Bible Readings:
Colossians 3:1 – 4:6
1 Thessalonians 4:1 – 12
Sermon Outline:
1 Thessalonians 4:1–8 (NKJV)
1Finally 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;
2for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
4that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
5not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6that 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.
7For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
8Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
1. To be well-pleasing to God
- The Christian Walk: Faith in Christ requires active, daily behaviour that pleases God. Paul describes this as a purposeful “walk,” indicating continuous forward progress rather than stationary belief.
- Spiritual Ambition: Believers are challenged not to remain complacent in their current spiritual state. There is a clear call to grow continually and “abound more and more” in grace, knowledge, and obedience.
- Christ’s Authority: The instructions given for daily living are not mere suggestions from the apostles; they carry the direct authority of the Lord Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:1 (NKJV)
1Finally 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. One particular matter – sexual purity
- God’s Explicit Will: Paul leaves no ambiguity regarding God’s will—it is the believer’s sanctification, which he specifically ties to abstaining from sexual immorality.
- Mastery of the Body: Every Christian must learn how to possess and control their own “vessel” (body) in a manner that reflects holiness and honour, rather than yielding to base instincts.
- Cultural Contrast: Christians are called to be distinctly counter-cultural. They must completely reject the “passion of lust” that characterises a society disconnected from God.
1 Thessalonians 4:3–4 (NKJV)
3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
4that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honour,
3. How does Paul help them here in this passage?
- Community Protection: He warns against defrauding or taking advantage of fellow believers through immoral actions, firmly stating that the Lord will avenge all such sins.
- Clarifying the Calling: He reminds them that the very core of their calling is holiness, which is entirely incompatible with a lifestyle of uncleanness.
- Establishing Divine Authority: He elevates the weight of these commands, making it clear that rejecting this standard for purity is a rejection of God, not of human tradition.
- The Spirit’s Empowerment: He reassures believers that God has given them the Holy Spirit, providing the internal presence and power necessary to actually live out these demanding moral standards.
1 Thessalonians 4:7–8 (NKJV)
7For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
8Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.