Episode Synopsis:
In chapter four of his first Thessalonian letter, Paul addresses the issues surrounding what it means to turn from idols to serve the true and living God. Paul is concerned with how these new Christians in Thessalonica “walk in the Lord” – that is, how they ought to live the Christian life in contrast to the way they lived before when they served idols. In verses 3-8 of chapter four, Paul takes up the matter of Christian sexual ethics. Those to whom Paul is writing knew nothing of the sexual purity God expects from his people before Paul arrived and preached the gospel to them. All they have known is a pagan sexuality which is often libertine (anything goes since the pagans understood sexual relations apart from personal morality). Greco-Roman men commonly had wives who raised the children and kept the home, but saw nothing wrong with premarital or extra-marital sexual relationships. In this episode of The Blessed Hope, we will consider Paul’s exhortation to avoid sexual immorality, and to live quiet lives, minding our own business, and not being dependent upon others.
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