“For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8)
“Christians are so hung up on sex. They need to let it go, already. What I do behind closed doors is my business and nobody else’s.”
You get the idea that Paul had heard that one before. He answers it in two ways here. For one, God calls “us,” believers in Jesus, to avoid sexual impurity and live a holy life. If you’re not a Christian, why worry about how God tells Christians to live? Sexual purity without faith in Jesus won’t save anyone.
Second, God is the one doing the calling, not Paul and not the church. Honestly, most Christians I know would rather not talk about sex, at all, and won’t ask if you don’t tell. If anything, we tend to be a little timid about the whole topic, especially in person – often because we’re still struggling to trust God enough to live holy lives every day ourselves.
Rejecting sexual purity is to reject God’s instructions, Paul writes, not those of some judgmental-sounding pastor or TV talking head. If you’re a Christian, that knocking sound you’re hearing is coming from inside the house – and the Holy Spirit is the only one who can give you the power to obey God in this area of life.
Think: When you feel like getting involved in sexual immorality, does it feel like rebellion against God? Should it? What are the consequences for a believer who rebels against God’s teaching?
Pray: Ask God to help you to be sexually pure and to answer his call to live a holy life every day.
Do: Listen this week for examples of people who mock Christians or God or the church for what we believe about sexual purity.