1 Thessalonians 4:1-2 and 8- Let me add this,
dear brothers: You already know how to please God in your daily living, for you
know the commands we gave you from the Lord Jesus himself. Now we beg you—yes,
we demand of you in the name of the Lord Jesus—that you live more and more closely
to that ideal.
… If anyone refuses to live by these rules, he is
not disobeying the rules of men but of God who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Paul
reminded these Christians that they had already been taught how to please
God. Now he pleaded with them to take
their relationship to the next level...by living even closer to the ideal that
Christ set for us. He told them to be holy and pure…and remember that not
trying our hardest to do this would be disobeying the Holy Spirit that God put inside
of us.
It
is the Christian’s basic responsibility to remember that we are accountable to
God for all our actions. Paul addresses
sexual sin specifically in this chapter… but the concept of accountability is
for all sin. We are reminded of our accountability to help teach us that it is
not about being happy …but being holy.
We
are accountable to warn unbelievers about living without Christ … for every word that comes out of our mouth … for
how we live… for those that God gives us to supervise…. for those that God
calls us to teach ….and for rejecting the truth when it is revealed to us. That
is a pretty comprehensive list.
I
needed the reminder as usual that I need to step up my relationship with God by
being more accountable to Him for my daily walk with Him. I feel the most convicted to spend more time
in prayer and taking a bigger part in warning unbelievers about their fate if
they reject Christ.
Father…
thank you for the reminder that I am accountable to you for my growth as a
Christian. Forgive me for the times that
I have been too content with staying where I am at…and not striving to grow
closer to you. Help me to desire a deeper relationship with you…. one that will
help me strive to be holy and pure.
Amen.
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