(1 Th) 4:1-3, 7-8 CJB “Therefore, brothers, just as you learned from us how you had to live in order to please God, and just as you are living this way now, we ask you — indeed, united with the Lord Yeshua, we urge you — to keep doing so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Yeshua. What God wants is that you be holy, that you keep away from sexual immorality, For God did not call us to live an unclean life but a holy one. Therefore, whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not a man but God, indeed, the One who gives you the Ruach HaKodesh, which is his.”
True faith requires obedience. Yet one of the great tragedies in modern Christianity is how frequently we separate believing in Jesus from actually following Him.
We’ve made the gospel sound like an invitation to receive forgiveness without surrendering our lives to the One who forgives.
Believe in Jesus. Receive eternal life. Go on living.
But is that the gospel Jesus and His apostles preached?
True Faith Requires Obedience, Not Just Agreement
The gospel begins with what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ.
Jesus, God the Son, came into our world, died for our sins, and rose bodily from the dead.
His resurrection confirms His victory over death and assures us that He is the risen Lord who will judge the world (Acts 17:30–31).
We cannot save ourselves through good works. Salvation is God’s gift, received by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9).
But saving faith is more than agreeing with historical facts.
It involves turning from rebellion toward God in repentance and trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord.
We are not saved by obedience, but genuine saving faith produces obedience.
Paul made that unmistakably clear to the Thessalonians.
God’s Will Is Your Holiness
Paul wasn’t writing to unbelievers, telling them how to earn salvation.
He was writing to Christians, urging them to continue living in ways that pleased God.
And not just continue.
“Keep doing so more and more.”
Following Jesus is a lifelong pursuit of becoming increasingly like Him.
Paul immediately identifies an area where obedience matters enormously: sexual morality.
God’s will is that His people be holy and abstain from sexual immorality.
That instruction wasn’t merely Paul’s personal opinion.
He delivered it on the authority of the Lord Jesus.
And Paul warns that rejecting this teaching means rejecting God Himself.
Sexual Holiness in a Confused Culture
Our culture increasingly treats sexual desire, personal identity, and individual choice as the ultimate authorities for determining right and wrong.
Scripture teaches something radically different.
God created humanity male and female (Genesis 1:27), established marriage as the union of a man and woman (Genesis 2:24), and calls His people to sexual faithfulness.
Biblical sexual ethics prohibit sexual activity outside that marriage covenant, including same-sex sexual behavior (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).
Scripture also teaches the sacred value of human life, including life in the womb (Psalm 139:13–16).
These convictions challenge many contemporary assumptions about sexuality, gender, and abortion.
But men, we must remember something.
Holiness never gives us permission to treat people without love, dignity, or compassion.
Every person bears God’s image. Every sinner needs God’s grace. And every Christian is called to repentance.
We cannot demand holiness from others while excusing disobedience in ourselves.
God’s Word Must Shape Our Character
If we want to know what pleases God, we must know what God has said.
That requires more than occasionally hearing a sermon.
We must read Scripture, study it, discuss it, and submit our lives to its authority.
The Holy Spirit uses God’s Word to transform us increasingly into the likeness of Christ.
Our character must reflect God’s holiness.
Our commitment must be demonstrated through obedience.
Our commission is to make disciples who likewise learn to obey everything Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19–20).
Christianity was never intended to be merely a collection of beliefs.
It is a life surrendered to Jesus Christ!
Run Today’s Play
Ask yourself: Is there an area of my life where I claim to believe God’s Word but refuse to obey it?
Examine your obedience. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1–8. Identify one area where your attitudes, habits, or relationships need to align more closely with God’s commands.
Practice and teach obedience. Take one specific step of repentance today. Then encourage another man to know God’s Word and live according to it.
Men, God didn’t call us merely to believe certain things about Jesus.
He called us to belong to Jesus and increasingly live in ways that please Him.
True faith requires obedience—not to earn salvation, but because salvation changes who we are and how we live.
