Day 30 – Christ is our Identity; Lust is our Enemy

Called not to impurity, but holy obscurity, the blood of Jesus, your all, your only surety.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 –

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³ For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴ that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, ⁵ not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Paul commended the Thessalonian Christians for their holiness, but he did not want them to become complacent. Instead, he encouraged them to pursue holiness more and more. God’s will for Christians is clear: to be set apart from the sexual immorality in the world through sanctification. Unlike those who do not know God and are driven by lustful passions, believers are called to exercise self-control, honoring God with our bodies. We must train ourselves to live and believe that it is unbelievers who are sexually immoral, not Christians. We belong body and soul to God and are united to Christ, not the world!

1 Thessalonians 4:6-7 – ⁶ that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷ For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

Like a boy who talks back to his mother, and his dad overhears and walks into the room, we too, as God’s children, should have a healthy fear of Him. This isn’t a fear of Him abandoning us or breaking His promises to us, but a healthy fear of His discipline. There is a judgment day coming when everything that we did in secret will be revealed and judged. Those who are in Christ will rule and reign with Him in a new heavens and new earth forever, but we may suffer loss of reward due to how we lived here on earth (2 Cor 5:9-10). For, God has not called us in impurity of heart, but in holiness, to be like Jesus in both thought and deed.

2 Timothy 2:22 - ²² So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

In his final letter to Timothy, Paul urged believers to flee youthful passions, like lust, that can derail a Christian’s life. Instead of chasing lustful desires, run from them, and pursue a life that reflect’s Christ’s heart:

1) Moral uprightness.

2) Faith in God the Holy Spirit, God the Son, and God the Father.

3) Love for God and others.

4) Peace with God and others.

Through the Holy Spirit’s purifying work in us, our hearts are transformed, and we are empowered to repent of lust at the root and live godly lives.