Brotherly Love and Sexual Purity

A deadening culture:

social media

magazines

movies

tv series

advertisements

Music

Packed schedules

Our culture continues to become more about the individual and less about the unit.

over time we have learned to care more and more about self and less and less about others - including our family.

Gospel Tracks.

Legalism vs License

Legalism

This side is when you live your life trying to be very religious. You are almost living in a superstitious and hyper-vigilant way because secretly you fear you must “be good” or “try harder to do better” or “be perfect” in order for God to actually love you and save you. We often take good things and twist them to be ultimate things. We make them what the Bible calls an idol, and we forget that God is holding up the world and we are not. I better get my act together. I better HUSTLE if I want God to grant me entrance into His eternal kingdom. I better STRIVE. I better SELF-IMPROVE. And if I can’t live up to whatever the standard is that I’m setting for myself, well, I must not be a Christian and I might as well throw the Bible, Jesus, and God out of my life completely because this is too hard.

License

To do whatever it is we want, think, or feel because we know that God has grace for us, that He will forgive. We think we have license to sin because Jesus died on the cross. And yes! We are forgiven because of what Jesus has done on the cross. We do not have to fear condemnation from God because Jesus is our advocate. If we come to Him directly in repentance, He will never ever cast us out. But just because that is true doesn’t mean we should go on sinning because that would be living in a way that isn’t very thankful for the huge thing that Jesus did in literally taking our death row sentence as His own.

Because of these two sides that we fall off the tracks, it leads us to one of two places - feeling as though we cannot measure up so we must not be as good of a Christian. Or to a place where we look down on others by expecting them to live up to all of the standards that we are able obtain.

This was a problem even in the time of Jesus. The religious leaders had 613 laws. They understood the laws as actions that should or should not be taken. As humans we are susceptible to this. We read a list of do’s and don’ts and assume as long as we “do” what we are supposed to then we are good. But when Jesus came, He helped them see the bigger picture. That it is not just an issue of do’s and don’ts. In fact, Jesus seemed to be more interested in internal motive and purity.

One example being Matthew 5:27-28 “27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus didn’t care if we could measure up to the do’s and don’ts. The reason is because we can’t. The law was designed to show us that we are completely and totally broken. Even though we may try and succeed at many, we will fall short. When Jesus reveals that it is additionally more, that it also has to do with the posture of the heart, it gives emphasis to our inability. But by drawing our attention to the condition of the heart Jesus reveals a deeper, inner work that needs to take place in our lives.

Pay attention to how Paul instructs the church of Thessolonica. His development of thought is intentional, his words purposeful, and direction clear.

Prayer

1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

increase and abound in Love

So far, Paul has only encouraged and complimented this church. He has already spoken about how love is a strength of theirs. But here, he is transitioning the entire letter. Now he is going to exhort them. If they are going to receive this exhortation, they need to understand that their love for each other has to continue to develop and mature into the love Christ.

He may establish your hearts blameless in Holiness

This is the key. Holiness is the direction in which we need to aim. We need to get rid of our legalism, our license to sin when and how we want. We need to focus on Holiness. What is holiness? It is that key piece that describes the person of God. It means set apart from everything else. Different in nature. God invites us into this holiness, He shares it with us as we grow and mature - as we allow Him to mold and shape us. Really what Paul is doing is praying for godliness to develop in the people of the church. This is also a clue for us. The clue is two sided

If we are going to avoid falling off the train tracks on the side of license or on the side of legalism.... we have to stop believing that we can be enough by trying hard enough. Because we cant. on the flip side, we have to stop treating our sin like it isn't a big deal. Sin is a big deal and you can’t overcome it.

We overcome legalism, license, and sin by aiming towards holiness. In other words, aiming towards Jesus Himself. Submitting ourselves to Him and His word, asking Him to do the work in us.

Romans 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

By God’s strength you can overcome. By God’s strength you can aim for holiness. By God’s strength you can be redeemed and restored. By God’s strength, you can be all that He created you to be.

How do we seek God in this way?

Look at what Paul says next.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3a

Ask/Urge - in the name of Jesus

You have been taught how to walk

you know what is right. You know how to move forward. Stop pretending that you don't know the answer. We taught you.

Well what did Paul teach them? If you go to Acts 17 you can see when Paul and Timothy where there with them in Thessolonica and for three weeks teaching. The teaching they recieved is mentioned in Acts 17:3 “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

In other words, for three weeks, Paul and Timothy preached Jesus. Church, if we want to stop playing games, if we want to get serious about our faith, if we want to see God move in this place, we need stop looking at our faults with such great intensity. We need to stop looking at our problems with such great intensity. We need to stop getting distracted by the world around us, put down our phones, make time in our schedules to just seek Jesus!

don’t you know that it is “Christ in you the hope of glory???”

Yes we all have problems and struggles that need to be dealt with and we need to take action steps in order to deal with them.

But if you are not focused on the person of Jesus you will fail. Maybe not in an obvious way this week, maybe you can white knuckle it for a while. But without seeking Him - you will fail, over and over again.

If you forget to keep bringing your sin to Him and ask Him to strengthen you - you will fail.

If you don't bring Him into the challenges you face you will fail.

In light of this, Paul then says to continue to learn as you have been taught. Continue to walk through life the way that you have been trained. Verse 3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.”

God has purpose and plan for your life.

Sanctification - Process of becoming Holy

Paul intentionally comes back to this idea of holiness.

He is transitioning to speak about are area of sin that exists in the church

This idea of Holiness/sanctification is the internal development of your life. It is the molding and transformation that the Holy Spirit does in our lives to make us better reflect Jesus. In this, He shaves off the rough, wicked, immoral edges of our life and refines the purity of what is good and right.

Remember to pay attention to the pattern.

1. I am praying for you, that you would be a holy people

2. You know how to walk rightly and grow in your faith - pursue Jesus

3. This is the transition - it is the will of God for you to be sanctified

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

The Recovery Village

Pornography Statistics

Around 35% of all internet downloads are pornographic.

40 million U.S. adults regularly visit internet pornography websites

10% of U.S. adults admit to having an addiction to internet pornography

17% of all women struggle with porn addiction

20% of men and 13% of women admit to accessing porn while at work

1 of 3 visitors of all adult websites is a woman

Another is the cost of therapy for managing relationship issues and porn addiction. People who struggle with porn addiction also frequently have financial problems as a result of their porn use.

Its just physical

Genesis 1:28 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply”

Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

As we unpack the meaning of one flesh, we find that this is a physical and spiritual oneness before God. Which is why Sex is saved for marriage, because marriage is a covenant between two people standing before God.

1 Corinthians 6:18 “18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”

What we know:

Pornography causes unrealistic expectations

Anxiety about performance

Causes us to view other people as objects

Teaches a sexually aggressive attitude

It rewires our brains and in addictions has shown to be as damaging to the brain as hard drugs.

It in no way promotes

Loving relationships

seeing intrinsic value in others

helps the family unit

Pornography destroys our moral compass, our view of others, our understanding of reality.

Paul:

Now, it is key to understand that Paul was not specifically addressing Porn. He was addressing all forms of sexual immorality. The reality is, porn is only the tip of the ice berg. Paul is also addressing

Sex outside of marriage

looking on the opposite sex with lustful intent

having an affair

sexual fantasy in your mind or reading a book

The unfortunate reality is that 1 in 3 evangelical Christians don’t see an issue for consenting adults to have sexual relations.

Alistair Begg

In marriage, two people enter into a covenant, becoming one. And this comprehensive union, in which husband and wife become interwoven emotionally, physically, spiritually, and in every other dimension, serves as a parable of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). The sacred union is not, then, to be intruded upon or broken (Matthew 19:6). When a husband or wife commits adultery, it sets off a chain reaction of tragedies: there is sin against God, against the body, against the spouse, against the partner in adultery, and against the partner’s spouse. In other words, disaster ensues. Sex is intended for the marriage bond alone, so when you remove it from that context, it becomes monstrous, consuming, and devastating.

Church - the bible is clear sex, sexual content, and sexual fantasy is all wickedly wrong. it goes aginst the very fabric that we were created.

When we choose our own pleasure over God’s design, we damage our relationship with the Lord, we damage relationships with people around us, and we fail to courageously step into what God has for us.

1 Thessalonians 4:8 “8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

When you become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside you. Thus, when you defile your own body through sexual impurity, not only are you disregarding what you were created for but also the the one who created you.

John Chrysostom - Impurity, like the mire in which a pig may wallow, can spread, and make everything unclean.”

Lets look at the final section of this passage.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 “9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, 11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

Paul has repeatedly spoken to this churches ability to love each other well. But what he makes sure to connect for them is that when sexual impurity or any sin has its way, you will not be able to walk properly before outsiders. You will be corrupt, walking in darkness. This will affect your ministry to the world around you.

I believe there are a great many people in this room who have struggled in this department. My hope this morning, is not to shame anyone or to make you feel more guilty. Instead, I wanted highlight the seriousness of this sin as well as how prevalent it is in our culture.

But I want to point you to a greater truth.

1 John 1:9 “9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God is so merciful and gracious. He wants you to turn from your sin and come to Him. He wants you to be restored and made right. He wants you to have right relationship with the people around you. He wants to see you thrive.

but you cant thrive with sexual impurity hanging in the background.

in fact, you cant thrive with any ongoing, unresolved sin in the background.

Paul’s solution to conquering sexual immorality is to seek holiness. Not our own, but the holiness of Jesus. Which He freely died, in order to give it to us as a gift. He calls each of us to repent, to turn from sin and to seek Him. To learn from Him, to know Him.

but we have to take our sin seriously. We have to repent and get right with God. Part of repentance, is also telling the people around us who have been affected - even if they don’t know it.

Communion

Here is what we are going to do. I am going to invite the worship team up to lead us in another song. after the song is done, we are going to take communion together. This is a sacred practice that Jesus told His followers to do. Its a time to get right with God, get right with the people in your life, and submit yourself to Jesus. As we sing this next song, prepare your heart and your mind for meeting with Jesus.