Looking at Unchastity and Immorality

(1 Thessalonians 4:2-6)

Anytime we see a scripture that says, “This is the will of God…” we ought to listen.

Such is the case today with this scripture as we are looking at unchastity and immorality. Paul is expounding the will of God concerning unchastity and the sanctity of marriage.

Given the rather loose approach the world takes with marriage and unchastity today, it is important as Christians that we listen to Paul’s words to ensure we are not caught up in the ways of the world, or accept them as being OK. Such complacency will not be tolerated by the Lord.

Looking at Unchastity and Immorality

Unchastity is a form of behaviour that is unacceptable to God. In fact it is unacceptable to many people in the world, at least in it’s worst forms. But they still accept some forms thinking they are “OK” and that they are “enlightened” rather than being bound by “old-fashioned” laws or morals.

To get an idea of what it means to be unchaste, we should look at the word it comes from, which is to be “chaste.”

The dictionary defines “chaste” as being:

• innocent of unlawful sexual intercourse
• celibacy
• pure in thought and act
• severely simple in design or execution : austere chaste classicism the pure, chaste lines of ancient Greek buildings
• clean, decent, G-rated, immaculate, modest, pure, vestal, virginal, spotless

So if you think about the opposites of all of these meanings, you will get the idea of what it means to be unchaste and why it is important that we are looking at unchastity and immorality.

Perhaps the most common usage of the word today is in the sense of sexual unchastity. There are many ways that a person can be unchaste in that regard. Fornication, adultery, sleeping around, prostitution, pornography, nudity in public places, and so on are all examples of unchastity. And these occurred in both the ancient world and today.

The Lord despises unchastity

It is evident from scriptures in the Bible, including the one today that the Lord despises unchaste behaviour.

This is what the verse today has to say.

2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity; 4 that each one of you know how to take a wife for himself in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; 6 that no man transgress, and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we solemnly forewarned you. (1 Thessalonians 4:2-6)

The Lord does not want His people to behave in an unchaste way. It was clearly an issue in the early church, as we see from Paul’s letter here, and also in his letter to the Corinthians church.

And as we continue looking at unchastity and immorality we find it is still an issue today.

The challenge we have today also is that the morality of the world has been constantly eroded and undermined such that unchastity is almost the norm.

Television and movies flaunt unchastity in it’s many forms. And we even have reality shows like “Married at First Sight” that are basically only a platform for unchastity. This is especially so in Australia. Couples do not actually get married, but only hold a sham ceremony. Effectively, the couples are living in and unchaste manner and if they are having a sexual relationship, are living in fornication. And the latest series in particular is pushing the sexual aspect of these relationships by the inclusion of a so-called “sexologist” as one of the “experts” on the show.

Oh, and by the way, just as an indication of how successful these “experts” are at creating successful matches, in it’s first eight seasons there have been seventy two couples and of those only three remain together. That’s a 95.8% failure rate. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be going to any of these experts for relationship advice given this track record!

Reject Moral Decline

But this is just another example of the declining morals in the world today.

And this was always going to happen as the end of days approaches. The devil is doing all he can to tear apart society and grind it into the mud. Decline of morals is just another aspect of his dirty work.

The Lord seeks His people to reject the immoral ways of the world, which is why Paul writes so strongly about this subject in these verses today. In many other places, we are exhorted to “reject immorality.” Immorality is a personal sin that destroys your own body.

The Lord hates immorality and despises unchastity. And in this scripture we are told that those who practice such things will be punished by the Lord. He is the avenger of all wrongs, so be sure not to fall into immorality and unchastity as you hold your faith.

If you believe you are acting in an immoral or unchaste way, then do everything you can to remedy the situation, and repent before the Lord.

If you are living together with someone in a sexual relationship outside of marriage, then take one of the following actions.

• Marry
• Separate
• Live apart without a sexual relationship until you decide to do either of the above.

When it comes to looking at unchastity and immorality, the solution to removing an unchaste relationship is marriage. But if either party cannot commit to that solution, then you should separate.

And I’m not saying it will be easy in some cases. Children may be involved. Maybe there are property issues. There may be other things to consider too.

But in the end, it is before the Lord that you will stand on Judgement Day and it is before Him you will have to make an account of your life.

So make the right decision and do what is right in the sight of God. Unchaste behaviour is not acceptable so it needs to be remedied.

And I know this is a much harder line than I normally take in these blog posts. But it is something that affects so many people today, not just outside of the church but inside it as well. Seek to get it right in your own life so you can stand with Christ.

You might also like:

The Sanctity Of Marriage
Eunuchs For The Sake Of The Kingdom Of Heaven
Marriage In The Resurrection
Divorce and Marriage
Marriage In Heaven
Till Death Us Do Part
One Spirit With Christ
Celibacy And Marriage Equality
On Marriage And Divorce
Prevention Is Better Than Cure
Husbands And Wives In Christ