Sexual Holiness ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:1-10

August 30, 2015 ~ New City Church of Calgary ~ Pastor John Ferguson
Intro: Ashley Madison is a Canadian based website that specializes in helping people have affairs. Their
motto: Life is short. Have an affair. The company boasted nearly 40 million users in 53 countries, and
according to one analytics providers, 124 million visits to the site each month in 2015 (wiki). On July 15 of this
year, hackers broke in to the site and stole user info, including names, addresses, emails, and credit card info,
and threatened to leak the user info if the site was not taken down and permanently closed. On Aug 18, the
hackers released info on a few of the users, and last just over a week ago, they released the personal info on
all 39 million of its customers. This past week saw divorces being filed, public officials apologizing, and even
suicides according to Toronto police.
Examples could be multiplied that demonstrate that we live in a sexualized culture / pornified culture.
How should we navigate living in a sexualized world? What does Christianity have to say? What resources
are there for the person who wants to follow Jesus? Why should we even care?
I want to invite you to read with me the words that the hand picked ambassador of Jesus Christ wrote to a
community of Christ followers living in the ancient city of Thessalonica regarding how they should navigate
living in their sexually charged culture, and in doing so, well see what Gods will for us is living today in our
sexually charged culture.
Sexual Holiness ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:1-10
4:1 Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how
you ought to live and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.
1. Writing to Christians (brothers) about how they ought to live.
Note that there are many competing voices on how you ought to live.
2. Writing to Christians (brothers) about how they can please God.
2 Cor. 5:9-10, We make it our aim to please him.
4:2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God,
your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
1. This is what God wants: your sanctification.
(1) To be set apart for Gods purposes, i.e., we no longer I've for ourselves but for Christ who died for us
and was raised for us (cf. 2 Cor. 5:15).
In Scripture, Christians are called holy ones or saints (Eph. 1:1), not because they are better than
every one else, but because they have been called to a different way of being human.
(2) To be more and more conformed to the image of Christ, I always do the things that are pleasing to [my
Father] (John 8:29).
2. That you abstain from sexual immorality.
(1) Greek = porneia = any sexual activity or expression outside the boundaries of marital sexual love.

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(2) Eph. 5:3, But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you,
as is proper among saints. // NIV: But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality,
or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for Gods holy people.
Jesus calls his followers to view sexuality differently and part of that is to not view it as a self-centred
pursuit of pleasure. Outside the God-ordained bounds of marriage, any hint of sexual expression is by
definition self-centred and is thus immoral b/c it goes against our design and Gods will for human
flourishing.
4:4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honour, 5 not in the
passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
1. This verse teaches us to view our very own body in a new light.
1 Cor. 6:18, Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside his body, but the
sexually immoral person sins agains this own body.
1 Cor. 6:13, The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1 Cor 6:19-20, Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have
from God. You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
2. This verse teaches us to embrace our humanity by fighting against lust.
(1) Definition: Craving sexually what God has forbidden (J. Harris)
Eph. 4:17-19, you must no longer live as Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. Having lost
all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity,
with a continual lust for more.
(2) Joshua Harris, Not Even A Hint, The truth is that Jesus didnt come to rescue us from our humanity;
He entered our humanity to rescue us from our sinfulness. He didnt come to save us from being sexual
creatures; He became one of us to save us from the reign of sin and lust, which ruins our sexuality.
4:6 that no one transgress and wrongs his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in
all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.
1. To engage in sexual immorality is to engage in sexual exploitation, even if the person you are engaging
with does it voluntarily. People using one another selfishly for sexual pleasure is still a violation of the will of
God. It goes against our design and is contrary to life in Gods kingdom.
Rom. 13:10, Love does no wrong to his neighbour.
2. Eph. 5:5, For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral, or impure, or is covetous
(that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
4:7 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.

Main Idea: We are called to fight for our humanity by fighting against lust.

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Application:
1. Embrace the healing of the Gospel of Jesus.
(1) Jared Ayers, Liberti Church, Jesus stubbornly befriended, welcomed, and embrace sexual sinners and
misfits and outsiders and outcasts. People like you and me. There is no scar or stain that is in too deep
for the cleansing embrace and grace of Jesus. You are Jesus kind of people.
(2) Illustration: CS Lewis, The Great Divorce, tells a story of a ghost of a man afflicted by lust.
Sometimes it feels like turning from lust will destroy us, but it doesnt. It actually brings life.
(3) We are all more broken and flawed and messed up and sinful that we often have the courage to admit
and this extends even to our sexual lives, but when we turn in faith to Jesus, we discover that we are
more forgiven, cleansed, accepted and embraced by God than we ever dared to hope or dream.

2. Prepare daily to battle lust daily.

(1) Freshman Bible study, one student had asked his grandfather, When do you get to the point where you
stop battling lust? It must come at some point when you get older than I am!
(2) Romans 13:13-14, Let us walk properlynot in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and
sensuality. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its
desires.

3. Fight desire with desire.

(1) John Piper, Future Grace, We must fight fire with fire. The fire of lusts pleasures must be fought with
the fire of Gods pleasures. If we try to fight the fire of lust with prohibitions and threats aloneeven the
terrible warnings of Jesuswe will fail. We must fight it with the massive promise of superior
happiness.
(2) Augustine, How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared
to lose! You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me
and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure.
(3) The only way you will win this battle is if Jesus is more precious to you than anything else.

Conclusion: Ashley Madison was right about one thing: life is short. But the website is deadly wrong about
how you ought to live in light of that fact.
Life is short; eternity is long. Live for Christ by pursuing sexual holiness. He is infinitely worth it.

NCC, may you be a people who fight for your humanity by fighting against lust as a response to Gods
grace and all for the glory of Christ who is sweeter than all pleasure.

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