0:05 [Music]
0:07 welcome to back to the Bible Radio
0:09 featuring best-selling author and
0:11 internationally known Bible teacher Warren
0:12 Warren
0:15 weby ask me if I care have you ever
0:17 heard that statement sometimes young
0:20 people use it children use it ask me if
0:24 I care well it's a statement that can
0:27 hurt they want us to know how really
0:29 unconcerned they are just ask me if I care
0:30 care
0:33 well this is a good question for us as
0:35 Christians today who really cares
0:39 whether or not we live a clean life you
0:42 see the philosophy today is in the world
0:44 that you can live your own life it's
0:46 your body you can do what you want to
0:49 with your own body and after all if
0:51 other people are doing these things why
0:54 shouldn't we in first Thessalonians
0:57 chapter 4 Paul starts his admonition
1:00 Paul begins his application of the word
1:04 of God and he has been telling the the
1:07 people in thessalonica how he had helped
1:09 found the church and how he had nurtured
1:11 the church and established the church in
1:14 the faith now he tells the church how to
1:16 walk you see in chapter one the church
1:19 was born in Chapter 2 the church was
1:21 nurtured in chapter three the church was
1:24 taught how to stand and then the next
1:26 step for the baby is you learn how to
1:28 walk it's always interesting when your
1:31 children phone you and say hey the baby
1:33 started to walk today well Christians
1:37 have to learn how to walk chapter 4 of 1
1:39 Thessalonians finally then brethren we
1:43 urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that
1:46 you should abound more and more just as
1:49 you received from us how you ought to
1:52 walk and to please God now what kind of
1:55 a walk is he talking about well in
1:58 verses 1-8 he says walk in
2:01 Purity he he's talking about sexual
2:05 Purity verse three for this is the will
2:07 of God your sanctification that you
2:11 should obstain from sexual immorality so
2:16 verses 1-8 walk in Purity then verses 9
2:19 through 12 Walk In Love Now concerning
2:22 Brotherly Love walk in love and then
2:27 verses uh 13 413 down through 511 walk
2:30 in hope it's a big section in which he
2:33 talks about the coming of our Lord he
2:34 said I don't want you weeping and
2:37 carrying on like the unsaved we live in
2:40 hope I want you to walk in Hope then
2:43 chapter 5:2 through the end of the
2:45 letter the end of the chapter Walk In
2:47 Harmony he's talking about how
2:50 Christians can get along with each other
2:53 in their personal Ministry in the public
2:55 services and of course he always
2:58 emphasizes the coming of the Lord now
3:01 today and tomorrow I want us to look at
3:05 chapter 4: 1-8 and deal with this matter
3:07 of personal
3:10 Purity ask me if I care well you can't
3:13 talk that way if you're a Christian who
3:17 does care about personal Purity in our
3:19 lives well Paul gives four answers to
3:21 that question number one he says God
3:26 cares notice verse one walk so as to
3:29 please God verse two you know what Comm
3:31 Commandments we gave you through the
3:34 Lord Jesus so God the Father cares and
3:38 God the son cares and then in verses 7
3:41 and 8 for God did not call us to
3:45 uncleanness but in Holiness therefore he
3:48 who rejects this does not reject men but
3:50 God who has also given us his holy
3:54 spirit God the Father cares God the son
3:58 cares and God the Holy Spirit cares that
4:02 we live a clean Pure Life but somebody
4:05 else cares in verses 3 and 4 he says we
4:07 ought to
4:09 care verse four that each of you should
4:12 know how to possess his own vessel his
4:16 own body in sanctification and honor you
4:19 only have one body you only get one body
4:22 immorality destroys now he says if you
4:24 have any sense at all you should care
4:26 about what you do with your
4:29 body in verse 5 he tells us the world
4:32 cares cares not in passion of lust like
4:34 the Gentiles that is The Outsiders the
4:38 unsaved people who do not know God and
4:40 verse six tells us other Christians care
4:43 I care whether or not people live lives
4:46 that are pure or lives that are immoral
4:49 it affects me it affects my children it
4:52 affects Society it affects the church
4:54 verse six that no one should take
4:58 advantage of and defraud his brother in
5:00 this matter why because the Lord is the
5:02 Avenger of all such Paul said I warned
5:06 you about that now here are four good
5:08 reasons why you and I should live lives
5:13 of personal Purity reason number one God
5:16 cares let's talk about God the Father
5:20 verse one finally then brethren we urge
5:24 and exhort in the Lord now that word
5:27 urge means we encourage you we want you
5:29 to listen to this word of encouragement
5:32 and exhortation that you should abound
5:35 more and more just as you receive from
5:38 us how you ought to walk and to please
5:40 God now he's talking here about pleasing
5:43 God the Father there are three levels on
5:47 which people can live uh Romans chapter
5:51 15 talks about this Romans chap 15 veres
5:53 1 2 and
5:56 3 we then who are strong ought to bear
5:58 with the Scruples of the weak and not to
6:01 please ourselves now the lowest level on
6:03 which to live is to please yourself I
6:05 don't care what anybody else says or
6:06 does or what they think I'm going to do
6:08 what I want to do I'm going to do it my
6:11 way that's the lowest level we can live
6:14 on verse two of Romans 15 Let each of us
6:17 please his neighbor for his good leading
6:21 to edification that is being built up
6:23 now the second level is living to please
6:26 others now we should as Christians seek
6:29 to help others but that isn't the
6:31 highest level we do that because we want
6:34 to please God verse three for even
6:36 Christ did not please himself but as it
6:38 is written the reproaches of those who
6:42 reproach you fell on me the Lord Jesus
6:45 said I do always those things that
6:48 please him and uh that's the way we
6:52 ought to live that was John 8: 29 I do
6:55 always those things that please him now
6:59 God cares what you do with your body God
7:02 has called called us to Holiness his
7:05 will is for our good verse three this is
7:08 the will of God your
7:10 sanctification that you should abstain
7:12 from sexual
7:14 immorality now I read some of these
7:17 modern liberal writers and they tell me
7:20 that the Christian approach to sexuality
7:23 is strict and stringent and difficult
7:27 and that it leads to unhappiness and
7:29 restrictions and repressions it creat
7:31 creates problems and this is not the
7:34 case at all God made our bodies God
7:37 Invented Sex God knows how to run it God
7:40 knows what it's all about and his will
7:42 is for our good God doesn't will
7:44 something for us that's wrong this is
7:46 the will of God your sanctification that
7:49 we should use what he's given to us the
7:51 way he wants
7:54 to now the Bible is God's instruction
7:58 book for life you buy a uh a new
8:00 Appliance for your house you read the
8:01 instruction book the people who made the
8:04 appliance know how to run it well God
8:06 gives us his Bible and the Bible is the
8:08 instruction book for life and this
8:10 includes this matter of
8:14 sexuality his will is for our good and
8:18 his calling in Grace is for our Holiness
8:20 verse 7 for God did not call us to
8:24 uncleanness but in Holiness in
8:27 sanctification that's why he tells us in
8:31 chapter 2: 12 to walk worthy of
8:33 God uh he tells us that we should walk
8:37 worthy of him to please him now God
8:40 didn't have to save me God saved me by
8:42 his grace and because he has saved me by
8:46 his grace I owe to him the allegiance
8:49 and The Obedience of my heart we should
8:51 walk worthy of God someone says what's a
8:53 very difficult thing to do well this is
8:56 why we have the word of God and the
8:58 Church of God and the Holy Spirit of God
9:01 Paul prays for that them in chapter 5 verse
9:02 verse
9:05 23 now may the God of Peace himself
9:06 sanctify you
9:10 completely and may your whole spirit and
9:13 soul and body notice that body be
9:17 preserved blameless at the coming of our
9:20 Lord Jesus Christ now the answer to that
9:23 is verse 24 he who calls you is faithful
9:27 who also will do it The God Who commands
9:30 also is The God Who enables us to obey
9:32 the command now we ought to get a
9:35 mindset immediately that says I want to
9:37 please God I'm not going to please
9:39 myself I'm not going to use all the
9:41 excuses of the world and say you have
9:44 only one life to live if you have these
9:47 things in your life enjoy them God gave
9:49 them to you to enjoy that's right God
9:52 gave sexuality to be enjoyed but not
9:56 outside of his bounds in the word of God
9:58 it's my understanding that God has
10:02 ordained marriage as the proper place
10:05 for the enjoyment of these wonderful [Music]
10:07 [Music]
10:10 gifts God the Father cares whether or
10:14 not we are living clean lives and God
10:16 the son cares verse two of 1
10:19 Thessalonians 4 for you know what
10:21 Commandments we gave you through the
10:24 Lord Jesus it's not something new when
10:26 Paul was with them he told them you had
10:28 better keep your lives clean you see in
10:32 the pagan world as in our world today
10:35 there was the worshiping of sex in fact
10:37 uh sexual immorality was bound right in
10:40 with some of their religious practices
10:42 this has become almost a religion with
10:45 people today uh people have to get
10:47 literature that promotes it they have to
10:50 watch movies that promote it uh the TV
10:52 people want to invade our homes with
10:54 this kind of stuff because people want
10:57 it and if you protest against it folks
10:59 say oh well you're just a Puritan well I
11:01 thank God for what the Puritans did for
11:04 this country I'm glad that this country
11:07 was founded by some God-fearing people
11:08 it's too bad we don't have some
11:11 God-fearing people today who can do
11:14 something about some of these things God
11:18 the son commands us to keep our lives
11:20 pure the word commandment in verse two
11:25 is a military term it's means a an order
11:28 handed down from an executive officer
11:30 the general tells the sergeant who tells
11:33 the buck privates this is what you're
11:36 supposed to do now he commands us he has
11:39 every right to command us he died for us
11:42 the Lord Jesus Christ died for us and
11:45 because he died for us he owns us the
11:48 Lord Jesus Christ purchased us with his
11:51 blood be careful what you do with your
11:54 body he not only died for us he lives
11:57 for us today and one day he's going to
11:59 come for us and he wants to be able to
12:02 come and find us in Purity notice
12:07 chapter 3: 13 so that he may establish
12:11 your hearts blameless in Holiness before
12:13 our God and Father at the coming of our
12:16 Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints
12:18 when the Lord Jesus comes he wants to
12:23 find us with Sanctified holy bodies now
12:24 we're not going to have our old nature
12:27 gone until we see the Lord Jesus Christ
12:29 but there's no reason why we have to
12:34 live for our old nature 1 John 3:3 and
12:37 every man that has this hope in him
12:42 purifies himself even as he is pure we
12:46 have been given a military order to obey
12:50 keep your life clean and so God the
12:53 Father cares whether or not we live pure
12:56 lives and God the son cares and God the
13:00 Holy Spirit cares versus 7 and 8 for God
13:04 did not call us to uncleanness but in
13:08 Holiness therefore he who rejects this
13:10 that is this commandment about purity
13:14 does not reject man but God who has also
13:17 given us his holy spirit now who was it
13:20 who called you it was the Holy Spirit
13:22 you wouldn't be saved today were it not
13:24 for the Holy Spirit who was it that
13:26 wrote the word of God that gave you the
13:28 message and the Assurance of Salvation
13:29 the holy H
13:33 Spirit who is it who indwells you the
13:37 Holy Spirit who is it that has made our
13:41 bodies the temple of God the Holy Spirit
13:43 who is it that wants to sanctify us
13:46 completely that is have us totally and
13:49 completely set apart for God's use our
13:52 body our soul our spirit the holy spirit
13:56 of God who is it who has a job for us to
13:59 do in this world and wants to empower us
14:04 to do that job the holy spirit of God
14:06 now the holy spirit of God is greatly
14:09 concerned about our Purity I was
14:12 thinking of uh Ephesians
14:15 4:32 you know these verses so well
14:20 Ephesians 4:32 be ye kind one to another
14:23 tenderhearted forgiving one another even
14:26 as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven
14:28 you we should not have evil things in
14:31 our Hearts toward one another but how
14:33 about evil things in our lives toward
14:37 the Holy Spirit Ephesians 4 and: 30 do
14:40 not grieve the holy spirit of God by
14:42 whom you were sealed for the day of
14:44 redemption now how do we do this well he
14:47 talks about some of these sins back in
14:50 verse 19 of Ephesians 4 they've given
14:52 themselves over to
14:54 licentiousness to work all uncleanness with
14:56 with
14:59 greediness verse 22 put off concerning
15:02 your former conduct the old man which
15:04 grows corrupt according to deceitful
15:07 loss throughout the word of God we are
15:11 warned about what immorality does in the
15:14 Christian life but everybody is doing it
15:16 no everybody is not doing it there are
15:19 lots of people who want to keep their
15:22 lives pure and clean whose marriages are
15:25 intact and Paul is warning us here if
15:28 you reject this you are annulling the
15:31 doct ument namely the word of God and
15:35 who are you to anull the word of God you
15:37 see if you fight against the word of God
15:38 the word of God will fight against you
15:40 and you'll come to the place where you
15:42 wish you had not done that well we found
15:46 out that God cares that we live a holy
15:49 life in verses three and four we should
15:51 care let's be just selfish for just a
15:54 moment now we should care for this is
15:58 the will of God your sanctification that
15:59 you should abstain
16:02 from sexual immorality that each of you
16:05 should know how to possess his own
16:09 vessel in sanctification and honor do
16:10 you ever notice that sin leads to
16:14 dishonor oh how many how many of God's
16:16 people including God's servants have
16:19 Dishonored the Lord and Dishonored the
16:21 gospel because they've been playing
16:24 around with this the thing called
16:27 immorality and we live in a world that
16:29 is like a cesspool you you can't walk
16:32 into a drugstore you can't stand in line
16:35 at a checkout counter in a supermarket
16:38 without your mind being exposed to this
16:40 filth it has almost become a religion
16:42 it's certainly a big business there's no
16:45 question about that now we could go on
16:48 and on but I'll just stop at this point
16:50 and say that you and I need to care
16:52 because we only have one body and we
16:56 ought to possess this vessel in
16:58 sanctification I notice in verse 5 of
17:01 first ionians 4 that the world cares How
17:04 I Live not in passion of lust like the
17:06 Gentiles who do not know God the word
17:08 Gentiles there means
17:11 unbelievers the world cares the world
17:14 expects Christians to be different have
17:17 you ever noticed that when a a Christian
17:19 gets into immorality the Press gets a
17:22 hold of it and has a good time with it
17:25 now the world loves to see Christians
17:27 sin because it gives them an excuse to
17:30 sin you and are to be different from the
17:34 world we are to be lights shining in
17:36 this world I like what Moses said
17:39 actually he was speaking for God when he
17:43 spoke to the Jewish people and told them
17:47 what they really are in God in in the
17:50 book of Exodus when he tells them all
17:54 about they are a holy people they are a
17:57 a nation set apart by God Peter uses the
17:59 same illustration
18:02 in 1 Peter 2:9 you are a chosen
18:05 generation a royal priesthood a holy
18:08 nation his own special people for what
18:11 purpose that you may proclaim the
18:14 Praises of him who called you out of
18:18 Darkness Into His Marvelous Light now if
18:20 you say well the world's too hard on us
18:23 remember God expects us to be light
18:27 shining in a dark World let your light
18:29 so shine before men that they may see
18:32 your good works not bad Works glorify
18:34 your father which is in
18:37 heaven if you read the uh requirements
18:42 for a pastor an elder in Titus Chapter 1
18:46 and 1 Timothy chapter 3 you discover God
18:48 has some high standards there he says
18:50 blameless having a good report of those
18:53 on the outside not just a report on the
18:57 inside the church people the outside oh
19:00 that we might remember God cares that we
19:03 live a holy life and we should care and
19:05 the world cares and by the way other
19:09 Christians care verse six that no one
19:12 should take advantage of and defraud his
19:15 brother in this matter because the Lord
19:19 is the Avenger of all such as we also
19:22 forewarned you and testified that means
19:25 he solemnly declared you won't get away
19:27 with it see we have the idea we can go
19:29 out and sin and then then come and
19:31 confess our sin and then go out and sin
19:33 and come and confess our sin my Bible
19:36 doesn't permit that my Bible tells me
19:38 that a person who's really born of God
19:41 does not habitually practice sin and he
19:44 wants to live a holy life yes I know
19:47 David committed adultery my people use
19:50 David as an excuse for their sin but not
19:53 as an example for their repentance David
19:55 committed adultery and paid for it for
19:58 the rest of his life paid for it in his
20:01 own fath family paid for it in his own
20:04 body paid for it in his own leadership
20:07 oh how he paid for it there is no such
20:10 thing as cheap sin there are no free
20:13 lunches you take what you want from life
20:17 and you pay for it and David paid for it
20:20 yes God forgave him God put away his sin
20:24 other Christians care I care what kind
20:26 of a life other Christians live as we
20:28 were raising our four children we were
20:30 glad to be in churches where people set
20:33 the example the children were seeing
20:35 good marriages and they were seeing
20:37 people who were setting an example of
20:40 Holiness and godly living we belong to
20:43 each other we're members of the same
20:46 body and family we belong to the same
20:48 Army he said don't you take advantage of
20:51 your brother now he's suggesting here
20:53 that some of the Christians in the
20:55 church were playing around with each
20:58 other's mates he said don't you dare do
21:01 that don't you defraud your
21:05 brother sex outside of marriage is
21:07 robbery you know sex is something like a
21:09 bank there are two ways to get money out
21:12 of the bank you can rob the bank and
21:13 you'll get the money but you'll be in
21:15 trouble or you can go into the bank and
21:17 sit down with the banker and say what
21:19 are the rules that run this Bank I'd
21:21 like to be a member of this organization
21:23 you sign your name you agree to certain
21:26 conditions and then you put your deposit
21:28 into the bank now there are two ways to
21:31 get money out of the bank as a robber or
21:34 as a committed member now marriage is
21:37 God's Bank God says you come and you get
21:40 married and every husband has a wife
21:43 every wife has a husband and you do it
21:46 the way I tell you to do it in my word
21:48 because the word of God tells us it is
21:50 robbery it is
21:53 thievery for people to practice sex
21:56 outside of marriage other Christians
21:58 care don't take advantage of other
22:02 Christians and don't be a bad example to
22:04 others don't make it hard for people to
22:08 raise their children because of the bad
22:10 example that people are
22:12 setting well we've been rather hard on
22:14 each other today but I think we need
22:17 this who cares if we live a Godly life
22:21 God cares we should care the world cares
22:29 care be sure to come back again for more
22:32 wisdom from God's word back to the Bible
22:34 leading you forward in your relationship
22:36 with Jesus Christ please join us again
