“this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3, NKJV)
The root word of sanctification has to do with holiness. It relates to our being set apart to God and reflects a commensurate change in character. We are holy and are therefore to be holy (1 Cor. 1:2). If justification (Rom. 3-5) relates to our new legal standing before God, sanctification (Rom. 6-8) relates to our new position and spiritual growth where we die more and more to sin and live increasingly to righteousness.
Sanctification has to do with more than just external behavior. It addresses a holiness of attitude and ambition. When Peter addresses holiness he has us look to our Heavenly Father as our point of reference and directs us to an obedience-driven life rather than a desire-driven life. He unfurls it this way: “…as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:14–15).
New life in Christ requires new living for Christ that encompasses everything about us. That includes more than sexual morality but not less. In turning to the topic of sanctification Paul zeroes in on this dimension of life. He begins by saying: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess. 3:5).
By “will” here the apostle is stating what our Father requires of us, or to borrow what he has just said, “how we ought to walk and please God” (1 Thess. 4:1). He is holding up God’s revealed will, what He has laid out in His word.
God’s will for us is that we live out our holiness in Christ. Specifically in this instance Paul addresses the way we manage our sexual desires. “…that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God” (1 Thess. 4:3–5).
No doubt sexual morality has been an ongoing issue for God’s people, but in our day it is made more challenging for a variety of reasons. Not the least of these is our culture’s abandonment of sexual mores and restraint. In a sense, the world was an ally in that sex outside of marriage carried a stigma and sexual intercourse was part of a committed relationship. But the lid to Pandora’s Box has been lifted and tossed aside, resulting in a litany of sexual immorality, deviancy, and perversion rampant in our day.
Coupled with society’s embrace of sexual promiscuity is prominence of explicit material to feed the sexual appetite and create an addiction that requires a regular fix. While it still carries some level of distaste, pornography has become normalized and has warped perception and inflicted harm on the sexuality God has created for us to enjoy.
Paul’s call to abstain from sexual immorality and control our bodies in honor and not give them over to the passion of lust faces greater challenges for believers in our day. But the solution is the same now as it was then.
While the deeds of the flesh flourish in darkness, the fruit of the Spirit grows in the light and fosters sanctification. When we speak of fruit like love and self-control we cast ourselves on the Spirit’s workmanship of grace and power of the new life in Christ. In a real sense, love is the answer to sexual immorality because it is other-oriented rather than self-obsessed.
The psalmist provides us with an apt prayer in dealing with pornography and other expressions of sexual immorality. “Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men who work iniquity; and do not let me eat of their delicacies” (Ps. 141:4).
What danger does sexual immorality present to us?
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
