Sanctification and Sexual Behavior

November 11 2011 (11.11.11)For this is God’s will, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality, so that each of you knows how to control his own body in sanctification and honor, not with lustful desires, like the Gentiles who don’t know God. This means one must not transgress against and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses, as we also previously told and warned you. For God has not called us to impurity but to sanctification. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 (HCSB)“This is God’s will, …” That’s the kind of language that we are not very fond of, because it puts our behaviors and attitudes as either in line with God’s will or in opposition to God’s will. That’s doubly true when God addresses our sexual behaviors and attitudes. We’d much prefer for God to stay out of our bedrooms, to keep his nose out of our sex lives. But he doesn’t.Whenever we think God is addressing us, confronting us, and commanding us in matters that we prefer for Him to stay out of, we often just tune him out, or more defiantly belittle His wisdom. Calling certain sexual behaviors and practices “impure” just isn’t popular, it is quickly labeled sexually repressive, intolerant, unrealistic, and an attack on both “being in love” and personalfreedom, not to speak of the guilt that that kind of thing can produce.“This is God’s will, your sanctification, …” What God is after is holiness, not holier-than-thou- ness, in all areas of our lives, and only He is capable of defining what that means. God is neither out of bounds nor out of touch when He declares His will, sets boundaries, issues commands, and defines right and wrong – holy and unholy. However, what we often forget, especially whenGod speaks to things we do not like to hear, is that holiness is beneficial, living according to God’s will makes our lives better. What if we would all listen to God when it came to sexual purity, if we would make holiness the guiding principle to sexual behavior? STDs would take hit. Far fewer marriages and homes would get wrecked. Lots of children would never experience thetrauma of divorce. Sexual exploitation, pornography, and the sex trade would suffer. Abortions would decline. The reduction of hurt, pain, and drama would be incredible. Contrast this to what ignoring God‘s will, discounting the importance of holiness is currently producing both in the church and our world.The reality is that we so benefit when God reveals His will to us and we take it serious and order our lives by it, even when it comes to our sexual behaviors and attitudes. I pray you and I will both hear and heed God’s call to sanctification.To God be all glory, love you, Pastor Hans