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Living In Holiness To Please God (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2)
I. A Command Given To The Christians
II. A Command To Live And Please God
III. A Command Based On The Word Of God
IV. A Command To Grow And Abound
Since this is the first prayer meeting of the year 2026, I have prayerfully decided to preach a message about resolution.
In every new year, people would make resolutions. If there is a particular resolution we ought to make for this new year, and for that matter every other new year that God will give to us, it is to live in holiness to please God, which is the title of our message.
Our text is taken from 1 Thessalonians 4:1–2. Allow me to read for you. “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.”
From verse 1 to verse 8, the Apostle Paul commands us to live in holiness. In verse three, he says, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.” In verse seven, he says, “For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.” In other words, it is God’s will that we live a sanctified life, a holy life, and this is the life that will please God.
As we consider these two verses, let us draw some spiritual lessons from them.
I. A Command Given To The Christians
Firstly, it is a command given to the believers.
The Apostle Paul began with, “Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus.” To beseech is to request or pray. To exhort is to come alongside and encourage. Both words were used in an authoritative sense, which means it is a command.
This command was only given to the believers, those who had received salvation in Christ. We cannot command the unbelievers to live holy lives. Firstly, they will not hear us, nor will they obey. Secondly, they are incapable of living holy lives. There is a difference between morality and true holiness. There is a difference between ethical behaviour and godly behaviour of the Christian.
Sometimes we hear people say, “Look at the ways in which the unbelievers live their lives. They put Christians to shame.” We understand what they mean. We know they are referring to the very high standard of morality. And indeed, some unbelievers are capable of living very high standards of morality and ethical behaviours.
An athlete was running a race. She was in second place. Then suddenly the runner in front of her, which means the first runner, tripped and fell. She could have overtaken the fallen runner and run forward to win the prize, but she stopped running so she could help the injured runner. We call that excellent sportsmanship.
Recently, as I was driving on Mount Dandenong, one of the car wheels came off. It almost caused me to veer off the cliff. The car had to be towed to the mechanic. The mechanic checked the wheels, and he discovered that it was the manufacturer’s fault. He contacted the manufacturer, and the company was happy to replace it for free, including all the other fees incurred.
When I came to collect the car, I was expecting to receive a large bill. But to my surprise, the mechanic said it was free of charge. And he explained the reason why he could have charged me. I would never know. He displayed a very high standard of honesty.
In this physical world, there are so many things that a person can do that are acts of good sportsmanship, acts of kindness, generosity, professionalism, high standards of ethical behaviour and morality. But yet, they have absolutely nothing to do with holiness.
Holiness is different. It is always focused on the glory of God. It has to do with the love for Christ because of our relationship with Him. The unbeliever has no capacity to do what he does for the glory of God or for the love of Christ because he has no relationship with Him. That was why to the Thessalonians Paul said, “I exhort you believers by the Lord Jesus.” He was commanding the Thessalonians to consider, to be aware of their relationship with Christ.
Dear friend, holiness is based largely on the awareness of our relationship with Christ. The more conscious we are of His presence in our lives, the more we seek to live in holiness. Sadly, some people who profess to be believers are not consciously aware of their relationship with Christ. They may be confused about this matter of morality and true holiness.
They tell the truth because they think they are supposed to tell the truth. They do not steal because they think they are not supposed to steal. They go to church because that is the thing Christians are supposed to do. They worship and sing hymns because that is the thing to do, but they do not connect what they do with their relationship with Christ.
So Paul was asking the Thessalonians to do all these things in the Lord Jesus Christ, in connection with their relationship with Him.
Remember Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour by faith, the Holy Spirit indwells in us, and we are united with Christ. It is a spiritual work, the work of the Holy Spirit, an eternal work. And this spiritual union with Christ is something we cannot undo. When we are one with Christ, we are one with Him throughout all eternity. To be aware of our union with Christ is a most comforting thought.
Take a moment and consider this. When we are faced with trials and temptations, and we are mindful that we are one with Christ, our hearts are comforted. As 2 Corinthians 2:14 says, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ.” He will give us the victory.
When we are faced with death, diagnosed with a terminal illness, and we are mindful that we are one with Christ. Our hearts are comforted. As the psalmist said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4.
When we do the gospel work and we face persecutions, and we are reminded of our oneness with Christ, again we are comforted because Jesus said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations … lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:19–20.
Indeed, to know that we are united with Christ is a most comforting thought. But on the other hand, it is also an awesome thought because it comes with tremendous responsibilities. Whatever we do, wherever we go, and whatever we think, we are one with Christ. Can you ever fathom that thought? Would we then walk into sin knowing that we are one with Christ? Are we mindful of our jealousies, envies, lies, gossip, pride, anger, hidden agendas, knowing that we are one with Christ? As one pastor asked his congregation very bluntly, “Will you walk into adultery with your wife beside you?” Most certainly not.
When we are one with Christ, we are expected to live in holiness. And we cannot cut our lives into two. We cannot live a holy life only when we come to church, but when we are at our workplaces, we live a different life. We cannot dichotomise our lives into two. When we are one with Christ, we are one with Him forever.
So this command was given to the Christians because only the believers had this special relationship with Christ.
II. A Command To Live And Please God
Secondly, it is a command to live and please God.
The Apostle Paul went on to say that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God. The word “walk” is to conduct our daily lives, and we conduct our daily lives in a way that will please God.
Everyone lives to please somebody. It could be your boss, your spouse, or your friend. And many live to please themselves. We must be careful when it comes to pleasing others, for we may please men and dishonour God. As Galatians 1:10 says, “For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” What Paul meant was when we please man in a way that is contrary to God and His word, then we are disqualified. And we do not live to please ourselves. Instead, we live to please God.
Why must we live to please God? Romans 12:1–2 says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Remember, we were once dead in our trespasses. We were outside the kingdom of heaven, without God, without Christ, without hope. But by the mercies of God, the gospel message was preached to us, and by faith we embraced it. If we have truly experienced the mercies of God, it is also by the mercies of God that we present our bodies a “living sacrifice”. It is a “reasonable service” because the truth is that this body is not our own.
We belong to Christ. We were bought with a price. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 says, “What? 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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
If we may ask, what is the price that we have been bought with? The Apostle Peter said, “Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold … but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” 1 Peter 1:18–19.
So today we love Christ. We want to worship Him, serve and glorify Him. And we know in our hearts that it is not a sacrifice, but it is the most reasonable service for us to do.
Now there is a way of living that pleases God, and there is also a way of living that does not please Him. When we conform ourselves to this world, we do not please God. When we study the Bible and we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, when we do that which is good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God, we please Him.
How do we do that? Whatever we think in our minds must be pleasing to God.
When you and I fill our minds with the influences of this lost worldly culture, when we fill our minds with sensuous novels, and especially when we watch those worldly secular movies, we will realise that the more we watch them, the more we begin to behave and think like those characters in the movies. And most of the celebrities are living horrendously immoral lives. God will not be pleased.
But on the other hand, if we feed our minds with the Bible and good Christian books, when we train our minds to critique whatever we see and hear by applying biblical truths to the world’s ideas, when we engage our minds with godly conversations, we will grow in godliness and become increasingly useful to God. God will be pleased. Whatever we see with our eyes and hear with our ears must be pleasing to God.
Every day we are being bombarded by pictures and messages of worldliness and immorality, whether it be the billboards on the highway, the commercial advertisements on television, the posters in front of the shops as we walk into the shopping mall, on the internet, on the radio, etc. How can we please God when our eyes and ears are constantly being overwhelmed by these worldly pictures and messages?
Each time we see or hear something undesirable, we remind ourselves through the word of God and pray, ‘Lord, help me to guard my eyes. Help me to guard my ears, that I may not sin against thee,’ and God will be faithful to help us.
Whatever we speak must be pleasing to God. The tongue is a part of our body, and what we do with this tongue is extremely important. It can either please God or displease Him. Most certainly God is displeased with lies, gossip, slanders, and false accusations. And one day we have to give an account for all the words we have spoken.
On the other hand, there are so many ways in which we can use our tongues to please God. We can use our tongues to recite scriptures. We can use our tongues to speak God’s word. We can use our tongues to sing hymns and good Christian songs. Above all, we can use our tongues to save souls through evangelism. God will be pleased.
Whatever we do and wherever we go must also be pleasing to God.
There are places and activities that are displeasing to God. Obviously, we do not go to the red light districts where prostitution is rampant. But what about worldly parties and celebrations where the name of God is blatantly blasphemed? How can we endure a conversation whereby every few sentences the name of God is blasphemed, and with every sentence a vulgarity is used?
Dear friend, when you are invited to an event, ask yourself this question. Will I be able to please God in that activity and in that environment? If you cannot, then do not go. You would rather be with the believers in spiritual activities, fellowship meetings, home care groups, and in a prayer meeting like this. It is better to be in the company of those who love and serve God than to be with those who blaspheme Him.
Remember this command to live and please God.
III. A Command Based On The Word Of God
Thirdly, it is a command based on the word of God.
Paul said, “As ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God.” Verse three, “For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.” In other words, we have already given you, we have already taught you, in the authority and power of Christ. When did the Thessalonians receive these instructions from Paul? It was while he was in Thessalonica.
Allow me to briefly say this. Paul was not in Thessalonica for very long. There was a riot in the city because of his preaching, and he was driven out of the city subsequently. In that short period of time while he was with the Thessalonians, he had taught them the word of God and how to apply biblical truths into their lives. He had taught them what it meant to live and please God. And he taught them by his own life experiences as well. Isn’t it amazing that in such a short period of time, he was not only able to impart God’s truth to them, but he was also able to impart his life experiences as well.
This is a great reminder to those of us who have children. Why does God give us 30 or 40 years to be with our children? He does not give us 30 or 40 years for nothing. He gives us this specific period of time so that we may bring up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And we do that by imparting biblical truths to them, and also through them watching the way we live our lives. The longer the time period we have with our children, the greater the accountability. Have we been an example for our children to follow? If we have not been an example, then we have failed to live a holy life that will please God.
The Bible contains not only doctrines, it also contains instructions for living. If we are going to be faithful in our teaching, we ought to be teaching about salvation by grace alone and through faith alone. We ought to be teaching the doctrine of the Trinity. We ought to be teaching the doctrine of biblical separation and so forth.
But we also ought to teach the people about living in holiness, living in a way that would please God. The whole counsel of God’s word ought to be preached. So if the church is not teaching the people to live in holiness, she is neglecting the word of God. And the way to teach the people is also through the way we believers live our lives.
The psalmist says, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalm 119:9. The only way we can live and please God is to live in holiness. And the only way to live in holiness is to obey the word of God. And there is no way we can obey the word of God unless we first learn the word of God.
And to learn the word of God means we must read, study, meditate, and memorise the scriptures. We must let the word of God be a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path, in our church, in our homes, and in our individual lives.
IV. A Command To Grow And Abound
Finally, it is a command to grow and abound.
Look at the last part of verse one, “Ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.”
There is something else here about holiness, and that is holiness is a matter of growth and progress. You do not just stop where you are. There is this growing process.
Paul was not saying that the Thessalonians were not living godly lives, but he was saying to them, you are already doing this from what I heard about you. I heard about your faith. I heard about your love. You are already walking in holiness. But I urge you, I beseech you in the Lord Jesus Christ, that you would increase in what you were already doing, that holiness would abound more and more in your lives. In other words, do not stop there. Continue to grow and increase in your holiness.
In fact, in the preceding chapter, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, Paul also prayed for the Thessalonians, “And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you.” They already had love. Not that they did not have love. They were already giving sacrificially to the work of the ministry. But Paul prayed that their love might increase and abound.
Dear friend, even if you are already living a godly life by the grace of God, and praise be to God, there is still room for you to grow. Is there anyone here tonight who thinks he does not need to grow in holiness anymore? Is there anyone who thinks there is nothing for her to learn anymore? She has learned everything. God forbid.
There is always room for growth, progress, and improvement. In fact, that is what holiness is all about. You increase and abound in your holiness.
Why do we have DHW classes, Bible studies, and FEBC online courses? Why do we have the word of God preached at every fellowship meeting? Is it not for us and our families, that we may live in holiness to please God?
There will never come a time when we are able to say, as long as we are alive, I have learned enough about the Bible, or my children have learned enough about the Bible. I believe none of us would ever say that. But yet why are the people not attending these spiritual activities which are designed for them? Why are there people who say the church has too much Bible studies, too much Bible studies in the programs, in the fellowship, in the activities, there is not enough fun and games?
Dear friend, the Christian life is not about fun and games. While there is nothing wrong to have fun and games from time to time, but it is serious business. It is about living our lives in holiness to please God.
And I pray that all of us will make this our New Year’s resolution, to live in holiness to please God. And may the Lord continue to work in us through His word and His Spirit, that we would be able to live such a life in this year and beyond this year, as long as the Lord Jesus would tarry in His return. All to the glory of the almighty God.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, as we come for this prayer meeting, if there be one resolution we ought to make for this new year, it is to live in holiness to please Thee.
Ultimately, in the final analysis, it is Thee, and Thee alone, that we seek to please. Everything we have, or whatever we have done on this earth for this world, will be left behind. But how we live and what we do for Thee, things that are invested in the heavens, will last for all eternity.
So we want to live such a life to please Thee. And Thou hast taught us through these two verses that it is a command given to the Christians, for only the believers have this special relationship with Christ. And by virtue of this relationship, they are being commanded to live such a life.
And it is a command to live and please Thee. In life, everyone seeks to please somebody, and oftentimes Thou art forgotten. May Thou be gracious, be merciful to forgive us, and help us to always set our eyes on Thee, knowing that we ought to live for Thee, and to please Thee as our goal, aspiration, and pursuit in life.
And it is also a command based on Thy word. Thy word truly is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Without Thy word, we will not know what kind of life we ought to live, let alone live in holiness. And we must let Thy word, the Bible, be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. So we need to read, study, meditate, and memorise the holy scriptures, and let Thy word be applied into our lives, in our church, and in our families.
And Thou hast also reminded us that it is a command to grow and abound. Holiness is not something that we think we can achieve the end result of on this earth. It is a process of sanctification. So we need to increase and abound in our holiness.
As long as we are alive, we will never say we have arrived in our holiness. We still need to grow in holiness. So we pray that we will not be proud, but to humble ourselves and realise that there is always room for growth, progress, and improvement. And it is by Thy grace and mercy that we are able to grow and abound in holiness. So as we make this resolution, may Thou also help us to bring it to fruition, so that each and every one of us will be able to live in holiness to please Thee.
We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.