Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus
to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you.
You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more.
For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.
1 Thessalonians 4:1–3
You and I each have a partner and lifelong companion who is fully committed to us. This partner’s name is temptation.
There is no escape, no exemption, and no relief. Even if you lived the balance of your life behind the thick walls of a monastery, your battle would go on; your companion would be there, taunting you and haunting you almost on a daily basis. This is nothing new; it’s been going on for centuries.
Because our temptations will never go away, it is essential to be prepared. One of the most effective methods of preparation is an awareness of what the Bible teaches, followed by a direct and personal application of those truths. Inevitably, there will come unaccountable times of personal privacy, when you are alone and in a place you thought was safe, like David on his roof overlooking Bathsheba. Perhaps these significant Scriptures will be helpful in keeping you morally pure.
Of all Paul’s writings, 1 Thessalonians 4 is perhaps his most explicit statement regarding moral purity. The information is not complicated. The explanation is not deep and mysterious. And the ultimate command, for sure, is not impossible. The first two verses seem to be saying, “In your walk, please God by excelling.”
God would have us go further and further in our walk with Him. Each day it pleases Him to make sure our goals are high, our desires are great, our objective is clear. He says, “Excel in that. As you walk, please God by excelling. Don’t be satisfied with just a mediocre lifestyle as a Christian. Work on personal holiness. Cultivate habits of discipline that are good for you and honouring to God.”
Understand, most of the ancient Thessalonian Christians were new in the faith, some of them not more than a week or two old in the Lord. They were fresh out of a sex-saturated society. And yet, in spite of their culture, Paul says to them, “In your morals, obey God by abstaining.” He begins: “This is the will of God.” You don’t even have to pray about it, asking God how He would have you live regarding sexual purity.
The answer to one’s inability to refrain from lust, of course, is marriage. And if not marriage, then what? Abstain, plain and simple. If single, hands off! If divorced and not remarried? Hands off! Stay out of bed with anybody else, same or opposite sex . . . abstain. Among many other benefits, it is the safest route to take.
