Sermon Tone Analysis

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

What has impacted you most so far in this study?

Has there been something that has stood out to you?

Have you put anything into practice that you would like to share?

Follow Jesus’s Instructions Through Paul

1 Thessalonians 4:1 “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.”

1 Thessalonians 4:2 “For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.”

SUMMARY

Paul is calling on the Thessalonians to continue striving for obedience all the more, according to what they taught them while they were with them.

EXPLAIN

The first thing we see is:

The Three Aspects of Paul’s Request

1. “we ask”

It is a request.

Paul is asking and not telling.

The Thessalonians must willingly give themselves for the work of their sanctification.

2. “and urge”

Paul is exhorting them, beseeching them, urging them.

More than just a suggestion or recommendation.

This urging comes because Paul realizes how important it is.

3. “in the Lord Jesus”

Paul is not making a request merely on human grounds, but on the authority of Christ.

This is a call back to:

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.”

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy have faithfully reported to them GOD’S truth, not man’s opinion.

This is what Paul praised God for, that the Thessalonians received it as such.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

Why do you think Paul chose to begin his request the way he did?

(Asking, and urging in the Lord Jesus.)

He wants them to willingly choose to obey rather than by force.

Paul’s Request

1 Thessalonians 4:1 “as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.”

Paul faithfully passed on Jesus’ instructions

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy had been faithful to teach the Thessalonians how to live a life that was pleasing to God.

This is exactly what Jesus had commanded the disciples before ascending into heaven.

Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””

Paul called them to conform to Jesus’ instructions

Keep the instructions “as you received them from us.”

You don’t get to modify or adapt them to your situation or circumstances.

They are fixed!

We showed you how to walk in a way pleasing to God, and those instructions will not change.

Paul honored them for their obedience to Jesus’ instructions

“just as you are doing”

He acknowledges that they are doing it.

He wants to encourage them for where they are at and how they are doing.

Paul is not expecting them to be further along than what would be reasonable to expect.

Sanctification is typically a slow process.

Paul called them to increasing obedience to Jesus’ instructions

“do so more and more”

He is not content to leave them where they are at.

Continue to strive for growth.

Don’t get stagnant.

As we grow in our understanding, we see more areas we can conform to Christ.

Paul calls them to remember their instructions through Jesus

1 Thessalonians 4:2 “For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.”

They were no longer ignorant of God’s ways, but had received His truth.

They were now accountable to obey.

Paul wants to remind them that the instructions they gave them came from Christ.

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy had faithfully passed down God’s instructions to the Thessalonians, but now Paul was calling on them to continue to grow in obedience to them more and more.

What is the importance of not simply knowing God’s Word, but also doing it?

This shows that we truly believe it.

You must prove your faith by your works.

Understand God’s Purposes in His Instructions

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification:

that you abstain from sexual immorality;

that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter,

because the Lord is an avenger in all these things,

as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God,

who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

SUMMARY

Paul does not list all of the instructions that they gave while they were with the Thessalonians, but summarizes them, giving God’s will within His instructions, which is our sanctification.

What is sanctification?

The 3 Ways We Are Saved

Justification — We have been saved from the penalty of sin.

Sanctification — We are being saved from the power of sin.

Glorification — We shall be saved from the presence of sin.

How would you explain sanctification to a Sunday School class of children?

God uses His Word and the power of His Spirit within us to overcome sin through acts of obedience.

EXPLAIN

Paul gives 3 of God’s purposes in His instructions, followed by 3 reasons to be obedient.

The Thessalonian church was founded in a sexually perverted city.

They had many of the sexual perversions that we see in our day, and more.

In their culture, they did not have laws to prevent gross sin.

Many of the Thessalonians would have indulged in this sin, maybe even having marriages and children as a result of this sin.

This would have presented many problems for them as they began their new lives in Christ.

Paul calls them to remember what God’s children look like in a fallen world.

He notes…

Three of God’s Purposes in His Instructions

Again, rather than making a list of instructions, Paul gives summary statements about God’s purpose in His instructions.

This is wise on the part of Paul, and ultimately God who inspired the Scriptures.

The same issues that applied to the church then, may not apply to us exactly or directly, but the same principles will always be present.

Pursue purity

1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;”