3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you
should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles
who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because
the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to
uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given
us His Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)
I. THE WILL OF GOD: OUR PURITY
A. In the Scriptures, especially in the book of Revelation, God repeatedly highlights the prevalence of immorality in
the last days. One of Satan’s primary strategies in the generation of the Lord’s return will be an unprecedented increase
of immorality (Revelation 14:8, 17:2; etc.).
B. Victory over immorality is within the reach of every believer through repentance and fellowshipping with the Holy
Spirit. It is possible to live a life of purity, even in the midst of a perverse generation. There is no amount of bondage or
demonic power that can overcome the power available to us in Christ.
C. The will of God is for our sanctification, our purity. Whenever God gives us a command, He gives us the ability––
the enabling grace––to obey. God never asks of us something He will not enable us to do.
1. We do not have to convince God to help us walk in purity. It is His own will, His very own desire that we should be as He
is, with Him where He is (Mt. 5:48; John 17:24).
2. We must respond to God with repentance, the two-fold turning away from sin and turning unto Him. When we do
so, He promises to draw near to us, and will give us the power to overcome even a fortress of sin (2 Corinthians 2:14;
James 4:6-10; 1 John 4:4).
D. We all have different personalities, histories, and life circumstances; but if we ask Him, the Holy Spirit will teach us
to possess our vessel in purity and honor. Through Him we will learn leadership over our entire vessel––the will, mind,
emotions, physical body and appetites. He desires to bring forth in us the beautiful fruit of self-control, that we may be
pure and spotless, and glorify God in our bodies (Psalm 33:15; 1 Cor. 6:17-20; 2 Cor. 4:7; James 4:5; 1 Peter 1:7).
E. God warns us who are believers not to take advantage of and defraud one another, specifically in regards to
immorality. In Matthew
5 when speaking of adultery, Jesus exposed immorality as the fruit of an internal root that was allowed to grow. Therefore,
we must not wait to contend with sin when it is in its final stages of physical expression. We must begin where sin begins,
by waging war at the heart level (Matthew 5:27-28; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; James 1:14-15).
1. We must ask the Holy Spirit to teach us how to guard our eyes, our speech, and our hearts so that darkness may have
no place in us (Job 31:1; Prov. 4:23; 1 Cor. 7:1; James 3:2).
22 The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is
bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
(Mt. 6:22-23)
2. We must be willing to wholeheartedly follow the Spirit’s leadership, taking whatever measures necessary to cast
aside immorality (1 Cor. 10:12-14; 2 Timothy 2:19-23).
29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your
members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and
cast it from you... (Matthew 5:29-30)
F. In God’s own zeal for us to have everlasting life, He will use whatever means possible without violating our free
will to lead us back to repentance (Romans 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). He will discipline us as a loving Father that desires our
good (Jeremiah 29:11; Hebrews 12:7-11). He knows that if we do not repent, we will die in our sin (1 Corinthians 6:9-10;
Ephesians 5:5-8; Hebrews 13:4).
1. When we sin, we actually give Satan legal access to and authority over us that he would not otherwise have over
a believer. The severity of demonic influence over a believer’s life increases as unrepented sin increases.
2. The consequences of our sins in the natural and the horrible feeling of a dull, defiled spirit may be reasons enough for
repentance. However, if we remain unrepentant, God may choose to lift His restraint of the enemy even further. He would
rather that we experience godly sorrow leading to repentance and life, than worldly sorrow ending in death
(2 Corinthians 7:8-10).
a. In 1 Corinthians 5:1-5, Paul speaks of an unrepentant, sexually immoral person being handed over to Satan
for the destruction of their flesh (sickness in body). This was for the purpose of leading them to repent.
b. In 1 Corinthians 11:27-32, some of the believers were sick and dying because they were partaking of the Lord’s
supper in an unworthy manner. The Lord’s supper was meant to proclaim the sacrifice of Jesus’ body on their behalf,
yet they were not repenting of the sins He died to cover.
c. In Revelation 2:20-23, we see that some of the believers in Thyatira were living in sexual immorality. They were
being led astray by the teachings of a prophetess in their midst who was falsely defining the grace of God as a license
to sin (licentiousness). Jesus tells us of His patience towards her and her disciples, giving them time to repent. He warned
that if they continued in their immorality, He would allow them to be afflicted with physical sickness even unto the point of
death. Once again, this was in order that they would repent.