A Holy Life
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 5 viewsNotes
Transcript
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
INTRODUCTION
Recap on the “Christian Living” series.
Thank Darren for last week’s sermon.
VERSE 3
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
There are whole books devoted to the subject of ‘discovering God’s will for your life’. People pay serious money and travel hundreds of miles to have some prophet tell them what God’s will is for them. Let me save you some money - His will for your life is right here in verse 3 - His will is for your sanctification. That’s what God wants for you.
What on earth is sanctification when it’s at home?
Clay illustration...
When we think about Salvation, that is, how God saves us from our sins and from eternal judgement, there are three words that theologians use to describe how we are saved.
Justification - God declares the sinner who turns to Christ and believes in Him to be righteous. Not because of any good work of their own but because of His grace alone.
Regeneration - God gives them a new heart, a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone. This new heart is given by the power of the Holy Spirit and is open to the things of God.
Sanctification - Sanctification is the process by which the justified and regenerated Christian becomes increasingly holy throughout their life because of the work of the Spirit inside of them.
Things get confusing when we don’t recognise the differences between these processes.
Contrasts Between Justification and Sanctification
In justification your own works are excluded, whereas in sanctification they are absolutely necessary! Philippians 2:12 “12 Therefore, my beloved, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,”
Justification isn’t doled out to you over time - it’s instantaneous and immediate. Sanctification takes time - your life doesn’t instantaneously become fully holy when you’re saved.
You can’t be either more or less justified, you can’t be more or less regenerated - you either are or you aren’t. But you can be more or less sanctified. Some Christians are more sanctified than others, but no Christian is more justified than another.
Justification is not visible. Nobody can see that you are justified. Neither can anyone see your regenerated new heart - but they can see your sanctification, even if you can’t! When Moses came down from the mountain his face shone after He had been with God and others could see it, the visible evidence that you are truly justified and truly regenerated is your sanctification.
Each is essential - no one who has not been justified will enter God’s kingdom, no one who has not been born again will enter God’s Kingdom and no one who has not been sanctified will enter the Kingdom of heaven.
14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
“We may depend on it as a positive certainty that where there is no holy living there is no Holy Ghost.” JC Ryle
People will say “well what about the thief on the cross? He didn’t have any sanctification and he is in paradise.” Yes, but we shouldn’t argue from peculiarities to generalities.
SO WHAT IS SANCTIFICATION EXACTLY?
According to 1 Thessalonians 4 sanctification is personal holiness. In the following three areas:
Purity (v3)
Self control (v4)
Care for others (v6)
PURITY
Verse 3 - that you abstain from sexual immorality. Abstinance is a big part of holiness. A holy Christian is a Christian who is practicing abstinence. Refraining from partaking in any activity that would stain their conscience.
Fitness journey - abstaining from sugar - so hard to do, but so necessary.
Abstinence is sneered at in our day and age. But it was in Paul’s day too! People saw the Christians as prudes, as boring because they wouldn’t engage in the same sordid practices they used to. But abstinence isn’t prudishness, it’s love in action, it’s power. By saying no to sexual sin you are saying yes to God. You can’t say yes to both.
What is sexual immorality - according to scripture it’s any sexual activity outside of a one man, one woman marriage.
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.
SELF CONTROL
4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
Holiness looks like self control.
People who say “it just happened”. No, it didn’t just happen. You chose for it to happen. You decided to let your base, carnal instincts sit in the drivers seat. You are not an animal - you are a human being, with an intellect and a conscience.
As a Christian - you must control your body, or it will have control over you.
Do this in holiness - your body does not belong to you any more, it is the property of Jesus Christ - so do not give it to anything that is less than holy.
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 prostitute? Never!
Do not use your body for anything dishonourable.
CONCERN FOR OTHERS
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.
Our third consideration in sanctification is for others. How can I live in such a way so as not to wrong my brother or my sister in Christ through my own impurity. How can I help them to live a more holy life?
8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.
We put on modesty and self control, we live in such a way as not to cause a brother or sister in Christ to stumble. We dress appropriately, not seeking to draw unholy attention to ourselves.
For if we play a role in hurting one of our brothers or sisters in Christ through our unholy behaviour God will not hold us guiltless - he will be avenger of those who are hurt by our immorality.
CLOSE
Holiness is happiness, and the man who gets through life most comfortably is the sanctified man. - JC Ryle
The devil wants you to think that holiness will make you dull, boring and unhappy.
Some of you are not very happy, because you are not very holy.
Take your sanctification seriously! Take your personal holiness seriously!
There’s only one place to start and that’s by coming back to the cross.
“Lord make me as holy as it’s possible for a saved sinner to be.” - M’cheyne
