every bit as wrong as Timothy Treadwell was. And it may cost the same price!
I Peter 1:13 “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” (NLT)
