WE ARE CALLED TO LIVE IN SUCH A WAY THAT PLEASES GOD
SCRIPTURE:
“As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” 1Thessalonians 4:1—8)
OBSERVATION:
The apostle Paul emphasizes the crucial importance of living in a way that pleases God. It’s not about living life on our own terms, but about living the life that God desires for us. This is a challenge that many believers face, as we often profess our faith in God but fail to live in accordance with His will.
Paul gave certain instructions on how to live to please God. In fact, Paul said to the Thessalonians that they were already living the kind of life that pleases God. Now, Paul said, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do more and more. The instructions that Paul gave to the believers were given to them by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
Two things that Paul emphasized here about the instructions are, IT WAS GIVEN BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE LORD JESUS. Secondly, IT IS God’s WILL that they must live sanctified lives. Paul gives out a list of how to live to please God. To live a sanctified life is to separate one’s life from the way the world around them lives life.
- We should avoid sexual immorality…the word immorality is given to all sexual preferential lifestyles and sinful sexual activities.
- We must learn to control our own bodies in a way that is HOLY and HONORABLE. In other words, my body no longer belongs to me to do what is unholy and dishonorable behaviors. I must learn how. I must learn to do more and more on how to control my desires.
- We must not live for sexual, passionate lust like pagans or the world around us that does not know God. The world today is pushing all kinds of sexual orientations and preferential lifestyles that are going against God’s word. Let the world live like the world, but we as believers ought not to live like them and normalize what they do in our lives. We are called to live holy and honorable lives.
- God did NOT call us to be impure but to live a holy life.
Paul ended these instructions to believers by giving them the consequences for those who choose to live with the passionate lust of a pagan who does not know God. Anyone who REJECTS these instructions does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives us his Holy Spirit. So, this is a very serious warning and consequence. It goes against the world we live in.
APPLICATION:
God’s words are never to be lowered; their standard is to be equal to the value of the world that I live in. God’s word is never in agreement with the many things that humans think are best for them. I want to live a life that is holy and honorable to God. I need God’s grace daily because I can never do it with my own power and strength. Many times my biblical values is challenges by the worldly values surrounding me. But I will submit to God’s will for my life and live a holy and honorable life that pleases God.
PRAYER:
Father, please help me to live a life that is holy and honorable to you. I ask that you teach me to shun the values of the society around me so I may be able to live a life that pleases you. Thank you for calling me into a life that is pleasing and honorable. I ask that you help me to stay true to your will for my life. In Jesus name, Amen!
