On July 11, 1924, Scottish
sprinter, Eric Liddell, competed in the 400 meter race of the Paris Olympics.
Liddell’s story has been popularized by the 1981 film Chariots of Fire, which won four Oscars including Best Picture.
Liddell qualified to compete in the 100 meter race, but as a devout Christian,
he refused to compete in the qualifying heat because it was on the Sabbath. A
compromise was reached which allowed him to compete in the 400 meter race
instead. Right before the race began, while Liddell was in the starting blocks,
a team member slipped him a note quoting 1 Samuel 2:30, “He who honors me, I
will honor.” Liddell set a world record, winning the gold medal while holding
that note in his hand. Liddell honored the Lord in how he ran, but much more
importantly honored the Lord in how he lived his life.
Eric Liddell ran to please the
Lord. He said, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.” Liddell
did not boast in his ability, but used his ability to please God. If you were
going to fill in the blanks, when do you feel God’s pleasure? God made me
(blank). And when I (blank), I feel His pleasure. We should live for God’s
pleasure. What brings you pleasure? Do you view pleasure as a good thing or
something to be avoided? Many Christians characterize pleasure only in negative
terms, but God created pleasure. Charles Spurgeon explains how pleasing God
will ultimately bring pleasure to oneself. He writes,
The [Westminster]
Catechism asks, “What is the chief end of man?” and its answer is, “To glorify
God, and to enjoy him for ever.” The answer is exceedingly correct; but it
might have been equally truthful if it had been shorter. The chief end of man
is “to please God,” for in so doing — we need not say it, because it is an
undoubted fact — in so doing, he will please himself. The chief end of man, we
believe, in this life and in the next, is to please God his Maker.
If any man pleases God, he does
that which conduces most to his own temporal and eternal welfare. Man cannot
please God without bringing to himself a great amount of happiness; for if any
man pleases God, it is because God accepts him as his son, gives him the
blessings of adoption, pours upon him the bounties of his grace, makes him a
blessed man in this life, and insures him a crown of everlasting life, which he
shall wear, and which shall shine with unfading luster when the wreaths of
earth’s glory have all been melted away; while, on the other hand, if a man
does not please God, he inevitably brings upon himself sorrow and suffering in
this life; he puts a worm and a rottenness in the core of all his joys; he
fills his death-pillow with thorns, and he supplies the eternal fire with fuel[1] of flame which shall for
ever consume him.
He that pleases God is, through
Divine grace, journeying onward to the ultimate reward of all those that love
and fear God; but he who is ill-pleasing to God, must, for Scripture has
declared it, be banished from the presence of God, and consequently from the
enjoyment of happiness. If then, we be right in saying that to please God is to
be happy, the one important question is, how can I please God? And there is
something very solemn in the utterance of our text: “Without faith it is
impossible to please God.” That is to say, do what you may, strive as earnestly
as you can, live as excellently as you please, make what sacrifices you choose,
be as eminent as you can for everything that is lovely and of good repute, yet
none of these things can be pleasing to God unless they be mixed with faith.[2]
Hebrews 11:6, “And without faith
it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe
that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” If we believe that God
exists and that he is good, then we must also believe that he will reward those
who seek him. In a very real sense, God desires our pleasure. For our greatest
pleasure will always be found in pleasing Him.
Live for God’s
Pleasure
There is an intimate connection
with our faith in God and our ability to please God. Paul and his companions
labored night and day for the faith of the Thessalonians. As we have seen in
the last few weeks, they were consumed with the faith of others for they knew
that their faith in God brought God pleasure. John Piper writes, “Missions
exist because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate not missions, because God is
ultimate, not man.[3]”
Paul closes his letter with a final exhortation to live for God’s glory. He
provides a general principle and then a specific application. 1 Thessalonians
4:1-2,
Finally, then, brothers, we ask
and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received 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.
Although the “finally” implies the end of the letter, there
is a strong urgency in this exhortation. Paul commands the Thessalonian
believers to obey the commands and instructions that he laid out for them
during his stay.
Christians are saved by faith
alone, but saving faith is never alone. True Christians will always show their
faith through their works. I recently heard a friend say how his pastor works
very hard not to preach any commands to his congregation. His pastor loves the
gospel and wants his people to be saturated in the gospel. And yet to avoid
preaching commands, one is breaking from the pattern in New Testament. The
apostles laid down standards for the new Christian communities. The church
separated itself from the world by their conduct. Christians were commanded to
obey God, but their obedience was not cold and ritualistic. They delighted to
please God.
Over the summer I had a father/son
camp-out in my backyard. My son kept asking me to go camping and I knew that it
would make him happy so I decided to put in on the calendar. I was going to go
camping for the pleasure of my son. When I had to do all the necessary things
to get ready for the camp-out like, cutting the grass and buying the food and
fireworks, I was thinking about the future smile on my son’s face. The work was
not done in drudgery, but in joy. It was done for my son’s pleasure. We obey
for God’s pleasure. We work for his smile.
How do you view rules? Do you like
them? Or do get angry when they are given to you? Since the Fall, there has
been an assault on authority. American individualism is more a sign of the
rejection of authority than it is a rejection of community. People do not want
to submit to another’s authority. Everyone has experienced abuses of authority,
whether through domineering over-exertion or passive abdication. Yet the church
community, according to Paul, is under the authority of Jesus, for they ask and
urge the church in the Lord Jesus. Jesus is not a domineering or abdicating King,
but one who laid down his life for his people. He is the Just and justifier of
all who have faith in Him. We spurned his authority, but he still came and
rescued us from our sin. Jesus is the picture of the authority we are called to
follow. We happily obey God because Jesus happily obeyed God on our behalf. We
obey God because we have faith that God’s law is good for us.
Churches must view rules in the
right perspective. If we believe that following rules earns us more of God’s
favor, we will easily become proud legalists. If we believe that following
rules is unimportant, we will easily become proud sinners. We follow God’s
commands to please God in response for what He has done for us. Obedience is a
privilege and a pleasure. The general principle established by Paul is that we
obey commands and instructions to please God. The Thessalonians obeyed God’s
Word and were urged to do so more and more, for obedience pleases God.
Live in God’s Purity
Secondly, Paul takes the general
principle of pleasing God through obedience and gives a specific application. 1
Thessalonians 4:3-8,
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 Thessalonians 4:3-8 ESV)
You cannot get any clearer message in Scripture of God’s
desire for your life. For this is the will of God, your sanctification.
Sanctification is the process in which we become holy or set apart. We are
justified (declared “not guilty”) by grace and we are sanctified (set apart) by
grace. The good work that God begins in salvation He carries to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus. Both are an act of God.
The first century view of sexuality
among Gentiles was very similar to our 21st century view of
sexuality. Sexual freedom was encouraged by the culture at large. Many Gentiles
who became Christians came into the church without an understanding of the
sexual standards of Christians. Sexual immorality comes from the Greek word
porneia which is where we get our English word pornography. The word has a very
broad range of meaning. The Scripture uses porneia to define any sexual
expression outside the covenant of marriage. This would include pornography,
physical intimacy (inappropriate touching and intercourse), and lustful
thoughts (fantasy/imagination). When we think of sexual expression in media and
in relationships, we ask questions derived from the general principle, “Does
this please God?” Asking this question (with the purpose of obeying it) will
change our lives.
When we
turn from our sins and trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior we become one with
Christ. Since we are one in Christ, united to Him by grace, we are called to be
holy as he is holy. Paul writes to the Corinthian Church,
But he who is joined to the Lord
becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a
person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins
against his own body. Or 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. (1 Corinthians 6:17-20)
Christians are one with Christ and therefore must learn to
control their own bodies in holiness and honor, not in passion of lust like the
Gentiles who do not know God. How you struggle to control your sexual desire is
an indicator of whether you know God!! The Gentiles live in the passion of lust
and they do not know God. Christians are called to live in holiness and honor
because they know God.
Sex is a beautiful gift from God,
but has been twisted and perverted by the sinfulness of the human heart. Last
year I read an article by a headmaster of a Christian school who said that he
remembers the day when he had to debate on whether it was appropriate to accept
a student who had viewed pornography. He said that pornography is so rampant in
our day that it is hard to find incoming students who haven’t viewed it.
Technology has opened up avenues to continue to exploit and encourage sexual
perversion. It is going to be rarer to find new Christians who have not
experienced the pain and shame of some form of sexual immorality.
Sexual immorality will leave scars
and wounds that will show themselves in a variety of painful ways. If you have
experienced the shame and/or are currently living in the shame of sexual
immorality, hear verse 7 again, “For God has not called us for impurity, but in
holiness.” God called you. God knows your impurity. He knows your shame. He
knows your guilt. He does not tell you to go and get clean, but he calls you to
Himself and He will make you clean. We all are dirty and only Christ can make
us clean. He removes our guilt and shame by paying for our sexual immorality on
the cross. Jesus knows all and He is willing to make you clean. If you are stuck
in sexual immorality, “come clean” through confession and let Jesus make you fully
clean.
I have heard too many stories of
broken individuals who have experienced the pain of sexual abuse. God is not
indifferent to their pain. He is not indifferent to justice. 1 Thessalonians
4:6, we are warned to avoid sexual immorality, “because the Lord is an avenger
in all these things.” God takes the pain of his people very, very seriously.
Those of you who have experienced pain of sexual abuse, please know that the Lord
is your avenger. He will not allow injustice to go unpunished. God’s eternal
scales of justice will always be balanced. Be patient and wait for God’s coming
justice.
Paul teaches here about the
negative expression of sex and how it should be avoided. Christians are called
to abstain from sexual immorality. Why? We are not called to avoid sexual
immorality, because God is some cosmic killjoy that wants people to live
unfulfilled lives. Jesus came to give life and life abundantly. God wants
Christians to have pleasure, but ultimate pleasure is found only in pursuing
Him. The boundaries that God provides for sexual expression will lead to the
greatest sexual fulfillment. Genesis 2:25, “And the man and his wife were both
naked and were not ashamed.” God’s will is always best. Trust Him. For this is
the will of God, your sanctification. Live in God’s purity.
Live for God’s People
There are many reasons why churches
are called to fight against sexual immorality. As a community of faith, we must
actively pursue holiness for the sake of our brothers and sisters. The lie of
sin is that it does not hurt anyone else, but always has a corporate affect. We
must think about the consequences of sin and the benefits of obedience. Let me
provide a brief list from this text of why we must pursue holiness for the sake
of God’s people.
We
honor God – Sexually pure churches please God.
We
honor Marriage – Marriage is a picture of the gospel and the foundation
for healthy children and strong churches. Churches that fight for sexual purity
honor the marriage bed and fight for all the benefits associated with a healthy
family life.
We
avoid punishment – The Lord is an avenger. We will have to answer to
Him when we transgress and wrong our brother or sister in this matter.
We
will be exposed – No sin is private. Nothing is hidden from God’s
sight. All things done in secret will eventually be brought to the light.
We
reflect God’s holiness – A church that fights for sexual purity better
reflects the holy character of God. God’s holiness helps the church understand
more of God and helps the world see their need for God’s grace.
We
will enjoy more sexual fulfillment – God is not against pleasure, but
wants to maximize it for our good and His glory.
We
protect the future – When individuals fight for sexual purity, there
will be tangential benefits to the children who are in our community. By
fighting, we are placing others before ourselves.
There are other benefits we could discuss to encourage us
for sexual purity, but let me close with the how we work for sexual purity.
The path to sexual purity is by
knowing God. We do not want to be like the Gentiles who live in the passion of
lust, for they do not know God. We can overcome sexual immorality by knowing
God. When we overcome our sin by God’s Spirit, God receives all the glory. We
fight to know God so He would be pleased. John Piper provides three truths that
we can hold on to as we fight for freedom for sexual immorality and for God’s
pleasure. He writes that we should,
Know the Patience of God
Look at verse 1: "Finally
then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you
received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just
as you actually do walk), that you excel still more." Do you see what this
says about God? It says, these Christians have room for improvement –
"excel still more and more." And it says that they are pleasing God –
"just as your actually do walk." In Christ, God is not an all or
nothing God. He knows our shame. He covers our sin. He is pleased with our
successes through faith, and patient with our failures. So know him in his
patience, all you struggling saints. Let this knowledge encourage you: You are
walking in the way that pleases him – do so still more and more.
Know the Power of God
In the previous chapter, 1
Thessalonians 3:12-13, we read Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians:
"May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for
all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in
holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all
his saints." Notice: he asked Christ to establish them blameless in
holiness at his coming. In other words, holiness is the work of Christ. Yes, we
must pray for it, and yes, we must fight for it. But in the end, be encouraged!
You are not left to yourself to win this war. Know God’s power on your behalf
through Jesus Christ.
Know the Preciousness of God and
the Pleasure He Is to Us
I say this because that is simply
what it means to be God in Christ. God is the most valuable person in the
universe. He is the sum and source of all true pleasure (Psalm 16:11; 37:4). And
knowing this in our experience is what triumphs over temptation. Knowing the
preciousness of God and the pleasures of his fellowship will strip pornography
of its power. We defeat the deceitful pleasures of lust with the superior
pleasures of knowing God. Paul said it like this: "I count everything as
loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:7)
Beloved, we should desire to live an exemplary life for God.
Eric
Liddell knew God. He lived his life for others. After winning Olympic gold, he
counted everything as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ
and became a missionary in China. Japan invaded China in 1940, and shortly
thereafter Liddell was put in an internment camp. After 2 years in the camp,
his health was fading. Winston Churchill brokered a deal for him to be
released, but he chose instead to allow a pregnant woman go in his place. He
died a few months later. The last words he spoke to a fellow prisoner, “It’s
complete surrender.” He was referring to how he tried to live his life for God;
in complete surrender.
Beloved, the Christian life is
complete surrender. We are not our own, but were bought at a price. God made us
his children. And when we obey, we feel his pleasure. Surrender every area of
your life to Him. It’s a life of complete surrender, but it is also a life
complete pleasure. Live in God’s purity for God’s people and for God’s
pleasure.
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