Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

In today’s verse Paul discusses why we should abstain from sexual immorality.

In last week’s sermon we discussed exactly what sexual immorality is and some ways we can abstain from it.

We defined from several Scripture passages Πορνεια or sexual immorality as any sexual attitude, desire, or behavior outside of the confines of a true and real marriage before God.

In this week’s text, Paul is discussing why we should abstain from sexual immorality.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:6-8 “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.”

Paul gives three major reasons why we should abstain from sexual immorality.

And as we look at the text let me emphasize those for you again:

1 Thess.

4:6-8 “because 1. the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.

For 2. God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

Therefore whoever disregards this, 3. disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

This text is going to have to take more introduction than normal because of recent things in purity culture in especially the United States.

Now you may be unaware of some of these things, but I still find it necessary to set some things straight.

Have you ever had a company promise something that you thought too good to be true?

USA Today has an article from 2020 that lists about 30 companies that made exaggerated or false promises about their products.

Here are some examples:

5-hour energy promised that their shots were doctor-recommended and better for you than coffee.

Frosted Mini Flakes was claimed to help children’s attentiveness by 20%

Activia Yogurt boasted it could regulate the digestive system and help the immune system.

Volkswagen claimed their diesel vehicles were environmentally friendly when really they were just wired to cheat emissions tests.

All of these companies had to pay out big time for their false advertising.

This doesn’t mean that their products were useless.

But that they could not do what they claimed to do.

The purity culture, purity conferences etc has made some false advertising as well.

Purity conferences were big when I was a teenager, and they were geared primarily for teenagers to promote abstinence before marriage.

Stacy Morford writing for a website called The Conversation says, “In recent years, it has been shown that purity culture is harmful.

It taught women in particular to be suspicious and ashamed of their bodies, and resulted in anxiety, panic attacks, and even PTSD.”

In March 2021, Angie Hong shared her on personal story with the purity culture on The Atlantic.

Her main summary is that “the rules do not apply equally to everyone.”

She writes: “Our unnies and oppas taught us that a vow of chastity would keep us from getting hurt or becoming damaged, like protecting a delicate flower from blooming too early.

If my flower became spoiled, then putting it back together would be really hard.

If I faltered, I also risked not having intimacy with God and living the perfect, sanctified life.

I read this passage from Romans 12 over and over: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

She got into ministry and reflected that she was called a china doll and a dragon lady.

She felt ashamed that Christian leaders would make illicit passes at her, she felt it was her fault.

She concludes, “By disentangling myself from the ideals of purity, I am creating new ways of being with others in my community.

I feel much closer to God already.”

Purity culture attempted to convince teens to remain sexually pure by emotional manipulation and making false promises.

I remember attending such a conference as a teenager.

At almost every one of these conferences they normally had some skit where they’d use gum or a flower or something.

They would damage the object in some way (representing having sex outside of marriage) and then ask, “who would want this?”

This message, while trying to do some good in preventing immorality, completely ignores the forgiveness and grace found and Jesus and in fact runs counter to the gospel itself.

They would also make promises like, “If you remain sexually pure, then you will automatically be sexually satisfied in your spouse.”

The false promise was that purity leads to a happy marriage.

All the companies that made false promises had to pay up big time.

They had major consequences.

What are the consequences for the false promises of purity culture?

People are using it’s negative effects to argue to do away with purity culture altogether.

Certain people are trying to keep the name of “Christian” and yet do away with any biblical standard for sex and sexuality and they’re using purity culture as exhibit A.

Furthermore, fighting sin should lead you closer to Jesus.

Whenever you sin Jesus stands ready to forgive.

Purity culture said, “Whenever you sin, nobody wants you anymore.”

It gave the Accuser a foothold to stand and mock any who fell into sexual sin.

You can hear the accuser once someone has fallen into sexual sin say, “You’re damaged goods now, no one will ever want you.

You may as well give up and give in.

There’s no point trying anymore.”

These false promises shows that some people were more concerned with manipulating behavior than they were obeying God.

And may that be a warning to us all.

Behavior modification without the gospel is dead religion.

The Avenger

1 Thess.

4:6 “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.”

The word “transgress” means to go beyond an established moral boundary.

The word “wrong” is literally defraud which means to take or desire what one has no right to. and “in this matter” in this context means sexually.

The Scripture teaches there are firm, clearly marked boundaries toward our sexual behaviors and desires.

Why should we as Christians fight to stay within these boundaries?

The first reason Paul gives is because the Lord is an avenger in this matters.

Now the word “avenger” goes back into Old Testament law.

If someone killed someone else without intending to or with evil intent, the law assumed the right of someone known as the avenger of blood.

Cain seems to acknowledge this as well.

After he kills Abel, he worried that someone would kill him; however, God in his graciousness gives Cain a mark.

The laws which speak about the avenger of blood are all directed toward the cities of refuge.

They can be found in Numbers 35, Deuteronomy 19, and Joshua 20.

They seem to assume the right of the avenger of blood, but the laws themselves are directed toward setting up cities of refuge to where the manslayer can flee for safety.

It gives the specific cases which the avenger of blood can actually put the guilty to death.

Vengeance is punishment inflicted on someone for doing wrong.

An avenger is the person who carries out this punishment.

If you search for the word “avenger” in the Bible, it does not yield as many results as the word vengeance.

The word “vengeance” is used frequently to describe the Day of the Lord in the prophets.

The Day of the Lord is any day where God makes his justice especially known; however, the ultimate day of the Lord is when Jesus will return.

And this, most likely is what Paul has in mind here when he calls the Lord an avenger in these matters.

Psalm 94:1 “O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!”

2 Thess.

1:7-8 “and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

This is something that Paul warned them about while he was with them in person.

So how can we apply this?

Take sexual sin seriously.

God takes this sin seriously.

There have been a lot of attempts to sweep this sin under the rug.

“Teenagers are just raging with hormones, they cannot help it.”

“Just one look won’t hurt.”

“They were just caught up in the moment.”

“Don’t try to repress who you are.”

“Everyone is addicted to pornography these days.”

I’m around teenagers all the time.

And I can vouch for the fact that unfiltered access to pornography has made the sexual gestures and jokes far more explicit than when I was in high school not that long ago.

Someone in a public school in this area says that all the boys in this middle school go around making reference to oral sex.