This is the seventh sermon in our study of the policy that the Lord Jesus Christ himself lays out for Christians on the singular subject of sexual purity.

It’s been quite a trip. The apostle Paul, authorized by the Lord Jesus Christ himself and in language directly inspired by the Holy Spirit himself, has spoken some challenging words, and made some massive promises. It would be easy to respond with dark cynicism, or outright rebellion. But remember, every part of a Christian’s body belongs to Jesus, and Jesus has absolute rights to dictate what we may or may not do with them.  At a deeper level, every passion a Christian has belongs to Christ. He is our Lord and our king. If he says that what I am feeling is unacceptable then my job is to let him change what I’m feeling. End of discussion. The secular mind loathes such a thought. There might even be some sitting in the room right now who really can’t abide it. Yet this is the Lord Jesus Christ’s policy on sexual purity. There were specific reasons Paul dealt with it so precisely with the Thessalonians so long ago. There are very similar reasons why he needs to deal with it just as precisely with us right now.

We are in First Thessalonians 4. It progresses like this:

1. Verses 1-8, taken as one discrete unit, give us the Lord Jesus Christ’s policy on purity. This is probably the most comprehensive treatment of the subject, all boiled down into one paragraph, anywhere in the Bible. That’s why we’ve been picking it apart verse by verse.
2. Verse 2 makes it unmistakably clear that this is explicitly the Lord Jesus Christ’s precept on purity. This teaching comes directly from Jesus our Lord, through his apostle Paul, with the further clarity that this was standard issue in the first New Testament churches. Everybody thought this way.
3. Verse 3 summarizes the Lord Jesus Christ’s position on purity as succinctly as possible. In general, our Lord wants us to live sanctified, holy lives. In specific, he wants each of his followers to stay far away from any sharing of any sort of sexual passion at any level outside of heterosexual marriage.
4. Verses 4-6 communicate to us our Lord Jesus Christ’s straightforward plan for purity, in three simple principles:

(verse 4) learn to control your body

(verse 5) learn to discipline your passions

(verse 6) learn to treasure your brother

5. Last week we looked at verse 7 to find the Lord Jesus Christ’s purpose for purity. We discovered that purpose is to display the beauty and the glory of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each one of us has been called to Christ personally and purposefully by the Father himself: called away from what’s dirty, sinful, ugly, & petty, and called to what’s clean, holy, beautiful, & magnificent. Because you’re called to Christ, you’re likewise called to a life of using your body and your soul to portray him as the supreme treasure of your heart, and called to become a living vision of fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness that displays the preciousness and purity of Christ’s love for his church.
6. Today we are in verse 8: the Lord Jesus Christ’s persistence on purity, Where Paul makes it clear that Jesus has no intention of backing off on this.

At every point, each believer must choose whether to believe the world or the Word. As David Pawson put it, “It is only when we read something difficult or disagreeable in the Bible that we find out what we really believe about its authority over our lives.”  Today, God’s throwing down the gauntlet, and daring you to evaluate your own convictions. What do you really believe about the authority of the Word of God over your life? What will determine what you will believe and how you will live In the area of pure sexual passion: the world, or the Word?

I invite you to stand with me to signify your reverence for the Word of God.

¹ 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. ² For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, ⁵ not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; ⁶ 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. ⁷ For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

And then, verse 8, the Lord Jesus Christ’s persistence on purity. This is where Paul makes it clear that Jesus has no intention of backing off on this. ⁸ Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Let’s look into this verse and uncover 4 reasons you should surrender to and live by the Lord Jesus Christ’s policy on purity

Because Christ’s ways make so much sense

Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

As he often does, Paul begins with the word “therefore,” In other words, “on the basis of everything I just said, let me now drop this on you.” Paul considers that he has proven his case simply by stating it. Now he just takes the hammer to drive one last nail in.

The reality is that he has proven his case, and every Christian here knows it. Every part of my body belongs to Jesus, and every passion of my body belongs to Jesus. I don’t have any right to give access to either my parts or my passions to anyone. That right belongs to Jesus alone.

We know this. Jesus is as concerned with our passions as he is with our actions – in some ways, more concerned. He says so himself, and we understand why it makes sense. It’s one of the chief reasons so many people like to call Jesus the greatest ethical teacher in human history. All of us know deep down that this part of his teaching just makes sense. Even when we do not particularly like the fact that it makes sense, it still does. Of course, Jesus of Nazareth was so much more than just an ethical teacher he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

So let me stop for a moment and do what Paul often does in his writing. He anticipates an objection, then states the objection, then shows why the objection Doesn’t really amount to much. For each of the four reasons we look at today, I’ll mention a possible objection.

Here’s the first: “I can’t believe a little breathless messing around is just as bad as going all the way.”

Au contraire, you absolutely can believe what Jesus says about this. Eliciting passions you have no right to access is as wrong as playing around with parts you have no business touching. Stealing a little passion is as surely sinful as stealing a lot of passion. Jesus said this, and you know this!

But no, Jesus never said doing one thing that’s forbidden is just as sinful as doing everything that’s forbidden. The Bible never says that, and I’ve never said that. He and it and I have just said that a little bit of sin is as forbidden as a lot of sin, just as worthy of God’s judgment. But in the end, judgment will be proportional to what we have actually done. Scripture says over and over that God will judge us by our works. Sinning against God is one thing; our accountability for the effects of our sin is something else.

Picture King David, relaxing on the roof while his army is off to battle. He glances over at his neighbor’s house and catches a glimpse that turns from a glance into a look into a leer. His neighbor’s lovely wife Bathsheba is on her roof, taking a bath. He sends his guards to go take hold of her and bring her to the King’s bedroom and he does to her what kings do in their bedrooms. Somewhere along the way he discovers that she actually is the wife of one of his chief captains, a Hittite named Uriah. He is off at war, where David should be, leading his men in the fight. Most of you know how this story plays out. Bathsheba gets pregnant. David sneakily tries to make it look like Uriah was home to beget the child, but that deception fails. David gives orders to have Uriah killed, and then takes Bathsheba to be his own wife. The man after God’s own heart has become a voyeur, then a rapist, then a liar, then a murderer. Of course the seriousness of the offenses increased drastically the deeper into it he got. But the point is that he was already in sin the moment he let his eyes linger

Jesus and his apostles are clear that sin always begins in the heart and then uses the eyes and then the voice and then the body. Here is what the Lord’s younger brother James says:

James 1 ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Jesus’ policy on sexual purity has not changed, and it never will. His ways do make sense, no matter how the world scoffs at them.

Because Christ’s will commands so much respect 

Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Paul knows that he can get people’s attention with the idea that they are rejecting God will—even lost people are uncomfortable with the thought. That’s why people routinely reimagine or redefine what the Bible says about what is right or what is wrong. Most of them feel a little squeamish at the suggestion that they are openly rejecting God. Paul is intentionally provoking that feeling. He’s letting people know that if they reject what he is saying, they are rejecting what God is saying. Jesus taught it. The church received it. The Holy Spirit inspired it Paul to write it to the Thessalonians long ago. Now we’re hearing it in Dundalk today.

It doesn’t fundamentally matter whether we like or even agree with what the Lord Jesus Christ thinks and says about purity. All that matters is that he has said it. He’s not about to adjust himself to fit our wishes. Instead he demands that we adjust ourselves to fit his will. And he promises blessing and confidence and meaning and joy for all who will.

The second reason to surrender to and live by the Lord Jesus Christ’s policy on purity is that Christ’s will commands so much respect.

Here’s the objection: “but people don’t have very much respect for God’s will these days” I know. And it’s killing them.

If you want a lucid and heartbreaking illustration of how America’s sexual rebellion breaks like a frothy wave on the unyielding granite of God’s persistent holiness, just consider the reality of sex and marriage and childbirth in 2026. This is the actual outcome of the sexual revolution: Americans are having less sex, worse sex, less marriage, and fewer babies across the board. I’m not saying that’s what should happen, nor am I warning that that’s what will happen. I’m simply reporting that that’s what is already happening. I’ve heard all kinds of theories from different pundits about what’s causing it. I really have no question. God told us in Genesis what gender and sex and marriage and procreation are and how they are related. Jesus repeated it, explained it, intensified it, and handed it to us. We didn’t like what God had given us. We thought we knew better. We tried to change everything. We’re beginning to choke on the fruit of the crops we have sown. Do you tell me that people have less respect for the will of Christ in this matter than they used to? I ask you, how’s that going for us?

Paul thinks Christ’s Word commands respect; I’m operating under the same assumption.

This is a sermon series aimed at Christian young people and their parents and grandparents. It aims to dare people who say they know Jesus to live for him with utter abandon, and to listen to him above every other voice

Paul seems to think that God’s will commands respect; does it command yours?

Because Christ’s Word comes to us by the Holy Spirit    

Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

The mention of the Holy Spirit here brings two thoughts to mind.

One reason Paul mentions the Holy Spirit right here is to remind the Thessalonian Christians, and us, that it’s the Holy Spirit who is inspiring Paul to write these words. This policy on sexual purity comes from the wise and loving heart of the Father, by the commanding word of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, with even the very wording chosen for us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit by ignoring the Word he inspired.

The other reason Paul talks about the Holy Spirit here it is to recall to our minds the promise that the Holy Spirit in us will empower us to live out every word that he has spoken into us. Trust him to help you live his Word even when it seems nobody else does. Trust him to bless you and reward you when you do live his Word. Don’t quench the Holy Spirit by not trusting him.

Time for another objection: “that was fine for then, but people in the modern world will think it’s too simplistic. We understand so much more about human personality and behavior now.”

Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians in the year of our Lord 49, or 50.  We’ve spent the last few Sundays looking at what one little paragraph in this ancient letter says about sex and passion and sin and forgiveness and glory. Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and others created the modern discipline of psychiatry a little more than 100 years ago. Freud aimed to find a way to help people with problems of the soul and the mind without talking about God or sin or repentance. Freud was so involved in thinking and talking about sex that it’s become almost a joke. If you trace the development of psychiatric and psychological thinking over the last century and more, you’ll find that its theories are in a constant state of flux and shuffle. It’s either amusing or alarming to watch how theories and treatments and medications and surgeries come and go. The end result is that western culture is more eaten up by mental illness than it has ever been. If you really want to believe that contemporary ideas about human personality and behavior are better than what Jesus says, I’m not going to bother to argue with you. Once again I’ll just ask you, how’s it going for us?

I submit to you that whatever the Lord Jesus Christ’s policy on purity was in Paul’s day, it is still his policy on purity in our day.

I’m sure I’ve sounded dismissive a couple of times today. I’m not trying to be rude. I do believe that God’s ideas are clearly and obviously better then man’s ideas. But I also know that it’s challenging to think through all this stuff. You may have sincere objections and legitimate questions that require careful listening with genuine compassion. So let me say this: while I do believe that in general God is right and we are wrong, I also care about you and your feelings and your thoughts. I am more than willing to take a lot of time to talk to you about these things. After the service today, I’ll be standing at that door right there. Please come up to me and ask whatever you want to ask, or say whatever you want to say.

Because Christ’s worth deserves so much passion  

Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

Paul is at pains to enforce upon our minds the truth that this teaching comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh, full of the Spirit without measure.

We need to understand that classical Christian teaching on sex is profoundly Trinitarian. This seemingly strict, radical and extreme view of sexual morality is actually just Christian sexual morality. It is the sexual morality that comes to humanity from the triune God, full of glory and beauty and majesty and mystery.

Do you remember that vision of Adam and Eve in their newly created unfallen dazzling glory, as pure and untouched as freshly fallen snow, but sizzling with sexual passion for each other as God created them, and zeal to fill the Earth and subdue it, as he charged them?

Can you still see the vision of Christ the Almighty Bridegroom with his brilliantly white and spotless bride, the church? Let those two spectacular visions shape everything you think about sex and marriage. That’s how Christians think about the subject.

Okay, one more objection:  “it’s too late for me; I’m too polluted and too enslaved”

I love you. Far more than that, God loves you. No pollution can resist the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. No enslavement can prevail against the liberating power of the Spirit of God. Embrace this policy that Jesus lays out for us, and embrace it with firm confidence and passionate joy.

Pour yourself out in passionate, trembling faith in the mercy and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ

what God wants them to do

If you have found your heart resisting and rebelling throughout these eight verses in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonian church, just get real. He is God, and you are not. Surrender, submit, and cast yourself on Christ. He stands ready and eager to welcome you home.

If you have found your soul shattered and crushed by the memory of what you have done, or what has been done to you, cast yourself on Christ. He is the all-sufficient Savior of our souls, Healer of our hearts, and Lord of our lives.

If you have found yourself strengthened, reinforced, and edified to hear once again the truth that you’ve been living out for Jesus for the few days or many years since you first came to Christ, rejoice! But do more: pray for brothers and sisters who are struggling.

If you want to talk to me about these things or anything else, I’ll be standing right there…

Eternal Father, in this very moment, we turn again from our sin and ourselves to you and your glory,

Trusting only in your Son’s sacrifice for our sins to make us right with you.

We want to shelter ourselves in the shadow of his cross,

Bathe ourselves in the blood that he shed there for us,

Rest ourselves on his redemption

Robe ourselves in his righteousness,

Renew ourselves in his resurrection,

Lose ourselves in his Lordship,

And find ourselves in his friendship.

We want him to become for us, for today and forever, wisdom from God, and righteousness, and holiness, and salvation.

For he is the One who suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to you, our Father.