1 Thessalonians 4:1-14
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[ Intro ]
Last week we went over 1 Thessalonians 3. That chapter was really about the report from Timothy who was sent to check on those in Thessalonica because they were so concerned for there spiritual well-being. Paul and his companions knew the new church was going to be going through persecution and they wanted to see how they were holding up. Paul said he wanted to make sure they wouldn’t be “shaken” in their faith. If you remember we talked about how “shaken” is referring to a dogs tail wagging. He didn’t want them to run in fear from their faith but also not be persuaded or manipulated to take another path that some would claim is the way to God, such as Judaism.
About persecution, Paul reminded them, we warned you this would happen - as christian you are destined for persecution.
Timothy had an excellent report. The people there were standing strong. And this thrilled Paul and the others.
[ Prayer ]
[ Body ]
1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
3 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 4 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor—5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 6 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Here this chapter opens up with a call to live a holy life for God. Another thing to keep in mind in this context is at the end of chapter 3, Paul briefly mentioned the second coming of Christ. Now he starts talking about living holy, and after verse 13 of this chapter, 4, Paul dives deeper on the second coming of Christ. As a Christian we are called to live holy lives for God and the only way we can do anything truly good is because of God working in us. But in this section you can get the feel that it also revolves around the topic that Peter talks about being prepared for Christ to return. But as I said, regardless of when Christ does return, we know we’re called to live for God and Paul always encouraged any people of God to live holy lives.
And we can see here in verse 2, that these people had already been taught to live moral lives. Because Paul says “you remember what we taught you”. What he’s writing to them now isn’t necessarily “new” information. Remember Paul was with them for about three weeks when setting up the church. But Paul knows it’s still important to keep pushing that message. When it comes to information typically we want something “new”. If it’s something we’ve heard before it’s so easy to shutdown the mind and think “I already know this”. I struggle at this at times, but it’s actually a terrible mindset. To open your mind and really think about what’s being said sometimes you actually do learn something new even if it’s about something you already have an understanding of, or you may just receive encouragement and reinforcement. Repetition is important.
Reading one commentary I read a very good quote to remember, it said “there’s always a hunger for more and more information. But in the Gospel, it’s not how much you know, but how well you know what you know.”
The depth of your knowledge that goes beyond the surface level can really strengthen your faith and really drives you to commune with God when you dive deep. We cannot fully comprehend God, we can’t even scratch the surface, but the know more you understand Him and the stronger your relationship is with Him, the stronger you will be in all circumstances.
So here Paul is diving into something they’ve heard before about living pure holy lives, and he talks specifically about sexual morality.
Now we don’t know for sure, but because Paul is talking about this specifically there’s definitely a chance that they were having struggles with this sin. And if this is the case, you can see Paul isn’t questioning their faith here, he’s reinforcing and reminding them of the importance. He says it’s God’s will for you to abstain from it and in other translations it says God’s will is for you to be sanctified in this way. A struggle in sin is a part of someone’s journey in sanctification. But we have to work through it.
And I want to point out here what Paul is talking about with sexual immorality, because there are a lot of different ways that sexual immorality could be thought of. The Greek word for this is a much broader term. He’s not talking specifically about same sex relationships, or sex before marriage, he’s talking even broader. Essentially any sexual conduct outside of marriage. Now of course this one of those things where everyone always wonders where is the line. I don’t think there’s a specific line you could articulate, but know that this goes beyond sex before marriage.
On the conservative side of politics, there is always talk about same sex relationships being the attack on traditional marriage and family, but I think this topic that Paul talks about here is the real attack on traditional marriage and family. It’s always a crutch to look at something else and say I may be doing this but at least I’m not doing that. With technology and the digital world, lust is running rampant in this world. Any type of content you want is so easily accessible, and technology makes it easy to also connect with people that also have bad intentions. Suddenly this is the norm, and then you have relationships that aren’t strict about how they engage before marriage and suddenly people think “why even get married”. Now through the power of God, people’s paths can be corrected. But when people go down this path and Biblical marriage and relationships aren’t the focus, those relationships and families definitely struggle.
Now in this context, you gotta remember in the ancient times the way the pagan world viewed sexual relationships were possibly even more extreme in terms of being immoral. So this would have been a newer concept to these people. To not abstain and have self-control to not please yourself whenever you want. Paul’s point is don’t continue to live like the pagan’s in this way. You are set apart by God and your life should look that way. He says if you reject this message, you’re not rejecting human teaching, but God’s. And he reinforces the fact that God is the one who has put the Holy Spirit in you, so you can overcome these temptations.
And about abstaining, it’s important to note Paul always talks about fleeing from this temptation. So many people think I’m strong, If I’m around it I’ll be firm and it won’t be a problem. That’s the wrong mindset. Don’t even allow yourself to be tempted. Run from it.
9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12 Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
Now remember last week we talked a little bit about how Paul had prayed for their love for each other to grow in the community.
And when we opened into this book we also talked about how people all over the region of Macedonia had noticed the change in these people’s lives and the example they had been.
Paul commends them here for how loving they’ve been and challenges them to keep growing in this area of life.
The way we love is one of the greatest examples of showing that we are a follower of Christ.
35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
It’s proof of who we serve. And we can’t follow the command to love our neighbors as ourselves if the love of God isn’t in us.
Whenever we’re doing good at something, it’s easy to be like check the box. Done. I’m good. But it’s interesting in this way that when Paul disciples these people, he doesn’t just work on what they’re struggling in, he says I know you’ve been doing great at this, but I URGE you to do even more. And as we talked about last week, how do you do that, love God and take care of that relationship first and pray for his love to pour out through you.
Now moving on from their, in verses 11 and 12.
If you’re reading something like the King James Version, verse 11 says “study to be quiet”. This doesn’t mean try to learn how to be quiet. The Greek word used for “study”, means “to desire”. So that’s why my translation says “make it your goal”. This is something to aspire to.
Essentially he’s saying don’t be a busybody or stir up trouble. Sometimes we talk too much and I think the three things Paul gets at here in these two verses go hand-in-hand. The three things he mentions are:
1) live a quiet life
2) mind your own business
3) work to provide for yourself
If we talk too much and are too active and obnoxious with other people we can start to get into other people’s business. Gossip is much more natural in those situations. Sometimes you got to calm yourself down and just take a step back. Mind your own business.
8 Rumors are dainty morsels
that sink deep into one’s heart.
It’s tempting to gossip or even to listen to it, but we should not meddle into other’s business.
So those are the first two things, and the third is the principle about christian’s having the discipline to work and not be lazy.
Work is a biblical principle mentioned all the way back in Genesis. Before the fall and sin had entered the world, Adam and Eve were put to work in the Garden of Eden. Work is in fact, a blessing. Some of the most miserable people in the world are the ones who hate work and look at it like a punishment. Now with the fall, sure some things may be a little more challenging in the work field and things may not always be fair or fun. But work in itself is still a blessing. And Paul is encouraging everyone in Thessalonica to have a good work ethic. And not to depend on others to provide for us.
Now there are challenging times in life, sometimes even when you’re doing everything you should, suddenly all sorts of struggles compound at once and you have a financial burden and need to ask for help. That is totally different than what Paul is saying here. There is nothing sinful or wrong about needing help in a challenging time. We as a church are supposed to help people in challenging times. Paul is talking about people who would throw in the towel and choose to not work at all but then be a burden to everyone around them always asking for their resources. Those are completely different situations.
To summarize these 12 verses, Paul is asking and encouraging them to live a holy life for God as they’ve been set apart from the world. And in the details of how we live, he says live a quiet life, not in people’s face, not in other people’s business and work hard at everything you do. Be an example to all the non-believers around you. Whether they acknowledge it or not, you are making an impact in how you live around others.
13 Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.
12 Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
