THE LIFE THAT PLEASES GOD

Reading: I Thes 4:3-12

 

Have you ever wondered, perhaps in frustration, “What is God’s will for my life?” “If I just knew what He wanted me to do, I would do it.” Really? Are you (am I) sure? Are you (am I) ready for the answer?

Read on only if you answered “Yes” to these last questions. This journey is not for the faint-hearted, so hold tight, take a deep breath – off we go!

 

I Thes 4: 3 begins: “For this is the will of God…” Could it be stated any plainer?  OK, now for the answer (drum roll, please, and have pen and paper handy), verse 3 continues: “your sanctification.” What?! Wait – that’s it, one word is all I get to base life’s decisions on?!!!

 

So, if sanctification is the word, maybe we ought to delve into it and see what God might want for us.  Sanctify: “to set apart for a particular holy or sacred use intended by its designer.” “A person then is sanctified when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose”* Verse 3 of I Thes adds to the definition. “…that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality.”

 

Why is sexual sin the only one mentioned here in reference to sanctification? Maybe it’s as Paul says in I Cor 6:18: “Avoid sexual looseness like the plague! Every other sin that a man [or woman] commits is done outside his [her] own body, but this is an offense against his [her] own body (J B Phillips).” So it hits at the core of who we are as men and women, and, if we are able to live victoriously in this area of our lives, we will have come closer to living a sanctified life – in the will of God – in other areas. 

 

As in today’s reading, God specifically tells us in many other places in His Word what His will is for us. Often it’s not so much a matter of knowing but doing what we know His will to be. Then, to ask ourselves, in matters where He does not specify, “Is this pleasing to God?” might just lead us to the answer, “What’s God’s will for my life?”

 

Thank you, Lord that you show me in many ways your will for my life. Help me to seek to do your will and lead a life that is pleasing to you. Amen.

 

 

 

*from Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology – online

Rising Above the Fog of This Sinful World

What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

 

St. Paul spoke the above verse to the Corinthians, as documented in today’s reading, 1 Corinthians 5:1-12.

 

It is rare for me to talk to a Christian who does not bemoan the moral deterioration of our world during the recent past. Christians are upset over the legalization of abortion. They are mad that our courts have defined an alternative definition of marriage. Many are irate that some of our civic leaders ignore our constitution and act unilaterally, while perhaps being more irate at many other civic leaders who refuse to speak out against such behavior. The list goes on.

 

Christians have a lot of reasons to be irate.

 

Paul’s words give us reason to pause and reflect. Our job is not to judge the world. That will happen on Judgment Day.

 

Our job is not to change the world. Satan is sometimes called the Prince of the World, and the world will follow Satan, its prince.

 

Our job is to share the Gospel with unbelievers. Armed with the Good News of Jesus Christ, we are to rescue people from Satan’s domain, not change Satan’s domain.

 

Paul gives us another responsibility. It is our job to ensure that the Earthly Kingdom of God, that is the Church here on Earth, is pure. The Church is holy; it is to stand out as being morally different than the rest of the world.

 

The Church is filled with sinners, so it is impossible for the church to be pure. That is not a license, however, to give up. Rather, Paul is telling the Church to obey and enforce God's Laws. Paul is not telling us we will not, or should not, sin. He really is telling us that it is a sin not to attempt to follow God’s Laws.

 

The Church is holy and is set apart. Christians must work for its purity.

 

The Church must be seen as rising above the fog of the sinful world.