“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.” 1 Thess. 4:3-8
Devotional Thought For The Day
Temptations to sins of passion and lust are common in all people – the apostles acknowledge this as fact in that they find it necessary to warn us about this in many places in Holy Scripture. Of course, different “lusts” afflict individuals in varying degrees, and some are worse than others at various points in our personal history, as we age. Luther once observed that the greatest temptation for a young man was sexual sin; for a middle aged man the chief lust was greed; and for the older man being miserly. All of these temptations are eagerly promoted to us through television, magazines, the internet, and other advertising mediums – and also by the unbelieving around us and by the undiscerning within the church. The sinful temptations that seem natural and normal to us are confirmed to be so by the people around us. So we must be reminded that we are not “called” for such impurity but rather for “holiness.” This is God’s will for us, and if we disregard this we are disregarding God, His Holy Spirit Who lives within us.
One of the things that we are not accustomed to is self-discipline and self-denial of our appetites. Many around us, who are unbelieving and more “practical” minded than God’s Word, consider any encouragement to the personal discipline of just saying no to be utterly ridiculous. There has been a capitulation to the thought that we are really like animals and should be able to just do whatever comes naturally to us, that it is absurd to abstain. This sounds good to those who are eager to indulge their passions and lusts, but ultimately yields disaster. Some people feel compelled to beat other people, or murder other people, or steal from others, or repeatedly commit adultery, or molest children, or gossip and slander others. We don’t allow this, and we punish those who do such things, recognizing the pain and evil that such behavior inflicts on others. So Christians, and those who are morally sentient, understand the importance of denying sinful passions and lusts, and holding them in check with self-discipline. As Christians we still have these same sinful lusts, but we have the help of the Holy Spirit to remain committed to fighting against such desires and compulsions – repenting when we fall into temptation and sin, and in the joy of God’s continuing forgiveness and mercy we set out to “go and sin no more.” This is a commitment that requires self-discipline and learning “how to control” our bodies “in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God.”
As Christians we are also concerned to love others and not cause them pain and harm. Unfortunately, sexual sin does just this harm to others, even when those involved are “consenting adults.” What matters is not the other person’s understanding of such sin [which may be perverted by his/her own passion and lust] but rather the reality that sexual sin is always destructive and cannot be “safely” indulged. The apostle warns us that “the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you.” So we have internal compulsion to self-discipline and also negative external coercion to continue in commitment to holiness and avoidance of such sins of passion and lust – through constant repentance and faith in God’s merciful forgiveness and love. That this is a halting process that progresses in us as Christians is apparent from Holy Scripture – and no one is ever completely free from such sin. However, we must take care that we not fall away from this commitment to self-discipline and abstention, for this is God’s will for us, and we dare not disregard Him.
We need to understand that in so living we are going to be “distinct” from “the Gentiles who do not know God.” We are going to be different – and that difference tends to alienate us from others, and is accusatory toward those who live fully in the passions of their sinful lusts. However, in the long run this is a small price to pay in comparison to the wretchedness and destruction that conformity to the world brings – both to ourselves and to others. So let us be wise in this and embrace God’s will – committed to our own sanctification, repenting of our lapses and falls, kept firm in our faith in God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy by God’s Word and His Spirit.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, the darkness and treachery of our sinful hearts is known fully to You, and yet You have provided us with full forgiveness, pardon, and cleansing from all our sin. Win us over by Your love, so that we remain committed to true and genuine love, which includes commitment to denying our sinful lusts and passions in self-discipline. We know this is Your good and gracious will for us; help us to will this same blessedness for ourselves. Amen.