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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. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Football player analogy - wight, speed, lift
We will see today that the same should go for our spiritual walk.
As those called to live lives of holiness in order to shine the light of God’s love and salvation into a dark world, do we ever feel satisfied with how bright that light is?
Do we ever - practically speaking - feel as if we have achieved our goal? Have done enough? Have reached the peak of what God calls us to?
Well, today, we will see that Paul encourages the Thessalonian church to strive to be what God calls them to be more and more. To always seek to be more of what God calls them to be and do more of what He calls them to do.
And I hope that we are encouraged to do the same.
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.
He starts with “Finally”.
Have you ever noticed how far from the end of his letters Paul says this? - with chapters to go sometimes - “finally” is a bad translation. It really means “the rest” - it usually signals the start of the primary application
Paul has in this letter commended this church in Thessalonica on what a great example they are to the rest of the believers around them. He compliments them for how readily they received his preaching and how they accepted it as the Word of God and not of man.
He tells them how highly Timothy speaks of them - how he had visited them and they were exemplary in both faith and love.
They were a good church, full of good Christians, who had great faith, who showed forth Christ’s love, and who really responded to the preaching of the Word.
And then we get to this “finally.”
He says: “You guys are great, and here’s what is still left to say, here’s the rest of what I want to say.”
And he says: we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus.
The rest of what He wants to say, he both asks and urges the Thessalonians to do.
Ask and urge - make a request and beg you (entreat)
And he says “as you received from us” - who is the “us”? Who is the “we” that are requesting and begging something of the Thessalonians?
Well, we find that out in the opening verse of the letter:
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.
Paul had many co-writers who for some reason we tend to ignore - this was not uncommon
Here, three men are writing to this church. Three men, who are preachers of the Gospel. Paul is an Apostle and Silvanus and Timothy are preachers of the Apostolic message. It is this message that this church had received so gladly and lived out so wonderfully.
So it is they who are asking and entreating the church here.
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.
And they are not just preachers of the Gospel. They are preachers of the Gospel, who preach with a purpose. Their purpose is for the hearers to hear from God how they ought to walk. Their purpose - their reason for preaching - is so the church would hear from God how to please Him.
And note that this is what Paul says the Thessalonians already received from these men. They have heard them preach. They have read the first half of this letter and know they are doing this all really well. So, they know what God is exhorting them to through what these men have already said.
You received from us, Paul says, how you ought to walk and to please God.
And Paul, I’m sure with great joy in his heart, is able to say that they are doing this They are walking in a manner pleasing to God. He says “just as you are doing.” You heard from us what God wants, and you’re doing it.
So that means, the doing it isn’t what these men are asking and begging the church to do. No!
They’re already doing it.
instead, the request here, what they’re begging for here - the rest of what Paul has to say - is that the hearers of this message - those who are already living it out - would do so more and more.
He says “just as you are doing.” He says “you are all walking in a manner pleasing to God.” They have heeded what these preachers of the Gospel have preached. What they preached is what these men and women were doing.
And I say with great joy in my heart: so many of you are walking in a manner so pleasing to God. So many of you engage your minds and your hearts in His Word and in the messages preached from this pulpit, and you turn the light of Scripture on yourselves so God can bring to light any hidden sins or any resistance to His will.
And you live out the love of Christ, and you live out lives of faith.
You are already doing this.
You genuinely seek to do what God calls you to, and to be what He calls you to be, so you can be pleasing to Him. Because you realize that what we who preach from this pulpit preach is not ourselves. But what we ask and urge of you, we do in the name of the Lord Jesus.
We preach His Word. We preach how He says you ought to walk. We preach what He says pleases Him.
Like how the teaching team has preached this summer about what it means to be the church. About our responsibility as the “all of us” that is Montclair Community Church. About our responsibility as the “each of us” who are all a part of the church. Since the beginning of June, this has been our focus.
We’ve covered:
The Great Commission - how we the church are to bring people into the community of faith and make them disciples of Christ, and how we each have to ourselves first be disciples of Christ.
The Cost of discipleship - how cheap grace is all too common and we - each of us and all of us - have to be willing to sacrifice for Christ Who has called us if we are to be disciples - that we each need to take responsibility for ourselves in this.
We spent two weeks on spiritual gifts and how every member of the church is gifted and called to use their gifts so the whole can be the church.
We spoke of how we each find our purpose in Christ - how we discover why God has us here and how we live that out… by looking at where He has already placed each of us - and at what we are already doing. And we each need to do what we do unto the Lord.
We then saw the mission of the church to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth. How God’s plan from eternity past was to send His church in the power of the Holy Spirit to fill the earth with disciples. This is God’s work. And if we are submitted to His will and listening to the Holy Spirit, we'll do it!
We saw how God gives us His authority and power to do all of this - to carry out the Great Commission, and preach the Gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins to the end of the earth. And how He does this for those who are of a humble and contrite heart, Who worship Him and Him alone instead of opposing Him and His will.
And we saw that we have to carry out our calling in the world, all by not being of the world. That we all show forth Christ in the world by each being obviously different from the world.
Then we discussed faith - how true faith will always lead to faithfulness. How our faith is trust in God that inevitably leads to action for God. And how in order to trust God that way, we need to learn to trust ourselves and our ways less and less.
We saw how worship is a lifestyle, not something we do at a particular time or a particular place. Our worship is each of us exalting God in our lives by pushing ourselves - our wants, our ways - further down in our lives.
And we saw repeatedly how knowing God from His Word, and being on our knees before Him in prayer, and humbly serving His people and His church so together we can bring the Gospel to the world - this is how we worship, this is how we learn to trust, this is how we grow our faith, this is how we carry out our calling and fulfill our mission, and this is how we become disciples so we can make disciples.
And so many of you are doing all of this. You are taking very seriously your responsibility for your discipleship and are doing all those things - learning your Bible, serving, praying, and trusting God.
Praise God! This is why our church is so great!
We’re already doing it!
But now we all have to do it more.
As you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, do so more and more.
I ask this of you. And I beg you.
Paul says to the Thessalonian church who are already doing these things, to do so more and more.
Literally “abound in this more”. The verb for abound can be translated a bunch of ways, including “excel” “increase” and “overflow”
Paul says you already know how to walk in a manner pleasing God - you heard it from us - and you’re doing it. Now excel at it. Now increase what you’re doing. Overflow with acts pleasing to God.
And then do it more.
Why?
1 Thessalonians 4:2–3 (ESV)
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification:
Note that Paul is sure to clarify that what He and Timothy and Silvanus preached was not of themselves. They were not the source. They didn’t have an agenda. Rather, what they gave the church - what they preached, what they exhorted, what they taught, what they asked of this church - it all came through Jesus Christ.
They preached Christ.
And why did they do it? Because they wanted the church to know how to walk and live pleasing to God, and they wanted them to excel at it and then do it some more.
Why did they want that?
Because God wants them to be sanctified. Paul says: “this is the will of God, your sanctification.”
This is the will of God - our sanctification!
And how many times to we hear a brother or sister say - how many times have we said in situations - “I just wish I knew what God’s will was.” But we know what God’s will is. The Bible is clear on God’s will for us.
And God’s will is our sanctification.
That is always His will. No matter what else He commands of us. No matter what our circumstances are. When things are great and we’re on the mountaintop of our faith - God wants us to be sanctified through it.
When we are in the valley, and when we don’t understand why God has allowed our circumstances to be what they are - God wants us to be sanctified through it.
Because God wants us holy unto Him. He wants us set apart - to not be of the world that we live in - but to be set apart so that Jesus can shine forth in our lives. He wants us holy, so His holiness is evident through our manner of living.
This is what God has always wanted.
This was the whole purpose of the OT law! What they wear, what they eat, how they look, how they don’t do what the nations do and do things the nations don’t - set apart!
And we the church, are to be set apart and holy unto God so we can love like Him, and the world can know His love. So we can be merciful like Him, and the world can know His mercy. So we can be forgiving like Him so the world will know His forgiveness.
Do we want to share the Gospel? Yes! Should we tell the world Who Jesus is and what He has done for us? Yes! It’s why we’re here!
Will it have an effect if we are not holy - if we are not set apart? No. Will those we bring Jesus to want Jesus if we are no different from the rest of the world? No.
And it doesn’t mean our circumstances are different. It doesn’t mean we have it any better in the world. The very idea, is that the only difference between us and them is Jesus, and so even in the same circumstances - good or bad - we are completely different from them.
We cannot forget how important - how necessary - personal holiness is to personal evangelism.
If we neglect our own holiness, we are neglecting to give those we bring the Gospel to a reason to listen or care.
We are to be holy like God is holy, so the world will know that He is holy. That He is set apart. That He is completely different from anything or anyone else they have ever known.
That is why, even for those who are already living lives pleasing to God, who know how they ought to walk in light of God’s saving grace - you need to do it more and more.
And doing that more, is the saving process of sanctification. And this is God’s will for us.
When I first came here and I was asked what my purpose as a preacher is - sanctification! Seeing the saints of God grow more and more holy in His power! My goal when I preach!
That’s why you don’t often hear me preach a “seeker sensitive” message. My job as a pastor - as a shepherd - is not go find other sheep. It is not to cater to other sheep. It is to take care of the sheep I have. My job as a pastor is to protect the flock that God has graciously given into my care.
To protect you from the lies of the devil. To protect you from sin. To protect you from the ways of the world. To love you and bring you the truth of God week after week.
Because I don’t focus on growing our church numerically. If we are all doing our part, God will do that through us.
I want to grow our church spiritually. Me included. I want us to grow us in faith together. In faithfulness to God. In holiness.
That’s why I’ve preached the sermons I’ve preached this summer - I am not beating you all over the head with taking responsibility - I am telling you what God wants from you
As I said, so many of you here do read your Bibles, and pray, and serve - and I know firsthand that you love with a Christlike love.
But Paul says that sanctification - growing in holiness unto God - is God’s will. And if we want to be in God’s will, we need to take what we’re doing , and we need to increase that, and then do it more.
And while the same truth does call some out on what they’re not doing - and hopefully convicts them and encourages them to do it - it calls others to do what they’re already doing, but to do it more. To abound. To excel.
Because that is how we are sanctified. And that’s God’s will for us.
Listen, we never arrive in this life. Ever. We never got to the point in this life that we are holy enough. We never get to the point where we are doing enough. We never get to the point where our faith is strong enough and our faithfulness is great enough.
Just like we saw: we can always bow ourselves even more before an exalted God so He would be further exalted in our hearts and lives. So we can always grow in holiness and image Him more and more so He is seen through our lives.
And that is sanctification. Growing in holiness.
Broadly speaking, Christians tend to break our salvation into three stages: justification, sanctification, and glorification.
Because you see, salvation is a process. When we talk about being “saved” - which is Christianese and doesn’t mean anything to those who aren’t, by the way - when we say we are saved or have been saved, we are talking about justification. We are talking about that moment when the Spirit did a work in our hearts and made us new creatures, and we repented of our sin and placed our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior.
When we did that, we were saved.
And when we talk about our “final salvation” or how we will yet be saved, we are talking about Christ’s return, when we will be raised in glorious resurrection bodies and be with Him physically forever. Our blessed hope.
But then, there’s what we tend to call “our Christian walk” - the “how” of our lives in the here and now. That is our sanctification. That is our always being saved. We are always being saved! And this salvation is what we can affect now, and what God wants to affect now in us so He can save souls through us.
So starting line is justification in Christ because of His work at His First Coming. The finish line is His Second Coming when He glorifies the saints and we are where we’ll be forever - in His holy presence.
The rest is the race that has to happen between the starting and finishing lines. It’s sanctification.
And the first and last of these are exclusively works of God. You don’t get off the starting line without a sovereign work of God in your heart by His Spirit, and the finish line has yet to appear because Christ is bringing it with Him when He comes again.
But no matter what, once God gets us off the starting line, we need to run. We need to push ourselves and each other towards the finish. We have a responsibility to do so. Because sanctification is our responsibility.
Sanctification is our responsibility, even though it is still a work of God’s grace.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
God calls us to run a race - to spend our lives running it. And then He gives us the power to do it. He gives us the “want to” and the “how to”. He gives us His Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Holiness - that holiness we are called to.
And it is His power that keeps us running the race.
But we still need to run it.
This is the will of God, our sanctification.
And then Paul puts this is practical terms:
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
Why does Paul bring this to sexual immorality?
Well, sexual immorality in the Bible is often used as a metaphor for any sin. Us sinning against God is likened to us cheating on our Bridegroom sin is being unfaithful to God.
But actual sexual immorality is often used as an example - the superlative example - of sin against God.
And understand the culture into which Paul was writing. Thessalonica was in Macedonia. The Greco-Roman culture was fully accepted there and had been for hundreds of years. And realize, under Roman law at this time, men were legally entitled to have concubines or to patronize prostitutes.
Demosthanes wrote:
Mistresses we keep for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of our persons, but wives to bear us legitimate children
And in the first century, pagan society still practiced this. The Jewish and then Christian idea of not committing adultery was pretty much foreign to the rest of the world. But God called us to be set apart from the world and holy unto Him.
And that’s why He commanded “you shall not commit adultery”.
And as we know, the seventh commandment goes far beyond just a physical act with a married person.
As Jesus clarified:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
We see here that sexual immorality - like adultery - is first a matter of the heart. Adulterers stray in their hearts long before they stray with their bodies. Inappropriate relationships first cross a line inwardly before they cross the line outwardly.
Matt Chandler’s recent suspension - I pray he would repent and be restored
So we see that even today - almost 2,000 years after Paul wrote this - sexual immorality is still a very prominent example of the sin of the human heart.
And Paul’s point is about sanctification - holiness. It is being set apart. Set apart unto God, but also set apart from the world. The world in Paul’s day said sexual immorality was fine - they wouldn’t even define it as immorality.
But Jesus did. And sanctification is aligning what we do more and more with Jesus and less and less with he world.
So Paul is saying here to not be like the world, but to be like Jesus Who he preached.
Listen, there are plenty of sinful things that our culture says are just fine. Plenty of immoral things that are not considered immoral, for some reason. Plenty of sinful things that are acceptable and even championed. And not doing these things - or speaking against them - that is what’s wrong.
And not being like the world makes someone an outcast - a weirdo - there’s something wrong with people who don’t embrace what our society says is good.
But that is what holiness is about. Being set apart from the world, and set apart unto God.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
And here we get to one of the more controversial verses in the Bible. People have wondered at and argued for thousands of years over exactly what Paul means by: “know how to control his own body.”
Because it literally says:
“that each one of you know to acquire your own vessel in holiness and honor.”
And that has led to interpretations from: Paul is saying to get married and possess your spouse - your vessel - in holiness as a means to avoid sexual immorality…
…all the way to: Paul is using the idea of “vessel” as the male reproductive organ and you guys need to keep it under control.
But when Paul uses this word for “vessel” - which he does seven times - he is referring to a person in reference to how God made them. Like when he speaks in Romans 9 of how some are made vessels of wrath and some vessels of mercy, some vessels for honorable use and vessels for dishonorable.
Or like when he tells Timothy:
Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
And of course, the Master of the house is Christ, and keeping ourselves from dishonorable things is holiness.
And we see that those who are vessels for honorable use are those who are “set apart as holy” - or sanctified - as opposed to those who are not set apart and are dishonorable.
So here:
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
This “holiness” is the same word as “sanctification” - it is that setting apart from the world and unto God. So what Paul is saying here is what he says to Timothy.
We all need to get our vessels under control - get ourselves: our bodies, our eyes, our thoughts - in our possession as one belonging to God. Have control of yourself in order to be sanctified unto God, Paul says.
We cannot let our vessels - our person which is a vessel of mercy created for honorable use - we cannot let our vessel belong to the ways of the world. Or the sins of the heart. Or the lust of the flesh.
That is not who we are. That is not what God has made us.
Rather, when He made us into something new, He made us those who are called to holiness. His will for us is sanctification.
Paul is drawing a contrast between us and the world!
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
We are not to be like the world. We are not to be like those in the world who don’t know God. Whether we are first century Thessalonians who live in a society that advocates for adultery, or we are 21st century Americans who live in a society that says there’s nothing wrong with sex before marriage, homosexuality, or pornography.
We are not like the world. And the more sanctified we are, the less like the world we are.
And in this difference between us and the world, Paul uses sexual immorality as the point of departure. Like he does in the book of Romans. Speaking of unbelievers he says
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,
This is the “passion of lust” as Paul calls it here. This is to be expected of those that do not know God.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
This is a matter of how unlike the world we are in fact. We know what kind of vessels we are - what we were made for. But how are our vessels being used?
How unlike the world are we in practice?
Can we control ourselves when sin comes knocking, or are we like the world?
Because understand, what we know is wrong and what we don’t do aren’t always the same. Knowing what God says, is not doing what God says - and knowing what God says not to do, isn’t not doing it, is it?
Knowing that we should be set apart from doesn’t mean we are. Knowing that we are called to be holy doesn’t mean we pursue holiness.
Knowing that we are not supposed to be like the world doesn’t keep us from acting like them, speaking like them, thinking like them, spending our time like they do, prioritizing what they do, or having similar browsing histories to them on our computers.
What we know has to affect what we do. We know what the world denies - what it pushes down so that they can claim ignorance on the whole thing.
But how different from them does that actually make us in deed? That’s the question.
And remember, the heart strays before the body does. The body follows the heart. And the heart follows what we treasure, according to Jesus. And our eyes will be on our treasure. So the heart follows the eyes, and then the body follows the heart, and we see why sexual immorality is used as the superlative example of sin.
And all of this tells us two things:
The outward always reflects the inward…
…but the outward always affects the inward.
What we are on the inside is revealed through what we do on the outside, but what we do on the outside has an effect on who we are on the inside.
What we do matters.
And there’s more to it than even that. Because what we do - how holy we are or are not - affects more than just us.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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.
Look at what Paul says here. God’s will is our sanctification. Then he qualifies what that means.
It means that we abstain from sexual immorality
It means that we have self-control
It means that we are not like the world that does not know God
And do you see how these are all saying pretty much the same thing but in different ways? These are all the same call to holiness.
But there’s something else.
4. Sanctification means that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter.
And this is also saying the same thing.
Some say, Paul is talking about sexual immorality against another Christian here. Like I am not to wrong a brother by committing immoral acts with his wife and therefore getting a bunch of us involved in my sin.
But if Paul is saying that, then he’s saying: don’t be sexually immoral, control yourself, but if you’re going to be sexually immoral and you can’t control yourself, do it with an unbeliever.
Some say Paul is addressing a specific problem in this church. That there must have been some act of immorality that he is addressing in a roundabout way which is why he uses the whole vessel analogy because he doesn’t just want to come out and say it.
Well, I don’t see Paul in his letters having any problem just saying anything. And even more than that, he is speaking to the same people he just commended for their exemplary walks that are a great example to other believers. He said “keep doing more of what you’re doing.” If there was sexual immorality going on here, I don’t think he would have said that.
No, Paul clarifies what he means in the next verse. He says:
Be sanctified - be holy - because that is God’s will. And that means:
…that we abstain from sexual immorality
It means that we have self-control
It means that we are not like the world that does not know God
4. And it means that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter
And what is that matter? It isn’t the sexual immorality. It is the sanctification. He says don’t wrong your brother in this matter:
For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
Paul switches from “you” to “us” with a purpose.
Paul says: I am asking each of you - I am begging each you - just like each of you heard the Word from me and Timothy and Silvanus, and in light of it you each walk in a matter pleasing to God - do it more. I want each of you to excel at it. Because God wants you to be sanctified. He wants each of you to be holy.
That means you each have to abstain from sexual immorality. In your minds, hearts, and with your bodies. It means you all need self-control so you keep your minds, hearts, and bodies holy unto the Lord. It means you can’t be like the world, because you have been set apart unto God. And it means that you can’t wrong your brother or sister in the matter of your personal holiness.
In other words: God wants each of you to be holy, because God wants all of us to be holy.
You take responsibility for your sanctification - you pursue personal holiness - because God has called all of us together - as the church - not for impurity, but in holiness.
You see, this isn’t just about each of us. It’s about all of us.
And my personal holiness - whether I am seeking it or whether I am neglecting - affects all of you. Your personal holiness - whether you are different from the world or just like it - affects everyone else.
My personal holiness - as part of God’s church - is not a personal matter. It isn’t just between me and God. It is between me, and God, and all of you.
Because we are all one in Christ.
so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
God calls us to be holy. His will is our sanctification.
Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
And here is where we need to lead with our hearts. Because God has changed who we are on the inside.
And He now calls us to be that on the outside, more and more. To be what He has made us - holy unto Him - more and more.
And that is why He has given us His Holy Spirit.
And this “gives” here - the form Paul uses of the verb - means that this is not something God did once. Paul is not talking about our justification - when the Holy Spirit was given to us to turn our hearts to God and regenerate us. This is not speaking of that once for all giving of the Spirit to each believer.
This is talking about a continuous action. Something that happens and happens and happens. God gives us His Holy Spirit.
This is God’s role in sanctification - this is His work. He works in us by His Spirit - and He wants to do it more and more. I ask you, can we disregard Him?
God gives us His Holy Spirit constantly - not that we can be more saved in the sense of our justification - but precisely so we can be more saved in the sense of our sanctification. Of our holiness.
We need more of God’s Spirit, brothers and sisters. We need Him to work in us and make us holy even as He is holy.
But like I said, we have a responsibility to be holy - we have to take responsibility for our sanctification.
So which is it, Lee? Is it us, or is it God?
Yes.
We need to take responsibility for our holiness, so we need more of the Spirit.
And God’s Spirit works in us through His Word. Reading His Word. Seeking Him in His Word. Hearing the Word preached. The Spirit of holiness is also the Spirit of truth.
And God’s Spirit works in us through prayer. The Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. And very often, we have not, because we ask not.
These simple means of grace can change our hearts more and more for God, and make us holy unto Him so that we outwardly do more and more for Him. The outward always reflects the inward.
But as I said, the outward always affects the inward.
So thinking about our holiness and what it means. How we are set apart unto God and set apart from the world. How His will for us is to be more set apart unto Him. We need to think very carefully about what we do.
Where are our eyes? On the world, or on God?
More practically, what do we look at? Do we use our eyes in a worldly way, to look upon what the world says is okay. Or do we consider them holy unto God?
And this is more important than we might think. Because we can change our minds. God can change our hearts. But we can never un-see something. It stays with us. Is what we’re seeing holy?
We need to set our eyes, more and more, on the holy.
Because if your eye is bad, the whole body is full of darkness. Go read Matthew 6 later.
Where are our minds? On the world, or on God?
More practically, what do we intentionally fill our minds with? The same things the world does, or the things of God? And listen, once again, I am not saying TV, movies, novels, plays, social media, any of that is sinful. It can be, but it isn’t inherently. You don’t necessarily need to give any of that up.
But what are you filling you mind with? Do you get to the end of the average day having spent 4 hours filling your mind with those things and only 2 hours filling your mind with the things of God? I’d bet the average ratio is even less holy than that.
We need to fill our minds with the things of God more and more - a little more this week than last week, and then next week we need do it some more.
How about all the other responsibilities we take on? Are our minds more on those than on the things of God? Usually. That’s why we’re all so darned anxious all the time. And I understand we all have to work. It would be irresponsible and unChristian to neglect our responsibilities. But where are our minds.
Because if we take on responsibilities that keep our minds off of God, we need to give them up. Go read Matthew 6 later.
And realize, where our eyes and our minds go, our hearts will go more and more. Go read Matthew 6 later.
But where our eyes and our minds go, our hearts will go more and more. And where our hearts go, our actions will go more and more.
And we have two directions we can go, more and more. Toward being set apart unto God and from the world, or the other way.
We know what God’s will is.
And we know that this is not just about each of us.
Brothers and sisters, with summer at an end, and our topical preaching series coming to an end, I pray you would consider everything God has said this summer to us as a church.
Because we each need to decide what we will all be. We each need to decide what we’ll all do. We each need to decide whether we will all be set apart unto God as a church.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Finally, then, I ask you MCC and I beg you, that just as you know how you ought to walk and to please God - just as you are doing: do so more and more.