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All right. Good morning. Good morning. It’s great to see you all this morning. It’s going to be a whopping 39 degrees, which means most likely there’ll be people wearing shorts by this afternoon. So that’s something to be grateful about.
My name is Wes. I’m a pastoral assistant here at Red Village Church. I lead the youth and the college students here at the church, which I really enjoy doing. I’m grateful to be able to open up God’s Word for us today. That being said, we are studying 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 1 through 12. So if you have a Bible, go ahead and grab it and open up to 1 Thessalonians 4. I’m going to read the passage and then ask for God’s help to work through it, verse by verse.
1 Thessalonians Chapter 4
Here is what the word of the Lord says:
“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive 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 own 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. Now, concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. For that, indeed, is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more and to aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs and to work with your hands as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”
That’s God’s word for us.
Please pray for it with me:
“Lord, we thank you for your word, God—how it helps us to hear your voice, to grow in godliness, and to know Christ. I pray, Lord, may you speak to us this morning. May you give us ears and hearts to receive your word and bless this time. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
All right, so last time I preached in 1 Thessalonians was in October. I’m going to give you a recap of the letter, and then I’ll dive into chapter four.
1 Thessalonians is the first of two letters written by Paul to the church in Thessalonica. He did so to encourage the Thessalonian church and to remind them that sanctification in the midst of persecution is God’s will for their lives. Paul also wrote this letter to address some misunderstandings that the Thessalonians had regarding end-time events and Jesus’ return.
Paul and Silas were only able to stay with the believers for a short time before the Jews in Thessalonica became jealous and formed a mob, which forced Paul and Silas to flee to Berea, where the Jews continued to pursue and persecute them. A few months later, Paul sent Timothy to check on the believers, and he returned with an amazing report about how the Thessalonian believers were standing fast in the Lord and had become an example for all believers in Macedonia and Achaia to follow. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 1:2, “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul commends the Thessalonians for their faith and love throughout the letter, assuring them that God is with them and that their faith is an example for all believers to follow.
Up to chapter four, Paul has not rebuked the Thessalonians for anything; rather, he has praised God constantly for their faithfulness and growth in the Lord. But here in our passage today, Paul transitions from praise and reminiscence to giving specific applications for the Thessalonians to take away. We see this transition in verse one, where Paul says “finally,” indicating that he has arrived at some important additional instructions.
Verse one reads, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.” If you are taking notes—as you’ve probably heard me say many times—I want you to write down, highlight, and underline “more and more.” Paul says this twice in our passage today: once in verse one and again in verse 10. If 1 Thessalonians ended at chapter three, then we might think that the Thessalonians were rock stars—growing spiritually, their faith was strong, their love an example to all believers everywhere, and perfect with no need for improvement. But that’s not what this letter says. Instead, Paul asks and urges the believers, “just as you are walking with and pleasing God, do so more and more.”
Before I expound on this passage further, I thought it would be helpful to tell you a little bit about what hunting trips looked like for me growing up in Idaho and New Mexico. And I promise this is related to the passage, not just a story about hunting.
In the western states like Idaho and New Mexico, where I lived before coming to Wisconsin, we have these things called mountains. They’re like hills, but much larger. On these mountains you go hiking—not just walking, but hiking. One thing I noticed when I moved here is that some people say they’re going hiking when they are really just walking in a circle through a forest, which is not actual hiking. Hiking is for mountains.
When I lived in New Mexico during my undergraduate days at New Mexico State University, I would go hiking with my dad almost every month. It was a bit excessive because my dad loved hiking. In the spring and fall, we would often go to the Gila National Forest to hunt or scout for turkey or elk, sometimes hiking all weekend. For elk hunts, we would hike for 10 days straight. Almost always when we went hiking, we put on a large backpack with a tent, sleeping gear, food, and water. We would set up camp wherever we ended up each night, usually on top of a ridge five to eight miles from our starting point.
To put this in perspective, Devil’s Lake has a hike of about 500 feet in elevation from bottom to top. In the Gila National Forest, there are multiple mountains with peaks over 10,000 feet. Driving from the base of the highway to one of the peaks is a climb of about 5,000 feet. Often during a weekend hike, my dad and I would hike across multiple ridges and valleys, with elevation changes of 500 to even 1,000 feet between each ridge, sometimes covering over 15 miles in a weekend. When hunting for elk, we would sometimes double that distance in search of more game.
So, you understand what I mean when I say that my dad and I would go hiking in the mountains. Let me tell you a little bit more about my dad. He absolutely loves hiking and hunting for elk, exploring new mountain ranges and finding remote areas off the beaten path where no road or trail goes. I have hiked with my dad in countless remote locations throughout the Gila National Forest. I have even come to believe that my dad has what I call “next ridge syndrome”—he always has this urge to hike over the next ridge. Even if we were completely exhausted from a long hike, my dad would still look to the horizon with wonder, wondering what elk or hidden adventures might lie over the next ridge. He has done this many times, and because of it, I have hiked to many places I might never have seen otherwise.
Another way to explain “next ridge syndrome” is that there are always more ridges to explore ahead. Looking back at verse one, when Paul says “do so more and more,” he is implying that in all the ways the Thessalonian Church has been faithful to God by walking in obedience and pleasing Him, they haven’t reached the end. They haven’t maxed out their obedience and faithfulness to God’s word, even though they have done great things. We learn why in verses two and three of our text: “For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus, for this is the will of God, your sanctification.” If you’re wondering what God’s will for your life is, here is one place where Scripture makes it very clear: God’s will for your life is to be sanctified.
Sanctification is the process of being set apart or formed into the image of Christ—being made whole and holy as God is holy. Scripture speaks of sanctification as both a present reality and a process for the believer. Hebrews 10:10 says that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. And 1 Corinthians 6:11 reminds us that some of you used to be like this, but you were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. For God’s people, Jesus has already sanctified them by setting them apart for godliness. Yet, sanctification is also an ongoing process involving gradual purification from sin and progressive spiritual growth. Romans 6:22 explains that now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you produce leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life.
Verse 3 of our text tells us that it is God’s will for His people to be further made holy by obeying God’s word as we walk with the Lord day by day. This daily process transforms God’s people into the image of Christ and brings greater and greater glory to God as His people are sanctified. That is why Paul instructs the Thessalonians to walk with and please God more and more. The more God’s people obey Christ’s instructions and walk with the Lord, the more they are sanctified.
Our sanctification is a lot like hiking in the mountains. There’s always another ridge to explore beyond the horizon. The problem is, we often get comfortable on the ridge where the Lord has brought us, set up camp, and decide to stay there. We take our eyes off the next ridge and compromise our sanctification in order to remain comfortable instead of crossing the valley in front of us and seeing what lies beyond. This is why Paul not only asks but urges the Thessalonians and the Lord Jesus to walk with and please God more and more—because our flesh always wants to do the opposite of what the Spirit desires, leading to complacency, compromise, and a lack of growth. Galatians 5:25 instructs us, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” It is God’s will for His people to be sanctified; we’re not made to camp on one ridge our whole lives. We’re made to explore ridge after ridge of God’s truth, mercy, grace, and love, worshiping Him every step of the way as He sanctifies us into the image of Christ. Therefore, we must keep walking with the Lord and do so more and more.
Looking at verse three, Paul has a specific exhortation regarding sexual immorality: “that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and in honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.” Paul specifically addresses sexual immorality, which involves any sexual activity outside the confines of marriage. When Paul says to abstain, he means completely to stay away from any thought or behavior that violates God’s word and results in sexual sin.
The early Church lived under the pagan Roman Empire, where sexual immorality ran rampant with little to no restrictions. Thessalonica was no different, especially as a trading port where many people came and went. The debased Greco-Roman culture was filled with sinful sexual practices—fornication, adultery, homosexuality, transvestism, and a wide variety of pornographic and erotic perversions—all carried out with little shame or guilt. To make matters worse, Thessalonica was under the influence of religions that advocated for ritual prostitution, allowing adherents to engage in such practices to commune with their false deities.
Paul wrote the Thessalonian Epistle while living in Corinth, a city even more rife with sexual sin at that time. Writing from Corinth likely influenced Paul to warn the Thessalonians even more strongly to abstain from sexual immorality. In order for the Thessalonians to remain sanctified, each believer was instructed to control his own body in holiness and honor. Unlike the Gentiles who did not know God and had no restraint over their lustful inclinations, those who know God understand how He wants them to act. Therefore, control your body with holiness and honor, just as God is holy and worthy of our obedience.
Verse 6 says, “control your own body so that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter.” Paul is clear that no believer should transgress or take advantage of his fellow brother by engaging in sexual sin, because the Lord sees all and will not let any such sin go unpunished. The Lord is an avenger for those who are wronged, both in this life and at the final judgment. When Christ returns, Paul reminds his readers of the warnings He had given them, emphasizing the severity of sexual sin. In Matthew 18:6-7, Jesus warns of the severe consequences for causing a believer to sin, indicating that such offenses are to be taken very seriously. Paul further exhorts the Thessalonians in verse seven, saying that God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
To disregard the call to holiness and sanctification by indulging in sexual sin is not merely ignoring human instruction—it is rejecting God directly, who gives His Holy Spirit to dwell in us. Galatians 5:16-17 teaches us to “walk by the Spirit” so that we do not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the desires of the flesh are contrary to those of the Spirit. The answer to living a life of purity is found in walking by the Spirit, who dwells within every believer and gives the power to overcome fleshly desires. Continuing in sexual sin grieves God’s Holy Spirit and rejects the work He was sent to accomplish. As John MacArthur has said, the practice of sexual sin violates the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it spurns the Lord’s will, disregards His purposes, defies His commands, rejects His love, and abuses His grace. Most frighteningly, those who engage in sexual immorality ignore the reality of God’s righteous judgment against sin.
So, verses three through eight are very clear: sexual sin has no place among God’s people. Believers should not indulge in continual sexual sin, for to do so is to reject God Himself. Therefore, each believer must learn to control his own body daily in holiness and honor.
Moving to verses nine and ten, Paul pivots to another sanctifying exhortation. He says, “Now, concerning brotherly love, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another. For that, indeed, is what you are doing to all the believers, brothers, throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more.” The Greek word for brotherly love is “Philadelphia,” originally used to refer to love between family members, and in the New Testament, it always refers to love among brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul affirms the Thessalonians’ display of love toward one another and encourages them to continue loving more and more. This love is agape—a love that is self-sacrificial and willing to lay down one’s life for another. Paul emphasizes that it is only God who can teach a believer how to love in this manner, as seen in 1 John 4:7-8: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” God changes a sinner’s heart to love others in the way He loves His people.
Paul then gives final exhortations in verses 11 and 12: “Aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” Paul was concerned with how the Thessalonians lived among society, especially since some may have assumed that being free in Christ meant being free from other obligations. In fact, in 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul commands those who are idle and meddling to work quietly and earn their own living. Believers are called to lead a quiet, peaceful life, considering the needs of those around them so that they may be a blessing rather than a burden. Sanctification is not loud or forceful; it is gentle, humble, yet strong and bold, never shying away from the gospel. Working with one’s hands, as instructed, demonstrates integrity and faithfulness, serving as an effective witness to outsiders.
That ends our text of study.
Now, to wrap things up, I’m going to give you four direct applications to take away from this passage that I hope will help us grow in our sanctification.
Always Look Toward the Next Ridge:
Growing up, my dad would ask me if I wanted to hike to the next ridge. Internally, I’d think, “You have got to be kidding me. Another ridge? Seriously?” I would protest, “We’ve already come this far. Let’s just sit here so that the hike back is easier.” But because I didn’t want to let him down, I would buckle up and hike to the next ridge. Looking back now, I’m so glad I did because each ridge had its own unique beauty and adventure that I would have missed if I had settled. In the same way, if we camp out in our sanctification, we will miss the beauty of God’s refining work in our lives. Don’t get too comfortable on one ridge—keep pushing forward, for God’s will for you is your sanctification, and growth leads to a deeper reflection of Christ’s image.
Pursue Purity and Holiness:
For those struggling with sexual sin, pursue purity by the power of the Holy Spirit, and put to death the desires of the flesh. Six verses in our passage warn us against sexual sin and urge us to live in purity and holiness. Habitual sexual sin grieves the Holy Spirit and hinders our sanctification. Seek accountability, confess your sins, and make life changes to avoid temptation. Remember, God’s will for you is sanctification, and through the Spirit, you have the power to overcome sin.
Love Your Family in Christ More and More:
Love within the church is essential. The Thessalonians demonstrated love to all believers throughout Macedonia, and Paul urges them to love more and more. In these cold days, when winter is almost over but still lingers, it’s the perfect time to intentionally build each other up. Write an encouraging note, invite someone for a meal—even small acts can build up the community and show that God’s love compels us to care for one another.
Jesus Died for Your Sanctification:
If you’re here and you don’t yet have faith in Jesus, know that God’s offer of salvation and sanctification is available today. Repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again so that you may be forgiven and given the freedom to walk in holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit. For those in Christ, His sanctifying work is already at work in you and will be brought to completion one day. When you fall short, look to Jesus, knowing He died for your sanctification, and one day you will arrive at the shores of heaven in perfect holiness.
Now, please pray with me:
“Lord, I thank you. Sanctification is a reality because of the work of Jesus. Thank you that You don’t let us camp on a single ridge, but spur us on and convict us through Your word to continue growing and to do more and more. Help each of us to love one another, to keep growing in sanctification, and to look toward the next ridge, supporting one another along the way. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.”