Sanctification And Sex Series

The father of Matthew Henry, the great Bible commentator, was

courting a girl who was heiress to a fortune while he was a

Presbyterian minister. Her father said to her, "He may be a perfect

gentleman, a brilliant scholar, and an excellent preacher, but he is a

stranger, and we don't know where he came from." "True," she

replied, "But we know where he is going, and I should like to go

with him." She did go with him, and it is no wonder that such a

marriage should produce great fruit for the kingdom of God. It was

founded on God designed goals. This girl wanted a man whose goals

were God's goals, and he wanted a girl that shared those goals.

I have read that one of the biggest gripes of an architect is people

who want him to design a home, but really only want him to put

down on paper what is in their own heads whether it is sensible to

him or not. Such is often the case with Christians who pray for God

to direct their lives. They really mean, approve of what we have

already decided to do. This is so often true in the whole matter of

choosing a life mate. Marriages are only made in heaven for those

who seek heaven's guidance. The issue of marriage and sex has

always been a major concern for Christians. Here in Paul's first

letter we get a glimpse of what was a universal problem. First

consider-

I. HIS EXHORTATION v. 1.

Paul had just built up in 3:13 to the ultimate goal of the Christian

life to be holy and unblameable at the coming of Christ. Now he

goes on to urge them to strive for that goal. Paul is saying that

sanctification is not automatic. You don't just everyday in every

way get better and better. It is a matter of constant conscious

obedience to the commands of Christ.

Paul beseeches them and exhorts them to go on walking so as to

please God more and more. In verse 2 he says you have the

knowledge, and you know what Christ expects, but now you must

put it into practice, for this is God's will and purpose for your life.

In Eph. 1:4 Paul said, "According as He has chosen us in Him before

the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without

blame before Him in love." I read of a farmer who said when he

was offered a book on how to improve his farming, "I already know

more now about farming then I am practicing." That is the case

with us as Christians. We already know more of what God wills

than we are practicing, but we must be ever pressing on to His goal

for us, which is to be fully sanctified. Second we see-

II. HIS EXPLANATION. v. 3.

Paul was diplomatically laying the background for dealing with a

very sensitive and serious situation. These Thessalonians had been

raised in paganism all their lives where sexual ethics was totally

perverted. Paul was writing from Corinth where there were 1000

prostitutes in the temple of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. It

seems strange to us that Paul would have to tell Christian people

that it was God's will that they abstain from sexual immorality, but

when you consider the background of these people, it is not so

strange at all. None of them were raised in Christian homes, but all

were raised in pagan homes. Their concept of sex was totally pagan.

Timothy had apparently come back with some news that was not

good. These Christians were still practicing the sexual ethics of their

pagan society. This is happening in our day as well, for studies show

that Christian youth have sex outside of marriage almost to the same

degree as non-Christian youth. These Thessalonians were selecting

their mates by immoral methods. We need to remember that when

we talk about the power and purity of the early church we are

referring to the Jewish Christians at Pentecost. They were already

well trained in the Word of God, and biblical sexual ethics. The

Gentile churches did not have this background.

Lesser men than Paul would not have had the wisdom and tack

to handle this as Paul did. Many would blast such corruption with

scorching condemnation, and try to shame and scare them into

purity. Paul, like his Lord, took an altogether approach. He praises

them for their growth. He recognizes their faith and love, and urges

them on to greater commitment. He points out the great goal of the

Christian to be holy and blameless, and then moves in to show how

different this is from the heathen goals, and how they must leave