Be sanctified
A third clear teaching in God ’s Word about His will concerns our sanctification , or in simpler and more useful terms, our purity and holiness. While writing to the Christians at Thessalonica , Paul said: “For this is the will of God , your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality ; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God” ( 1 Thess. 4:3–5). Purity and holiness are often uncomfortable terms for Christians. They sound so self-righteous and sanctimonious. Actually, purity and holiness are two crucial parts of practical Christian living. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 4, you can find several principles for purity. The first one is plain enough: “Avoid sexual immorality.” Stay away from sexual sins. Did Paul mean sex was evil? Of course not. Sex is a beautiful, glorious human relationship—within marriage. But sexual immorality (“fornication” in some ver