The Thessalonians # 9

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!