West Loop Church UBF

1 Thessalonians 4:1-17
Key Verse 14

“For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

A lot of new Christians ask, "Okay. Now that I'm a Christian, now what? How should I live? What should I do? Should I just sit back and do nothing till Jesus comes again?” In the same manner, a lot of older Christians ask, "What does God want me to do? I’ve been a Christian now for 10 years. Should I just sit back and wait until God answers?”

In 1 Thessalonians 4,  Paul addresses a very sensitive topic in the church - how  we should live as Christians. It’s sensitive because Christians know that they are saved not by works but by faith. But unfortunately, Christians have become known as those who preach the gospel but don’t live by it.  As a result, a lot of people don’t want to have anything to do with Christianity at all. That’s why Paul is addressing how to live as a Christian.

Today we’re going to look at 2 questions and 3 specific instructions.  The first question is, why should we live a gospel centered life? Through this question, we’ll learn 3 specific ways of doing this. And the 2nd question is, how can we live a gospel centered life? I pray that God may open our hearts and help us to listen to Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.

Q1: Why Should We Struggle to Live a  Christian Life  (1-12)?

Verse 1 says, “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.” Paul begins this chapter by asking and urging the Thessalonians to walk and to please God. Why is he asking and urging? Because “this is the will of God.” (3a) The primary reason why we should struggle to live a Christian life is to please God.  Jesus said in John 8:29, “…for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.” What’s the alternative to pleasing God? Not to please him. Which would you rather do?

Verse 2 says, “For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.” Paul says that the instructions that he’s about to give come through the Lord. These instructions are not Paul’s instructions nor are they instructions that the church came up with. Rather, these instructions come from Jesus himself. They are very commands of God. So what are some ways we can please God?

First, by being sexually pure (3-8). Paul says in verse 3, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.” It’s not surprising that Paul begins with sexual purity. This is a problem throughout the whole world. The other day I heard that 50% of Christian men and 10% of Christian women  struggle  with impurity in their homes. Thessalonica was not any better. It was actually worse. In Thessalonica, men would have many women. They would live with them prior to marriage.  And even some men would marry and would have a lot of other women living with him. This is the way it was in Thessalonica. But Paul says very clearly to them to “abstain from sexual immorality”. This means to stop it! Don’t do it! It’s not right before God.

Verse 4 says, “That each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.” A lot of commentators have a problem with translating the word “body”. It could mean “wife”. If so, Paul is then urging the Thessalonians to take a wife and to be committed only to her and to no one else. The 7th Commandment teaches us that no one shall commit adultery. In Matthew 5:28, Jesus adds on to this by saying, “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” “Do not commit adultery” is a very precious command. It means, Mommy and Daddy should stay together, sleep in the same bed together,  kiss each other, and do that with no one else on the whole face of the earth, ever! Marriage and purity before marriage is a holy and honorable thing before God. Genesis 2:24 says, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”  A man and a woman  should not be with each other until they are married. And  Mommy should always stay with Daddy and Daddy should always stay with Mommy. This is the sweetest music a child could ever hear.

Paul continues in verse 5 saying, “Not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.” Here Paul addresses the mental thought of sexual immorality. If we don’t know how to control our thoughts, our desires, then we are in danger of actually doing it. James 1:15 says, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” In verse 6 Paul says, “That no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter.” Here Paul is talking directly to men. What he’s saying is, sexual sin does not only involve 1 man and 1 woman, but it also involves and hurts other people – children, other husbands, fathers, even God himself.

Some might be saying, “I know this. I want to please God, but I have a real problem.” So how can we overcome sexual impurity? Paul says in verse 5b,  “like Gentiles who do not know God.” Knowing God is the pathway to sexual purity. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 say, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” Why has God given us bodies? To glorify and to please him alone. So, what we watch, what we look at, what we buy, what we download, what we wear, and even what we say should please God.

 But what exactly can we know about God that will set us free from this sin? According to verse 1, it’s knowing God’s great love, patience,  and mercy for us. Paul says in verse 1 that the Thessalonians  were walking and pleasing God. But if they were, why would he bring up their sexual immorality in verse 3? So clearly they weren’t. What Paul is doing is, he’s acknowledging their sins, but at the same time he’s revealing God great love  mercy for them. He’s encouraging them to struggle hard to overcome. We are all sinners who deserve to die for our sins. But instead of condemning us as we deserve, God is merciful. God says, “You sinned, but I have given you my Son Jesus who died for your sins. So let’s repent and make progress.” This is the mercy, love and patience of God. God wants to save us from our sins. God wants us to be holy as he is holy (7). God wants to give us his Holy Spirit (8). And God wants to use our lives to bring people to Christ. If we’re not living a sexually pure life, how can we bring others to Jesus?  The only way is to live with sexual purity.

Second,  by loving one another(9-10).  Love is the very center of a Christian life. Our Lord Jesus showed us his greatest love ever by shedding his precious holy blood on the cross and dying for our sins. And God showed us his greatest love ever when he raised Jesus Christ from the dead. God wants Christians to love others as he loves us. Why is this? Because love pleases God. John 13:34 says, “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”But how can we love each other? Paul said in verse 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.”  According to verse 9, love is something that we can’t learn from someone else.  Rather,  love must be taught to us by God. During one evening meal, Jesus got up, took off his outer clothes and wrapped a towel around his waist. Then he poured some water into a basin and he began to wash his disciples’ feet. When he was done, he put on his clothes and sat back down at the table. Obviously, his disciples were in complete shock. How can God, the Savior of the world, humble himself so much to wash their feet?  Washing someone’s feet is a great act of love. I have a hard time watching my own kids cut their toe nails, but Jesus, bent down, and washed his disciples’ dirty feet. After doing so, Jesus said, “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” (Jn 13:15) God teaches us to love through the example of Jesus Christ. There are many things we can do to show the love of Christ to others. Next weekend, our High School kids will be heading to the Apalachian Mountains where they will help repair homes for low-income families. So many people in this nation need our help. They need someone to talk to. They need a friend. They need a place to stay. They need their homes repaired. God has taught us to love through Jesus Christ.

Third, by working for God’s glory (11-12). Verse 11 says, “And to aspire to live quietly, and  to mind your own affairs, and  to work with your hands, as we instructed you.”  The third way we can please God is by working for God’s glory. Today people work primarily to make money. Hardly anybody works as a means to reveal the love of Christ to others. For example, a lot of doctor’s don’t work for their patients. Once, when my son Timmy bumped his head and we brought him to the doctor, the doctors were pounding us with thousands of questions on how it happened. I felt more like a criminal than a parent who was concerned for his child. So why should we work?

First, work helps us to lead a quite life. In verse 11, Paul urged the Thessalonians to live a quiet life and to mind their own affairs. Evidently, because they weren’t working, the Thessalonians were staying up all night long making lots of noises. They even began to gossip and bother other people. “Hey, did you hear what Tim Fitch did the other day?” John Bunyan, a Christian author, once  wrote, “An idle man’s brain is the devil’s workshop.” Not working can cause one to have a feeling of un-quietness in their hearts.

Paul also tells us to “work with your hands”. In those days, working with your hands was degrading. It was meant for the lower class. But Paul tells the Thessalonians to “work with your hands”. Even Jesus used his hands in carpentry. Even the Father created us using dirt. What Paul is saying, no work is degrading. Just because you use your hands and not your mind, doesn’t mean anything.  Judging those who do manual work does not show love. Whether you sweep the street, clean the dirty bathrooms in the Bible House or use your mind to clean up people’s messes or preach a sermon, doesn’t matter. To God, all work is valuable and the same.

Finally, our work can lead non-believers to Christ. Verse 12 says, “So that your may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” Work can win the respect of outsiders, non-believers. This past week was a very hard week for me at work. Both my boss and I were under the watch of our  supervisor because of a mistake that I made. After the air had cleared, my boss sent me in instant message that said, “Stress, stress, go away, come again some other day.” Thinking that it was directed toward me, I apologized for me being his stress. But he replied saying that I don’t have the capability to make anyone feel stressed. My boss knows and acknowledges that I’m a Christian. And sometimes he even asks me about Jesus. Someday I really pray that he may accept Christ as his Lord and Savior.

Q2. How Can We Live A Gospel Centered Life (13-18)?

Verse 13 says, “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” From time to time, we  wonder what’s the point of trying to please God? The other day my friend said to me, “I might as well give into my sin since I’m going to keep on doing it anyway.” It is so easy to become faint-hearted as we live the Christian life. The Thessalonians became faint-hearted and grieved because they didn’t’ know how to deal with Christians who died before Christ’s coming. We too grieve. We grieve for those who have died. We grieve for those whom we love but who haven’t accepted Christ as their Savior.  We  grieve over our ministry, over our jobs, and over our sins. Paul isn’t saying that it’s wrong to grieve. But what he’s saying is, “Don’t grieve hopelessly”. Honestly speaking, we should be grieving because of our sins.  Our hearts are so wicked.  There are a lot of people who say, “I do live a moral life. I go to church. I  love others. I work.” But God looks down deep into our hearts and sees something totally different. He sees how we really are, full of sin.  Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” We are sick. We need help. What can we do?

Verse 14 says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” Our hope rests in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and in his 2nd coming. Yes, we are sinners, but we believe that Jesus died for our sins. Yes, it’s hard to live morally. But we believe that Jesus suffered for our sins. Yes, it’s hard to love others. But we believe that Jesus was crucified for our sins. Yes, it’s hard to work for God’s glory. But we believe that Jesus died and rose again. What happens when we believe that Jesus Christ died and rose again? We are changed! 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Verses 15-18 refer to Jesus’ 2nd coming. When Jesus comes again, everything in this sinful world will be completely destroyed. Those who have died in Christ will rise first. And those who are still alive will be caught up in the air with them to meet Jesus. Verse 17b says, “and so we will be with the Lord.” When Jesus comes again, we will be made perfect. We will have no more sin. We will have no more death. We will have no more sorrow. Revelation 21:5 says, “"I am making everything new!" Jesus’ death, resurrection, and his 2nd coming is our hope. If we struggle to live onto this hope, then we can live a life pleasing God. We can live the Christian life according the gospel.

Today we looked at 2 Questions: Why we should live a Christian life and how can we live a life pleasing to God. Paul gave us 3 instructions – Live purely before God, love one another, and work for God’s glory.  How can we do this as we strive to live in this fallen world? Paul says, “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” Our hope rests in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and in his 2nd coming.