I Thessalonians 4: 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 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. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
God's Will. Sometimes we act as if it's such an elusive dream, a spiritual greased watermelon we try to grab onto, but it keeps getting away from us. We make it too hard. God's will is our sanctification, our "putting to death" the old sinful nature and becoming more like Christ. Paul then gives the ever-present, all-American illustration: sexual purity in thought, word and deed. Is it any surprise our culture still struggles with it? God's will is not a priority. Simply put, Paul says we say no to immorality of any sort, that we allow the Spirit to control our passions, not our passions control us. He then points out the human side of the issue: social responsibility. As followers of Christ, we should be all about not only pleasing God, but purifying society, beginning with us. God's will is that we live with others in heart and mind, and that we not take away from them any of the "Divine Image" which He has imparted to them as God's special creation. We are not to look upon, speak about, or act towards others in an invasive way, as if they exist to please us. Paul concludes with a piercing thought: If we live as if we don't care... we don't care. We don't care about God's Will. So do we really have His Holy Spirit after all? Sobering thoughts for a selfish society.
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