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October 30, 2019
First Thessalonians 4 makes it clear that in God’s purpose for sanctification, it is impossible to make progress while engaged in sexual immorality. Examining this passage, Alistair Begg emphasizes the importance of personal holiness for those who shepherd God’s people. A pastor’s secret life is key to his public usefulness, and one of his congregation’s great needs is his godliness. He must provide an example for those under his care to follow by steering clear of any sexual impurity.
1Finally, then, brothers,1 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you dreceived from us ehow you ought to walk and fto please God, just as you are doing, that you gdo so more and more. 2For hyou know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3For this is the will of God, iyour sanctification:2 jthat you abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each one of you know how to control his own kbody3 in holiness and lhonor, 5not in mthe passion of lust nlike the Gentiles owho do not know God; 6that no one transgress and pwrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is qan avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7For rGod has not called us for simpurity, but in holiness. 8Therefore twhoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, uwho gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9Now concerning vbrotherly love wyou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been xtaught by God yto love one another, 10for that indeed is what zyou are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ado this more and more, 11and to aspire bto live quietly, and cto mind your own affairs, and dto work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12so that you may ewalk properly before foutsiders and be dependent on no one.
13But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, gthat you may not grieve as others do hwho have no hope. 14For isince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him jthose who have fallen asleep. 15For this we declare to you kby a word from the Lord,4 that lwe who are alive, who are left until mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For nthe Lord himself will descend ofrom heaven pwith a cry of command, with the voice of qan archangel, and rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And sthe dead in Christ will rise first. 17Then we who are alive, who are left, will be tcaught up together with them uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so vwe will always be with the Lord. 18Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
