So the very first C.S. Lewis book that I ever read, it was not Narnia, it was not mere Christianity, it was the Screwtape Letters. You are familiar with this text, it is a phenomenal work. So it works through the perspective of a demon instructing his nephew, a junior demon, on how to lead astray a new believer, roughly.
So it gives different tips, topics, deals with all sorts of areas of the Christian life, and giving the negative approach, so how to lead away from doing the right thing towards doing the negative, and so it very much approaches a very big topic of what are the things that distract us from living faithfully, and from a demonic perspective of how are we led away. And so in this, letter number nine, C.S. Lewis reminds us that Satan has never created a single pleasure. He can't.
Every pleasure, food, laughter, friendship, sex, beauty was invented first and foremost by God. That the devil is not a creator, he is simply a vandal is what Lewis will say. His strategy is always the same.
Take something good and bend it. Take hunger and turn it into gluttony. Take rest and turn it into slothfulness.
Take sexual desire designed for covenant love, strip it of love, commitment, and self-giving, crafting it into sinful lust. The pleasures are God's good gifts. The distortions are hell's works.
And so this is how we've ultimately been working through these topics. We've been looking at many of the ones that Lewis highlights even in this simple letter. We've looked at gluttony.
We've looked at slothfulness. We've looked at good gifts of God that are distorted by our sinful desires and lead us astray from what God has for us. And so today we come to the final one of the seven deadly sins.
We come to the sin of lust. And so in this we've already seen Lewis gave us a brief definition. It is that which is stripped, sexual desire stripped of love, commitment, and self-giving.
This is Lewis's rough definition from this letter that we can see. Aquinas, who again is one of the medieval church leaders, great scholar of his day, one of the ones we get the seven deadly sins from. We highlight him at times.
In his great text, the Summa Theologica, very fancy title because he's a fancy person. He gives this definition. So lust is the pursuit of sexual pleasure apart from the governance of reason and divinely intended orders of marriage.
It's a fancy phrase. Ultimately, it's the fact that sexual pleasure of itself is not evil, but is a good gift of God. It is good and naturally ordered when driven towards and in marriage.
So clearly he highlights that it is part of God's good design. However, it is disordered and out of step when lust is not about strengthening the desire towards marriage, but rather about a misdirection of its object. So it becomes sinful when it contradicts reason itself, when it violates the proper ends of sex, which is marital unity and growth, or that it occurs in any way, shape, or form outside of a marriage covenant.
So when we think of the word lust, we tend to think of it as the mental aspect. But historically, the idea of lust is all encompassing of sexual distortion. So whether that be mental or physical.
So the term is an all-encompassing one in scripture, and it is something that we see time and time again. The call to flee sexual immorality is throughout the scripture. The Old Testament will use sexual immorality rampantly as a distortion of God's good.
It's often seen as a judgment by God. He will call Israel sexually immoral in their relationship with him. They're an adulteress time and time again.
You can just read the book of Ezekiel. That's pretty much the entire book. It's graphic in many ways.
In this picture of their immorality against God. In the New Testament, Jesus addresses it multiple times. The three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, all have long discourses against sexual immorality.
In the book of Acts, the Jerusalem council, when they asked how should the Gentiles live, they're to avoid blood, they're avoid strangled animals and sexual immorality. These are the key things. It is clearly an important aspect of their life.
Paul, in nine of his 13 letters, gives extended discourses about fleeing sexual immorality. In the other four, he has passing comments of fleeing sexual immorality. Hebrews, James, Peter, and Jude all have sections dealing with sexual immorality and its avoidance.
And of course, in the letters to the churches in Revelation, there are multiple discourses against fleeing sexual immorality in the church. So clearly it is not a small issue. It is clearly a major issue that needs to be addressed.
And it is no different today. Just as the church in their day was filled with a culture steeped in sexual immorality, so too we see in our world today. And so this is where we come to our text before us.
We see in 1 Thessalonians four, one to eight, the text that will be before us as we dive into this idea of fleeing sexual immorality and pursuing love. So we're gonna see these contrasts as we flow from one thing to the next. Now, 1 Thessalonians, setting the context a little bit here, again, written by Paul.
Its introduction is Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy. They're all meeting up in Corinth when this letter is written. So they've gone on different journeys.
They've come back to Corinth where they send this. So Corinth, if those who remember the book of Corinthians is not the most sexually moral church, is one who struggles rampantly with it. Corinth itself was a center in many ways of sexual immorality.
It was cult worship. It was a major part of their culture. It is from Corinth that they are writing to Thessalonica, giving them these encouragements to grow in love, grow in their love for God in the fleeing of the desires of the flesh to grow in him.
So the first part of the letter, the first two chapters of them just talking about their love for the Thessalonians, God's gifts for them, their heart to come back to them, their desire to see them grow in the faith. So they lay down this truth of how much they want to see them grow in their love for the Lord. And so we get to chapter four and it in tradition has this transition, which is a very short transition because this one has probably the smallest amount of application of his entire letters.
Beginning in chapter four, finally then brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us, how you ought to walk and to please God just as you are doing, that you do so more and more, for you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus, through the Lord Jesus. And so our text begins with this encouragement that Paul is recognizing they have heard the word, they know the word, and we want you to grow more in it. Not that you have necessarily trespassed, but that there's more to do, that there is more to grow in.
And we want you to be continually growing in Christ Jesus, your love for him, the work of him, okay, that you may please God. This is the end of the matter. This is the goal is to live a life pleasing to God.
- Flee Lust
And so in our text, he will begin as Paul often does with this call is to flee sexual immorality. So from there for verse three, for this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality. It's the very first thing on the list.
If you go through most of Paul's lists where he lists sins, the very first one is usually some sexual immorality or a form of sexual immorality. It's usually number one on all of Paul's lists. Again, we look at the world today as if somehow we today are falling into the worst that it's ever been.
If you read the Roman Empire and the history of the Roman Empire, sexual immorality was way worse. That's not an excuse for today, but when he calls you to flee sexual immorality, it's not like, oh, he just doesn't understand how hard it is. It was much worse, much, much worse.
And so in this, we have this call to flee sexual immorality. So Paul continually highlights to the church as believers, our job is to live different from the world and live towards Christ. And so it begins here with fleeing sexual immorality.
Now, the word here for sexual immorality is porneia. That is the Greek word. The most common word, though not the only word, there are many other Greek words, but this is the most all-encompassing general term used for sexual immorality.
It encompasses everything outside the bounds of God's demands and design. So in this, we see the idea of adultery, consensual fornication, so sex outside of marriage, orgies, homosexuality, prostitution, pornography, rape, sinful sexual desires, and many more. All-encompassing, this is the word porneia, just generally sexual immorality in every way, shape, and form.
And so as we've said, the first century was filled with all sorts of different sexual immoralities. It was very common. In our society today, it has become more popular and pretty much every show that now captures the life of Rome is filled with sexual immorality and pornography.
That is, if anyone is familiar, assuming you have not seen it, but if you have, there's show Spartacus, it's very big on stars, all it is is sex, that's the whole thing, but it's Rome, so it's good. It's not good, it's bad, but my point being. They're trying to accurately reflect Rome, and so in so doing, it is filled with a lot of sex.
That's their whole marketing pitch. That's the culture we live in as well. But this becomes their drive.
Rome was filled with sexual immorality, and in many cases, it was the expectation to live this way. For them, it is not immorality, it is simply life. Many cases, it is morality.
It is cultural morality. Men were not expected to be monogamous with their wives. Wives were expected to be monogamous with their husbands.
If a wife committed adultery, she was to be murdered for the honor of the family. The husband was expected to have a mistress and also to use the slaves as necessary. It was a common and expected practice of being a man.
Man, man, man. That was the idea. Again, the distortions that existed in many places of the first century.
And so when you have Paul here writing, he is very, this is not the way of God. This is simply the way of the world. Again, we have the Book of Romans where he highlights the fact that God gave them over to their sexual depravity.
He gave them over to their lusts and that is what they live in. Those are not well-reasoned, using Aquinas' terminology. That is not well-reasoned living.
That is living based solely on desire alone. It does not accurately think clearly. And so into this, we also have Rome was known for its cultic prostitution, as well as homosexuality and pedophilia was all part of the Roman Empire.
And so again, you see this continual, flee sexual morality. This shall not even be named among you, Paul says in other letters. This is not who we are.
We must be different. And what is that in? It is in becoming like Christ. Because what is the will of God? Your sanctification.
What is the sanctification? Fleeing sexual immorality. That's first one. There's more we'll work through, but that is the first point that he begins with the Thessalonians.
Flee sexual immorality. The Mark of a believer is one who is pursuing Christ, pursuing sanctification, becoming more and more like Christ day by day, that we flee these actions, that they aren't even named among us. And not only the actions, so he begins here with the actions, but to an aside, he also, we would see the thoughts themselves is what Jesus will command, that it takes the extra.
He goes up a little bit again in Matthew five, which we covered extensively. If you would like the sermon on Matthew five, you can go on our website. It's on the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew five, fleeing sexual immorality and lust, where he says, but you have heard it is said, you shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away for it's better that you lose one of your members than your whole body be thrown into hell. We said Jesus ups the ante and it's not just what we physically do, but it's what we are thinking along the way before and after.
Are these things that reflect the godliness? Are we seeking God or are we seeking ourselves? Because ultimately becomes the idea of lust is a pursuit of selfish sexual gratification for one's own ends. It is all about you as an individual. As we've highlighted, all of these ultimately become about pride in some way, shape or form, because they're all self-centered.
These are all about accumulating for ourselves things, whether it be pleasures, food, all of this becomes about us. So too in sexual immorality. It is based on our own desires to grow and our own self worth, worth our own self desire, our own self gratification.
And all the more as we live in a day that requires instant gratification. We have little boxes that you can pull up anything you want in half a second. Evil little toy.
Like this is the reality of the world we live in. That you can have it at your fingertips whenever you desire. All the more the call to be purposeful, to flee sexual immorality.
So do not participate in these things. Do not let your imagination wander away into those things. For as the mind goes, so too will the body and the will.
The warning that James gives us, that you allow your mind to lead you into sin. You allow the temptation to linger, which then gives birth to action. Whether you realize it or not, this is the reality of what happens.
And so we're warned to keep our thoughts in order. Everything requires volition. We must be a volitional people.
We are people who work. We think, we act, we are not passive. Sexual immorality comes all the more as we are passive in our lives and in our actions and in our minds.
We do not spend time in God's word. We don't grow in our knowledge of God. We entertain the things of the world more and more frequently, rather than pursuing the things of God.
So we must not allow this to distract us. We must not allow the things of this world to consume us. We must flee sexual immorality and pursue sanctification.
And so this becomes his point. As he drives it farther, it becomes, fleeing requires a purpose. That each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.
So Paul then is highlighting that part of fleeing sexual immorality is fleeing with a required purpose. We are not just fleeing for the sake of fleeing. We're fleeing with a reason.
And part of that is self-control. That you are controlled in your body for the purpose of holiness and honor. Are we a holy people? Again, Peter will echo, we have been called just as Christ God is holy, so to be.
Echoing the Old Testament text. Time and time again, we are called holy. We are saints.
We are those who are set apart. Do we reflect the reality of who we are? There is a call to character. Is what we say we are reflected in what we do? Are we properly controlled in our body leading to holiness and honor? Are those things we strive for? Do we strive to be holy? Do we strive to show honor? Are we properly controlled? We think about in the realm of sexual desire, think of it as the idea of a dammed river.
People are familiar with dams. They hold water back, okay? Water is good, but it is contained. Otherwise it will destroy an area.
And so it is slowly released. It is properly released at proper times for purpose to keep water levels at the proper height, to keep the fish going. Dams have a good purpose.
What happens when a dam breaks? Destroys everything around it. All the good that was being done is gone. Cities are washed away.
Houses are washed away. Boats are destroyed. The wildlife that was living in the river are now dead on the shore.
So all the good is now gone. Many ways, this is the self-control that God has given us through the Holy Spirit to regulate our lives. So within marriage, that is regulated well.
And when regulated properly, in accordance with God's word, has immense benefits. Is immensely edifying. And in it is a seeking of holiness.
So believers are not controlled by anything, but the word of God and the Holy Spirit leading us to display these things well. So we are to be people of discipline. We are not passive with our minds.
We are not passive with our actions. So we are controlled in all that we do. And so we grow in our faith and we mature in our faith.
And as we strive to make much of Christ every day, we grow in these things. It is an active part of growing up and maturing. The great Olympic athletes didn't start as great Olympic athletes the first day they hopped on a sled.
Watching the skeleton, it's a terrifying idea to me. Just going to throw my body on a, pretty much a cafeteria tray at 90 miles an hour downhill. Like, but the amount, like, and it also looks very easy.
Like, to be fair, it looks extreme. Like you're just falling down ice. Like, but you listen to like the training routines, the discipline that goes into just throwing yourself down ice is a lot.
Ski jump, same thing. To throw yourself off a mountain on skis. There is a lot.
Not only is there a lot of physical, there's a lot of mental that goes into ski jumping. I didn't realize that a whole, there was a physicist that was actually on one of the Olympic things explaining, like literally learning the math of how to fall. Like how to fall properly with the curve of the earth and the mountain slope so that you get farther down.
You're like, it's insane. You go, yeah, you just threw yourself off a mountain and you landed. It seems so easy.
In many ways, that's how we approach life. It's like, you just do it, right? Everyone else has done it. We've got 8 billion people that are doing it.
Are you doing it well? Are you doing it right? Are you doing it to the utmost? And again, as we come to the Christian faith, the encouragement is are we doing it in a way that pursues God, honors God, and grows in our relationship with him? As believers, we have all the tools to be. To grow, to be professional athletes, not professional Christians, sound bad. But that idea, like you have the tools to grow in the faith, to grow up in maturity.
There isn't an excuse as if like, well, I don't know how. We know how. We just need to take the volitional action to do the how.
To allow God to work in us. This is why this admonition is continually before us. Are we living lives that are holy and honoring to God? For those of you who are married, it's a command to love and honor your spouse.
Directing your eyes back to the Lord who has given you them. That you are honored by God's grace in that way. That you give yourself over to the gift of God in selfless love and marriage and joining together.
Also, this would be Aquinas's. Aquinas would be very clear that lust is not gone simply because one is married. And there is a negative lust even towards your spouse.
Maybe contradictory today. Everyone's all, the only good lust is lust towards your spouse. Aquinas would be very clear, no.
Because it's an immoral direction. Where your spouse only exists for your own gratification and not for their own self-beat. You cease to see your spouse as a person of God, loved, made in his image, and not simply for your gratification, you are now in sin.
I don't know if I have a verse for it, but it sounds pretty accurate. When your spouse only exists as a mannequin for your self-pleasure, you've lost the covenant love and affection of who they are and the gift that they are to you. Well, even for those who are married, there is a lesson in this.
It's not a get out of jail free card. This is where many errors have come. Where simply spouses are used for one's own pleasure and not for the good of marital unity.
So these acts are meant to unify the body, not to build one up at the expense of the other. So it's important that we use our bodies well as God has commissioned. Again, you have Paul's long discourse on sexual union within marriage and among singles of how to live this out in 1 Corinthians.
And the idea is for mutual upbringing. This is the picture of marital unity. So even in this, there are actions that could be sinful.
And so do we seek to honor and glorify God in our bodies? And so these are general things. I think most of us as Christians are always gonna, yes and amen, sexual immorality is bad. But are these things that do take root in us? Do our eyes wander? Do we linger too long on false sexual thoughts? Do we allow the world to dictate to us what is good and right? Again, why scripture continually reminds us to think on the good things, to think on Christ, to think on holiness, to think on the good gifts of God and not the world.
We too easily are satisfied with the things of the world and not in Christ. But lest you hear this sermon and hear a list of do's and don'ts, I would like us to then see the reality. So self-discipline is a portion of it, but self-discipline is not the end.
Because if I only leave you with self-discipline, I've left you with good morality. Do good things, but that is not the end. There is a goal.
Again, athletes train their entire lives for a goal. Paul will highlight that saying, I train for the end. Athletes train for a crown.
Picture we train for a purpose. In that purpose, ultimately we see is love. So from lust to love, and it is the love of neighbor and the love of God, the two great commandments, that we will love our neighbors as ourselves and we will love God.
II. Pursue Love
This is the calling on us so that we flee sexual immorality and we pursue love. We will properly pursue the love of God and neighbor. Okay, John Stott, when looking at this text, says that it's very clear that the fact is that there is a world of difference between lust and love, between dishonorable sexual practices, which uses a partner, and true lovemaking, which honors them, between selfish desires to possession to unselfish desires to love, cherish, and respect.
We must move from lust through self-control and in love. He said, this is where I would say we have a large history in the millennials of failure due to what we would say was purity culture of the 90s and 2000s. This isn't to hit the whole idea, it is good to flee sexual immorality.
The problem in the world that I grew up in and maybe some of you in millennial world of church was that's where it ended. Flee sexual immorality, and if you do that right, God will bless you with all of the goodness of the world. You'll have a perfect marriage, you will not struggle, everything will be great, you'll be happy all the time.
You weren't really told to pursue anything, but just don't have sex. If you just don't do this, everything will be great. There was no call to pursuit, there was no call to knowing who you are in Christ, and oh man, pity, pity, pity if you did not accomplish it, then you were a waste of time and God's mercy is no longer on you, you're outside of God's will.
You have failed the will of God because the will of God failed sexual, flee sexual immorality, you're outside God's will. Hopefully God will make something of your mess. We'll move on to other people.
This is very much the culture I grew up in. There's a book on the will of God, I will not name the author, but he highlights the fact he's like one of my best friends, man, he was going into ministry and then he met this girl, man, they had premarital sex and he was outside of God's will, the rest of his life was wasted. His life was over at that point, he settled for becoming a plumber.
It's sad, he could have been used by God by so many ways, but he met this girl. That's literally a book, it's an entire section on the will of God. Blows your mind.
So it's that picture that there ceases to be a pursuit of God and restoration in the gospel and that there is hope for sinners. The pursuit of love shows us a pursuit of love, not just us pursuing God, but the reality of scripture of a God who pursued us. Again, highlighting the book of Ezekiel, if you spend some time in it, God has some very harsh things to say for Israel.
A lot of harsh things. But also in the end, his point is, and I will redeem you, I will come to you and buy you back. Hosea in the Old Testament, complete immorality and adultery, and then what the picture is, Hosea goes and buys his wife back as he's commanded by the Lord to illustrate, God will purchase his people back.
You're never too far outside of God's love for us. So the pursuit of love for God, for neighbor, stems from God's pursuit of us in love, in forgiveness, in grace. Again, the text of scripture, we are never too far outside of God's grace.
You've never out sinned God's grace. You've never fallen so far down sexual morality that God is done with you. You are of no value anymore.
You're of infinite value because of the God who has saved you, who gave himself Christ Jesus for you. That's an immense gift when someone dies for you, for your sins. That is an immense love that is beyond our comprehension.
So this is far more than just don't do this, but rather do this, pursue God. Pursue the forgiveness of grace. As our text continues, the reality is, sexual immorality does have an effect on others.
So if we love others well, we love others well, we will not pursue this. It says, okay, as we continue in our text, control your body, not in the passions of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one transgresses and wrongs his brother in this manner because the Lord is an avenger in all these things as we told you beforehand and solemnly warn you. In five through six, he points out the fact that those who pursue sexual immorality and live in it are just like the Gentiles who do not know God.
They have no problem with offending their brothers and sisters. People only exist for you. People are but objects for your own will, for your own good.
And God is the one who will hold to account these realities. But we are not like that. We understand.
in our text, control your body, not in the passions of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one transgresses and wrongs his brother in this manner because the Lord is an avenger in all these things as we told you beforehand and solemnly warn you. In five through six, he points out the fact that those who pursue sexual morality and live in it are just like the Gentiles who do not know God. They have no problem with offending their brothers and sisters.
People only exist for you. People are but objects for your own will, for your own good, and God is the one who will hold to account these realities. But we are not like that.
We understand, okay, that people are affected. That's the key part there, that no one transgresses and wrongs his brother in this manner, that in sexual immorality, people are involved besides you. You are not the lone part.
Our sexual immorality affects all those around us because it affects the souls of people around us. No matter what that may be, whether it is the person in front of you today, maybe that's a person in the future, it has lasting effects. But as we love our neighbors well, we see that they are more than objects for our consuming, for we are not like an unbelieving world.
We understand that every person is made in the image of God and worthy of honored glory and respect, and in so doing, the proclamation of the gospel to them, the hope of forgiveness granted to them. And so we offer that not by pursuing these sinful things. So he gives them the negative, do not go against your neighbor.
So in seeking to honor God, we want to not be like an unbelieving world. So we will not live in the passions of the flesh like the unbelieving world because we know God. The opposite, we know God, and therefore we will live in light of it.
We will not transgress our brothers in this manner. We know that the Lord is in control. And so we live in light of that truth.
We do not take life carelessly. We do not use our bodies lightly. We do not take advantage of other people for our own selfish pleasure.
They said again, can apply to marriage as well. You do not abuse others for your own ends. And so we're called to view others as we see is more important than our selves, continually reminding ourselves of the good gift that God has given to us.
And we extend to others that others can know the good forgiveness and grace of God, that he is a good and loving God. And so we see this in our love for neighbor. And then ultimately, of course, we see this in the love for God, as it says in for the final wrap up of the text for God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
Therefore, whoever disregards this describes not man, but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you. As believers, our actions reflect the God whom we love and serve. And so we pursue God again, first Corinthians six, flee from sexual immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexual immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple, the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, you are not your own. You were bought with the price.
So glorify God in your bodies. Again, First Corinthians six is echoing what Thessalonians said. Why? Because God lives within us because the Holy Spirit is with us.
So he doesn't even immediately, which is a fun point. So he says, don't live like the Gentiles because you are Christians. Don't live this way.
Okay. If knowing the truth, this is a reality of who you are. So don't become like them because you know, God, you've experienced the saving work of Christ.
If you've experienced it, the saving work of Christ, you know, you know how much better it is than what the world has to offer. You've experienced the forgiveness that transcends logic where we were sinners. And yet now we are saints.
We have been made holy. Why would we return to unholiness? Why do we get ourselves so steeped into these things that we cannot break out? Because we do not see the full forgiveness of Christ is that which transforms us. We aren't just saved.
We are being transformed. We're being sanctified. You've been forgiven for a purpose to grow in Christ likeness, to grow, not into the flesh, but to grow in the spirit.
And so we let the spirit change us as we pursue God all the more. It's why he continually reminds us of the work of God in us, that we are then called to glorify God in all that we say and do. So we should not live like the world.
We should pursue holiness in God as he has called us to represent him to the world, encouraging us to walk in the spirit. So give life to the spirit as you see the gospel and work in your life day by day. Again, are you growing in the word? Do you pursue God? Is God actually actively at work in you day by day? It's most easy to get sidetracked when we're not purposely spending time with the Lord.
We are not spending time in his word. We're not spending time in prayer. The world will spend time with us all day long.
What do we spend more time with, the world or the word? Where are we finding our joy and passion and purpose and love? Is it being poured out towards God or the things around us? We must be people who pursue a love for God because we have been loved by God. We've been redeemed by his immense grace. And because of that immense grace that we have received, we can experience a life that is different, not perfect.
Again, everyone makes this picture. If you just do the right things, it'll be the most amazing experience ever. It's not that it'll be the most amazing experience ever on this side of life, but in eternity with Christ is the most amazing experience we can imagine.
There will be difficulties. There is suffering. Scripture is full of that truth as well.
But what we experience is God honored. And what is God honoring is of immense more value than comfort and of the world. And because of the immense grace that we've received, marriages can be restored in the midst of adultery.
Adultery is not the end of marriage. God's grace is sufficient to restore. God's grace is sufficient for forgiveness.
Because we have done far worse against the Lord, and yet he has saved us. He has redeemed us. He has restored us to him.
Even those who've walked away. There are many who have left the faith and God has restored them back to the faith because he is a gracious and loving God. People can have wonderful, flourishing, God-honoring marriages, even if they had sex outside of marriage before they got married.
God can restore those things. God can restore and build up your marriage. God has pulled many men and women out of the evil, ensnaring power of pornography.
God has redeemed. God can redeem. God changes minds and hearts, seeking to honor and glorify him.
God calls people to himself, freeing them from the bonds of homosexuality, living lives that honor him day by day, even restoring those who've been victims of other people's sexual immorality, bringing them comfort in his grace that he is the one who loves and sustains us in spite of other people's sins. God's grace is far greater than we can imagine. And because of that grace poured out on us, it motivates us to pursue him.
And in pursuing him, we will not pursue the world. And so if you are a believer here today and you're part of this body and you are struggling with these things, you're struggling with your mind, if you're struggling with the lust of the mind, or maybe it is, unrepentant and unknown sexual sins. Repent.
Believe in the full power of Christ. Find a brother or sister and talk to them about your struggles. Find someone to walk through these things with.
We do not walk alone. The letter is to the church and Thessalonians. It's to all of them to flee together and to pursue God together.
This is not an individual sport. The Christian life is a team sport. And sometimes you'll get knocked down.
People will end up in a penalty box. But we come back together because of Christ. And so we build one another up.
We work together. We labor together. And so let's labor well.
If you're a non-Christian here and you are as the world has for you, you pursue the lust of the flesh and the desires of the eyes. And that is your life. I would ask you to experience something far greater than what this world has to offer.
Experience a love far greater than that of another person. One that frees you from your own brokenness. Pursuing the love of God that comes in repentance of those sins.
In a pursuit of him. Again, together. You do not do this alone.
Repent and believe for the hope of the gospel is there. Christ has died for all your sins. You will simply believe and trust in him for that forgiveness.
And come and join the body. Speak to someone today about that. Speak to someone and join the work of growing in faithfulness.
Growing in grace.
