1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Summary: In this chapter, Paul takes up a couple of subjects in which he thought the Thessalonians could benefit from more instruction and encouragement; namely, sexual morality (v.3-8) and work (v.9-12). While they’re two quite distinct subjects, he holds them together in verse 1 as areas of life in which we ought to strive more and more to please God. God’s pleasure and praise ought to be our highest goal, not only in these areas, but in all areas of morality and Christian living. Rather than thinking of God’s law as a list of hoops we have to jump through or as a series of pleasures we must deny ourselves, Paul invites us into a much more satisfying and relational understanding of obedience. He instructs us to strive more and more for the satisfaction of knowing that our heavenly Father is pleased with our lives.