First Thessalonians Bible Study, Chapter 4:1-12, Living the Gospel

1 Thessalonians Study, Chapter 4:1-12, Living the Gospel

Author: John Stott

Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC

August 16, 2020

(I did this study of 1 Thessalonians in part for my mother-in-law, Imogene Mobley Bolf. Imogene was teaching, with some difficulty, this study from John Stott to a ladies Sunday School class at the State Line Baptist Church in Gaffney, SC. I would complete the study and then send it to her by email to assist her in her teaching duties.)

Chapter 4: Living the Gospel

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 “1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 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 do…”

Opening Question:

What is one area in which your Christian faith has made a significant difference in your ethics?

Answer: While I could say that all my ethical values are directed by my Christian faith the one ethic that is most driven by my Christian convictions is the sanctity of human life. I am Pro-Life because God is Pro-life! This in turn impacts my social decisions such as who I vote for in public elections. I could never knowingly vote for or support a candidate for office who supports the taking of innocent, unborn lives.

1. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2. What is the tone of these verses?

Answer: 1 Thessalonians 4:1–2 (NIV) 1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

Paul seems to strike a more somber and serious tone at the beginning of chapter four. He leaves the reminiscing he did in previous chapters, recalling his visit to Thessalonica, and moves to present instruction in moral conduct. (This is in keeping with Paul’s practice in most of his letters where the first portion of his letters are more personal and doctrinal in nature followed by a more practical message instructing his readers to live out the doctrines he had taught them.)

2. What are the several reasons a Christian would want to please God?

Answer: To confess one’s faith in Christ our Savior and our God is to love Him and commit ourselves to faithfulness in keeping His commandments and His teachings. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

It should naturally be the inclination and desire to please those we love.

3. Why is pleasing God a sound foundation for Christian ethics?

Answer: God is our standard, our plumb line for Christian ethics. And while it is impossible for sinful man to live up to or keep all the high standards of our Christian faith, it is in the struggle of faithfulness that we most please God.

4. What are some other, not-so-sound foundations on which Christians might attempt to build their ethics?

Answer: Attempts to follow secular or sacred systems of ethics are far more rigid and difficult to keep. Governmental systems of laws rob us of personal freedoms and human rights (i.e. “the pursuit of happiness”). Socialist and Communistic governments become the owners of our freedom and we become little more than slaves to the government. Religious legalism (Pharisaism) reduces morality and “pleasing God” to a rigid list of do’s and don’ts.

1 Thessalonians 4:3–8 (NIV) 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

5. What is the relationship between Christians’ being sanctified or made holy, v. 3 and Christians’ sexual behavior?

Answer: Paul understands that sexual purity or honoring God’s commands concerning proper human sexuality is one way we sanctify or set apart our lives/bodies to God.

6. When are you most aware of the contrast between the sexual standards of Christians and those of the world?

Answer: Practically every day in some form of the media’s presentation of the world’s accepted standard of sexuality which is basically “anything goes.” God’s sexual standards call us to a higher commitment to sexual purity, sexual faithfulness and sexual honor. We are called to live holy.

7. In sexual matters, what are several ways a Christian could “wrong” or “take advantage of” another believer?

Answer: Believers can fall into the same loose morals of the world by acting in lust toward a fellow believer of the opposite sex, rather than practicing appropriate love toward another. They may also pressure another believer into compromising their Christian morality regarding sex. Paul described this as taking advantage of a fellow believer in verse 6.

8. What motivates a Christian to live by God’s principles for sexuality?

Answer: A high and holy reverential fear of God who will judge us for failing to keep his commandments is one motivation for keeping God’s principles for human sexuality, verse 6. Similarly, a deep respect for the holiness of God is yet another motivational factor for living by God’s principles for human sexuality, verse 7. Most importantly, the presence of God Himself within us through the gift of the Holy Spirit should also motivate us to honor our own bodies and the bodies of others sexually, verse 8.

1 Thessalonians 4:9–12 (NIV) 9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

9. How do Christians learn what it means to love each other?

Answer: God’s word, including the commandments, laws and principles teach us how to love others. But the nature of Christ in us who in love gave Himself for us also teaches us how to love one another as well.

10. What “ambition” are Christians to have, according to verses 11-12?

Answer: We are called to live quite lives which John MacArthur describes this way: “A quiet life” refers to one who does not present social problems or generate conflict among those people in his life, but whose soul rests easy even in the midst of difficulty (cf. 1 Pet. 3:4).[1] We are also to mind our own business. This implies being respectful of other’s privacy. We should never be a burden or a bother to others. Proverbs 25:17 candidly says, Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and they will hate you. The remainder of verse 11 and 12 instructs believers to work with your hands and not be dependent on anybody. It is believed that some believers in Thessalonica had ceased their work and their jobs in anticipation of the return of Christ. Paul reminds Christians we should have an ambition to labor (work with your hands). Such commitment to work industriously would also earn the respect of unbelievers or outsiders. Finally, he reminds them that providing for their own selves meant they would not be dependent on others.

11. What spiritual dangers do we avoid when we live quietly and mind our own business?

Answer: When we live quite and private lives we earn the respect of the unbelieving world; we are not a bother to others and we in turn respect the privacy of others.

12. How is working for one’s own living a mark of Christian love?

Answer: Working for our own living implies Christian love in that we are able to provide for our own needs and those we love as well as assist and serve others who may need our help.

13. As we try to win the respect of nonbelievers, how can we avoid compromising our principles?

Answer: Loving and serving God is pleasing God. As we love God more we in turn love others more. Living the Gospel means others see Christ in us through our love for God, for one another and others. We earn the respect of unbelievers then as they witness us live out the Gospel and living in such a way as to please God.

[1]John MacArthur Jr., ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1847.