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Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 2 * PART 3 * BOOK 42
I Thessalonians 2:15 – 4:18
Now let’s go back to I Thessalonians chapter 4 and pick up again with this mind of the apostle Paul toward these new believers fresh out of paganism. Now verse 2.
I Thessalonians 4:2
"For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus."
Paul didn’t dream these things up. I Thessalonians 4:3a
"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification,…" Now that’s not a big word to scare people. As I’ve said so often, the believer is not to be an odd ball or some kind of kook that the world laughs at, but we are to be different in a way that our lifestyle is pleasing unto God rather than pleasing unto the Satanic world around us. I Thessalonians 4:3b-4
This body of flesh. I Thessalonians 5:23
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; (set you apart) and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body…"
Don’t think for a minute that God is only concerned with the Spiritual element. We have been left in this body of flesh, and it’s in the body that we promote the love of Christ to the world around us. I Thessalonians 4:5
"Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:"
You have to remember that in the pagan world in which Paul lived, there was no real sense of morality, honesty or Godliness because they knew nothing of that. Remember it if hadn’t been for Christianity, western civilization wouldn’t have preceded any farther than the rest of the world. I Thessalonians 4:6
Now verse 7.
I Thessalonians 4:7
"For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, (that’s where the Gentile world was anyway, and that’s where we would be anyway) but unto holiness.
Now that word holiness often scares people. People don’t want to be holy. Now verse 8
I Thessalonians 4:8a
"He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God,…"
Here, Israel has been ruled by the judges that God has appointed, and Samuel is the last one, but now the people want a king. See the analogy is the same - the world hasn’t changed one bit. Human nature hasn’t changed, and God hasn’t changed.
I Samuel 8:1-7
"And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. 5. And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. 7. And the LORD said unto Samuel, "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."
You see, they weren’t rejecting Samuel the man, but rather they were rejecting the God under whom Samuel laboured. You see, they do not show their hatred for Christianity because of the individual Christians, but rather it’s the God of Christianity that the world hates. So Paul says, our adversaries do not despise us personally as men, but they despise God,
I Thessalonians 4:8b
"…who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit."
Now another verse just comes to mind. We need to use every verse of Scripture that the Lord puts in our mind. Let’s look at Romans chapter 8, where Paul again makes it so plain, and this helps the believer to understand our position in this world around us. Why do they seemingly have no concerns about what God says? No, they don’t because they are anti-God and they’re the enemies of God, so consequently it never enters their mind. Romans chapter 8, verse 5.
7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; (we don’t ordinarily look at people being enemies of God do we? The carnal mind, the unsaved person is an enemy of God. The unbelieving world is not subject to the law of God, and neither indeed can it be. It’s amazing that the world holds together as well as it does. It really is, when you realize the abject paganism of the ancient world, and when you realize that during the period of human history ever since then up unto now, the vast percentage of people having no concern about the things of God. It’s always been a small percentage of people who love God. 1/10 of 1 percent. Oh, maybe our immediate family, and maybe our next door neighbor, but the world? I Thessalonians 4:9
"But as touching brotherly love (the love for fellow believers) ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." I Thessalonians 4:10a
I Thessalonians 4:10b
I Thessalonians 4:11a
Well you know the oriental religions emphasize meditation. So what’s the difference between meditation and study? When you study you get out the Book, and you may have to get a concordance and some study helps, and you study. I Thessalonians 4:11
"And that ye study to be quiet,…"
"God wasn’t in it." God! And this what we have to realize, we’re living in a day that is contorting the Scriptures, and God is still admonishing us to study be quiet before the Lord.

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