1 Thessalonians 4:1-7
Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
Through Jesus Christ, God has made all Christians holy. In baptism, we are clothed with Christ, and his holiness and faithfulness become ours. So, God calls each of us to live holy lives, sanctified lives. We are to spend our whole lives learning to live out what God has already made us.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7, St. Paul tells us and the church in Thessalonica to abstain from sexual immorality. Just like the Thessalonians, the culture surrounding the church presses us toward sexual immorality, celebrating passions of lust rather than discipline over our bodies.
It used to be different, though. Only 60 years ago, Christians could count on the rest of society to reinforce sexual morality. We all believed that sex was supposed to be reserved for marriage. Now, however, people see it as weird to abstain from sex until marriage.
So, the church has to talk, really talk, about sex. Why did God create it? What are we supposed to do with sex? How does it relate to our Christian calling? Listen to the sermon to find out more.