The Dangers of Sexual Immorality
Living with Eternity in Mind: 1 Thessalonians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Recap:
Recap:
Last week we studied 1 Thessalonians 4:1–2, Paul commended the Thessalonians for living in a way that pleased God but urged them to “abound more and more.” We saw that even a strong church must press on in spiritual growth. Spiritual progress is a lifelong pursuit, fueled by Christ’s power within us, rooted in knowing God, and expressed through obedience to His Word—much like Jonathan Edwards’ relentless pursuit of holiness.
Introduction:
Introduction:
It’s been about since the 60’s, when the modern sexual revolution really accelerated and our western society has been degraded, concerning governing laws and sexual attitudes and behaviors. Freedom of sexual expression has in many ways become the cultural god which rules over the other idols in our modernist/postmodernist culture.
Modernism—emphasizes reason, scientific progress, and objective truth, often seeking a unified, rational understanding of the world.
Postmodernism—is a challenge to the modernist assumptions, highlighting the subjective nature of reality, the relativity of truth, and the importance of individual experience.
While both of these are incorrect, both want the right, for themselves and others, to express their sexual desire at any cost, even if it means aborting the unwanted child resulting from a sexual union or risking a sexually transmitted disease.
I believe there are some obvious tenets which constitute the world’s immoral, unscriptural outlook regarding sex.
People are basically good and all but the most heinous activities should be tolerated. Therefore, virtually any kind of consensual sexual activity is good (except for child molestation, which is now being pushing against), especially one views sex as merely a way to personal gratification.
Since sexual activity is only a biological function, this is nothing new even in Paul’s day:
13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
The belief of our culture is that it is normal and necessary to engage in sexual immorality without placing on it any moral restriction.
Since, casual sex is just another form of fun and pleasure, it is permissible to enjoy sexual activity recreationally, any time with any consenting partner.
Fulfilling one’s sexual desire is a major goal in life, more important than developing meaningful personal relationship.
Instead gratification is more important than delayed satisfaction. Leading to rampant premarital sex being legitimate and preferable to waiting until marriage to have sex.
Enjoyable sexual intercourse is the most important factor in establishing a good martial relationship. And because of this, the early stage of nearly every romantic relationship should include sex. The couple should live together to determine sexual compatibility and fulfillment before they marry.
Christian, we need to understand those are the dogmas of our society’s permissive sexual outlook. Paul could have recognized the same tendencies in his day because, if anything, the utterly pagan Greco-Roman culture he ministered in was more sexually perverse and debauched than our Western culture, which for centuries has had the beneficial influence of Christianity on its institutions.
Thessalonica was part of that debased Roman culture. The city was filled with such sinful practices as fornication, adultery, sodomy and homosexuality, pedophilia, transvestism, and a wide variety of pornographic and erotic perversions, all done with a seared conscience and society’s acceptance, hence they did all of this with little or no accompanying shame or guilt.
Note, unlike people in Western nations today, the Thessalonians grew up with no Christian tradition to support laws and standards which forbid the the grosser manifestations of immorality.
Pagan Greek society apparently did not have civil laws to prohibit immoral behavior. Further contribution to the sexually permissive environment in Thessalonica was the influence of the mystery religions that advocated ritual prostitution. They taught if a follower engaged with a temple, prostitute, they would be communion transcendentally with the deity the prostitute represented.
For example, the temple of Aphrodite on the Corinthian acropolis employed one thousand priestesses who were essentially religious prostitutes. Thus people did not consider fornication and adultery illegal or immoral; the idolatrous religions actually condoned them.
For the Thessalonians, then, sexual sin was more customary and more tolerated than it is even by today’s standards. This reality provides a clearer perspective of Paul’s ministry at Thessalonica. More than likely many of these converts to Christianity, lived in immorality, no doubt had mistresses, and many of the women likely engaged in harlotry. Their sudden entrance into the kingdom of God required the Thessalonians to break with their pagan background.
This presented a lot of challenges—old habits and the pressures from a wicked culture would seek to draw them away from their new life and back to the old. Paul, as their pastor, was concerned enough to begin the exhortation portion of this epistle with commands regarding immoral conduct.
Family, though the surrounding culture continually lowers its moral standards, us Christians cannot lower ours. Paul’s requirement that the Thessalonian believers abstain from sexual sin did not involve a relative morality; it encompassed an absolute standard. Such an unambiguous command, however, did not single out—the way Paul would with the Corinthians—specific groups or individuals within the church who were committing certain sins. Here the lack of specificity in no way mitigated Paul’s concern for these Christian’s purity.
v. 3) God’s will: sanctification
v. 3) God’s will: sanctification
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality.”
One of the most often question I receive from both young Christians in their faith and the older is, “What is God’s will for my life?”
Remember last week, what we discussed, the will of God is the same for all believers and so is the purpose of God.
The will of God is to be conformed into the likeness of Christ. His purpose is for His good pleasure. The plan is what is different for each of us, individually.
Here in our passage this morning we are given some insight in to the will of God for each of us. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification!”
Sanctification—A progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and more like Christ in our actual lives.—Grudem (Systematic Theology 2nd Edition).
Remember Paul gave these commands to a 1st century Roman culture which had sexual immorality running rampant.
The ancient writer Demosthenes expressed the generally amoral view of sex in the ancient Roman Empire, “We keep prostitutes for pleasure; we keep mistresses for the day to day needs of the body; we keep wives for the faithful guardianship of our homes.”
Family the will of God for Christians concerning proper sexual behavior is quite clear, namely, they abstain from sexual immorality.
This verse is a conjunction which links this command of Paul to his previous exhortation to strive to excel more. Paul recognizes his readers, this church, desired to do God’s will, but he also realized they need to know more specifically what that would encompass.
However, before mentioning specifics, he defined the will of God under the broad governing principle of sanctification, which is the process of being separated from set and set apart to God’s holiness.
3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord will hear when I call to Him.
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
The meaning of the word holy or sanctification is renouncing the world, clearing out the pollutions of the flesh, and offering ourselves to God in sacrifice, for nothing can with propriety be offered to him but what is pure and holy.–Calvin
Again family, this is God’s desire for all believers. To separate from all that is evil, fleshly, and impure. The sanctification process is the direct result of salvation. as Paul would instruct the Corinthians:
11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Paul’s reference here to sanctification points back to one of the requests he had just prayed for the Thessalonians:
13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
In view of the permissive culture in Thessalonica, Paul considered abstention from sexual immorality to be the first priority in the Thessalonians’ devotion to sanctification.
It would be so easy for this church to fall back into their former habits, hence Paul’s exhortation to excel more and more in vv.1–2 of this chapter.
Abstain means complete abstinence, in this case, staying completely away from any thought or behavior which violates the principles of God’s Word and results in any act of sexual sin.
Sexual immorality (porneia) is a term used to describe any form of illicit sexual behavior. Any sexual activity that deviates from the monogamous relationship between a husband and a wife is immoral by God’s standard.
This means: adultery, any and all pre-marital sex, and all homosexual acts including sodomy, and all forms of sexual deviation. Paul is commanding the believer not to give their body to an immoral person. The believer’s body belongs to Christ, which means you, Christian, are to honor Christ with your body. You are to take the sexual drive and energy of your body and use them as God has instructed.
Either you dedicate your body solely to Him in celibacy.
Or you marry and build a family with the dynamic virtues of love and care, trust and loyalty.
[Destructiveness of Porn]
Paul’s Spirit-inspired teaching on the subject of sexual morality is so strict and demanding that it extends beyond just the physical acts of immorality, and his later teachings to the Ephesians and the Colossians points out:
3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;
3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
In both of these passages, impurity is from the same Greek word, who meaning extends beyond the acts of sexual sin to include unclean thoughts and intentions. This also alines with what Jesus taught:
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Family, the goal is total abstinence from sexual sin. This is the duty of all believers, all Christians. Scripture makes it clear, people who habitually engage in sexual immorality thereby demonstrate they are not Christians.
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.
This same chapter also indicates believers can sometimes commit sexual sins:
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
Paul probably had this in mind when he later told the Corinthians:
21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.
The demonic cup and table refer to the worship in pagan temples in Corinth, and part of that idolatrous ritual entailed the worshipers having relation rituals with temple prostitutes. And Paul was concerned that the new Corinthians believers had not completely abandoned such activities.
This should highlight for us the danger of sexual sin. The command from the Word then is for total abstinence from sexual activity outside marriage.
vv. 4–6) Honorable conduct
vv. 4–6) Honorable conduct
So, a question we need to ask ourselves is: “How can a believer be sexually moral?”
Because the Christians today are incessantly exposed to all kinds of sights, sounds, and philosophies which tempt their fallen flesh to immoral thoughts and actions, they must know how to resist such temptations.
Because the need was equally great for the Thessalonians Paul gave them three timeless principles for maintaining sexual morality:
The body should not control the believer,
the believer should not act like the unbeliever;
and the believer should not take advantage of others.
#1. The body should not control the believer (v. 4)
#1. The body should not control the believer (v. 4)
“That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor.”
You must maintain self-control over the desires of your flesh.
Paul exhorted this church, that each of them had to know how to control their body’s appetites. Each believer had the same personal responsibility to control their body. Know carries the idea of having the knowledge or skill necessary to accomplish a desired goal. Meaning every Christian needs to know themselves well, so as to understand his weakness and evil propensities and, thereby, know how to possess (gain mastery over) his own vessel.
Many commentators have asserted “vessel” as meaning the wife, but this definition doesn’t fit the context or the usual meaning of the word, I think the proper understanding is as Leon Morris notes:
“It is not easy to decide the point, but it does seem to me that it would not be very natural for a Greek writer to speak of a wife as a “vessel.” And in this case it would be the less likely since Paul is inculcating a high view of marriage, and it is a very low view that thinks the wife as no more than a vessel for gratifying the husband’s sexual desire. This…inclines me to the view that “body” is meant. Paul then is exhorting his thessalonian friends to keep their bodies pure.” —Morris
In several of his other letters, Paul made it clear in order to control their bodies believers must rely on the Holy Spirit.
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
The key is to be filled with the Spirit and how one is to be filled with the Spirit is for the believer to let God’s Word dwell within them.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Family, you must sincerely read, study, and apply Scripture so it saturates your life, allowing you to yield completely to the Holy Spirit.
Scriptural examples:
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;
You see along those lines, Paul urged the Thessalonians to control their bodies for the purpose of sanctification and honor. As noted in the discussion of verse 3, sanctification means to be set apart from sin to God, for the purpose of living a pure and holy life.
Honor is the result of separation from sin. These Christians would show respect for their bodies as temples of the Spirit and instruments of service to Christ. After all, the goal is positive—pursue separation and virtue with all one’s heart.
No Christian should ever ask how far their moral behavior can depart from God’s standard and still avoid sin.
Rather, believers should strive to be utterly separate from immorality so that they can honor their bodies, which belong to God, and use them to glorify Jesus Christ, the Head of the church.
21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
[Side note] A believer is to know how to control their body, but as Leon Morris pointed out the word can refer to either a person’s body or to a person’s spouse. Both hold great meaning for the Christian believer. You are to know how to control yourself and your spouse.
I do not mean control as meaning to dominate or rule over. But rather a person can neglect, ignore, and abuse their body and a person can neglect, ignore, and abuse their spouse too.
Husbands, wives, those who will one day be husbands and wives, you are not to weaponize sex.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Neglecting, ignoring, or abusing one’s spouse can bring about temptation and can contribute significantly to the spouse becoming unfaithful and impure. So, have sex to the glory of God within the marriage bed.
#2. The believer should not act like the unbeliever (v.5)
#2. The believer should not act like the unbeliever (v.5)
“Not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God.”
The second principle Paul gives this church concerning how to maintain sexual purity and abstain from immorality was that they were not to behave like their pagan neighbors or relatives, who did not know God—that is, were not transformed by the divine work of salvation. Scripture often designates those outside salvation in this way:
10 When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.
6 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.
3 “And like their bow they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know Me,” says the Lord.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods.
The uncontrolled desire for sexual gratification, which is typical of unregenerate people, was not to be true of the Thessalonians or any other true believer.
Passion means uncontrollable desires, compelling feelings, overpowering urges and has a negative connotation here.
Lust refers to an out-of-control craving, usually for that which is unrighteous or illegitimate, although it can refer to legitimate desires and longings. The words used together forcefully characterize the immorality of those who do not know God.
For us though, we cannot any longer live in the same unwholesome patterns of sin which the godless people do.
Paul instructed the Galatians:
24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Unsaved people practice, as a way of life, all sorts of sexual immorality, like
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
But God has delivered the regenerate from such habitual sinning:
9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
Believers can cultivate immoral thoughts and commit immoral acts—so we need this instruction. As Christians we must not lower ourselves to this pagan level of sexual behavior, merely by unthinking passions and uncontrolled fleshly urges.
Because of our intimate relationship with a holy God, we must not subject ourselves to an ungodly society’s vast array of sexually immoral temptations.
22 Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
Overexposure to such temptations will only lower our resistance and diminish our outrage towards sin, while weakening our spiritual resolve and virtue.
Scripture warns God’s children to stay far away from, even to flee, all immorality:
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.
lustful thoughts and feelings can lead believers to actions which are completely incongruent with our position as sons and daughters of Christ.
15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
#3. The believer should not take advantage of others (v.6a)
#3. The believer should not take advantage of others (v.6a)
“That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter”
Our final principle emerges from Paul’s admonition to this church. They should never sexually take advantage of other believers.
The word transgress means “to sin against,” which includes the concept of stepping over the line and exceeding the lawful limits.
Paul warns, a believer should not take advantage described so as to defraud his brother in the matter. Defraud means to selfishly, greedily take something for personal gain and pleasure at someone else’s expense.
As with transgress, the definition of defraud includes the notion of taking advantage of someone, and in this context it inferring sexual sin.
Whenever believers seek to satisfy their physical desires and gain sexual pleasure at the expense of another believer, they have violated this command.
God considers this subject of sinfully taking advantage of another believer so serious Jesus warned:
6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!
Those Christians who cause other Christians, or little ones,” to stumble (sin) would be better off drowned.
What this teaches us is that, no one is surprised when the world offends Christians and sometimes causes them to fall into sin, but believers should never be stumbling blocks for fellow believers.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
The seriousness of Christ’s command to all believers in Matthew 18:6 has no equal in all His teaching.
Jesus is saying, A believer who defrauds another believer deserves to be killed.
So Christian, you must take heed to your holiness, and avoid all ungodly influences, and never use other people, especially believers, to achieve sinful gratification.
Closing:
Closing:
Family, Paul’s words to the Thessalonians could not be clearer—God’s will is our sanctification, and that begins with dependency upon the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word of God. The world then and now celebrates sexual indulgence, but God calls His people to be set apart, to live differently, guard our bodies and hearts for His glory. Family, these are not suggestions for the “super spiritual”—they are commands for ever believer.
Guard your heart and mind—what you allow in through your eyes, ears, and thoughts will shape your desires. Filter everything through God’s Word.
Pursue self-control—be proactive in mastering your body through spiritual disciplines, not reactive when temptation strikes.
Honor others—refuse to treat anyone as an object for your own gratification, but as a fellow image-bearer of God.
Stay accountable—invite trusted believers into your life who can ask you the hard questions and help you stand firm.
Family in a world that has normalized impurity, you will have to be intentional to live counter-culturally. This week, take one step to protect your purity—whether it’s removing a source of temptation, strengthening your time in the Word, or having a needed conversation with someone who can keep you accountable.
Ask yourself: “Am I honoring God with my body, mind, and relationships?”
If not, repent quickly and return to Him—because the One who calls you to holiness also empowers you to walk in it.
