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How to Walk (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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If you would, take your Bibles and open up to
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1 Thessalonians chapter 4. You can also find
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a few Bibles there in front of you. 1 Thessalonians
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chapter 4, as we continue our sermon series through
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this letter from Paul to the Christians there
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in Thessalonica, our bulletin has us going through
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verse 12, but after Much prayer this week. I
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think it would be appropriate for us to stop
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at verse 8 today and save those remaining verses,
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Lord willing, for a future date. So, 1 Thessalonians
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4, 1 through 8. Would you please give attention
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to the reading of God's Word? Finally, then,
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brothers, We ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus
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that as you received from us How you ought to
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walk and to please God just as you are doing
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that you do so more and more For you know what
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instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus
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For this is the will of God your sanctification
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that you abstain from sexual immorality that
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each one of you know how to control his own body
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in holiness and honor, not in the passion of
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lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that
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no one transgress and wrong his brother in this
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matter because the Lord is an avenger in all
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these things. As we told you beforehand and solemnly
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warned you, for God has not called us for impurity.
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but in holiness therefore whoever disregards
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this disregards not man but God who gives his
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Holy Spirit to you this is God's failing word
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let's pray father we thank you for your word
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we thank you for a word that speaks truth to
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us I ask Lord that you would help us to search
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our hearts and know if there is any way about
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us that is not pleasing to you and that you would
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write our course and Help us to follow more closely
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after Jesus and that you will continue the work
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of sanctification in our lives Give us understanding
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now. We pray in Christ's name. Amen Within our
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worship service this morning, we have already
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touched on sanctification. We have read the Shorter
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Catechism. What is sanctification? Sanctification
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may not be a word that you use on a daily basis.
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It could be, and it should be, perhaps. But there
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is a way in which we use the word sanctification
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that I think is fairly common, and it's the root
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of the word. It's sanctity. And often when we
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talk about sanctity, we talk about sanctity of
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marriage, right? We talk about keeping holy the
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union between man and woman, united in matrimony.
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We recognize that marriage is a pre -fall gift
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from God. And so we want to keep it holy, right?
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Sadly though, the common view today in culture
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is not that marriage needs to be sanctified.
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The common view in culture today is that personal
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choice and pleasure be kept holy and sanctified.
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People view marriage not in the way that God
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does. Instead, what people want to uphold is
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not marriage, but immorality. But friends, our
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text tells us we are to please God. That is our
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goal. This is why we were made we are to please
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God according to the text in holiness and as
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Christians we as we are set apart for holiness
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and we show it impurity So today if you are saved
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by Christ, you are not only saved to heaven which
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you are But you are also saved to holiness. Let
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me say that again You are not only saved to heaven
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but you are saved to holiness. And this, according
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to the text, is the will of God. Oftentimes,
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we ask ourselves or we ask others, what is the
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will of God for my life? And usually, when we
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ask that question, we mean something like, where
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am I going to go to college? Who am I going to
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marry? What kind of career should I have? How
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many children? What's the will of God for my
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life and my retirement? Where should I retire
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and how much money do I need? But friends, these
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are fine questions. But the real answer to the
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will of God is your holiness. The will of God
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is your holiness. Look at verse 1. You can see
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that this section kicks off with kind of a transition
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word there. The ESV has the word finally there.
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So we would expect something new or something
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to be, this to be the very end of the letter.
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But what Paul is doing here is he's kicking off
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a very practical applicable section. And we like
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that. We like the practicality of the Bible,
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don't we? Because oftentimes we look at the ancient
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text and we say, what does this 2 ,000 or more
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year old text have to do with me? Anybody ever
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ask that? I do. How is this helpful to me in
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2025? So we have a practical section, but be
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careful what you wish for. Because if you are
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struggling with the sins of this passage, this
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hits hard. Because Paul has his finger on the
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pulse of a common problem. Paul has his finger
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on the pulse of a problem that has existed really
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ever since the fall, sexual immorality. Today,
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we lament the decline of society, don't we? It
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seems that each new decade presents a new level
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of moral decay. But think about the Thessalonians.
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The Thessalonians, they were not living in a
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Christian society. And so they were not seeing
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new levels of decay. The Thessalonians were already
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in the cesspool. What was life like in Thessalonica?
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Well, like in many places in the Greco -Roman
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world, tolerance of misconduct, encouragement
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towards misconduct, particularly relationships
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of an intimate nature outside of marriage. And
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you might say, well, that's the same in our day,
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and that is very true. We're dealing with the
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same things today. This is why this is so applicable.
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However, there's something else that was going
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on. in these Greco -Roman cities related to marriage.
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And it's that marriages were often arranged.
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Marriages were often arranged. Now, as a father
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of two beautiful, sweet, cute little girls, I'm
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thinking, yes, Lord, that seems like a great
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idea. You're telling me I get to choose who they
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marry? Sadly, that's not really the way it went
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in Thessalonica. Listen to this quote from a
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philosopher from Athens in 300 BC, so hundreds
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of years before Christ and before this letter.
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This philosopher said, are women are seething
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right now. What could change such a despicable
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ethic? What about the gospel? What about a biblical
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sexual ethic? And so here comes Paul with his
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talk of Jesus, talk of holiness, talk of sanctification,
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saying it's the will of God that you refrain
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from this behavior. and that you would be able
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to control your own bodies. It's very much what
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Paul has to say to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians
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6, 18. And Paul had a lot to say to the Corinthians,
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but he says, flee from sexual immorality. What
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Paul, Silas, and Timothy have to share with the
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Christians there in Thessalonica would have been
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revolutionary. Paul is saying, get rid of the
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concubines. Get rid of the mistresses and be
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committed to holiness. Friends, it's no wonder
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that Acts 17 records the people driving Paul
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out of the city, right? It's no wonder that they
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were accused of turning the world upside down,
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because they were telling people to give up this
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sin. And in doing so, Paul and the Christians
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there, they're really destroying society. And
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I think that they were doing this in two different
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ways. The first way in which they were bringing
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on the destruction of that heinous society would
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have been in business. In saying, put away the
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concubines and the mistresses and be committed
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to your wives, they are destroying business in
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this city. For we know this, that prostitution
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was big business in Thessalonica. It was. Thessalonica
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was a big city. It was on the water. A lot of
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people coming into port and out of port, right,
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pursuing all kinds of heinous things. And so
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you tell them to stop this practice. This is
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hitting people in the wallet. And now you're
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really making them mad, but also in terms of
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religious practice. If Paul had said to the people
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there, Hey believe in Jesus, but don't change
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your lifestyle whatsoever The Thessalonians would
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have said hey, no problem here. Let's just add
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Jesus to our list of gods Collect them all but
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that's not what Paul said and pagan worship was
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connected with Immorality consider this quote
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The many references in 1st Thessalonians to suffering
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being experienced by the church are best understood
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as referring not primarily to physical persecution,
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but to social harassment for Christians' refusal
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to take part in their former cultic activities.
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And so the Christians are saying no to this way
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of life because there's somebody different. They
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are in Christ, a new creation. And the non -believers
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in the city, they don't like this whatsoever.
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And so you see what Paul is doing. Paul is relating
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our sanctification to abstaining from immorality.
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Now you might say, well, how do I do that? How
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can I grow in godliness in such a culture as
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ours? How can I be committed to holiness? when
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there is immorality all around, when it's ubiquitous.
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Friends, we need to turn off the TV. There is
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such grime on television. You need to be careful
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with what you watch. We need to be careful with
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what we watch. We need to be careful with what
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we view on the internet. There is so much on
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there that we should never see. so much honor
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that our children should never see, and so we
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must protect our children from it. I commend
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those of you who carry around what's called a
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dumb phone so that you cannot access videos on
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your phone. Why? Well, because I think Jesus
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says it best for Matthew 5, 27 through 28. This
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is within the Sermon on the Mount. which should
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show us something. You have heard that it was
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said, you shall not commit adultery. But I say
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to you that everyone who looks at a woman with
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lustful intent has already committed adultery
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with her in his heart. I know I've shared this
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illustration before, and so my apologies for
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a recycled illustration. but I think it's been
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long enough. When I was living in Poland, I remember
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in Warsaw how night clubs would advertise their
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establishment by having little cards printed
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with inappropriate pictures and putting them
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on the windshields of vehicles. So you would
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go into a parking lot and it's just filled with
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these cards and sometimes they would blow off
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and they'd be on the streets, littering is bad
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too. And this isn't unique to Warsaw or Poland
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or any of that but what was interesting is one
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day I saw a Polish priest walking to his car
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and so he enters into the parking lot he sees
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what's on the windshields and he covers his eyes
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like this as he walked he covered his eyes meaning
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that he bumped into nearly every Volkswagen in
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the parking lot but he would not allow himself
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to even gaze on such sin And at the time, I can
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remember thinking as a young man, being like,
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aren't you mature enough that you don't have
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to do that? Can't you just keep walking? No,
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he wasn't even going to allow Satan to have a
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foothold. He knew how dangerous that was. And
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so as he got to his car, he brushed that card
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off the windshield and he got into his car and
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he left the parking lot. Friends, we need to
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be like that. We need to turn away from sin before
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it's ever a problem. And it's not just in terms
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of pictures or videos or television, books even.
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There are some writers who write with such a
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flair that they can depict something even better
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than a video. Friends, be careful what you read.
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Take the book back to the library, sell it, throw
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it in the garbage if you need to. Be careful
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with what you read. Also be careful with how
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you dress. We need to be people of modesty. The
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text is going to tell us that there's a relationship
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between who we are as we pursue holiness and
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looking out for others. And so we need to dress
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with modesty. We also need to be careful with
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how we talk. We need to be careful with the language
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that we use. And we need to be careful with how
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we talk about our spouses. Friends, when you
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talk about your husband or your wife, do you...
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build them up in the eyes of other people? That
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will show how we feel about marriage. That is
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a gift from God. And so for all these ways, be
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careful. Additionally, in terms of sanctification,
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we realize something else. That we need to replace
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the sinful things with good things. Because that's
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what God does with us, right? We're a new creation
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in Christ. And so we need to take that which
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is wrong for us and cast it off. But we need
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to replace it with good things. And the good
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things I have in mind are called the means of
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grace. Friends talked about how there are some
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very bad books. There's also a very good book.
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We should read this. We should read this privately.
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We should read this with our families. We should
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read this here at church. So go to the WIC meetings,
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women. Men. Men of the Covenant, Sunday School,
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Table Talk, be committed to these things, and
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most importantly, be committed to the very Word
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of God. Also be committed to prayer. You want
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help in standing against the wiles of the devil?
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Be committed to prayer. Ask for God's help if
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this is a struggle of yours. Also we need one
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another, don't we? In order to stand against
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that which is evil, we need one another. We need
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the church. We need accountability, and so again,
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if this is a struggle, have people in your corner.
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You've got elders in this church who want to
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help. You've got wise Christians who have been
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walking this road for such a long time enlist
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the help of others. Look at verse 6, as we also
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recognize that sexual sin hurts not just us,
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but it hurts others. You remember the seventh
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commandment, do not commit adultery. Do you also
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remember how the tenth commandment relates to
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the seventh? Because there God says, do not covet
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your neighbor's wife. Friends, sexual sin hurts
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others. Think about how much heartache would
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be saved if people would follow the Bible's teaching
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on saving the gift of sex until marriage, and
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that marriage would be exclusively between married
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man and married woman. Sexual sin hurts other
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people. But also look in verse eight and let
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me read this. Therefore, whoever disregards this
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disregards not man, but God, who gives his Holy
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Spirit to you. Primarily our sin is against God.
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That alone right there should be enough for a
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Christian to say no to this. Because God calls
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us to not to impurity but to holiness if you
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disregard this you ultimately disregard God Who
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is the giver of the Holy Spirit right there at
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the end of verse 8 now? Why does Paul include
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that there the giver of the Holy Spirit to you?
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Why does he put that there? There's a writer
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named Andrew Malone who sees a connection between
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this statement and the giving of the Holy Spirit
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or the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit
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in Ezekiel chapter 36. I'm going to read just
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a little bit of Ezekiel 36 for us from about
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25 through 29. Listen to these words. Again,
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the promise of the Holy Spirit. Listen for the
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connection to our text. I will sprinkle clean
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water on you. and you shall be clean from all
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your uncleannesses and from all your idols I
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will cleanse you and I will give you a new heart
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and a new spirit I will put within you and I
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will remove the heart of stone from your flesh
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and give you a heart of flesh and I will put
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my spirit within you and cause you to walk in
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my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
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The emphasis there, as in our text, is on the
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walking and the cleansing and the receiving of
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the Holy Spirit. This is a clear picture. You
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who have the Spirit are to walk according to
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the Spirit. You who are a Christian are to follow
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after Christ. And so let's think about this for
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a second. Who are you trying to please? Are you
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trying to please yourself? Or are you trying
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to please God? This is a very common way for
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Paul to speak. But you might say, well, yeah,
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I'm trying to please God, but it's difficult.
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We're in the middle of a cultural war. You know,
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Christianity gets criticized very often by progressives
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for our sexual ethic. They say, why can't everyone
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just love whomever they want to? Why not? Well,
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Among other places because of Romans chapter
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12 1 through 2 I appeal to you therefore brothers
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by the mercies of God to present yourselves your
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bodies as a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable
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to God, which is your spiritual worship Do not
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be conformed to this world but be transformed
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by the renewal of your mind That by testing you
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may discern. What is the will of God? What is
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good? and what is acceptable and what is perfect.
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Friends, you are a living sacrifice. That is
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your purpose in Christ. And so it's incompatible
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for you to live for the flesh and to live for
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God. And these sins of the flesh are not pleasing
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to God in any way. And so we need to be committed
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to holiness. I'm so thankful that there are people
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who are not just committed to personal holiness,
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but there are people who are committed to helping
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other people be committed to holiness. There
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are a number of great organizations and people
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who are doing wonderful work to help others be
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freed from the trappings of sexual sin and the
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trappings of the lust of others. When I was living
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in Eastern Europe, I was fairly close to a group
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of women who were going about and helping those
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who were entrapped in these ways. Friends, there
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are a number of good people doing this and we
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should be committed to praying for those who
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would risk their lives to uphold a biblical sexual
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ethic. Christians who are on the front lines
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just like Paul was. We need to be committed to
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this ourselves and we need to be committed to
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helping others who are committed to these things.
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But you might say, well, why would you go to
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such trouble? Why would you go to such danger
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to stand up for marriage and purity and holiness?
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Why? It's in verse five. Because we know God.
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The reason to be committed to these things is
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because we know God. The people who act in these
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sinful ways, they do not know God. And God calls
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us, according to verse 7, to holiness. And actually,
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as you look at the text, there is a Trinitarian
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reason here, a Trinitarian reason to be committed
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to a biblical sexual ethic and to be committed
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to holiness. And it's because of the past call
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of God in verse 7, the present gift of the Holy
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Spirit in verse 8, and the future judgment of
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Christ in verse 6. Friends, sanctification is
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a product of our knowing God through Christ by
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the power of the Holy Spirit. Christians are
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set apart from the world. We live in this world,
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but we do not belong to this world. We are to
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live following after Christ. Christ is your goal.
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And Christ tells us to seek first the kingdom
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of God and His righteousness. Friends, these
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sins, and I'm trying not to be explicit. I'm
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trying to be mindful of young ears. These sins
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are so common. Teenagers are struggling with
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this. Adults of all ages are struggling with
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this. Friends, I want to give you good news.
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If this is your struggle, please know this. There
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is forgiveness for sexual sin. There is forgiveness
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for this sin. in Christ alone. It should not
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be lost on us, especially those of us who have
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studied the life of David recently, that he really
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struggled in these areas, didn't he? And yet
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he was called a man after God's own heart. And
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you can read his Psalm of repentance in Psalm
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51. It's a must read. Friends, Jesus has come
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for the forgiveness of sin for the Christian.
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He has nailed these sins to the cross. So if
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this is an area of struggle to you, for you,
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take it to Jesus. Jesus, who not only saves us,
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but Jesus who cleanses us. I want to leave you
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with two scriptures. Before we conclude. First,
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John one nine. If we confess our sins, he is
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faithful and just to forgive us our sins. and
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to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And then
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1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 13. No temptation
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has overtaken you that is not common to man.
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God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted
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beyond your ability, but with the temptation,
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he will also provide the way of escape that you
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may be able. to endure it. Friends, Christ is
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faithful to provide the way of escape and Christ
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is faithful to forgive those who call upon him
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in faith. As 1st Thessalonians 4 .1 says then,
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let us seek to please God more and more. For
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this friends, this is the will of God. Let's
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pray.