If ever there were any greater distinction between God’s standards and our culture’s standards today, it is certainly in the area of sexual ethics. While the difference appears starker today than in our youths, there has always been a difference even when culture more closely followed Biblical norms (including double standards). It was especially the case in Ancient Greece and Rome, to which our culture’s ethics are reverting.
The Thessalonian church, like ours today, was called to God’s standard of holiness. As people come to faith in Christ, or grow up in a world of very different standards, they need to learn the standards required of Christians, to live pleasing God, not self. That presents itself in many ways, but first of all, for the Thessalonians, in their sexual purity. Today, it is equally vital that our conduct reflects the holy calling of God, not of the world.
Chapter 4 of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church begins a new section addressing issues which Paul would have preferred to discuss in person, but was providentially hindered from doing.
Paul begins with an encouragement to further development toward holiness. They should “more and more” please God as Paul had taught them and as they were doing (v.1). This was not because Paul had certain standards he wanted people to meet, but because they were instructions from the risen Lord Jesus which he in turn was passing on (v.2). Those instructions were deeply theological.
That it was deeply theological is emphasised by the next few words, which emphasise that Paul’s instructions were “the will of God” for the purpose of their sanctification – their being made holy (v.3).
While holiness and sanctification applies to all areas of our lives, Paul especially applied it to the area of sexual morality (v.3), which was particularly relevant for the Thessalonians. A wide range of activity was tolerated for both the unmarried in general and married men (but not married women…) in pagan culture, similar to today. For pagans converting to Christianity, the assumed behaviour standard was very different to Scripture’s teaching.
An important way of avoiding immorality was for each believer to “control his own body in holiness and honor” instead of indulging “the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God” (vv.4-5). Thinking of God (holiness) and treatment of others (honour) was more important than pleasing oneself.
On the horizontal level, moral sexual relationships serve the other, through faithfulness, self-giving, and restraint that views others as fellow image-bearers rather than objects to use. Immoral sexual relationships use others for self pleasure, abandon restraint, and betray faithfulness and trust in relationships (whether between married couples or family, friend, and church relationships affected by, for example, adulterous activity). They were not to “transgress and wrong his brother in this matter” (v.6).
Similarly, Paul expected the behaviour of the Thessalonians should stand out from the culture around them; to the extent it did not, it affected their unity.
God would view such a breach of his standards very dimly. If they transgressed and wronged God and each other in this way, “the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you” (v.6). Sooner or later God would judge them for their breach.
As if that was not enough, Paul gave another reason. “God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness” (v.7). God’s commands are not rooted in preference but his very nature, and as we seek to be like God, we should seek to reflect his nature.
Therefore, whoever rejects these commands is not rejecting human standards “but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (v.8). God is also the one who provides the power to increase in holiness.
This call to holiness was one that would have shocked the wider pagan culture of Paul’s day. Christians following God’s ethic would have been viewed with disdain as prudes, and intolerant of the established cultural ethic. As our own culture reverts back to pagan norms from its influence by a Biblical ethic, it is no surprise the same occurs today.
But this passage demonstrates the importance of Biblical sexual morality. Following God’s call to holiness places love of God and others ahead of our own desires. It is not based in Old Testament cultural norms which we can abandon in our more “enlightened” age but in the very holy nature of God.
This is not an easy task. It goes against our nature to deny the passion of self and pursue God’s standards. Especially in a world where such “pleasures” are merely a salacious romance novel or screen away. But we must also remember that moral sexual relationships rejoice in this expression of our humanity, within the bounds of monogamous Biblical marriage. And it is not a task we pursue alone, but with the help of God’s Holy Spirit and each other.
We owe it to each other, and to God our redeemer, to support and encourage each other to pursue God’s call to holiness.
