(1Thess. 4:7) “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.”
There is no doubt about it, we live in an impure world! It’s like we are living in the days of Noah all over again where the Bible says, “GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
The day we live in is wicked, yet Paul says, “God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” In other words, it IS possible to live a pure life in an impure world.
FIRST—The PURPOSE of Purity.
(v.3a) “For this is the will of God…” God’s will is no mystery. It is God’s will that you live holy and avoid uncleanness. The word “uncleanness” means that which is impure or filthy. You may not feel called to preach, or feel called to be a missionary, but God HAS called you to live holy! God HAS called us to live a pure, holy life.
SECOND—The PROBLEM with Purity.
Next, Paul says in (v.5) “not in the lust of concupiscence…” The word “concupiscence” means a desire for that which is unlawful and forbidden. Sadly, sexual immorality is running rampant, not just among unbelievers, but even among professing Christian teenagers! It would shock you to know how many teenagers in good, Bible-believing churches are sexually active. One reason is because sex is everywhere they turn. It’s flooding TV, music, the internet, and even their cell phones through snapchat and sexting. Everywhere they turn, there is a temptation for them to experience that which God has forbidden.
******* W A R N I N G *******
Parents—when you allow your child to be physical with the opposite sex (holding / hugging each other, petting, kissing, etc,) you are allowing forbidden desires (“the lust of concupiscence”) to start. And once those desires get started, one of two things will eventually happen.
1) They will continually struggle with that temptation until they are married OR…
2) They will eventually give in and gratify that desire!
“But my child is a good kid. They would never do something like that,” you say. Maybe not, but why allow them to be put in that temptation to begin with?
THIRD—The PLAN for Purity.
(v.3b) “even your sanctification…” Sanctification means to be set apart. As believers, we are to be “set apart” from the world and one way we do this, Paul says, is to “abstain from fornication.” The peer pressure among young people to have sex is unbelievable! Just talk to your Youth Pastor and he will tell you that even “good” kids are living with extreme pressure in this area.
Parents, we must do all we can to protect our children from allowing the sexual desires of this day to destroy, not only their testimony, but ultimately their lives. We must be vigilant; we must not ease up because Satan is on the warpath and he’s coming after our children!
It is up to us to teach our children that it is possible to live a pure life in an impure world.