Daily Devotions
1 Thessalonians
"We also forewarned you and testified."
Text: 1 Thessalonians 4:6
APOSTOLIC TEACHING
The ministry of the gospel is not limited to salvation in Christ. It extends to the way we live out our faith. Every believer is commanded to pursue the practice of holiness before the Lord.
“That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother
in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such,
as we also forewarned you and testified.
For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God,
who has also given us His Holy Spirit.”
1 Thessalonians 4:6-8
1. “That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter”
a) The word “brother” is a reference to a fellow-believer.
b) Sexual immorality is to be avoided at all cost.
2. “Because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified”
a) This teaching was not new to the Thessalonians.
i) Paul and Silas had forewarned them.
ii) They had testified of the practice of holiness by their own lives.
b) The Lord is the avenger.
i) The Lord reserves the right to judge everyone.
ii) The wicked will not be spared judgment.
3. “God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness”
a) Uncleanness is another way of describing “sexual immorality”.
b) Our calling is to practise holiness.
4. “Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God”
a) Paul and Silas were aware of the fact that this teaching may meet resistance.
b) The danger of rejection must be highlighted:-
i) It is not a rejection of man’s teaching.
ii) It is a rejection of God Himself.
5. “Who has also given us His Holy Spirit”
This is a solemn and yet wondrous truth! The Holy Spirit is given to every believer. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer and one of His major tasks is to help us to practise holiness! This understanding should lead us to practise holiness with a great sense of awe and regard for the Lord and His will.