1 Thessalonians 4

The Apostle Paul received an excellent report regarding the faithfulness of the church in Thessalonica in the midst of persecution. In that kind of environment it is not safe to simply hear kind words noting our spiritual achievements. That’s good, be we need to remember that the battle continues, and we each need to take our spots in the kingdom, remembering that we have been called by the Lord to serve and to grow in our time and place. If we know anything about how we are to live a life that would be pleasing to God, we need to put that knowledge into practice.

Let’s be specific. Israel was delivered from Balak’s desire to have Balam curse them in the wilderness, but Balam’s efforts to lead the men into immorality still ended up proving deadly. It will not be good for the church in Thessalonica to stand strong against the onslaught of Jews and Gentiles who hate the message of Christ, only to sin against one another by lack of self-control in this and other areas of life.

It is God’s will that the church be sanctified. Congregations that are facing brutal persecution are not immune to the mortal dangers of unsanctified living. Paul speaks about such things not because he likes to judge other people, but because he loves the church, and he does not want to see people committed to behavior that could be deadly for them and displeasing to the Lord. This matter of pleasing the Lord with our lives does not receive enough of our quiet but serious attention. Dangerous sexual practices are not to be criticized just because of the facts of human biology and disease, though these are serious enough. The real problem with all kinds of sin is that there is a battle going on wherever the gospel is being preached, and when we ignore the life that God calls us to, this could mean danger from Him. That does not mean that He has withdrawn His electing love from us, may it never be! But it does mean that we may die. As Paul says here, “The Lord is an avenger in all these things.” And also, “God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

Sanctification is not only about what we do not do, but about what we must be committed to from the heart as a positive way of life. We are to love one another. Paul had already commended the church for this, but they must continue to pursue love. This does not mean self-promotion. There is something very unattractive about our protest that we are a humble and loving people. It would be better for us to live a quiet life, and to set this as a goal, rather than assuming that celebrity in Christ-likeness is the key to our happiness.

There is a way of life that is being recommended her that is consistent with living long on the earth, much as we are encouraged by the fifth commandment, telling us to honor father and mother. Yet this life of sexual fidelity, attention to our own duties, hard work, and a certain kind of appropriate independence with generous quiet giving still ends with death for ever person who hears this letter from the apostle Paul. They all died.

Paul addresses the fact some brothers and sisters in the church have already died. He speaks of these people as those who have “fallen asleep.” These loved ones God will bring with him when the Lord returns at the culmination of the age. Our plain understanding of what is to come is to be an encouragement to us as we live for the Lord.

These expectations begin with Christ Himself. Our Savior has died, and His death meant something for us. The reason we acknowledge a future for those we have lost is because we believe that His death was somehow connected to the people of His kingdom that He came to save. Jesus died and rose for us, and we are in Him. Through Jesus, those who have faced death will be brought back with him when He returns in glory. Those who are able to live in the light of these future facts will still grieve the death of loved ones, but they grieve as those who understand this expectation of the future, which is a hope of eternal life.

This comes not from the religious imagination of the minds of desperately grieving people. This comes from the Word of the Lord who came from heaven, and has now ascended back into heaven. The Lord who lives and reigns from on high will descend from heaven with the sounding of the great trumpet of the Lord. The Lord died in connection with the Jewish feast of Passover. His resurrection took place on the feast of Firstfruits. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit happened on Pentecost. Now we are waiting for the sounding of the trumpet of God. The Lord will return and He will come with His beloved, and we who remain until that day will be caught up with the Lord in a new realm.

Whatever else might be said about this future life of more blessing, we can surely say this: We will be with the Lord from that moment onward. We will always be with the Lord who gave His life that we might live. We will always be with the Lord who has gone to heaven to prepare a place for us. We will be with the One who said, “I and the Father are one.” We will be with this one-and-only Jesus. If we must be persecuted for saying that to be with Him is better than anything else, so be it. One day we will be with the Lord forever. This is a word of the greatest encouragement to us as we fight the fight of faith in the present momentary affliction.