1-2 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

3-7 God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honour - not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.  Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

9-10 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers  throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. 11-12 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12 New Living Translation paraphrase (English Standard Version link)

Verses 1-2 should be the goal for everyone who has believed on Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin and for eternal life. We should want to live each day in a way that pleases God. What was one of the BIG areas of life that Paul called the Christians at Thessalonica to obey Jesus in? (vs 3-7)

It's often said that the 1960's saw a sexual revolution in the Western world. People began to share a bed without being married, adultery became acceptable and pornography exploded. But Paul's words show that this casual attitude to sex existed even when he lived nearly 2000 years ago. The Old Testament shows that perverse sexual sins were rife in Canaan when God brought Israel into that land. When the first Jewish Christians met to decide what to tell people from the pagan nations who’d become Christians they said: “You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well.” (Acts 15:29) What did Paul say was the result if people ignored this call to control their bodies and live holy lives instead of lustful lives? (vs 8)

People who reject the Bible's teaching about sexuality are rejecting God Himself. We mustn't be deceived by movie stars, magazines and movements that proclaim sexual liberation. We must listen to God and live lives that are pleasing to Him. Not only when it comes to sexuality – what else did Paul urge in 11-12?

They were to be hard working people who minded their own business and didn't go around meddling in the affairs of others. They were not to be lazy and look to the Church for hand outs. This was an outworking of what he said in vs 9-10, that Christians are to be motivated by genuine love. They were not to put themselves first in the queue and exploit anyone, but rather to do all they could to show God's love to their fellow believers – and even to those outside the Church.

Just as promiscuity and sexual sins are rampant in today's society, so also is the attitude that takes advantage of Social Welfare systems in Western countries. While there are genuine cases of people who need financial help, large numbers see it as a way to live a life of laziness. But that isn't how God wants followers of Jesus Christ to live. He calls us to live the sort of life that wins the respect of people who are not Christians. The purity, hard work, and love that many of the early Christians showed was a big reason why many pagans were drawn to the Church. Perhaps we need a 'purity revolution' in our generation to reach out to those whose lives are being destroyed by the loveless and sex saturated society the world has become. We must make it our goal to be pleasing to God.