Please turn in your Bibles this evening to I Thessalonians chapter 4 as we continue our study through the Word of God. In these last 2 chapters of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians he gives practical lessons on how the church is to walk, how we as Christians are to live, which is very important for us just as it was for the Thessalonians. This evening we are going to see that the church is to Walk in Holiness – I Thessalonians - 4:1-8; we are to Walk in Love – I Thessalonians 4:9-10; we are to Walk in Honesty – I Thessalonians 4:11-12; we are to Walk in Hope – I Thessalonians 4:13-18. So we have a lot of ground to cover tonight so let’s begin reading in I Thessalonians chapter 4, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSES 1-2
If you are satisfied where you are at in your Christian walk, it shows that you are stagnant in your walk, you are backsliding, you are not growing. That may seem harsh, but it is true. On this side of heaven we will or should be growing every day, moving forward, maturing in the faith. Paul is urging these believers and us to super abound in your walk with the Lord. Paul put this perspective on it as he tells us in I Corinthians 9:24-27, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” A fighter gets knocked down when he lets his guard down, and we as Christians can be knocked down by the enemy as we fall into sin when we let our guard down and don’t fight to win the race, and when that happens, we can become disqualified for service unto the Lord! Be careful and be wise!
Also, these are not suggestions that Paul was giving but commandments from the Lord. Now I thought we are under grace, not the Law? We are and thus, these are not laws for us to follow to attain some kind of righteousness but laws we follow out of love for the Lord. Think of it like this, in marriage there are many things you can do and things you should not do in that relationship, not because there are these laws, but out of love and when those things are not followed, it shows that there is no love. The same is true with our relationship with the Lord!
VERSES 3-6
People wonder what is God’s will for their lives and they never seem to find it or they refuse to accept it. Paul tells us here that God’s will for our lives is our sanctification, HAGIASMOS (hag-ee-as-mos’) in the Greek and it means to be set apart. We are to be set apart from sin and unto God. Specifically here Paul speaks of sexual purity, that we are to abstain or stay completely away from any thought or behavior that goes against God’s Word in regards to sexual sin.
To give you an idea how bad things were in Paul’s day, how messed up their thinking was, listen to what the ancient writer Demosthenes said in regards to their view of sex: “We keep prostitutes for pleasure; we keep mistresses for the day to day needs of the body; we keep wives for the faithful guardianship of our homes.” So sexual immorality was just a way of life for them, it was normal, and thus, Paul says as Christians we are not to travel down that road for we are not controlled by our lustful passions, but by the Spirit of God!
Today in America we are not as bad as it was in Paul’s day but we surely don’t have anything to boast about, we are gaining ground quickly in this area. Ever since the sexual revolution of the late 1960’s and the early 1970’s we have been hearing the expression “Free love!” Folks, love is never free, it always takes from us either in a good way or a bad way. In Hebrews 13:4 Paul tells us, “Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Within the bonds of marriage sex is good, God has given it to us to enjoy, and in that intimacy you give a part of yourself to your spouse.
Satan, the master of perversion, the one who has come to destroy lives tries to discourage sex within marriage, why? Because they will then look for sex outside of marriage! He also encourages sex outside of marriage! The results of sexual promiscuity is that the Centers for Disease Control estimate that there are 19 million sexually transmitted disease infections, STD, that occur each year in the United States and almost half of them are among our youth, ages 15 to 24! The number of people living in the United States with an incurable STD is over 65 million. That doesn’t even speak of the emotional scars that occur. Sex is never free and outside of marriage, it is a sin and God will judge it!
As Christians, we are not like animals that are controlled by their lusts, their body appetites. We are controlled by the Spirit of God who speaks to our spirit and thus, we should be able to control our bodies, not succumb to the fleshly impulses! And whoever goes down that path, transgresses the will of God, there are consequences to their actions because they are taking advantage, taking something greedily for their own personal gain. You see, the adulterer takes advantage or defrauds his spouse and children. The fornicator defrauds his future spouse and children. I don’t believe you hear this too often in the church, but as Christians we are to take charge of our bodies, of our holiness. Yes, Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5:23, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” But we must also walk in holiness, purpose in our heart that we will not go down that path! It is as Paul said in I Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” God has His role and then we can resist the work of the Holy Spirit or submit to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but it is our choice!
VERSES 7-8
If you violate the will of God, if you are involved in sexual sin, you are turning your back to God. This is not a suggestion and I don’t care how you try to rationalize it, if you are involved in this you are in sin. God has called us to a higher standard to live by, don’t lower the standard so you can justify your sin. Peter tells us, “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 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, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” I Peter 1:13-16.
Does this mean that the Thessalonian believers were involved in sexual sin? I don’t believe so, but since this lifestyle was all around them, since it was considered a normal part of their life, it was a warning to them to flee these things, to stay away from them, to walk in holiness and not immorality! What a great warning to us as sexual sin today is thought of as a normal part of our life. We see it on television, at the movies, on billboards, magazines and even among family and friends who are involved in these things and thus, we are to walk in holiness and not to succumb to this sin!
VERSES 9-10
In these verses Paul admonishes the Thessalonian believers to walk in love, to continue to grow in the unconditional love of Christ towards others. In Romans 5:5 Paul tells us, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Then why did Paul even bring this up, this basic principle that the Holy Spirit gives to us, the love of God? Because we need to be reminded, we can allow things to get in the way of receiving God’s love or we can let things get in the way of expressing God’s love to our brothers and sisters in the Lord. If you are doing that now you are living in rebellion against God, you are in sin. I know, some of you may not agree with that statement, you might be thinking I’ve gone a little too far, but listen to what John tells us because he went just as far. In I John 2:9-11 John tells us, “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” I find it interesting that when we are involved in situations like this we can justify our behavior, why is that? Because we have closed our eyes to the truth, blinded them so we can’t see. What is the solution? Repent before God; restore the relationship with the brother or sister in the Lord for as Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” People are watching us, what are they seeing? Walk in love!
VERSES 11-12
Paul, in these two verses, is calling for us to walk in honesty. Paul’s first point here is we should live quiet lives, we should not be anxious, worried, going crazy over things because of what we see happening but we should be at peace knowing God is in control. Also, we should not be exalting self! In regards to this, one writer put it this way as he shows us the successful cult that is leading many people to Hell, more than any other cult out there. He tells us:
This cult has a god (the self), an army of priests (celebrities), a set of scriptures (tabloids and the like), a creed (the demand for “excitement”), and countless places of worship (amusement parks, theaters, concert halls, sports arenas, and every TV is a little chapel). This cult seduces people into living their lives for one thing – the thrill of the moment. But these thrills are quickly over and forgotten, and all that is important is the next fun thing. This cult numbs us so that the only question we ask is “Is it fun?” It never wants us to ask, “Is it true?” “Is it right?” “Is it good?” “Is it godly?”
Folks, God is not interested in making us happy, that is not His purpose, He is making us holy and there are times we might not like it, but it is what is needed in our lives to purge out the garbage that is there, to be more like Him!
Secondly, Paul tells us we are to mind our own business or don’t stick your nose in where it doesn’t belong, don’t be a busybody! In II Thessalonians 3:11-12 Paul once again picks up on this as he tells us, “For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.” How can we stop being busybodies? That is Paul’s next point!
We are to work with our hands, we are to supply the needs for our family and our own needs! That is one way to stop being a busybody, be so busy you don’t have time to stick your nose in other people’s business! Now to the Greeks, work done with the hands was degrading, thus, they made their slaves do the work. Sadly, many Christians do the same today; they expect others to supply their needs because they don’t want to work. I don’t understand this mentality, especially among Christians. I had one person who felt, because he was in the ministry it was his right to be on welfare because it helped him complete the work of the ministry. Folks, who does he think is supporting him? People in the ministry and outside the ministry who are working! Folks, if that is your attitude, then don’t get into he ministry. Don’t even advertise that you are a Christian!
I think you can tell this is one of my soapbox issues. Paul said in II Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” And in I Timothy 5:8 Paul tells us, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Why is this such a big deal to me and to the Lord, which is far more important of course?
Paul tells us it is because the unsaved are watching us and we are to be examples to them of what God has done in our lives. If we seek attention, if we are all worried, if we are a busybody, if we are lazy, it sheds a bad light upon God, it is a bad witness! You see, by our actions, by what we say we are going to influence people either to Jesus or push them away from Him! Thus, walk in honesty.
Now in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 Paul is showing the Thessalonians how they are to walk in hope – the hope of the soon return of Jesus Christ for His bride, the church, we call it the Rapture!
VERSE 13
In speaking of the Rapture of the church, Paul tells us that he doesn’t want us to be ignorant about this event, and yet, the church is truly ignorant about it. Some feel there is no such thing as the Rapture, others feel it is at the end of the tribulation period, some in the middle of that seven year period of time or the 3½ year mark, others say it is just a little past the half-way mark, and I believe that the Rapture of the church will take place prior to the start of the seven year tribulation period and I will show you why in a few minutes!
In the Scriptures, when a believer dies it speaks of him going to sleep. When you go to sleep there is rest, there is peace, there is comfort. Now, when an unbeliever dies the Bible never speaks of him being asleep because they have no rest, no peace, no comfort. When we die, as Christians, our body goes back to the dust of the earth and our spirit and soul go to be with the Lord. That is our hope, it is not that we don’t sorrow, we are sad but we also know that we will see that person one day in glory. It is like sending a loved one off on a long trip, you will see them again but it will be a long time before it happens and thus, you are sad, you sorrow, but not like the unsaved will sorrow. You see, for the unsaved there is no hope for them in death, as Barclay points out for us:
In the face of death the pagan world stood in despair. They met it with grim resignation and bleak hopelessness. Aeschylus wrote, “Once a man dies there is no resurrection.” Theocritus wrote, “There is hope for those who are alive, but those who have died are without hope.” Catullus wrote, “When once our brief light sets, there is one perpetual night through which we must sleep.” On their tombstones grim epitaphs were carved, “I was not; I became; I am not: I care not.”
- William Barclay, The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, p. 203
What a sad place to be, but in Christ our hope is that as He rose from the dead God will raise us up one day in glory. Why be in a place where there is no hope when Jesus wants to give you hope?
VERSE 14
The word “if” does not indicate doubt or being unsure but because of the fact that the Lord rose from the dead He will bring with Him on that day those who have fallen asleep in Christ, it is our hope! In John 14:19 Jesus said, “ . . . Because I live, you will live also.” But for the unbeliever there is no hope, he will have an eternity to think about the wrong decision he made and regret every moment as he is in the Lake of Fire while we rejoice with our Lord!
VERSES 15-16
This was not Paul’s idea but it came from the Lord and Paul establishes that fact up front, which is important for many even today deny the teaching of the Rapture of the church. Also notice that Paul speaks of two groups of people who are involved in this event; those who are alive and those who have fallen asleep or have died in the Lord. There might have been some concern with the Thessalonian believers that those who have gone to be with the Lord were going to miss out on something, but that is not the case. All Christians will participate in the Rapture. Also, there is an order that Paul tells us about.
With a shout of authority and as He speaks forth, as the trumpet sounds the dead in Christ will rise first, they will get their resurrected bodies. You see, Paul told us in I Corinthians chapter 15 that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and thus, we must be changed. In John 14:1-4 Jesus said this regarding these new bodies, “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” You see, these bodies of flesh are like tents; they are temporary dwelling places for our spirit and soul to dwell in. But the Lord has a permanent abode for our spirit and soul to dwell in made by Him. In fact, He calls it a mansion that will never fade away as compared with these tents that are fading away. That is what they will receive and we who are alive when the Lord returns, will receive!
VERSE 17
This event happens in the twinkling of an eye, according to I Corinthians chapter 15, and that speaks of the time it takes for light to go from the surface of the eye to the retina. If light travels at 186,000 miles per second it would take light 1.5 seconds to travel from the surface of the earth to the moon and the moon is some 239,000 miles away from the earth. So then, in the twinkling of an eye light would only reach one foot off the surface of the earth! Thus, no one will see it happen, it will be instantaneous, but they will feel the effects!
Paul tells us that we will be “caught up” which comes from the Greek word HARPAZO, and that word means to take by force, to seize. Granted the word “rapture” is not in the Bible, it was take from the Latin Vulgate, the Latin word RAPTURUS is used for “caught up” and from that word we get our English word RAPTURE from. If you don’t want to use the word “rapture” then call it the “great snatch away!” That is what the Greek word means but I like rapture better! And where do we meet the Lord? We meet Him in the air, and in His second coming we come with Him and He comes back to the earth to set up His kingdom and every eye will see Him. There is a big difference between the rapture of the church and the second coming of Jesus Christ; they are not the same event!
VERSE 18
If we were to go through the seven-year Tribulation Period, these words would not be comforting to us. But the hope of the return of Jesus for His bride, our eternal union with Him is a source of great comfort. I know, some say it is escapism and Jesus did say that in this world we will have tribulation. Here’s the thing, right now Satan and his forces are persecuting Christians all over the world. But in the Tribulation Period it is God’s wrath being poured out upon a Christ rejecting world. In I Thessalonians 5:9 Paul makes this powerful point, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “For God has not appointed us to [incur His] wrath [He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).” I think that is very clear!
How do I know that the Rapture takes place before the Tribulation Period starts? I think the book of Revelation lays that out for us, besides these other verses we have looked at. In Revelation 1:19 Jesus tells us how the book of Revelation is divided up, and it is pretty simple. He says, “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” The things that John “has seen” are found in Revelation chapter 1. The things “which are” relates to the church age or the seven letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor found in Revelation chapters 2 & 3.
The last division of the book, which covers Revelation chapters 4-22, deal with the things that will take place “after this” or the Greek expression is META TAUTA. After what things? After the things of the church when the church age comes to an end. Paul, in Romans 11:25 tells us, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” The fullness of the Gentiles speaks of the last person to be saved prior to the Rapture and then God will once again deal with the nation of Israel, He will finish up the seventieth week of Daniel, that last 7-year period we call the Tribulation Period!
In Revelation chapter 4, after we finish the letters to the churches in Asia Minor which are found in Revelation chapters 2 & 3, it also closes that period of time known as the church age and the last days church, one of them anyway is the lukewarm church and we see that beginning even today. Then, in Revelation 4:1-2 we are told, “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.’ Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.”
John is a type of the church and “after these things” of the church, as the church age comes to a close, John looks up and sees a door open in heaven, then a voice like that of a trumpet and the call to come up, and immediately, instantaneously he was in heaven! Sound familiar? It should because I believe that is what Paul is talking about in I Corinthians chapter 15 and I Thessalonians chapter 4, it is a picture of the Rapture of the church. And, interestingly enough, the next time we read of the church on earth is in Revelation chapter 19 when we return with the Lord to the earth to set up His kingdom!
Think of it like this, before World War II started, Japan and Germany called their ambassadors home, they left America and went to their own home countries, why? Because war was about to break out and their countries wanted them to be home before war was declared! So too with our Lord, before He declares war on earth, before He pours out His wrath upon a Christ rejecting world, He will call His ambassadors home, you and me! Remember, this is not our home, we are aliens and strangers just passing through, for our citizenship is in heaven and that is where we are called to go, to be with our Lord. I love what Paul says in Titus 2:13, “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” That is what we are doing and in knowing He is coming back, in knowing we will be with Him, what should we do? Paul told us, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” I Thessalonians 4:18. As I close this evening, may we not be a people that are anxious, worried, terrified of what is to come, for the Lord is coming back and we should be looking upward for our redemption is drawing near and we are comforted in that and can bring the comfort of God to others in Christ! Thus, may we walk in hope!