Can we return to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4? The title I want to give to the meditation tonight is Onward Christian. Onward Christian. And tonight we want to look principally at the first 12 verses. We shall look at this section from verses 1 to 12. It could well be said that this chapter begins a more practical section in 1 Thessalonians. There is some doctrine here. We will look at that on another occasion, from verses 13 to the end, where he seeks to correct some of the teaching or some of the understanding that the Thessalonians had about the second coming of the Lord Jesus. But we want to look at this first 12 verses, which is certainly a practical part of the epistle. And we do believe that being the word of God, it is relevant for us today in the 21st century, as it was for these Christians in the first century. And therefore, the title is Onward Christian. Paul was instrumental in bringing the gospel to the Thessalonians, and he was an instrument used by God to bring them into a lively faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, they were spiritual children, and we all know what children are like. They're born into this world, and they're absolutely helpless. They depend upon the mother principally, but certainly the parents. But they are helpless. They need someone to do everything for them. But before you know where you are, they begin to get stronger. They start to turn around and roll over. Then they pull themselves along the floor. Then what happens? They begin to crawl. And then they begin to stand. and then they begin to walk, and then it's time to watch out. So, this is what happens really with the Christian. And now the apostle, having been used by God to bring them into the kingdom, they are standing. And he is delighted with the report that Timothy brought to him when he was in Corinth because he was concerned about what happened to them after he had to leave them very, very quickly, even after a relatively short time. But Timothy came back with a good report about these brethren. They were standing up to persecution and they were making progress in the Christian life. And now he wants them to go on, in Paul's letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 4, again, another practical part of that letter, he says that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1. In the same chapter, he goes on, walk not as other Gentiles walk. In chapter five of that same epistle, verse two, walk in love. And in the same chapter, walk as children of light. The Christian life begins with a step of faith, but it doesn't stay there. But that step leads to a walk, and the walk of faith And that's why we're told in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 7, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Now walking, what does it suggest to you? Well, it suggests to me progress at the very least. It talks about going on, of going from one place to another place. It's not a marathon, it's not a sprint. but it's progress. This is what the Apostle Paul is instructing and exhorting the Christians in Thessalonica onward, Christian. Well, there are three things that I wish to highlight from these verses, three things connected with our walk in the Christian life. And the main section I put it to you in the section we're looking at is really from verses one to eight. One to eight. And what we have there, I put it to you, could well be summed up, walk in holiness. Walk in holiness. Furthermore, then, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. He's telling them, first of all, that they are to please God. God is holy. We might not hear much of this in the contemporary Christian church today. But the Bible is clear on this matter. The God with whom we have to do is holy. Isaiah, when he got his call to the prophetic office, when he saw Christ in his temple in all his glory, He heard the angels, one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. Whatever we know about God, And we can only know a fraction of Him, what He has revealed to us in His Word. But we know this, that God is absolutely holy and pure. He dwells in unapproachable light. And He demands of those who follow Him in and through the Lord Jesus Christ, that they too be holy. This is the only way to please the living God. This is what it says. to please God, so ye would abound more and more." Of course, this is not just something that we find in the Old Testament. We have it here. We have it in the other epistles. there in chapter 1 verses 15 and 16. But as he which hath called you as holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy. And we believe that is a a reference to what we find in two places in Leviticus and one in Chronicles. It's telling us there about the God with whom we have to do with. He is holy. He is without sin. He is pure. And we would remind ourselves again, too, about that well-known verse, that well-known challenging verse that we find in the book of Hebrews, follow peace with all men. and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord." We need to realize, the Christian needs to take on board that when he becomes a Christian, he is objectively holy in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is holy because of what Christ has done on his behalf. There is a holiness that is required of us, a practical holiness. What does that mean? It just simply means that we are to live in holiness. We are to practice holiness. We are to practice sanctification and separation from sin. That's what it means. And this is what he's urging upon these new believers in Thessalonica. that they are to practice and know more of this practical holiness, holy living, because it pleases God, and we are to obey God. He highlights a particular matter that was very common in the Gentile world, and we might be somewhat embarrassed as we look at it, but it's here in the Word of God. Verse 3, for instance, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication. Now to us, I would expect to the people gathered here, and more likely to those who are listening by other means, We don't have a problem with this in the sense that we recognize that fornication and adultery and sexual immorality are sinful activities, and they are frowned upon in the Bible. But if we go back to the first century and to the Gentile world and the Gentile culture of that day, these sins would be commonplace. And if someone committed these sins, no one would bat an eyelid. Indeed, very often these sins were associated with the religious life of that culture. Very often, the temples where they sacrificed to their idols, sexual immorality would be there alongside their religion. It will be part and parcel of it. Now, the apostle Paul was telling them that that kind of behavior is not acceptable, that they must give up this. And it may well be that for some in Thessalonica, as part of that culture, it was hard for them. It was something new for them. This was revolutionary. This was counter-cultural. As I said, I'm quite sure we can see how this is against the law of God. It's a breach of the seventh commandment, we know. But to that culture at that time, sexual immorality was not in any sense frowned upon. And how were they to handle this? Well, What do we find? Verse six, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. I should have read verse four first, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor. What's he saying there? Well, he's telling them how they're to avoid the sin of fornication and of adultery. Every one of you should know how to possess his vessel. Now, reading that, you might think to yourself that that has a reference to their bodies. Well, that may be the case, but more than likely, this is telling them that every one of them should have their own wife. That is literally what Paul is telling them. And again, if we go to Peter, for instance, we will see in 1 Peter 3, verse 7, here Peter is giving more practical instruction to the Christians of his day. And he's talking about the relationship between husbands and wives. And he says, likewise, ye husbands dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel. And it was quite common for the rabbis to call or associate a wife with the word vessel and therefore this is what he's saying to them here that everyone is to have their own wife and all their sexual activity is to be undertaken in amongst the marriage bond and then if we read verse six that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter How would they defraud a brother in any matter? Well, you think of the sin. You think of the sin of fornication. You think of the sin of adultery. When does that normally happen? Usually in the dark, in the night, in private. And very often, therefore, the innocent party, the brother, the innocent party would know nothing about this. He would be ignorant that his wife had committed adultery or vice versa. And sometimes these people think that they'll get off with that kind of activity. No one has seen it. It's just between two parties. And therefore the offending party will know nothing about it, or the innocent party will know nothing about it. But what does verse six say? that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such. The fornicator might think he might get away with it, or the adulterer might think he might get away with it, but God is the avenger, and he visits for these sins. And therefore, there's a warning to them that they would abandon that kind of behavior. That behavior that was normal in the culture is not to be seen among the people of God. And they are to glorify God. by their holy lives, by their chaste lives, by their transformed lives. They are to stick out in the nicest possible way in the culture that they find themselves in. And people are to know they're Christians by their lifestyle, by how they conduct themselves, and how that they are totally different from all those around about them. And those who practice these sins, God does judge. He will take them to account. He therefore that despises, despises not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit. Well, walk in holiness. We've really spoken about physical fornication and adultery. As far as I can ascertain, I don't think that's a problem in our congregation with those who are before me this evening. But what about heart adultery and fornication? This is easy for us to commit today. We are awash with this material. If you are at all familiar with the internet, as I'm sure most of you are, you know it's very, very difficult to avoid this. What am I talking about? Well, I'm talking about viewing inappropriate material. Sometimes this material is thrown right in front of you. and it's very tempting to click a button or to pry into it a bit more, we have to kill that thought right at the very beginning when something inappropriate comes before us as we open up a newspaper or a magazine or the television or our computer screens or our handheld devices. It's all around us. And we must be very careful that we know holiness of heart. No one might see it. God sees it. He sees it. We know that today in the world we live in around here, it's very much like the Gentile world of the first century. We're awash with sexual sins. And we can easily commit this in our hearts. And we can delude ourselves that no one sees. It doesn't matter. Well, it does matter. God sees. And sin will bring its own reward. You will lose your closeness with the Lord. You'll find it difficult to pray. You'll not benefit from the means of grace. Your heart will be hardened. Your conscience will be hardened. And if you indulge in it and continue to indulge in it, it's a slippery slope. And who knows, it may well lead to actually physically committing these things. It's not beyond this. David, what was he, was a man after God's own heart. He saw, he lusted, he moved, he acted, committed adultery, murder, lying. It's all there in our hearts, friends. It only needs the right opportunity for these wicked sins to bear fruit and to rob us of our felt sense of the love of God. at their spiritual adultery as well. Spiritual adultery, what is that? It's having other gods. When a man commits adultery with someone else, he has another wife. And when we commit spiritual adultery, we're having another god or gods, we serve other gods. We are to serve the living God. He's the one who has saved His people in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. He has done wonderful things. He has fully displayed His love for His people. He demands, friends, that we love Him accordingly and that our eyes and our affections and our hearts and our wills are not taken up with other gods. but the one true and the living God. Walk in holiness. That's the first thing he impresses upon them. Make progress. I'm sure it's J.C. Ryle, and I'm sure it will be found in the book Holiness. Holiness is happiness. That's it. The world will laugh at us. They think holiness is restrictive, it fetters us. Nonsense. Holiness is happiness. That's where we're going to be happy, only when we're holy. And this is what the Apostle Paul is instructing these poor Thessalonian Christians. Walk in holiness. Secondly, looking at verses 9 to 10, walk in love. Walk in love. In the Greek, there are at least four words that are translated love. There's more, but there are at least four basic words for love in the Greek language. There's eros, eros. And it refers to physical love. And from that word, we get the English word erotic. There's storge. That's family love. That's the love between a son and a father, or vice versa. Storge love, the love of parents for the children, and vice versa. There's filio, that's deep affection, such as in between friends. Two friends can be deeply in love in the nicest possible sense. In the filio sense, they have a deep affection and love and reverence and respect. That's the love that David had for Jonathan and vice versa. Then there is agape. That's the love of God. towards his people. That's divine love. That's love that we love, but we cannot fully comprehend. Well, what's he saying here to them in these verses? In verses nine to 10, but as touching brotherly love. Philadelphia, that's what it means, brotherly love. And the Christian is to have brotherly love, that filial love, that deep affection for his fellow brother or sister in all purity. That's what they had, and indeed they were practicing it, but he's exhorting them that they would know this more and more. But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. And indeed, you do it toward all the brethren which are in Macedonia. They didn't just reserve it for those in their immediate company or in their immediate congregation. They were known throughout the whole of Macedonia. And Thessalonica was the capital of Macedonia. But they were known throughout this area as ones who loved the brethren. This is what marked them out. This was something that was commendable. That ye increase more and more. This is again reminding us, friends, that in our Christian walk, in our Christian experience, we are a work in progress. We are not to be complacent. It doesn't matter what level, whatever grace we have and whatever level we've reached in that grace, we're not to be complacent. We are to continue, we're to go on. That ye increase more and more. Can that be said of you? Would this be said of you, that you're known, that someone really doesn't need to tell you about loving the brethren, this is something you practice, this is something that's known about you, this is a mark, this is a characteristic of you? Well, it certainly is a characteristic of the Christian. He is to love the brethren. And it's not just a soppy, emotional love. It's a love that's felt. And it's a love that exposes itself and reveals itself in practical ways. That ye increase more and more. Would that not be wonderful if that was said of the Christians in Partick or Knightswood Shettleston. Would that not be lovely if that was said of the Christians who belong to the free Church of Scotland continuing? This is what we are to strive for. We are to walk in this love and to readily embrace all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are certain things we are to overlook. None of us are perfect. We're not talking about overlooking things that are absolutely vital. We're not talking about denying the truths of the gospel. But there are certain things that should not stop us from loving one another and even others who are not of our communion, provided, of course, they do not deny the basics of the Word of God. It's a balance. We have to be wise. We have to be able to discriminate. We have to use sound judgment. But if they are Christians, if they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in truth and in sincerity, despite their faults, then we are to love them. We are to walk in love. Thirdly, and briefly, verses 11 and 12, what have we got here? Well, I suggest to you, thirdly, we have here, we're to walk in honesty. Walk in honesty. Verse 12, for instance, that you may walk honestly towards them that are without, and that you may have lack of nothing. Verse 11, and that you study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands as we commanded you. It's very interesting, one commentator pointed this out, that at the beginning of this chapter, We have some practical exhortations we are seeking to go through. And then at the end of this chapter, the section we'll look at another occasion, he's talking or correcting some of their views concerning the second coming. And he goes on to chapter five to talk about that. And then once he finishes that section in chapter five, he then goes on and he brings more exhortation, practical exhortations to them. So if you can look at it like this, he has practical exhortations, he has doctrine, and then he has practical exhortations. The doctrine he wants to correct is their view on the second coming. And what was the problem? Well, one of the problems in the congregation was that people were idle. And they were idle because they basically said to themselves, well, Jesus is going to return. There's no point in working. We can just loaf around. There's no point. He's going to come back imminently, anytime. What's the point in having a nine to five job? What's the point in working? What's the point in building a house? What's the point in doing anything? Because Jesus is going to return. Well, Jesus will return, but we don't know when. And in the meantime, you are to be working. You are to be diligent about your own business. Because if you're not, you'll cause those outside the church to say, look at these Christians. They're lazy, they're busybodies. Other people are working, providing for their homes, providing for their families, but you are just lazy. Therefore, we are to walk in honesty. because the person who is not working, who is not laboring, who's not earning, he is robbing from others because others have to support him or her. That's what he's impressing upon the Thessalonian Christians here, that these people are to work, that they are to contribute. They're not to be a burden. that ye may walk honestly towards them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. Walk in honesty. Provide for your home, for your family, quiet life, not getting involved in anyone else's life. Go about your own business. Go about your own job, provide, so that you don't give any occasion for the unbeliever to point the finger and say, look at her, look at him. That's what he's saying. And that's relevant for every single one of us. We are to be diligent. In paradise, There was work. Oh, it wasn't the same as after the fall, that is true, but work is honorable. It's become a burden now because of the fall, that's true, but it's still honorable. That's what the Apostle Paul is impressing upon the Christians in Thessalonica. Onward, Christian men. Onward, walk in holiness, walk in brotherly love, and walk in honesty.