Due to a busy Christmas schedule, I am reposting a previous post from 1 Thessaolonians. May His Word continue to bless, encourage, and challenge you in your daily walk with Him.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
1 Thessalonians 4:1-12
"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. 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 honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and His ways. Never harm or cheat a Christian brother 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. 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. 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. 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 Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others." (1 Thessalonians 4:1-12, NLT)
Today, I am thinking about the importance of earning the respect of others. It’s funny that some ideas sound unbiblical and unspiritual until you really dig down into their motives. Pride is one of those things. Pride can get us into big trouble quickly. Most of the time pride is sinful; and leads to many other sins. That’s why God hates pride (Proverbs 6:16,17; 21:4; Romans 12:3,16). There are times, however, when pride is good! Yet, when we boast in the Lord (Psalm 32:4; 44:8) it is a good thing. The same is true when we are proud of what God is doing in the lives of other believers (2 Thess 1:4).
Respect is closely associated with pride. We sin when we strive for others to respect us because it boosts our pride. There is a time, however, when we must have the respect of others in order to be effective. In the passage before us today we find just such a time. Paul is calling on his brothers and sisters in Christ to live respectably so that they might have the opportunity to have an impact for the gospel!
Paul says that God wants us to be holy today, to keep clear of sexual sins, to not cheat by taking another person’s spouse, to love one another, and to live simply and humbly. That way, people will respect the way that we live and we will have an opportunity to glorify Christ and share the gospel with others. When we review Paul’s teaching, we clearly see that he is focusing on two primary arenas of sin that we must avoid today. Sexual sins are mentioned in verses 2-7 and our overall lifestyle is addressed in verses 11 and 12. Sexual sins are in a category of their own, (1 Cor 6:18). Sexual sins are destructive. They teach a person to lie, act deceitfully, and perfect hypocrisy. I know businessmen and women who refuse to hire someone who is known for living a “loose life” because of what it has done to their character. Our general lifestyle has a similar impact. When a Christian lives selfishly, it shows how little they care about the needs of others. Likewise, laziness, poor money management, and continual dependence on others will result in a lack of respect.
What is the bottom line in all of this? It is what Paul says in verse 1, “Live in a way that pleases God.” This is a crucial issue. Today we are to live to please God. That means we are to apply the truths of God’s word to our living and lifestyle. If we seek to do that, we’ll discover that the impact on our lives will be enormous and we will gain the respect of others. That respect is a door opener to engaging others in spiritual conversations.
Today, let’s think about what we have been taught in scripture. How can our lives be a testimony of who we are in Christ and who He is in us? Our desire is that the ones we touch will actually be touched by Him. To do that, we must watch out for the potential pitfalls related to immorality and lifestyle extremes. Let’s pray that God will work in us because He has the power to create holy lives. And a holy life is best for us and the cause of Christ.
2 Peter 3:18
Dennis Newkirk
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Posted on
Monday, December 21, 2009
by Dennis Newkirk