Spiritual Purity

So the best way to start a hard message is to begin with hope and encouragement.

! So instead of turning to 1 Thessalonians, which is where we're going to end up spending the bulk of our time there,

! I want to encourage you to turn to 1 Corinthians,

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

chapter 6. 1 Corinthians, chapter 6, beginning in verse 9. If you're a guest with us this morning, it's on page 955 in the Pew Bible ahead of you.

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

1 Corinthians, chapter 6, beginning at verse 9. It says,

1 Corinthians 6 · chapter mention

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Did you get that?

The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Do not be deceived.

Neither the sexually immoral, which is the word that we're going to be looking at this morning,

it's the word porneia,

nor idolaters or adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

Now those are some strong words.

Is there hope?

And that's where we turn to next.

And such were some of you.

But you were washed.

You were sanctified.

You were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit of our God.

There is no hope for us apart from Jesus Christ.

So praise the Lord for hope.

But if there is in your life this morning a pattern of sexual sin, of sexual immorality,

of giving yourself over to the indulgences of sexual sin,

there are strong words this morning for you.

But there is also hope.

The strong words that would confront you where you are

to force you to ask the question,

are you truly part of the kingdom?

But by God's grace, there is the hope of sanctification,

the hope of justification,

and the hope of cleansing that comes through Jesus Christ.

One prominent example,

back in the 4th century,

is a man by the name of Aurelius Augustine.

Now, maybe you do, or maybe you don't actually know who this individual is,

but he happens to be one of the premier fathers of the church.

He wrote voluminously.

Over 5 million words are accredited to him.

And every subsequent generation that followed after him

were impacted in some way by his focus

and his premier theology that he helped to establish

and helped just to clarify

in terms of committing himself to the study of God's word

and communicating it faithfully to the subsequent generations.

But you would never know that was to be true

from the earlier parts of Augustine's life.

He led a life of immorality as a youngster.

And although a son of a Christian mother,

he abandoned his mother's faith in favor of the Persian religion,

which was a form of Gnosticism,

which would say that salvation could come through knowledge and mysticism.

He had taken a mistress with whom he lived for 13 years.

And that immoral relationship continued to be an anchor in his life

to weigh him down and to keep him from moving to other things

that would be helpful for him.

He became disillusioned with the leaders of that movement

and discovered the Platonists.

But all this time,

his mother had been faithfully pleading with God for her son.

She knew the life decisions that he was making,

but also knew that God could change his heart.

And by God's grace,

he came upon the preaching of a church father,

the Father Ambrose.

He became intellectually convinced of the truth of Christianity,

but he confesses that he was prevented from accepting the faith

because of weakness in dealing with his sexual temptations.

But again,

through God's grace,

he arranged the circumstances.

God arranged the circumstances in his life,

and he was sitting and contemplating Christianity,

and he heard in the background a child singing,

singing the words,

take and read.

Immediately he knew

that he needed to pick up the word of God

and to see what it had to say.

So, in his confessions,

he describes how he turned back to the place

where he was sitting,

and he opened the word,

and his eyes fell on the verses in Romans chapter 13,

Romans 13:13–14

verses 13 to 14,

which says,

He says,

There is hope this morning.

for those of you who are caught up

and plagued by this

issue of sexual impurity.

As we come to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4,

1 Thessalonians 4 · chapter mention

we come front and center

with the commendation of the Apostle Paul,

who up until this point

really hasn't been communicating

any kind,

any form of exhortation.

It's been peppered with encouragement

and commending this church

and recognizing

the things that God has accomplished for them

and calling attention to them

and encouraging them to grow

in those areas.

He wants to encourage them

to remember the ministry

that he and the others

had had in Thessalonica,

how he treated them

like his own children,

whether he had a mom-like ministry

or a dad-like ministry,

a ministry of grace

or a ministry of truth.

He talks about his desire

to see them,

and his affection for this church

just continues to explode

out of the pages,

the joy that he has

for each one of them.

And now,

finally coming to a place

in this letter

where he is going to encourage,

where he's going to exhort,

where he's going to issue

warning for them.

We turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4,

1 Thessalonians 4:1–8

verses 1 through 8.

Again, if you're a guest with us,

it's on page 987.

Let me read just the first three verses

which form our point,

this first point this morning.

It is found in verses 1 through 3.

Here's what it says.

Finally then, brothers,

we ask and urge you

in the Lord Jesus

that as you receive 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.

So this morning,

I want to point our attention

to three areas

where God's will

is clear for us today.

If any of you are wondering,

what does God want for me?

This is where it begins.

It begins with God's clear,

definitive will of God for you

in terms of your sanctification.

And he comes at this will of sanctification

and tries to explain it

in two different ways.

He begins in verses 1 and 2

by describing the feature

of God's will and sanctification

as being fundamental

to his gospel message.

You should know this

because this was foundational

to my original teaching to you.

We see that there

in verse 1,

just as you receive from us.

And then in verse 2,

you know what instructions

we gave to you.

So fundamental

was this truth

in Paul's message

and ministry

that even though

he had only been there

for three Sabbaths,

it was

an essential aspect

of his teaching.

It had been built in

from day one

in his encouragement

to them.

Every

conversation

that Paul has

leading up to this point,

if you look at the

messages

that he preaches

throughout the various cities

that he goes to,

contains

this element.

One example

will be found

in Acts chapter 13

Acts 13:38

verses 38 and 39.

he tells

the church

or the people

in Antioch

in Pisidia.

He says,

Let it be known

to you therefore,

brothers,

that though this

man,

excuse me,

that through this man,

speaking of Jesus,

is forgiveness of sins

and is proclaimed to you.

And by him,

everyone

who believes

is freed

from everything

from which you

could not be freed

by the law

of Moses.

There is not only

spiritual

and future

deliverance,

but there is

immediate and present

deliverance over sin.

That is the message

we preach.

That is the gospel.

It is the gospel

that saves you

for a future date

and preserves you

for heaven,

but is also

the gospel

that talks about

deliverance today,

freedom from sin,

the power of God

to overcome

in the Christian life.

in Paul's mind,

this was an essential

to the gospel.

You don't have

the good news

if you don't have this.

And by God's grace,

the church

got it.

We've seen that

over the past

several chapters.

We see how

their receptiveness

to the gospel

has come front

and center

in Paul's

commendation to them.

we find in

chapter 1,

verse 5,

he says,

our gospel came to you

not only in word,

but in power

and in the Holy Spirit

and with full conviction.

You saw it,

you heard it,

you believed it,

and the power of God

worked in your life

to change you.

That's what we see

in chapter 1,

verse 6.

You became imitators

of us

and of the Lord.

And then in verse 7,

you became an example

to all the believers

in Macedonia

and Achaia.

Chapter 1,

verse 9,

they themselves report

how you turned

to God from idols

to serve

the living

and true God.

And then in chapter 2,

verse 14,

you became imitators

of the churches of God

in Christ Jesus

that are in Judea.

You heard

the message

of the gospel,

you understood it

for what it was,

not just faith

for the future,

but faith

for every moment

of the day

that helps you

to overcome

the struggles

of life,

the bondage

of sin,

and to live

in newness

that God

has given to us

through His Son,

Jesus Christ.

The gospel

had truly saved them,

not for just

some future day,

but the in,

the here and now.

He says,

you receive from us

how you ought

to walk

and to please God

just as you

are doing

here in chapter 4,

verse 1.

You got it.

You understand it.

You're doing it.

I commend you.

And this is the same word

that Pastor David

pointed to last week

when he says,

do this more and more.

This is the super

abounding obedience

now

that Paul is

commending

to this church

in Thessalonica.

So it was fundamental

to the gospel,

but it's also fundamental

to God's character.

We see that

in verse 3.

Fundamental

to God's character.

Notice the language

in verse 3.

For this

is

the will

of

God.

In verse 1,

he says,

we ask

and urge you

in

the Lord Jesus.

Verse 2,

for you know

what instructions

we gave to you

through

the Lord Jesus.

Sanctification,

which

is a word

that

describes

holiness

or separation

unto God,

refers not only

to the activity

of the Holy Spirit

in setting a man

apart

unto salvation,

but also

the process

that enables

him to be holy.

There is a

sanctifying work

that the Spirit

does initially

in our hearts

to make us

clean,

to make us

acceptable,

but also

there is the

sanctifying work

of progress

that moves us

in the direction

to help us

to grow

in our likeness,

to help that

reality that has

been accomplished

for us

to actually show up

in how we live.

That's what

the Holy Spirit

is given

to us

to accomplish

in us.

It's truth

is fundamental

to the gospel

because it's

fundamental

to the character

of God.

God

is

holy.

I appreciate

what some

great men

have said

about the holiness

of God.

Listen

to a couple

of these quotes.

First,

from Sam Storms

who says this,

the holiness

of God

only secondarily

refers to

his moral purity.

It primarily

points to

his infinite

otherness.

To say that

God is holy

is to say

that he is

transcendently

separate.

Holiness

is not only

one attribute

among many,

it is not

like grace

or power

or knowledge

or wrath.

Everything

about God

is holy

so that

each attribute

partakes

of divine

holiness.

Or this

quote from

Jerry Bridges,

holiness

is the

perfection

of all

of God's

other attributes.

His power

is holy

power.

His mercy

is holy

mercy.

His wisdom

is holy

wisdom.

It is

his holiness

more than

any other

attribute

that makes

him worthy

of our praise.

And Dr.

MacArthur

puts it

this way,

of all the

attributes

of God,

holiness

is the

one that

most uniquely

describes

him and

in reality

is a

summation

of all

of his

other

attributes.

The word

holiness

refers to

his

separateness,

his

otherness,

the fact

that he

is unlike

any other

being.

It indicates

his complete

and infinite

perfection.

And finally

from R.C.

Sproul,

only one

sin sacred

scripture

is an

attribute

of God

elevated

to the

third

degree.

Only

once is

a

characteristic

of God

mentioned

three times

in succession.

The Bible

says that

God is

holy,

holy,

holy.

Note that

he is

merely

holy,

not that

he is

merely

holy,

or even

holy,

holy.

He is

holy,

holy,

holy.

The Bible

never says

that God

is love,

love,

love,

or mercy,

mercy,

mercy,

or wrath,

wrath,

wrath,

or justice,

justice,

justice.

It does

say that

he is

holy,

holy,

holy.

That the

whole earth

is full

of his

glory.

The holiness

of God

is essential

to his

character.

And as

David

described

so well

last week,

the thrust

of all

that God

does

for us

is to

lead us

into deeper

commitment

to holiness.

In chapter

three,

we saw

in verses

12 and

13,

and may

the Lord

make you

increase

and abound

in love

for one

another

and for

all

as we

do for

you,

so that

he may

establish

your

hearts

blameless

in holiness

before God,

before our

God and

Father,

at the

coming of

our Lord

Jesus Christ

with all

his saints.

In this

entire section

running from

chapter three,

verse six,

and particularly

verse 11,

down through

the end of

chapter four,

we find

this combination,

these paragraphs

that are used

that emphasize

the significance

of love

and holiness

of God,

and the

resultant

love and

holiness

of God's

people.

So which

one is it?

Which one

are we supposed

to emulate?

Which is the

seed and

which is the

fruit?

Where should

we focus

our energy?

Or are

both just

as important

as the

other?

And I

would suggest

this morning

that as the

Bible begins

to describe

holiness

in love,

that love

is actually

a way to

describe the

holiness of

God.

When we

often think

about holiness,

we think

about rule

keeping.

We think

about the

Pharisees.

We think

about externals.

We think

about checking

the boxes

and doing

the things

that God

has prescribed

for us to

do,

conforming

our lives

to the

law.

But Jesus

himself in

describing the

moral perfection

of God

that was

expressed to

his people

through the

Ten Commandments

summarized the

holiness of

God and

summarized the

standard of

the law with

two commands

that both

come to us

in the form

of love,

don't they?

Love the

Lord your God

with all your

heart, soul,

and mind.

Love your

neighbor as

yourself.

God is

just for

my own

education.

I looked

through the

entire New

Testament to

see how

many other

times does

God describe

himself as

God is?

Where you

find in the

New Testament

God is.

There are

only four.

It is

God is

light,

God is

love,

God is

faithful,

and God

is a

consuming

fire.

Interesting

though that

the only two

qualities that

are commended

to us are

the qualities

of love

and light.

Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

helps us

with this.

Paul says

in this

place,

Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

he says,

therefore be

imitators of

God as

beloved

children and

walk in

love as

Christ loved

us and

gave himself

for us.

A fragrant

offering and

sacrifice to

God, but

sexual

immorality

and all

impurity or

covetousness

must not

even be

named among

you as

is proper

among the

saints.

For at one

time you

were darkness

but now you

are light in

the Lord.

Walk as

children of

the light.

You see

how these are

synonymous

terms?

Walking in

love and

walking in

light?

The apostle

John does

the same

thing in

1 John.

The only

two times

where he

says that

God is

light or

God is

love, he

harmonizes that

to help us

understand our

responsibility to

emulate the

character of

God by being

like him in

these essential

ways.

God has

called us

to sanctification

and holiness.

It's woven

into the

gospel message,

it's foundational

truth for us

as believers

but it is also

woven into the

character of

God so that

those who

call themselves

believers,

those who call

themselves children

of God must

also emulate

the character

that God has

infused within

us through his

Holy Spirit and

by the way,

it's his Holy

Spirit to work

within us.

Holiness is

manifested in

our lives not

just through

rule keeping

but especially

through love,

our loving of

others.

Now, have

you ever had

somebody in a

conversation,

they didn't like

what you were

saying and they

shushed you?

Ever had that?

Or had anyone,

this is probably

an old one,

but ever have

anyone say,

talk to the

hand?

You ever had

that happen?

Whew.

Or, let's see,

what's the other

one?

Maybe somebody

has plugged

their ears and

said,

na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na,

they don't want

to hear what

you're saying.

do you realize

that God's

instruction for

us is so

crystal clear,

so definitive,

this is God's

will for you,

your sanctification.

And yet,

how often do we

find ourselves

giving God the

na-na-na-na,

or the talk to

the hand?

There is no

wonder,

then,

why

we are

mystified about

the will of God

in other areas

of our life,

when it should

be crystal clear

in so many,

in so many,

for so many

reasons.

My

recommendation,

or my

encouragement for

us,

as a people

of God,

when we come

to decisions

that need to be

made,

to ask yourself

these questions.

First,

will this lead

me to deeper

holiness?

And will this

lead me to

greater love?

Greater love

for God,

and greater love

for God's

people.

Then I think

we'll find that

the will of God

will become much

clearer for us.

It is God's

will that you

be sanctified.

And then as we

turn to verses

three to six,

we find it is

God's will for

you to be

sexually pure,

to have

sexual purity.

Let me read

these verses

for us,

and then we'll

walk through

them together.

For this is

the will of

God,

your sanctification,

that each

one of you,

excuse me,

your sanctification,

that you should

abstain from

sexual immorality,

that each one

of you know

how to control

his own body

in holiness

and honor,

not in the

passions of lust

like the Gentiles

who do not

know God,

that no one

transgresses or

wrongs his brother

in this matter

because the Lord

is an avenger

of all these

things,

as we told you

beforehand

and solemnly

warned you.

We find in

this section

three ways

that Paul is

commending

sexual purity

to us.

first he

begins with

the putting

off of

immorality.

He leads

with this

word,

the word

to avoid

or the word

to abstain.

Let's not

get the idea

that when he

uses the word

avoid it

means to

tiptoe around

or to

keep it

at a distance

but maybe

kind of

dabble in it

once in a

while or

to flirt

with our

curiosity.

No,

when Paul

is using

this word

to abstain

he is not

talking simply

about keeping

something at

a distance

or dabbling

in it

or indulging

their curiosity

to some degree

but he is

talking about

complete abstinence,

staying completely

away from

any thought

or behavior

that violates

the principle

of God

in this area.

sexual

immorality

which is

the word

the Greek

word

porneia

is a word

that is

meant to

describe

any sexual

relationship

outside

of the

heterosexual

marriage

bond.

Whether it's

fornication

or adultery

or homosexuality

or incest

or prostitution

it is a word

that is

intentionally

chosen by

Paul

to include

every element

of sexual

impurity

outside

the bonds

of marriage.

Paul

had to

confront

the cultural

blindness

of the church

of Thessalonica.

It was a church

that had

not only

been immersed

in this kind

of culture

because of

their idolatry

in the past

their baggage

that they brought

into the Christian

life

but their culture

was commending

this kind

of lifestyle.

it was

not only

accepted

it was

commended

it was

condoned.

Gentile

members

of the church

would have

found it

difficult

to understand

how their

conversion

to the

living God

necessitated

abandoning

those pleasures

especially

in a culture

where

the norms

permitted

those practices.

one such

individual

who

stood out

as an

authority

spent some

time in

Thessalonica

and

commented

this way

let not

pleasures

always be

forbidden

let desire

and pleasure

triumph

sometimes

over reason.

In

Greek society

a man

who owned

female slaves

could use

them as

his own

human property

to satisfy

his

sexual

appetites

not only

was a

single

person

commended

to this

kind of

lifestyle

but married

people

as well.

Demosthenes

expressed

the social

opinions

regarding

sexuality

that continued

to prevail

when he

says

quote

mistresses

we keep

for our

sake of

pleasure

concubines

for the

daily care

of our

persons

but wives

to bear

us

legitimate

children

and to be

faithful

guardians

of our

households

end quote.

In many

cases

the

culture

of

Thessalonica

is no

different

from the

culture

of the

21st

century

America.

I

thought about

giving some

statistics this

morning

and opening

the door

to help you

appreciate the

magnitude

of this

issue

but for the

sake of not

leading you

into sin

by thinking

about those

things

just

it's very

clear

it confronts

you on a

day by

day basis

it is

virtually

inescapable

not only

the accessibility

on the

internet

in our

music

in our

videos

in movies

on TV

but in

the grocery

store

in the

places of

business

that you're

in

it is

virtually

inescapable

and because

of that

it is

also

commended

by our

culture

to indulge

yourself

in any

form of

pleasure

you wish

as long

as it

doesn't

hurt

somebody

around

you

so we

have

given

way

to

cultural

philosophies

we have

allowed our

hearts and

lives to

be filled

with

compromise

and we

have

allowed

these things

to enter

into our

lives

unchecked

Paul

says

abstain

from

sexual

immorality

in

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:22

chapter 4

verse 22

he says

it this

way

he says

put

off

your

old

self

and in

Colossians

Colossians 3:5

chapter 3

verse 5

he says

put

to death

what is

earthly

in you

have

nothing

to do

with it

chop

it off

throw

it away

have

nothing

to do

with it

again

Paul

emphasizes

the same

point in

every

passage

let your

life

be

consistent

with

your

calling

you've

been

called

by a

gospel

that

commends

holiness

you've

been

called

by a

God

who

is

holy

and

you're

called

to

emulate

his

character

but

it's

not

enough

to

put

off

we

must

also

fill

the

void

with

something

else

and

that's

when

we're

encouraged

to

put

on

holiness

we

see

that

in

this

next

section

not

only

to

abstain

from

sexual

immorality

but

to

know

how to

control

your

body

in

holiness

in

honor

and

I

would

describe

it

this

way

put

on

holiness

in

a passage

that is

strikingly

similar

we find

in

2nd

Timothy

chapter 2

almost

a

carbon

copy

of the

same

language

and the

same

words

the

Greek

words

that are

used

in

Paul's

exhortation

to

Timothy

this

young

man

he

says

therefore

if

anyone

cleanses

himself

from

what

is

dishonorable

he

will

be

a

vessel

same

word

that we

find

body

in

1st

Thessalonians

he

will

be

a

vessel

for

honorable

use

again

timme

honorable

use

set

apart

as

holy

this

is

the

word

hagia

so we

find

again

in

1st

Thessalonians

chapter 4

useful

to the

master

of the

house

ready

for

every

good

work

so

flee

youthful

passions

that's

the

the

lusts

that we

find

in

the

next

verse

in

1st

Thessalonians

chapter 4

and pursue

here we are

pursue

righteousness

put on

faith

and love

and peace

along with

those who

call

on the

Lord

from a

pure

heart

Paul

never

argues

that

sexual

desires

are wrong

they

are

appropriate

in

the

marriage

relationship

they

are

good

and

healthy

in

a

marriage

relationship

but

they

must

be

exercised

and

they

must

be

affirmed

within

the

appropriate

context

that

God

has

given

them

to

us

notice

the

qualifying

word

that

he

uses

here

coming

back

to

1st

Thessalonians

chapter 4

that

each

one of

you

know

how

to

control

his

own

body

in

holiness

and

honor

not

in

the

passions

of

lust

like

the

Gentiles

who

do

not

know

God

Paul

wants

this

church

to

understand

the

significance

of

reigning

in

their

appetites

and

exercising

those

appetites

in a

way

that

is

exemplary

and

holy

and

commendable

but

notice

how

this

is

done

that

each

of you

know

how

to

control

his

own

body

and

holiness

and

honor

not

in

the

passions

of

lust

like

the

Gentiles

and

what's

the

next

phrase

who

do

not

know

God

it

begins

with

your

thinking

the

battle

against

lust

begins

in

your

mind

notice

in

verse

4

4

that

each

of

you

know

and

then

in

verse

5

who

do

not

know

God

and

then

in

verse

8

whoever

disregards

this

disregards

God

the

root

cause

of

lust

is

unbelief

in

God

and

how

you

act

with

regard

to

sexual

passion

points

to

what

you

truly

know

and

points

to

what

you

truly

believe

the

only

way

to

overcome

is

to

grow

in

knowledge

in

love

for

God

Ephesians

Ephesians 4:22

chapter

4

verses

22

and

24

puts

it

this

way

put

off

your

old

self

which

belongs

to

your

former

manner

of

life

and

is

corrupted

through

deceitful

desires

and

be

renewed

notice

that

word

be

renewed

in

the

spirit

of

your

mind

learn

to

think

differently

learn

to

love