I Thessalonians 4:7

FIRST THESSALONIANS 4:7

The Bible says in First Thessalonians 4:7, “For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” Many times people want to know exactly what has God called them to do. No matter who you are, this is what God has called you to do: be holy. “Be ye holy for I am holy, saith the Lord.” The word “uncleanness” is an interesting word. Like many of the great doctrinal words of the New Testament, Jesus was the first one to use the word. Jesus used it in Matthew 23:27 speaking to religious people when Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto white sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”

The important thing to notice about what Jesus said concerning “uncleanness” is that it is not enough to clean the outside. The heart must be cleansed. The heart is cleansed by Christ when we confess our sins and ask Him to forgive us. But it is not enough to say that your heart has been cleansed by Christ. God’s will is that your actions also be holy. God has called you to be a holy person.

The Bible says in First Thessalonians 4:8, “He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given us his Holy Spirit.” Thus far, all of these verses in First Thessalonians chapter four have been talking about God’s will that we live a holy life. Two commandments have been given in regards to doing so. The first commandment was to avoid fornication. The second commandment was to avoid defrauding one’s brother in Christ. In other words: do not take advantage of someone from a sexual standpoint, and do not take advantage of someone from a materialistic standpoint. One of the primary goals of life should be to lead a holy life, and holiness has a lot to do with how you treat other people. The problem is that some people reject the idea of trying to lead a holy life. Someone who wants to serve God should wake up in the morning with the purpose of trying to do the right thing. Sadly, there are those who despise such a goal. “He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God.”

First Thessalonians 4:8 speaks of the “Holy Spirit.” The emphasis is on the word “holy.” The Holy Spirit is in the world to teach all people that they should be holy. He convicts the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. That is how the goodness of God leads us to repentance. The Holy Spirit reveals to us our sins so that we will turn to Christ for forgiveness, and so that we will then embark on a quest for holiness. Those who despise the idea that a human being should lead a holy life are despising and rejecting God. That is why Jesus said in John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

The third commandment that we find in this passage concerning living a holy life is given in First Thessalonians 4:9. It says, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.” It does not surprise us that the requirement to love other Christians is a part of living a holy life. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” And Jesus also said in John 15:12-13, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus not only told us what to do, “love one another.” He also told us how to do it, “as I have loved you.” How did Jesus love us? He gave His life for us. He loved us when we were not lovely. He loved us when we were yet in our sins. He loved us when we did not deserve it. He loved us when He knew all about our greatest failures and our biggest weaknesses. And He told us very clearly to love other Christians in the same way.

If we are not loving the other Christians that we know, then we are not living a holy life. Someone might say, “I love other Christians.” Just remember that First Thessalonians 4:10 says, “And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more.” There is always room for improvement in having more of the great eternal love of God. There is no standing still in the Christian life. You are either going forward, or you are going backwards. Concerning love for Christians, make sure that you are going forward and make sure that “ye increase more and more.”

First Thessalonians 4:11 gives three more commandments in this context of how to live a holy life. It says, “And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you.” The phrase “study to be quiet” refers to more than our speech. It refers to the kind of life that we live and the kind of people that we are. A holy person is not loud, boastful, or annoying in speech or actions. That should not be so hard for someone who truly believes that God is in control. A holy person of faith should be at peace with himself and with the world around him. A holy person of faith does not have to raise his or her voice and demand his or her rights and shout down the opposition. Those who have wisdom from God know how to live a quiet life. The Spirit sometimes speaks with a still, small voice.

The Bible says to “do your own business.” That means to be involved in your own affairs, and to learn to stay out of matters that should not concern you. A good example of this has to do with some of the issues in the political arena. The Christians of the first century were not involved in marching up and down the streets of the Roman Empire trying to get Caesar to change the laws. The Christians of the first century were involved in spreading the gospel in a quiet and sincere way. Yes, a Christian can be involved in the legal system or the political system in a justifiable way. Paul did so when he appealed unto Caesar. But there are some issues that Christians probably would not get involved with, if they more closely followed this requirement to live a holy life by doing “your own business.”

Before Christ returns, in order to live a holy life, Christians are commanded “to work with your own hands.” Of course, this commandment is an emphasis on individual responsibility. The will of God is for every able-bodied and mature adult to work. This divine principle was established when Adam and Eve were required to leave the Garden of Eden. God said in Genesis 3:19, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Jesus was a worker. He worked as a carpenter until He was thirty years old, and then He worked as a preacher until His death. He said, “I must work the works of Him that sent me. The hour cometh when no man can work.” If you do not work and do not accomplish anything, then you will not be satisfied with your life. It is God’s will that you work and accomplish something.

It is also God’s will that you work to provide for your own needs. That is why it says in First Thessalonians 4:14, “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.” The New Testament is very clear about this teaching. It says in Second Thessalonians 3:10, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.” Of course, the Bible is clear that we should help those who need help. The parable of the good Samaritan was all about that very thing. The first part of James 1:27 says, “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction…”

In First Thessalonians 4:14 there is one last commandment regarding how to live a holy life. It says, “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without...” No one would be a holy person who is a dishonest person. Jesus is truth. The devil is a liar. It is as simple as that. Truth is related to life. Lies are related to death. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He also said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Concerning this contrast between the truth and lying, Jesus said in John 8:44, “Ye are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar and the father of it.”

Truth is important to God, and it is also important to men. No one likes a liar. On the other hand if someone has a reputation for being an honest person, they will always be honored for that. You cannot be a Christian with a good testimony to a lost world, unless you are known for being honest. The Bible says in Ephesians 4:25, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.”

This is a very interesting passage of scripture starting in First Thessalonians chapter three and verse twelve, and ending at First Thessalonians chapter four and verse twelve. First Thessalonians 3:13 speaks of “holiness” and “the coming of the Lord.” And then all of the verses from First Thessalonians 3:12 through First Thessalonians 4:12 give important precepts and commandments on how to live a holy life while we wait for and look for “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.”

Let’s list the commandments one more time as a reminder of how the Lord wants us to live on this earth until the Lord returns. We are commanded:

1. To love other Christians and all people. (First Thessalonians 3:12)

2. To please God. (Second Thessalonians 4:1)

3. To abstain from fornication. (Second Thessalonians 4:3)

4. To not take advantage of a brother. (Second Thessalonians 4:6)

5. To love other Christians. (Second Thessalonians 4:9)

6. To increase in love to other Christians. (Second Thessalonians 4:10)

7. To study to live a quiet life. (Second Thessalonians 4:11)

8. To mind your business. (Second Thessalonians 4:11)

9. To work. (Second Thessalonians 4:11)

10. To be honest. (Second Thessalonians 4:12)

A student of this passage might come up with a few more commandments on how to live a holy life. But all must agree that this passage of scripture gives a great list of precepts and commandments. Anyone who adopts these things as part of his life will surely be a holy person in heart and body. One cannot help but notice that “love” is the first of the commandments, and that “love” is mentioned more than anything else. The conclusion that we can make from this passage of scripture is that the most important thing in leading a holy life is to “love.” That is not surprising to us because Jesus Himself said in Mark 12:30-31, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. And the second is like to it, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

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