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.
For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification,
that you abstain from sexual immorality,
that each one of you know how to control his body in holiness and honor,
not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God,
that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter,
because the Lord is an avenger in all these things,
as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
Therefore, whoever disregards this disregards not man,
but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Amen.
We've reached a significant turning point in Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonica.
He is moving here from his desire for the Thessalonians to continue in the faith
to now focusing in on specific instructions for continuing in obedience.
So for the first three chapters, he's really zeroed in on his desire for them to stay faithful,
to persevere in the gospel.
And now that Timothy has returned with his report
and their faith in the gospel and their perseverance in the gospel has been confirmed,
Paul now transitions to speak of a different type of continuance.
He speaks of how they must continue in obedience to the Lord.
And those two ideas are intentionally ordered in the letter.
They're also necessarily linked,
which is made clear in the opening words of verse one.
Paul says,
Finally then, brothers.
Finally, not being an indication that he's closing the letter,
but that he's drawing some conclusions based on everything that he has just said.
Finally then, brothers.
And he moves on with his instruction.
And Paul's instructions and teaching from here to the end of the letter
are based on their understanding of and belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And this is an essential pattern that we actually find in the New Testament.
Paul speaks to them in this passage as speaking to those who have received salvation,
not as if they are those he hopes will receive salvation.
And that is a necessary structure for us to pay attention to.
If you're not a Christian today, I'm glad that you're here,
but I don't want you to misunderstand this text
since we're parachuting in to a portion of the letter.
And you may not be aware of what he's just said before.
Please don't take the instruction of Paul in these eight verses
as the means of becoming a Christian.
That's not what this is.
No, obedience doesn't create a Christian.
It reveals one.
And to become a Christian,
you must trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and life.
And truly, you must understand your sin before God
and the judgment against you as a result of your rebellion against him
and turning from that sin to faith in Christ.
But I don't want you to come to this text
and this focus we have on Christian instruction.
I don't want you to come to it and think that,
well, if I just live with the kind of morality that Paul mentions here,
then that is the thing that will make me acceptable to God
and earn me eternal salvation.
That's not true.
And that's not the point that Paul is making here.
And we know that because there's three chapters worth of gospel emphasis
leading all the way up to this instruction.
So when Paul instructs them on how to live in righteousness,
he instructs them as those who have already received salvation,
not those whom he hopes will receive it through their obedience.
Belief always affects behavior.
And we should not be surprised that following Jesus
involves submitting to his authority over our lives.
And again, while godly behavior does not contribute to our salvation,
it is actually a consequence of it.
And that is one of the things that comes immediately to the surface
as we begin this text.
Now, the opening verses of chapter 4 make this truth actually abundantly clear.
The text begins Paul's instruction regarding Christian behavior,
and it emphasizes holiness, righteousness, purity
as God's divine will for his people.
In fact, Paul actually goes above and beyond to stress
that the commands in this text do not originate with him,
but they actually originate with God
and are simply delivered through him as God's messenger.
Their holiness is God's desire,
and it is to the Lord that they will answer.
Let's just trace this.
In the text, verse 1, he says,
we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus.
In other words, we're saying these things with his authority.
Again, in verse 1, how you ought to walk to please God.
In other words, your desire, Thessalonians,
should not be just to please Paul.
This doesn't originate with me.
We want you to please God.
This is his will for your life.
Verse 2, the instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
In other words, he's just repeating what Jesus taught.
Verse 3, this is the will of God.
Verse 5, not like the Gentiles who do not know God.
Verse 6, the Lord is an avenger in all these things.
Verse 7, God has called us in holiness.
Verse 8, disregards God who gives his Holy Spirit.
Now, what am I saying?
The bottom line is, God calls his people,
those whom he saves by faith in Jesus Christ,
to be holy.
Our faith in Christ dramatically affects our behavior before Christ.
And how we live matters to God.
Matters.
He instructs us about his will,
and he enables us by the power of his Holy Spirit
to perform his will,
breaking us free from the bondage of our sin.
Now, two instructions flow out of Paul's argument in the text.
The first is broad, general.
Christians should seek to please God.
The second instruction is narrow and specific.
Christians should seek to please God through sexual purity.
And then he concludes at the end
that rejecting this instruction for purity
is tantamount to rejecting God himself.
Okay?
So that's the aim of what we're doing.
We want to see the broad instruction
that our aim as God's people
should be to please God in all things.
We want to see the narrow instruction
that God calls us to obey him in specific things.
And in this text, that's sexual purity.
And then we want to understand concluding thoughts
that if we disregard this instruction on sexual purity,
we disregard God.
So let's first look at the broad instruction.
Christians are called to please God.
They're called to please God.
Look at verses one and two again.
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.
For you know what instructions we gave you
through the Lord Jesus.
Now this first instruction for living as a Christian
is broad, isn't it?
He doesn't address any specific area of life here.
He considers godliness holistically.
Righteousness holistically.
There is an urgency to what he's saying.
He literally uses the term urge here.
But there's also divine authority behind what he's saying.
He urged them in the Lord Jesus
with instructions that came from the Lord Jesus.
But what is it exactly that Paul is instructing them
with the authority of Christ to do?
Well, very simply, he instructed them to live a life
that pleases God.
Live a life that pleases God.
In other words, before he confronted any specific area
of sin in their lives, he begins his argument by saying
that their entire lives were to be oriented
to glorifying and obeying God.
A necessary starting point for any of us.
Before we ever dive into specific areas of our lives
that we need to correct or change or transform
in obedience to God, we need to start from the understanding
that we're actually called just to obey God
with all of our lives.
That there is no part of our life
that God does not care about.
And of course, if you're a Christian,
you should understand this to be God's purpose
in saving you.
He created each of us in his image
so that we might display his glory
in the created world.
However, because of our sin,
that image is marred.
We all fall short of God's glory.
So what did God do?
He sent his son in human flesh,
Jesus Christ, to do what?
To redeem us from sin
and to restore us to glory.
By the blood of Christ, our sins are forgiven.
And by the power of his spirit,
God breaks us free from the bondage of sin
so that we might indeed please him,
fulfilling the purpose for which he created us,
his own glory.
This is the transformational work
that God does in those who trust in Jesus.
And pleasing him in all of life
should be our desire
and it should actually be our delight.
We are saved by faith unto works,
which is made clear for us in Ephesians 2.
Paul says,
for by grace,
you have been saved through faith.
This is not your own doing.
It's the gift of God,
not a result of works,
so that no one may boast.
But then he follows that up with,
but you are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus
for good works,
which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them.
Now there's two implications
of Paul's opening instruction
that I want to highlight
before we get to his narrow instruction.
The first thing I want you to understand here
or see here is the reality of progress.
The reality of progress.
Look at what Paul says.
As you receive from us
how you ought to walk and to please God.
And then notice what he says.
Just as you're doing,
that you will do so more and more.
There's progress here, isn't there?
Based on Timothy's report,
Paul recognized that the Thessalonian Christians
were indeed actively seeking
to please the Lord with their lives.
They received Paul's instruction from the Lord.
They received it as from the Lord.
And they were presently aiming
to please God in the way that they lived.
What Paul urged them to do in this moment
was to increase in that godliness
more and more.
In other words, he says,
you're pursuing God.
You're pursuing obedience now.
You're doing it.
We praise the Lord for that.
Keep doing it.
Do it more.
This introduces us to the reality
of progress in the grace of God.
Holiness, it's a lifelong work of God's grace.
We should expect to grow in it.
We should expect that
in the progressive work of God's grace
that we're more obedient to the Lord today
than what we were a year ago
or five years ago
or 10 years ago.
But there's another side to this, isn't there?
The reality of progress
might bring comfort,
at least in this regard,
that we ought not be surprised
that we do indeed still fail.
God calls us to pursue holiness.
But in the end,
he is the one
who will bring it to completion.
And we see that finally in chapter five.
If you just set your eyes on it.
In Paul's prayer at the end of the letter
in verse 23 of chapter five,
now may the God of peace himself
sanctify you completely,
make you holy completely.
Bring this work of grace
that he's started in your life.
May he bring it to full completion.
When?
At the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then just to make sure
that they understood
the comfort of that statement,
he follows it up by saying,
he is faithful.
He will do it.
I hope that's an encouragement to you.
I hope it's an evaluative tool
that you examine your life
and hopefully there's a progress
of grace and obedience there
since the day that you came to Christ.
But I hope it's a comfort to you
to know that you're not
going to be perfect today
and you're not going to be perfect tomorrow
unless tomorrow is the time
that the Lord returns.
He is doing this work.
He is faithful to do it.
And one day he's going to complete that work.
And we should rest in that
as we pursue it in our daily lives.
So the reality of progress.
I also want you to see here
the necessity of Christian community.
The necessity of Christian community.
Now I want to belabor the point
because we've talked about it a lot
in the previous chapter.
But just as God used Paul and his team
to strengthen the faith of the Thessalonians,
he uses them here
to increase their obedience as well.
As we discovered in chapter 3,
verses 11 to 13,
Paul expected that through their ministry
to one another,
God would establish the church
in holiness
until the return of the Lord.
Just set your eyes on it again
in chapter 3 and verse 12.
May the Lord make you increase
and abound in love for one another
and for all as we do for you
so that through your love for one another,
he may establish your hearts
blameless in holiness
at the coming of the Lord.
Our sanctification is a progressive work
of God's grace
that God accomplishes,
in part at least,
through our ministry to one another.
We need one another in this.
When our feet begin to slip
in a particular area,
we need Christians
who love God
and love us
to come alongside of us
and say,
hey,
let me just remind you
to walk to please God.
Isn't that the work that God does?
Isn't that how he uses us
in one another's lives?
Now, the church didn't need for Paul
to rehearse every instruction
that he had given them before.
I think that's the implication of verse 2.
He says,
you know what instructions we gave you.
You're aware of those things.
Keep doing them.
Keep growing in them.
But there were some areas
he believed needed to be
specifically addressed
for this church.
And that brings us
to the narrow instruction
of the next few verses.
Let's look at it together.
The narrow instructions.
What is it?
Christians are called to please God
in sexual purity.
Now, in verses 3 to 7,
Paul moves from this broad instruction again
to please God holistically
to a narrow instruction
to please God specifically.
And the specific area of holiness
he addressed
is sexual purity.
But significant to the way
he addresses it
is that he confronted the issue
by bookending it
with two explicit statements
of God's will
for their holiness.
He does the sandwich effect here,
doesn't he?
He starts with God's desire
for their holiness.
He ends with God's desire
for their holiness.
And sandwiched in between
those two affirmations
is the instruction
on sexual purity.
Just look at verse 3
and verse 7.
He says,
for this is the will of God.
This is God's will.
Your sanctification.
Verse 7,
God has not called us
for impurity.
God's will,
God's call,
is holiness.
Now, what's translated
in verse 3
as sanctification
and translated
as holiness
in verse 7,
it's the same exact word.
Same exact one.
It refers, of course,
to the concept
of moral purity.
And in the broad sense,
holiness refers
to a life
that is set apart
for God's glory.
That's a part
of that transformational
work in the gospel.
God takes a sinner,
he redeems the sinner,
and he transforms
the sinner,
sets them apart
for his own glory
to display his glory
to the watching world.
Paul uses the term here
narrowly
to refer specifically
to sexual purity.
So on the front end,
he reminds us
that holiness
through sexual purity
is God's will.
And on the back end,
his charge is followed up
with the assertion
that in calling us
to salvation,
God doesn't call us
to impurity,
but to holiness.
What am I saying?
As a Christian,
God calls you
to live a life
that is pleasing to him.
and living in sexual purity
is one such way
that we fulfill
his divine will.
It's not an option.
It's not a request.
It is the explicit command
of God
for our lives.
and if you are
indeed a Christian,
that will mean something
to you
as you come
to this text.
Now,
I probably don't have
to convince you
of the relevance
of this instruction
for us today.
The dominant thought
in our day
is not only
that sexuality
is a matter
of preference,
but that is
an issue
of identity.
It's understood
by many
not simply
as something
an individual
does,
but as crucial
to who they are
as a person.
So,
to acknowledge
certain sexual behaviors
as sins
against God
is received
immediately
as a personal attack
against the individual
himself.
This is a corrupt
worldview.
We understand that.
But the corruption
of it
has actually
infiltrated the church.
There's many
professing Christians
who are actively
waging war
against the will
of God
that they claim
to know
and worship.
It is to the Christian
who excuses
and engages
in sexual sin
that God
aims his words
in this text.
And the instructions,
there's three elements
to them,
each expanding
a little bit further
on the previous one.
The first one
is this.
God's call
to abstain
from sexual sin.
God's call
to abstain
from sexual sin.
Look at verse 3.
For this
is the will
of God,
your sanctification,
your holiness,
your purity.
Number one,
that you abstain
from sexual
immorality.
Now,
this needs
a point of clarity,
doesn't it?
The command
here
is not
to abstain
from sex.
That's not
the command.
Christians
through the centuries
have mistook
this
and they have
treated sex
as if it's a disease,
as if it's a problem
that by its nature
is something wrong
and dirty.
That is not
what the scripture
teaches at all.
The call
for abstention
is not from sex
itself.
It is from
sexual behavior
that is out
of line
with God's
design
and therefore
disobedient
to God's demands.
Now,
to understand
the prohibition
fully,
we need to
grasp the fact
that sex
is God's idea
and he has
given it to mankind
as a wonderful
blessing.
He created it
as a conduit
for human
pleasure,
for procreation
and also
for promise.
But he also
set the terms
for how this
blessing is to
be enjoyed.
And I want
to just point
out three
dynamics of
God's design
from creation.
And I'll just
get you started
on this and
you can run
with it in
your own study.
First,
I want you
to notice
that God
sets the
parameters
biologically.
He sets
the parameters
biologically.
Genesis
chapter 1
verse 27.
So God
created man
in his own
image.
In the image
of God,
he created
him.
Male and
female,
he created
them.
God created
humans with
two distinct
genders,
male and
female.
And he
fashioned their
bodies so that
they might
naturally engage
in this
blessing.
God's design
for sex,
therefore,
is made
clear in
human biology
in the way
that he has
created us.
But we can't
stop at
biology,
can we?
If we just
stop at
biology,
we might get
the male and
female part
right,
but then we
might assume
that,
well,
it's permissible
then to
participate in
this kind of
behavior with
any male or
any female or
in any
combination.
So we can't
just stop at
biology,
we have to
move forward.
And we learn,
secondly,
that he sets
the parameters
relationally.
He sets the
parameters
relationally.
Genesis 2,
verse 24,
therefore,
a man shall
leave his
father and
mother and
hold fast to
his wife,
and they
shall become
one flesh.
God designed
the blessing
of sex to
be freely
enjoyed within
the bonds
of covenant
marriage.
And within
this relational
boundary from
the very
beginning of
creation,
we are free
to reap the
benefits and
blessings of
pleasure and
procreation and
promise.
But there's one
more dynamic to
understand.
And of course,
we have to
understand this,
especially as
Christians.
God sets the
parameters biologically,
he sets the
parameters
relationally,
he sets the
parameters
spiritually,
spiritually.
And we might
return to
Genesis 2 to
the one flesh
statement as
being created by
God and
ordained by
God.
That's enough
for us.
Let me just
read a New
Testament passage
in relation to
this.
Hebrews 13,
verse 4,
let marriage
be held in
honor among
all,
and let the
marriage bed
be undefiled,
for God will
judge the
sexually immoral
and adulterous.
Now what am I
saying?
The one flesh
union is more
profound than a
physical act.
It's more than
that.
Sex is the
physical fusion
of a deeply
spiritual union
between a man
and woman under
God.
God has
designed it to
connect the two
consenting
individuals in
ways that go
well beyond the
physical act.
And we understand
that intuitively.
There is a
spiritual nature
to this.
There is an
emotional,
psychological link
that comes
through this
act.
And God
created it so.
He designed
it to do
this.
It is not
merely a
physical activity.
It is a
spiritual one
that is to
be kept
sacred,
holy.
Or in the
terms of
Hebrews 13,
it should not
be defiled.
Biologically,
man and
woman only.
Relationally,
a specific
man and
woman only.
spiritually,
a sacred
act to be
held in
honor.
Now back
to 1 Thessalonians
4.
This term
sexual
immorality,
we need to
understand it.
All of
God's
commands
regarding
sexual
behavior in
the Bible,
they are
not there
to oppress
you.
They are
not there
merely to
withhold from
you something
that you think
is good.
He gave
them graciously
to us in
order that
He might
protect the
sanctity of
marriage and
the marriage
bed.
That's His
design.
And His
design for
human flourishing
is always the
greatest good.
Sexual
immorality,
then,
refers broadly
to any
sexual activity
that is
outside of
God's
design and
protective
demands.
It includes
unnatural
behavior that
violates His
biological
design.
Homosexuality.
The Bible
enumerates
bestiality.
There's weird
things happening
with artificial
intelligence now
that we need to
pay attention to
in our world
and in our
culture.
We cannot
excuse that.
God does not
excuse that.
It also
includes
extramarital
behavior that
violates God's
relational design.
The biblical
terms for this
are fornication
and adultery
primarily.
Sex before
you're married,
sex with
someone that
you're not
married to.
Of course,
we understand
this to
include
pornography.
All of
these things
would be a
violation of
God's relational
design.
It also
includes
irreverent
behavior that
profanes His
spiritual design.
That this is
something to be
held in honor,
sacred,
respectful,
which means
that anything
that cheapens
or dishonors
even within
the bond of
marriage
is prohibited
by God's
design.
Loved
ones,
God calls
us
to holiness,
which means
that He
calls us
to purity.
It's not
merely an
option on the
table that we
can take or
leave.
It is the
command of
God given
for our
good and
for His
glory,
and we
must obey
it if we
are to
please Him.
And He
has made
it abundantly
clear.
It's not
debatable.
It's clear.
Second,
Paul shows
us what it
takes to
abstain from
sexual sin.
What it
takes to
abstain from
sexual sin.
Look at
verses 4
and 5.
He expands
on that first
instruction.
He says
that each
one of
you will
do this
by knowing
how to
control
his own
body
in holiness
and honor,
not in the
passion of
lust like
the Gentiles
who do not
know God.
Now just
quickly,
the pathway
to sexual
purity that
pleases the
Lord is
self-control.
Self-control.
And what's
so helpful
on this
point is
the comparison
that Paul
uses to
drive this
home.
The Christian
self-control
that you may
know how to
control your
body in
holiness,
the Christian
self-control
is set here
against those
who do not
know God
and are
therefore
mastered
by their
passions.
Now whether
Paul is
using Gentile
here in the
technical sense
of a non-Jew
or in the
figurative sense
of an unbeliever,
the point
remains the
same.
Sexual sin
is the
mark of
someone who
is either
ignorant of
or rebellious
to God
and his
word.
But the
one who
has been
graciously
freed from
the bondage
of sin,
that has
the ability
of the
control
that God
commands here.
Oh, he's
marked by
self-control.
He masters
his passions
rather than
having his
passions master
him.
And that
doesn't mean
that a
genuine
Christian will
never be
guilty of
sexual sin.
That's not
the point
Paul's
making.
After all,
Paul confronts
it in
Thessalonica
after having
just
acknowledged
confirming
that they
are indeed
in Christ.
He says,
I know,
I'm confident
that you are
chosen of
God.
I've seen
his work
and the
perseverance
of your
faith is
what proves
it.
He's speaking
to people
that he
believes to
be genuine
Christians
who have
a serious
weakness
of sexual
sin in
their lives
and in
their midst.
So he
does not
mean to
say that
the presence
of sexual
sin itself
means that
you're not
a real
Christian.
But the
point is
clear that
at the
very least
engaging in
sexual sin
is to
live as
if you
do not
know God.
So in
the grace
and power
of the
Spirit,
we need
to learn
self-control,
to take
our thoughts
captive,
to employ
the help
and the
prayer and
the assistance
of others
in our
Christian
community
to help
us through
this,
to be
committed
first to
pleasing the
Lord holistically
so that we
might endeavor
to learn
self-control
in the
specifics of
sexual
purity.
Third,
he shows
us the
consequences
of engaging
in sexual
sin.
Verse 6,
that no one
transgress or
wrong his
brother in
this matter
because the
Lord is an
avenger in
all these
things as
we told you
beforehand
and solemnly
warned you.
Paul takes
his argument
one step
further here.
He reminds
us that
sexual
immorality
is not
only a
sin against
God,
it's a
sin against
others.
when we
engage in
it,
we violate
the purity
of those
with whom
we engage.
And that
he mentions
this as a
warning or
wronging of
a brother,
he introduces
the potential
of Christians
engaging in
this behavior
together,
wronging one
another and
transgressing one
another before
God.
And whatever
the precise
cultural context
was in Paul's
mind,
and there's
many that
could have
been in
the forefront
of his
mind,
he doesn't
explain that,
but the
fact remains
that sexual
sin is a
sin against
God and
it's a sin
against others,
which means
that the
warning here
is serious.
It's serious.
The Lord is
an avenger in
all these
things.
He avenges
those who
are sinned
against in
this way.
the Lord
will judge
those who
engage in
sexual sin
transgressing
others in
the process.
Jesus himself
said,
it would be
better that
you wrap a
millstone around
your neck and
jump into the
sea than it
would be for
you to cause
one of mine
to sin.
Warning,
warning,
warning.
Judgment
awaits those
who engage
in this.
Judgment
in this
letter always
refers to the
day of judgment
at Christ's
return.
Again,
that doesn't
mean a
Christian who
sins will
have his or
her salvation
taken away
and will be
forced now to
endure God's
wrath.
That's not what
this means,
but the
implication is
that those
who willfully
participate
prove
not to be
saved.
And they
will stand
before God's
judgment in
the end.
Our behavior
doesn't save
us, but it
does expose
us in many
ways.
So Paul
issues the
warning.
The Lord is
an avenger on
these things.
The Lord will
judge those
who willfully,
rebelliously
engage in
sin against
God and
against his
brother.
Finally,
we get to
the weighty
conclusion of
verse 8,
which is
summarized in
this statement.
To disregard
the call
is to
disregard
God.
To disregard
the call
is to
disregard
God.
It's
straightforward.
Verse 8,
therefore,
it indicates
he's drawing
one massive
conclusion to
everything he's
just said.
therefore,
whoever
disregards
this,
disregards
not man,
but God,
who gives
us his
Holy Spirit.
A huge
portion of
this text is
given to the
specific issue
of sexual
sin.
I said at the
beginning that
the main
emphasis is that
God calls us
to be holy,
not just about
sex, but in
all of life.
I pointed
out how many
times Paul
stressed that
the imperatives
he gave came
from God,
and then here
at the end,
he drives the
emphasis all the
way home.
Now, some of
our consciences
are bothered
when we
disobey people
that we respect
or love or
that have some
authority in
our lives,
but generally,
it doesn't
affect us too
deeply to go
against the
commands of
men, does
it?
Some of us
enjoy it,
but when it
comes to the
commands of
the Bible,
it's not man
we disregard.
It's God
himself.
Lest the
Thessalonians
shrug off
Paul's instruction
and say,
oh, you know
how Paul is.
He's not
married, he's
celibate, he's
given his whole
life to this
ministry thing,
I get that
he's on about
this thing, but
it's really not
that big a deal.
After all, Christ
has forgiven us,
right?
Paul says, look,
if you're going to
engage in this,
don't think that
you're shrugging
off my command.
This is not my
command.
This is coming
from the Lord
himself.
To reject God's
will is tantamount
to rejecting God
himself.
To willfully
violate his
commands is to
quench his
spirit by whom
he writes his
law upon the
table of our
hearts.
And particularly
with sexual
sin, it is to
profane the
temple of the
Holy Spirit,
which is our
bodies.
So we cannot
dismiss the
biblical instructions
on holiness.
It's what God
calls us to, and
we must seek to
please him in all
things.
Now I want to
finish the way I
started.
Paul was
intentional in the
ordering of his
material.
We can't escape
that, and we
mustn't dismiss it.
The emphasis on
righteous living
comes after he
recognized the
genuine faith of
the Thessalonian
Christians.
He rejoiced
confidently in
their conversion,
not because they
were morally
upright.
clearly they had
some moral
problems.
No, he
rejoiced because
they trusted
Christ as Lord
and Savior.
Many people begin
to get this
backwards, supposing
that the way to
salvation is
morality.
However, no
present or future
moral effort will
ever be enough to
satisfy God's
perfect standard,
which has already
been broken by all
of us.
It's in our
nature.
In fact, you
come to a text
like this, and
you may sense the
weight of that
reality, recognizing
that if pleasing
God requires this
kind of purity,
there's no way that
you'll ever be able
to please him.
And let me remind
you that the weight
of the law is a
burden that not
one of us can
actually bear.
We're crushed
beneath it.
All of us are
sinners before him.
All of us destined
for his wrath.
So what's the
solution then?
If the solution
isn't just to try
to get things in
order and hope
that God says,
ah, you tried
hard enough, I
guess I'll let you
in.
If that doesn't
work, what will?
In his great love,
God sent his
son, who perfectly
fulfilled all of
his law.
He lived the life
we were meant to
live, never sinning
even one time.
But then he paid
the penalty of God's
wrath for sin in our
place.
On the cross,
Jesus became the
sacrificial lamb
pictured in the
Old Testament.
And then God
raised him from the
dead, showing that
his atonement, his
death was sufficient.
That it did
everything that we
needed for it to
do.
We need to add
nothing to it now.
He is enough.
And then he turns
and he says,
come to me,
if you will come
to me,
and receive this
mercy.
Mercy is all that
you will receive.
On the cross,
God treated his
son as if he had
sinned,
so that in the
judgment at the
end, he might
might treat us
as if we have
not.
That's the hope.
So if you're not a
Christian, what are you
supposed to do with
this?
I want you to
recognize that Jesus
is your only hope.
You'll never be good
enough, but you don't
have to be.
He was good for you.
Turn from the
ignorance and
rebellion.
Why wouldn't you?
This is a great
gospel.
There's none like it.
And if you are a
Christian,
and perhaps you've
fallen in this way
and it's a struggle
for you,
can I just remind
you that Christ's
mercy is greater
than your sin.
His mercy is great.
But I urge you,
however,
to live
to please God
and do not
disregard what he
has said.
Let's pray.
through the