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As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God\u2019s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).

Having prayed that their love and holiness would increase, Paul moves on to a hot topic of his day and of ours. We could travel down various rabbit trails to avoid his main concern. Let\u2019s not do that.

His primary concern is that we all learn to live \u201cto please God\u201d, even in our sexuality. One of Canada\u2019s late Prime Ministers is famous for declaring, \u201cThere is no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation\u201d. God, however, reserves the right to inspect our conduct there. But this too, misses the purpose. Paul\u2019s concern for our sexuality is the same as his concern with alcohol. It should not control us; we should be controlled by the Spirit of Jesus.

In Paul\u2019s day, it was assumed that men could not be monogamous. What ever sexual pleasures they could afford was available to them: mistresses, slaves as concubines, prostitutes, etc. They were expected to fulfill whatever sexual desires they had. Its not much different in our day, except this goes for all of us.

But that is the way unbelievers, who do not know God, behave. They are controlled by these passions. No so the Christian. The Christian is under the sway of the Holy Spirit. The Christian\u2019s chief desire is to be holy, sanctified, to be of service to our Lord and Saviour. For the Christian, sexual fulfillment is not primary. It is not our identity.

Our identity is in Christ and our sexuality is subject to this reality. To borrow from the Heidelberg Catechism, \u201cMy only comfort is that, in life and in death, in body and soul, I belong to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.\u201d Many try to find comfort in sexual experience. The trouble is that this comfort is momentary. Its fades as mist in the morning sun. The pursuit of holiness motives our living. Well, it should. Does it?

Elsewhere, Paul\u2019s advocacy for the single life is rooted in this truth. Recognizing it is not for everyone, it is a possibility for the Christian. We can life fulfilled lives without sexual intercourse.

Paul recognizes that when our sexual passions are not under the sway of the Spirit, we will harm others. Within marriage, our sexuality can be a beautiful thing. But even there it can cause great harm. Lust pushes us towards dishonourable practices rooted in selfishness, unleashing desires to possess others. True love making honours the partner, it loves, cherishes, and respects. Sexuality can be the deepest joy of the married couple, but it can also be the place of deepest destruction.

The Lord calls us to be holy \u2013 to reflect his glory and holiness \u2013 for the sake of his name.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together\u2014spirit, soul, and body\u2014and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he\u2019ll do it! The amazing grace of Jesus Christ be with you! (1 Thessalonians 5:23,24,28 The Message).