1 Thessalonians 4 verses 1 to 8 Living to Please God

 

Introduction

Pastor-Theologian A.W. Tozer once said:

The Christian is not to be like a chameleon, changing his colour to match the environment around him. He is to stand out as a beacon of light, showing the way to Christ.

Sadly, as individuals and as the Church we often fail to stand out and show the way to Jesus. We can think of many scandals that have impacted the church in recent years- pastors caught in immoral relationships and churches with toxic environments.

So, we need to embrace Paul’s counter-cultural teaching in God’s Word today. Here we see that Believers are called to live a life pleasing to God. In a world that is controlled by dark desires and aimless urges we are to live self-controlled lives, obeying His Word with its call to holiness and fullness. This is a life pleasing to God that points to Christ and fullness in Him.

Last time we learned that Paul desired to be with Thessalonians so that he could bring the truth of the Gospel to bear on every aspect of their lives. But because he could not be with them in person he writes to supply what is lacking in their faith. So, here in Chapter 4, we see Paul wants the Thessalonians to be transformed Christ’s Word rather than conform to the patterns of the surrounding culture; to live holy, full lives because this is what pleases God.

To help us understand the passage before us today we are going to ask three questions:

How can I please God?

What does God’s Word say about pleasing God?

What does pleasing God look like in practice?

As we study God’s Word today, we see that God desires His People to be holy and whole- set apart to enjoy the fullness of life found only in following Jesus and living lives worthy of God in every area.

Let us see that, firstly, as we consider… How can I please God?

Paul begins by reminding the Thessalonian Believers that he had taught them the Christian life is centred on seeking to please God; in verse 1:

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.  

Having heard Timothy’s encouraging report, Paul affirms their present behaviour and instructs them to pursue living to please God with renewed passion.

Once agan Paul is warning them against complacency in the Christian life. Instead, like any Gospel pastor, Paul is passionately committed to their continued growth in likeness to Jesus and finding fullness in living for Him.

Paul is urging and encouraging them, like a loving father, to live lives that are worthy of the Gospel. Pleasing God and not men had shaped his own ministry and pleasing God not men would be the outworking of their Christian faith.

Continuing to please God is the main thing Paul is looking for in these Believers. This being true, we must ask the question: how can I please God?

Paul’s answer is simple but not easy: Christians will please God by following His Word. We see this as we look more closely at verse 2:

For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

And notice also what Paul says in verse 8:

Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

Pleasing God is intimately connected with accepting His Word. To reject God’s Word is to reject God Himself. Therefore, the degree to which Christians please God is seen in their willingness to follow Christ’s Word, given through the apostle.

Paul is clear that his instructions come with the authority of the Lord Jesus- Jesus Himself spoke through him about how to live a life that pleases God. To reject Paul’s words, therefore, is to reject God’s Word. Believers must honour what Christ has revealed through His apostle, even when that teaching challenges us.

Paul also refuses to separate the work of God’s Word from the work of God’s Spirit. To please God, we must receive and obey His Word, and the Holy Spirit enables us to do this. We please God through Spirit-enabled obedience to His Word.

In other words, the only way I can please God is through obeying Christ’s Word through the power of the Holy Spirit. In this way the Trinity, every part of God, is working together to help us please God in every part of our lives.

So Paul begins by seeking to encourage the Thessalonians in the Christian life and urge them to live increasingly to please God. And he makes clear that this can only be done as they obey God’s Word.

This, naturally, leads us to ask another question… What does God’s Word say about pleasing God?

Paul’s basic point is that God’s Word instructs us to live a life of holiness- a life that brings pleasure to God. And so, in verse 3 we read:

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality…

To be ‘sanctified’ is to be both declared holy and pursuing holiness. In other words, in Christ we have been made perfect in God’s sight, and now we are seeking to live a perfect life that pleases Him.

We come to Christ to receive cleansing for our sin and be declared holy by God. Then day by day we become more and more what God desires us to be. We increasingly experience the reality of being set apart for God and living for His purposes.

As those called out of darkness, we are now to walk in the light. As those rescued by Christ we must be growing in Christlikeness. This growth is the natural outworking of our new relationship with the true and living God; we belong to God and our lives must reflect this reality.

God’s Word calls us to and instructs us in this holy living. God, in His Word, tells us what pleases Him and helps us to live a life that pleases Him.

God’s Word does this by positive instruction, ‘…be sanctified…’, and by corresponding negative instruction, ‘…avoid sexual immorality…’. God’s Word gives clear boundary markers to show us where it is no longer possible to please God.

And so, in verse 3, and then in verse 7, there is instruction about what is to be avoided; in verse 7:

For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

Paul will focus on the area of sexual conduct in verses 4 to 6, but the mention of impurity in verse 7 reminds us to keep a wide focus on this issue of holy living.

The warnings against impurity and immorality are reinforced by verse 6:

…The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before

The Lord will never tolerate wilful disobedience. Instead, He will discipline those He loves and punish those who are opposed to Him- just as He blesses those who seek to please Him.

So, the Christian who wishes to please God must listen to and obey God’s Word. This Word encourages Believers to embrace holiness and warns of the consequences of embracing immorality or impurity. These are things which are to be intentionally and deliberately avoided.

The life of the Believer then is one of ‘both/and’. It is a life of seeking holiness and avoiding immorality. The Believer’s life is to be shaped by fleeing from darkness and running into the light; of pursuing fullness in Christ and leaving behind the empty ways of this world. The Believer is called to be holy because God is holy- God’s desire is that we would share in the perfection He enjoys.

But how are we to do this? We must ask one final question… What does pleasing God look like in practice?

In verses 4 to 6, Paul explains what holiness looks like in practice. Here he gives the Thessalonian Believers clear guidance so they can avoid sexual immorality and live in a way that pleases God.

To appreciate fully what Paul is saying here, we need to understand the world he was addressing. For those recently converted from the surrounding pagan culture, sexual morality would have been a pressing and significant issue.

Greco-Roman society was marked by sexual immorality and showed little regard for self-control. Many were driven by their urges and desires- their ‘passionate lusts’- with few restraints. Sexual fidelity was an optional extra for husbands, and a wide range of pre- and extramarital activity was tolerated and even encouraged. In effect, people were free to pursue whatever they wanted, with whomever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

Many of the Thessalonian Believers may have lived this way before coming to know the true and living God, so it is understandable that leaving their former lifestyle behind would have been difficult. Against this backdrop Paul counsels the Thessalonians to avoid sexual immorality and then spells out what that means in practice.

So, in verses 4 and 5 we read:

…each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God…

Paul emphasises the need to exercise self-control as he contrasts a life pleasing to God with the surrounding culture.

Paul instructs the Believers to ‘…control your own body…’as they pursue holiness and avoid sexual immorality. Believers are not simply to follow where their bodily desires might lead them. Instead, when tempted they are to exercise sexual self-control and remember that there is a right use for the body that is set apart for God’s purposes.

Self-control is part of the fruit of the Spirit. As verse 8 reminds us, God gives His Spirit to Believers and so self-control is only possible with God’s help.

And the self-control Paul commends is to be exercised in a way that is ‘…holy and honourable…’. These two words stand in total opposition to the ‘passionate lust’ of the surrounding culture. Believers are to recognise that their lives are lived before a God of utter perfection and purity. So Believers are to love God by keeping His commands and following His life-giving Way.

Believers are also to live an other-centred life that shows concern for their well-being. Rather than seeking to satisfy our own drives and desires, Believers are to honour others with loving concern and self-giving love

For Paul, sexual behaviour is not just an inconsequential private activity. Instead, it has an impact on one’s relationship with God and with other people- and so it must be exercised in a way that is respectful of both. So, sexual activity should be selfless rather than self-serving.

This helps us to appreciate what Paul is saying in verse 6:

…that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.

Whereas moral sexual relationships seek the honour of others, dishonourable sexual activity amounts to sinning against a Brother or Sister in God’s Family.

Paul’s concern is for the moral purity of the Church which distinguishes it from the surrounding culture. And Paul is also concerned for the bonds of unity in the Church Family.

These Believers need to learn to live distinctive, holy lives. And so, Paul gives a glorious vision of the Christian life as a life of fullness that brings pleasure to God and honours others in every possible way.

Conclusion

We could sum up our passage from God’s Word today like this: God’s desire is that Believers live holy lives by obeying His Word and exercising self-control, a fruit of the Spirit. This is what pleases God.

As we conclude, let me suggest a few ‘take aways’ from God’s Word today…

Firstly, recognise that holiness means fullness of life.

Paul’s great desire is that the Thessalonians should seek to please God increasingly. And this should lead us to ponder: In what terms do we describe our relationship with God? Is it just begrudging obedience? Or do we see the joy and fullness that comes from following God’s life-giving Way?

Would it make a difference to our lives if we viewed everything we do as an opportunity to bring pleasure to God?

Our relationship with Christ should be a joy, not a burden. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest… for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls…”

Following Jesus means finding fullness of life in His life-giving Way. The call to holiness is a call to live wholly for God and live life as it is supposed to be lived.

 

Secondly, remember that fullness of life is only found in following God’s Word.

Pleasing God, and the joy this brings, is intimately connected with our response to God’s Word. In His Word God tells us what pleases Him. In God’s Word we are shown the Way to live, the Truth about how life works best, and encouraged to find Life in Christ. So we must listen to God’s Truth and submit to God’s Way so that we might enjoy God’s blessing: Life to the full.

In the Christian life there are some things which we must avoid if we want to live a life that pleases God. Just like warning signs on a dangerous road, God in His wisdom gives us clear instructions and guidelines for our spiritual well-being. We should make every effort to avoid behaviour that is contrary to God’s good purposes for His Dearly Loved People. In this way we will enjoy the fullness that God offers to His People.

Thirdly, realise that fullness is for every Believer.

The calling to please God and enjoy the fullness He gives is for all God’s People. Every Christian has been called to a holy life, a life set apart for God and His perfect purposes. Remember the words of 1 Peter 2:

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God…

Notice there is no distinction between ordinary Christians and those who are seeking to be holy. Every Believer have been called to live in a way that pleases God.

We may sometimes wonder what ‘God’s Will’ is for us- should we marry this person? Should we accept this job? In every situation and wherever we are, we can know one thing for sure: God’s will is for us to live a holy life. As J.I. Packer once said:

God’s ultimate desire for a believer’s life is moral and spiritual transformation. He is much more concerned with who you are than what you do

Finally, receive God’s help to please Him.

In verse 7 we are told: God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. This is living to please God. But the pressures on Believers to conform to the culture are intense.

And this is a culture that lives far from God and does not want to live to please Him. Yet we must be distinctive as the Thessalonians were called to be in a culture that was very much like our own.

This calling, however, is not one we pursue in our own strength or ability. Instead, we receive God’s help: the Word of God and Spirit of God bringing real transformation to the heart and soul. In His Word He clearly instructs us. By His Spirit He lives inside us to guide us and strengthen us as we pursue holiness through self-control- is an authentic fruit of the Spirit.

Above all, we remember that in Christ God has made us holy in His sight. We live to please God because we are loved by God. We live holy lives because our God is holy and calls us to be holy as He is holy. We live to please God in the power that He supplies.