Holy Living.1 Thessalonians 4:3-5.
Dear God’s Chosen People,
We continue with the encouragement to live lives that are pleasing to God.
Sanctification (v. 3a). Paul declares that God desires the sanctification of the believers. Sanctification and holiness are the same words, really. Holiness is the state while sanctification is the process. That which is holy is set apart – reserved, so to speak, for God. Being reserved for God obviously means going through a process in which all impurity is removed from us. As someone put it, it is the process of “sanctification”, of being made into a saint – a holy person. This is a lifelong process that should make us increasingly more like Christ.
Sexual Purity (vv. 3b-4). One area of sanctification is sexual morality. It is not the only one, obviously, but it is specified here because it may have been a challenge at Thessalonica. There is no doubt that it is a challenge in our times. Young people are having sex like a game of musical beds, married people are cheating on spouses without restraint, and all this as we all continue to blissfully “worship” God. God’s will for his people has not changed, nor will it, ever. Abstain from sexual immorality.
Separation (v. 5). The Roman world of Paul’s day was dominated by Greek permissiveness, in which temple prostitution was rife. All around, the Christians were treated to “the passion of lust” by the gentiles. It is easy to join the crowd but Paul says no, you are different. Distance yourselves from the immoral behavior around you. You have been sanctified – taken out of the world and set apart for God. Act the part.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.