Sanctification and Sexuality

Reminder on the context

Paul had only had a brief…but apparently very intense…time of teaching among the Thessalonian Church

He’d sent Timothy back to check on them

He had been largely pleased by the report

But…there were apparently a few lingering issues…at least lingering concerns

He begins to address them here

Remember: He is writing to BELIEVERS

Part 1 of 2 Parts

Intertwined messages within the text

Focus on vv. 1-5 this week.; 6-8 next

All one long sentence from v.3-v.6

Walk

Paul had given instructions about their conduct, their walk

Apparently, they were getting it right more than wrong

He uses the concept of the walk often in his writings peripateo

Romans 13:13 ESV

Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

1 Corinthians 7:17 ESV

Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.

Lead the life is same word as walk peripateo

Ought expresses a moral obligation (think: I owe to)

This is all about pleasing God

We don’t obey His Word to gain brownie points

We obey because it is our moral obligation

We’re charged to obey more and more

There should be a process of continual improvement

Never being happy with our current level of obedience

Remember the geezenstacks!

Will

Our sanctification is God’s will…desire

Paul gave the instructions by the power, and in the name of, Jesus

Just what is sanctification? Is is different from justification?

In Christian theology, a distinction is sometimes made between justification and sanctification where justification refers to having saving faith and sanctification refers to the process of gradual purification from sin and progressive spiritual growth that should mark the life of the believer.

From the Lexham Bible Dictionary

This is a continual process, relates to that continual improvement in our walk after our salvation

There’s a lesson there about trying to do good works but all being worthless without the faith in Christ that undergirds it

Ultimately, sanctification benefits us; putting away sin and walking more closely with God

Warning

To abstain from sexual immorality

Self control and holiness are issues here

We jump back to some basics

What is immoral and why?

Archaic word is fornication

Any sexual intercourse except between a husband and wife

Includes adultery, homosexuality, pornography (lust)

Marriage is a life-long and committed union between a man and a woman which is recognized by law or custom

We can see that evolution beginning with God presenting Eve to Adam

Follow it through several events in which a wife was chosen for a son and “he took her to his tent....”

To the major event of the wedding at Cana in Galilee

What’s the Big Deal about Sex?

Of all the sins…why so much hype?

Throughout the OT, God uses the illustration of marriage…then adultery and fornication to show

The intended relationship of intimacy and loyalty between himself and His people

The NON-intended and dysfunctional relationship when His people strayed into immorality—almost always accompanied by idolatry; walking away from God

Imagery follows to the NT with the image of the church (God’s new people) as the bride of Christ

Paul uses the illustration in Eph. 5’s discussion on marriage

It appears from the context that it’s the norm among the pagans

Remember our studies from 1 Corinthians…similar culture, wives, mistresses, prostitutes male or female

However it is NOT to be the norm for those of the household of God

Remember these people were new believers, not raised in church, not raised with any vestige of Judeo-Christian morality

Worth noting that the only sin Paul felt the need to call to their attention was sexual sin

Likely that the emphasis is because it’s so easy to slip back into the old behaviors of the pagan lifestyle

History of the OT shows that sexual sin and generally walking away from God tended to run together

History of the NT suggests the same

Current culture continues the pattern

WITFM

Our talk talks and our walk talks; but our walk talks louder than our talk talks!

Just as Paul’s walk had been watched, and imitated, by the Thessalonians, so should we expect our walk—every facet of our lives—to be watched

Do we dare have our walk imitated?

What about our sanctification?

Are we working on our walk…getting it better and better…closer to the pattern set by Jesus?

Remember the geezenstacks!

Do we recognize the relationship between obedience to the will of God, knowing His will by study of His Word,

This all part of our sanctification

Tension here...

We’re set apart for God the moment we’re saved—though we’re still sinners

We must work, defeating sin in our lives, through out our lives

Until we enter the eternal presence of the Lord, absent of all sin

It is a continual battle against sin

Sexual Sin Is still a Problem

Of the sins, it tends to be the one that pushes people away from church/connections with other believers

“I ought to get back to church…but I’m living with my girlfriend/boyfriend...”

The issues have different subsets, but it’s still the issues of immorality

It’s rampant today…it was rampant then…and Paul wanted to give theme a warning…didn’t want them to become complacent

The damage done when a believer—particularly a noted one—falls into sexual sin is enormous

Recent fall of Ravi Zacharias; most recent in a long history of fallen leaders

Proverbs 1:32 ESV

For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;