1 Thessalonians 4:7 For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
That, my Friends, is the undisputed truth! God did not call us to be impure, but to lead a holy life. Are we doing that to the best of our ability? Only the Lord really knows, for we may be able to fool others, and even ourselves, but never the Lord. So if we’re showing purity to the world, but on the inside we have something else, then it’s all for naught. Oh Friends, the Lord does not expect us to be perfect, for He knows our sinful condition better than us. But He does expect us to try. And long before Bruh Paul’s appeal for purity to the Thessalonians, the Lord demanded it. ‘For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and be holy; for I am holy.’ (Lev.11:44) Friends, that was under the Old Covenant, and though Jesus’ coming made a New Covenant, it only dispensed with the ritual, we still need holiness in our lives, for the Lord our God is unchanging; He’s still holy. We all know the things Bruh Paul’s talking about: ‘For this is the will of God, even by your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.’ (vs.3) ‘Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God. That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.’ (vs.5-6) And Bruh Paul later expands on that: ‘In flaming fire taking vengeance of them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (2 Thes.1:8) So we should not engage in ungodly acts like sexual immorality, the passions of lust, taking advantage of our fellow man. ‘For God hath not called us to uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy spirit.’ (vs.7-8) Jesus said it first. ‘He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.’ (Luke 10:16) That means people, when we despise or reject each other, we’re also despising and rejecting God, for we can’t claim to LOVE God and despise our brother at the same time. Even from olden times God gave us His Holy Spirit: ‘After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts…And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them…’ (Jer.31:33-34) Bruh Paul concurs: ‘Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.’ (1 Cor.2:12) One of those is brotherly LOVE, so He didn’t need to write to them about that, ‘for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.’ (vs.9) ‘But we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.’ (vs.10-12) Oh Friends, we suffer the same ills today, and that very prescription also applies to us: We too have the Holy Spirit within us, that teaches us the things of God, but we surely need to increase our LOVE for each other, aspire to live quieter lives, get rid of all the hustle and bustle and resultant stress and mind our own business. As 3 Canal says, ‘if you don’t have a business, then yuh better find a business and stop minding other people’s business.’ (smile) We also need to do more constructive work, we’ve become too much of a leisure oriented society, which only leads us to laziness and eventual decline. And most importantly, we ought to deal honestly with all men, regardless of race, colour or creed. Friends, only in that manner will we live the holy lives God has called us to live, and for which He’ll bless us abundantly. Much LOVE!…walk holy Mt Zion children…walk holy…
That, my Friends, is the undisputed truth! God did not call us to be impure, but to lead a holy life. Are we doing that to the best of our ability? Only the Lord really knows, for we may be able to fool others, and even ourselves, but never the Lord. So if we’re showing purity to the world, but on the inside we have something else, then it’s all for naught. Oh Friends, the Lord does not expect us to be perfect, for He knows our sinful condition better than us. But He does expect us to try. And long before Bruh Paul’s appeal for purity to the Thessalonians, the Lord demanded it. ‘For I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and be holy; for I am holy.’ (Lev.11:44) Friends, that was under the Old Covenant, and though Jesus’ coming made a New Covenant, it only dispensed with the ritual, we still need holiness in our lives, for the Lord our God is unchanging; He’s still holy. We all know the things Bruh Paul’s talking about: ‘For this is the will of God, even by your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.’ (vs.3) ‘Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God. That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.’ (vs.5-6) And Bruh Paul later expands on that: ‘In flaming fire taking vengeance of them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ (2 Thes.1:8) So we should not engage in ungodly acts like sexual immorality, the passions of lust, taking advantage of our fellow man. ‘For God hath not called us to uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy spirit.’ (vs.7-8) Jesus said it first. ‘He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.’ (Luke 10:16) That means people, when we despise or reject each other, we’re also despising and rejecting God, for we can’t claim to LOVE God and despise our brother at the same time. Even from olden times God gave us His Holy Spirit: ‘After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts…And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them…’ (Jer.31:33-34) Bruh Paul concurs: ‘Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.’ (1 Cor.2:12) One of those is brotherly LOVE, so He didn’t need to write to them about that, ‘for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.’ (vs.9) ‘But we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more; And that ye study to be quiet, and do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you; That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.’ (vs.10-12) Oh Friends, we suffer the same ills today, and that very prescription also applies to us: We too have the Holy Spirit within us, that teaches us the things of God, but we surely need to increase our LOVE for each other, aspire to live quieter lives, get rid of all the hustle and bustle and resultant stress and mind our own business. As 3 Canal says, ‘if you don’t have a business, then yuh better find a business and stop minding other people’s business.’ (smile) We also need to do more constructive work, we’ve become too much of a leisure oriented society, which only leads us to laziness and eventual decline. And most importantly, we ought to deal honestly with all men, regardless of race, colour or creed. Friends, only in that manner will we live the holy lives God has called us to live, and for which He’ll bless us abundantly. Much LOVE!…walk holy Mt Zion children…walk holy…
SCRIP-BITS 