When Paul the apostle was not present with the Churches he had established in the Lord Jesus, it was his custom to write letters to them to ensure their continued growth.
In this particular letter, Paul admonishes the Church of the Thessalonians to abstain from fornication which means engaging in sexual intercourse before marriage. He said in verses 2-4:
"For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour:" (verses 2-4)
As Paul has said, Jesus has commanded us not to engage in sex sins, as those do who do not know God. Sex sins are running rampant in our society, and unfortunately also in the Church. As the Church of Jesus Christ we must keep ourselves free from unholiness. We must know how to resist the devil when he tempts us with the lust of fornication and other sins.
In Matthew Chapter 4:1-11 (Read it for yourself), Jesus taught us how to resist the devil by using the Word of God, saying to the devil, "It is written", (then quoting the Word of God in the area in which the devil is tempting us.) But in order to do this, we must know the Word of God and how to use it to overcome the devil.
For example, when tempted with sexual lust, we must say to the devil: It is written of me "God has not called me unto uncleanness but unto holiness." (1Thessalonians 4:7) And again it is written of me "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"(1Corinthians 6:16) For it is written, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) We must use the Word of God to resist the devil, otherwise he will not flee, but will overcome us. Remember, the main defense we have against the devil is the Word of God. And we must use it in order for it to work! (See James 1:22)
Pastors should teach Christians how to resist the devil with the Word of God in their churches. But if you are a Christian who is being overcome by the devil, you must begin to read the Bible for yourself. Before you read, pray and ask the Father to reveal what the scripture is saying. That's why you own a Bible. If you don't own one, buy one. If you do not know what to read daily, use the Weekly Scripture Reading to the right of blog. This weekly scripture reading schedule will take you through the New Testament one chapter per day and one chapter of the Old Testament each Saturday.
The Church needs to be armed with the Word of God especially in these last days before the Lord's return. Weak, watered down sermons are leaving Christians vulnerable to the devil. We must be armed with the full armor of God's Word in order to overcome when we are tempted!
For without holiness, no man shall see the Lord! (See Hebrews 12:14)
May the Lord prepare you for his soon return!
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