Don
Quixote had it easy. All he had to do was engage windmills in combat. The
Bible teacher must teach against adultery.
Paul’s
Appeal
Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort
you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction
as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that
you excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
(1Th 4:1-2 NASB)
In
happier days the teacher could skip over this. But I find it necessary to
begin this section by bringing to your attention the way in which Paul makes
his appeal to the Thessalonians – who are, by the way, well spoken of as
Christians. Pretend that you don’t know what’s coming, and see how Paul
prepares these people for the command he is to give.
How
he asks
There
are three things I would point out regarding the method by which Paul is to
make his point:
- He
“requests” them. The word in the Greek can also be translated “beseech”.
Note that he does not command them; he asks.
- He
“exhorts” them. The word in the original carries a picture of someone
coming along side you, encouraging you to what is good.
- He
does not command them, as an Apostle – rather he places the matter under
the authority of the Lord Jesus. We do not often consider that word,
authority – but they understood it.
What
he asks
He
will be specific in verse 3; but here he sets forth the general idea before
mentioning the specific item.
- He
asks them in accordance with the command (and example) they have already
seen – so this is no new thing.
- Indeed,
he asks them in accordance with the example they themselves have set for
others.
- To
do what? To walk (take action) in such a way as to please God. How could
they possibly object to that?
- Indeed,
he asks them for nothing new – just that they excel at what they are
already doing (or, in our case, should be.)
Indeed,
the entire matter is something he has taught them before; he is simply
reminding them. What comes out most strongly is this: it is not an opinion,
nor is it (as we would have it today) a case of “God knows best, even if you
don’t understand it.” It is the command of the Lord, given by the one who
holds all authority in heaven and on earth.
Drum
roll, please. Just what is he asking them to do?
The
Will of God
For this is the will of God, your
sanctification; that is, that you
abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own
vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles
who do not know God; and that no man
transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also
told you before and solemnly warned you.
For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
So, he who rejects this is not rejecting
man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
(1Th 4:3-8 NASB)
He
wants you to do what God wills. Which is, specifically?
- Your
sanctification. It means being set apart, being holy, being pure.
We want purity in our foods but not in ourselves; how could we possibly
be holy and pure?
- By
abstaining from sexual immorality. That’s how.
Now
the legal minded will begin to ask, “Just what do you mean, sexual immorality?”
To put this in the masculine sense, it means any sexual behavior with someone
other than your wife. Which, just to be specific, includes:
- Ordinary
sex with any other woman. Yes, that includes someone who is not married
to anyone. It includes the divorcee, the woman who’s having trouble in
her marriage, the one who asks you for it.
- Any
form of homosexual behavior.
Yes,
I know this is an unenlightened definition, as far as the world is concerned.
But just by way of comparison, 1600 years ago, when Chrysostom preached on the
subject in Constantinople, he had to spell it out to them too. We are so
modern and up to date, aren’t we?
“Possess
your vessel”
There
is a peculiar choice of words in this passage. The phrase “possess your
vessel” can have two different meanings, either of which would be allowed by
the context:
- It
could mean self-control of your own body. Paul would be saying, keep your
own body pure; do not let it become impure by sexual contact outside of
marriage.
- It
could also mean taking care of your wife (the expression is a common one
in Greek, I’m told). This may be a command to concentrate your sexual
efforts on pleasing and caring for your wife.
It’s
just possible, of course, that Paul saw both possibilities – and deliberately
intended them both. But in either translation, it means bodily purity – one
man, one woman, for life. That’s the personal side of it.
There
is also a corporate, or body, side to it. We’re fond of saying that it’s OK as
long as “no one gets hurt.” But as you do this, is it really possible that no
one gets hurt? Doesn’t her husband, or his wife, suffer from this? Adultery
changes the marriage relationship. It is the only sure ground of divorce in
the church – and one reason for this is the pain it causes. Even in our day it
is still referred to as “cheating.” Paul calls it defrauding your brother;
when you convince your brother in Christ of a lie so that you might take
advantage of him, it is fraud. If you really think no one gets hurt, ask his
permission first – and see if you see any signs of pain.
Finally,
there is one last reason. This is one way the world should be able to tell who
are the followers of God, and who are the followers of evil. While most of our
society will consider any form of sex to be completely acceptable, you’ll note
please that they have their standards for “real Christians.” One of them is
marital faithfulness.
What’s
God going to do about it?
Of
all the ideas that permeate the modern church, one of the most malicious is
this: God is never seen as commanding anyone in the church – he’s always
pointing out how wise his path might be. So if we find his wisdom inconvenient
(He just doesn’t understand the circumstances) we fear no punishment.
Paul
points out the danger of this particular delusion:
- We
were called to be holy, pure and righteous – and not just when convenient.
- To
reject this call is to reject the God who made that call upon us.
- This,
indeed, is to quench the Holy Spirit – whose task it is to convict the
world (including us) of sin and judgment to come.
OK,
but does this mean that God would actually do something? Yes indeed. Having
just pointed out to you that adultery defrauds your Christian brother, Paul now
mentions one other detail: vengeance belongs to God. Let’s suppose you are
wonderfully successful in concealing your relationship from her husband. You
have failed to deceive God; vengeance is his, and he will be both swift and
sure about it.
Why
don’t we fear this? Because we love the God of good advice (“the Bible is your
owner’s manual”) – and don’t know the living God of vengeance and justice.
How
then shall we live?
Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no
need for anyone to write to you, for you
yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it
toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to
excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend
to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so
that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.
(1Th 4:9-12 NASB)
The
love of the brethren
Paul
does not ask us to stop one form of behavior as much as he does ask us to
continue in another. How can you say that you love your Christian brother if
you’re having sex with his wife?
Having
disposed of that point, Paul now moves on to the behavior which God wants: for
us to love one another. Indeed, we are “taught by God” to love one another.
How? It’s his universe; do things right, and they work. These Christians
already had such brotherly love for each other; they knew the results. Paul
simply is telling that they should continue to excel in this department –
always room for improvement.
The
Quiet Life
When
we hear the word “ambition” we think immediately of some hard charging, no
nonsense young executive type working his way up the corporate ladder. Paul
gives us a different example here: we are to have as our ambition the quiet
life. Permit me the three obvious points:
- First,
we are to mind our own business. We can concern ourselves with others in
their need – but not in our curiosity.
- Next,
we are to work with our hands to obtain our material requirements. (What
this says about our common desire for retirement could be an interesting
discussion).
- We
are to do these things because they are commanded from God.
The
view from the outside
One
very good reason we are to behave in this way is simply this: The world sees
the church (as portrayed in our totally unbiased press) as a collection of wild
eyed weirdoes. The best counter to that is to show them Christians who are not
seen as pious beggars, but as hard working, quiet citizens, ready to give in
time of need.
Is
the Christian life a dull one?
It
is the oldest lie in creation: virtue is dull and boring, evil is exciting and
intellectually stimulating. Those who have chosen the ways of sin are quick to
sneer at those living the dull, virtuous life. But may I offer you a more
accurate comparison? In any third world country, you will see houses built out
of whatever materials are available. Flattened gas cans, wood scraps, old car
bumpers – to look at them they are much less interesting that a typical
American suburban home. What dull construction techniques we have! How highly
regulated our building contractors have become! Surely things would be more
exciting if we adopted the “no standards required” method of house
construction! Those houses are colorful; ours are dull and boring.
But
ask the people who live in those houses: would they like to exchange
lifestyles with someone who has a boring house? So why would you want to make
such an exchange?