1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 - Protecting or defrauding

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-8
3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;
4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.
7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
8 So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
NASU


Thoughts:

In western cultures today, we are overrun with the presentation and availability of the immoral. Yet God's command remains clear: be holy and self-controlled (verses 4-5); not plunging oneself into this bile.

As Christians, we need to draw the line of behavior in this realm far behind where the world would tell us. To the worldly, as long as someone does not commit the actual act -- or to some, that it was consensual -- there's a belief that this is OK. But I believe the line that God has drawn is much further back. It extends as far as is necessary to protect others.

Sin in this area is never a victimless offense. For the persons involved are not their own as they may convince themselves. No, they are or will be someone's son, father, or husband; or someone's daughter, mother, or wife. When we sin in this area, we steal not only from the person involved, but from those so intimately connected to them. Something is taken that can never be replaced. We have transgressed others, meaning we entered a realm where we had no right.

And need I say that we also defraud or take advantage of those involved? In my opinion, whether physical contact occurs or not, flirtation and other romantic advances are stealing a portion of that person's heart. A part that, if we are not their marriage partner and have no intention of being, we have no right to. We have used them for our own purposes.

Now, lest we roll our eyes and say that this is passe, we must recognize God's timeless, solemn warning (verses 6, 8): He will avenge such behavior. I cannot say how, but I can say He will. God always delivers on His promises. I do not believe someone in Christ can lose their salvation, but God is keen to discipline those He loves. Who knows what suffering we may self-inflict by disobeying God in this most powerful and potentially hurtful area of life?


Prayer:

Lord, may my heart be for others and not myself. May I truly put them first. People are not objects for pleasure or amusement, they are living souls, infinitely valuable to you. May I treat them as such: male and female.

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.