Christmas Countdown 2020 Day 16

As we are moving through 1 Thessalonians, I am hitting a bit of an awkward spot in what Paul is addressing with this church body he loved and care about so deeply. 

You can read his words in the remainder of Chapter 4 and I will let Paul handle the moral issue in the details he has given, but I will add a thought on this subject as a kind of warning to us so we don’t think we are immune to the problem if we are in a faithful marriage. 

In verses 3 – 8 he talks to the church in Thessalonica about sexual purity and how this is pleasing to God. 

I was raised in a home where we didn’t really talk about anything to do with intimate topics and I continue to find the way our culture puts it all out there as humor and in casual conversation uncomfortable and I am okay with that. 

So instead of going into specifics on that, I want to use an illustration that we can apply to Paul’s teachings for those of us who think we are free and clear of sexual sin. 

Yesterday I was a bit late (shocking, I know) to my appointed arrival time for Zach to get to work. I felt bad that he might be rushed and so I was quite happy to discover on my drive north that several cars were in a bigger hurry than me. 

As I was keeping my speed just enough over the limit to not warrant a ticket, three cars passed me going much faster. There was enough distance gained between us that I knew if a policeman was shooting radar up ahead, one of these would be caught first. 

So I did what any law-abiding, red-blooded American would do…I felt comfortable bumping my own speed up a few more notches. 

Was I breaking the law? Yep

But not as bad as they were so….

You get my point right?

As our culture pushes the envelope farther and farther away from God’s commandments regarding sexual purity, let us be careful that we don’t start measuring our “little transgressions” of the mind against the more flagrant and glaring sins that we see exhibited. 

Lecture over. 

Now go live a life that is pure and blameless before the Lord who made you and loves you so dearly.

Take care of YOUR sin and YOUR relationship with the Father and pray for those who do not know better. The end goal for all of us is to be free from the bondage of sin so that we can live fully in the freedom that is ours in Christ.    <3