Holiness & Love Part 1 | 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Introduction:
Prayer and teaching.
Teaching and prayer.
This is what the Lord has ordained for the growth of His people, and this is what is on display in Paul’s letter.
He has written a prayer on behalf of the Thessalonians (3:11-13).
He prays for their growth in love (vs.12), and for them to be established in holiness (vs.13).
Now, in chapter 4, he follows that prayer with exhortation and teaching.
What does the exhortation and teaching address?
Holiness in verses 1-8.
Love in verses 9-12.
He PRAYS for love and holiness; he then EXHORTS for holiness and love.
Prayer and teaching go together.
This is another lesson about genuine shepherding.
THE LOVE OF SHEPHERDS, AND THE INTERCESSION OF SHEPHERDS, IS JOINED TO THE FEEDING WORK OF SHEPHERDS.
Shepherds don’t just PRAY for God’s people, they FEED God’s people with the food of truth.
ESV Acts 6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."
BUT IN THIS INSTRUCTION OTHER CONNECTIONS BECOME APPARENT.
PRAYER GOES WITH TEACHING - TEACHING GOES WITH PRAYER.
But now look at the AIM of those prayers and the CONTENT of that teaching, and another connection becomes clear.
HOLINESS BELONGS TO LOVE AND LOVE BELONGS TO HOLINESS.
True love is married to holiness, and true holiness is never divorced from love.
The wellbeing of the people of God - you could say the HAPPINESS of the people of God - requires the HOLINESS of the people of God.
AND WHEN WE SAY HOLINESS, IN THIS CONTEXT, WE ARE REFERRING TO EXPERIENTIAL HOLINESS.
SALVATION RESULTS IN POSITIONAL HOLINESS.
But where the gift of JUSTIFICATION has been given, the work of PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION follows.
The gift of positional holiness must be matched with (and ultimately will result in) the growth of PERSONAL HOLINESS.
These are the themes that stand out in our verses.
Beginning tonight we think about holiness and love. We see exhortations and explanations concerning holiness and love that agree with the apostle’s intercessions.
I. AN EXHORTATION TO INCREASING HOLINESS (vs.1)
Paul begins this chapter with an exhortation regarding a LIFESTYLE, a WAY OF LIVING, (walk and please) that pleases God.
Περιπατέω - “to conduct one’s life, comport oneself, behave, live as a habit of conduct.”
The Thessalonians are living in the moral sewage of paganism. They live in a world of demonic belief in a pantheon of gods, where the gods are as perverted as the devil wants PEOPLE to be. The gods have been formed in the demonically inspired minds of men who wish for their gods to affirm their wicked desires.
The Thessalonian believers have been saved OUT OF THAT WORLD of demonic superstition and ignorance. And now they must live in accordance with God’s sanctifying purpose.
THEY DO NOT LIVE TO PLEASE THEIR WORLD.
THEY DO NOT LIVE TO PLEASE THEMSELVES.
THEY LIVE TO PLEASE THEIR GOD.
This is not just a matter of DOCTRINE.
This is a matter of THEIR WALK - THE ENTIRE PERSON AND THE ENTIRE LIFE.
This is a concern that runs throughout the letter to the very end.
ESV 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
QUESTION: SHOULD THIS NOT BE A MATTER OF EARNEST PRAYER AT OUR OWN TIME?
Are we not living in a post-Christian pagan society?
Are we not witnessing immorality in ways new to our generation?
Is it too strong to say that we are witnessing INVENTIONS OF EVIL?