Who Did That Painting?

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

Last week, one of you raised a wonderful question that we were unable to answer, but which is the topic of today's passage. How do we know if we are relying on ourselves or on God? How are we to maintain the balance of being responsible, and yet rely on God? These questions are supremely important not only for the Christian but even for the broader secular society. With the prevalence of evolutionary theory during this new scientific age, many are wondering if free will is a mere illusion.

We reflect upon some of these questions through Paul's instructions on sexual immorality and love. Although Paul's instructions are practical and can be seen as commands that we fulfill with our own abilities, they are actually grounded in God's will and promise (vv. 3, 7). It is only because the Thessalonians are "in the Lord" (v. 1) and have the Spirit (v. 8) that they are able to follow these instructions (see also 3.11-13 and 5.23-24).

In other words, without the gospel of Jesus Christ, we would still be dead in our evil ways. We would be utterly incapable of living sexually moral and loving lives. With the gospel, God has replaced our sinful heart; he has given us his very own Spirit. Thus, every single baby step that we take to become more like Christ is because his Spirit is working in us. Therefore, there is no distinction between being a responsible Christian and relying on God. We can only be responsible because of his Spirit. I will illustrate this with Question #75 from the Larger Westminster Catechism (printed below) as well as some modern-day analogies (e.g., Venn diagram, cleaning the room, and the Mamba mentality).

In the latter part of the sermon, we will then deal with some of the practical implications of being sexually pure and loving. This portion of the text is actually very encouraging to us. Although the Thessalonians were in some ways model Christians, they were struggling with some shameful sins. Their sexual immorality was not just private, but it actually affected their fellow brothers and sisters (v. 6). They were most likely lazy and taking advantage of others (v. 12). We can take great encouragement to know that even though we might also be struggling with shameful sins, God is not done with us! He will not only conform us to become ideal believers like the Thessalonians, but he will conform us (as we saw last week) to become the beautiful bride of Christ. In fact, we are being conformed to the image of Christ himself! Let's focus on the painter and not the painting!

Questions:

1. “Every single baby step that we take to become more like Christ is because his Spirit is working in us. Therefore, there is no distinction between being a responsible Christian and relying on God. We can only be responsible because of his Spirit.” How did the sermon help you in understanding the balance between relying on God and relying on ourselves?

In what ways does this give us a greater appreciation for the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ?

How does this give you hope in your life?

2. Take a moment to read and reflect upon question #75 of the Larger Westminster Catechism: Q. 75. What is sanctification? A. Sanctification is a work of God’s grace, whereby they whom God hath, before the foundation of the world, chosen to be holy, are in time, through the powerful operation of his Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God; having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin, and rise unto newness of life.

Share what part(s) resonates with you the most and why?

3. Reflect upon the title of the sermon, "Who Did That Painting?" When we think of the Thessalonians or someone's personal testimony, we have the tendency to focus on the person or circumstance (i.e., the painting) rather than God (i.e., the painter).

Why do you think this is the case?

Is this tendency to focus on the person/circumstance instead of God stronger when we think about our own personal lives?