RD35

Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit and when we sin in our body we defile the temple of God. Sexual immorality is a sin like others and there fore failure to control our selves in this area also results in severe punishments. Punishment for all sins is severe. Christians should take these warning seriously as Paul is teaching this with the authority of Jesus Christ.

Are humans actually capable of controlling their sexual urges? Yes, humans are capable of controlling their sexual urges. When we are rooted in God’s word & prayer, God will always give us strength to overcome temptations. Self Control is one of the gifts of the Holy Sprit and it is given to all that ask God for it. If so, why are so many people seemingly out of control? We live in a fallen world where everything seems to be right. People enjoy pleasure and do not think of **** as a sin. People do not know the word of God and are misled. Why is it important to control ourselves sexually within marriage? Marriage is God’s design for a man and woman to remain united and is the basis of a family. It is important to control ourselves sexually because God has asked us to do so and we are committed to our partners through marriage. What happens when sexuality does not have any boundaries? We sin and we get away from god. Our families break up and as a result we suffer. This can also lead to diseases. What happens to marriages, to children, to our spirits, to our bodies? Marriages break when one of the partners cheats on his spouse. As a result little children suffer pain and they never have a good childhood. Such children themselves will never be able to build good families and the society at large also will suffer.

What does it mean to be "sanctified"? To be sanctified means to be set apart for God, to be dedicated to God, to be different from the world and to be used for God’s purposes. To be away from sin, too leave our old ways and become more pure, holy and blameless for God. In what sense are we "holy" now? We are Holy now because God is Holy and He is dwelling in us. Christ has dies for our sins and we have been justified and made holy. In what sense are we in the process of becoming "holy"? Day by day we are growing in Christ and His word cleanses us and teaches us the right paths, and so this is the process which makes us Holy. What does holiness have to do with our sexuality? To keep ourselves Holy we have to avoid all sins including sexual immortality. We have to live a life pleasing god and so have to control our bodies and mind so that they do not get carried away by false attractions.

What is the difference between (1) conducting our lives by rules and (2) conducting our lives trying to please our God? When we have to conduct our lives by rules, we do by force and with fear of punishment. Conducting our lives trying to please God we do voluntarily with love with the only objective of getting to know God more and have a deeper relationship with Him. Which is stronger? Rule-keeping or love? Love is stronger On whose authority does Paul bring these commands? Paul brings these commands in the authority of God.

Good Fathers help children have the right goals and help them all the way to reach their goals. All along they encourage and provide for the child to bring out the best in them. In a good father a child can always see the love of the heavenly father and the child always have the confidence that a good father will always be there for them. That is why believers should have these qualities to making disciples and leading them to God. Everyone including females can effectively adopt these qualities by prayer and when filled with the Holy Spirit.

1. It is important that we show motherly qualities to growing disciples or new Christians because that is how we can encourage them to move forward in the love of God and accept the truth of Jesus Christ. New Believers are like small children and can be influenced by anyone and easily tempted by the devil to go away from the right choice they have made that is to follow God. Mothers love is unconditional and a mother is patient with a child, correcting each time the child makes a mistakes. A mother can always win the heart of a child and make it go in the right path, and so it is important that disciples develop motherly qualities. 2. Everyone including males can effectively adopt these qualities by prayer and when filled with the Holy Spirit.

All of the mentioned flaws are seen in the church at some point or the other. This does not let the church go ahead or prosper. I must be always alert in prayer and rooted in the word of God if I want none of these flaws to overtake me.

Personal courage is important for a disciple and a discipler because it is not easy to preach the gospel. One needs to be bold because the teachings of the bible are against the teachings of this world and opposite to what people want to listen. So when one tries to preach the Word of God there may be oppositions and persecutions so personal courage is important. Generally every one loves to be loved and accepted, but Jesus has clearly told that you will be hated for my sake and one needs courage to stand for Jesus, accept rejection and hate from the world when you stand for Jesus. If anyone lacks courage then he/she will not be able to boldly tell the truths in the word of God. Fear of opposition and rejection will make a disciple shy away from preaching the good news and thus evangelism cannot continue. In a congregation people need courage to tell the truth to another believer when he is wrong and also courage is needed to accept corrections from fellow members when we are going contrary to God’s word. If believers lack this courage then any congregation will not be healthy. God is asking me to live a life pleasing to Him and not go about pleasing people which requires courage. He is asking me to spread his good news fearlessly.

Verse 10 teaches us that Jesus is the Son God and we can reach God only through jesus. Jesus Christ is returning soon. Jesus has been raised from the dead and that Jesus Christ is our saviour and died for us so that we may be saved and rescued from punishment. Every truth in Verse 10 is equally important. The return of Jesus is underemphasized by the church.

It is very important for a new Christian to imitate Christ or a leader who has a Christ like character because a new believer can be compared to a baby who knows nothing but just learning everything from the first person it gets close too. Ministries who leaders are imitating Christ and preaching selflessly about God with the only ambition of salvation of mankind are conducive for imitation. The leaders of any ministry must speak the truth in love and lead a life of love, teaching to all kinds of people without favoritism. The leader leads, and so his character becomes important because where the leader leads there his church will follow. When we are not a part of a community of believers then we become isolated. Fellowship is important part of chrisitian growth as from on another we receive and are able to give encouragement, love , prayer, accountability and the word of God. We can share our spiritual gifts to build up God’s Church. When we are not in fellowship the devil finds it easy to enter our lives with doubts and temptations and since we do not have anyone to lift us up with prayer and the word, our lives can be easily destructed by the devil. I have small children in my family my husband who is newly learning about Christ and salvation, and being a mother I do a lot of spiritual teaching. Naturally my family looks up to my character as a role model and when I do not live a life imitating Christ there is a danger of me leading my family into destruction.

Holy Spirit is God himself and he with his intervention and power only are we able to touch the hearts of people with the truth. The Holy Spirit convicts man of His Sin and draws him close to God. Holy Spirit teaches us the divine things we fail to understand with our own reasoning. If will power is the main power behind our ministry then our ministry will fail to please God, it will be just another religion. People will start following man instead of God and when the man they are following fails they loose faith in religion and become depressed. Miracles increased the faith of people and proved that what Paul was teaching was right. Our faith increases too. Our unbelief / Sin

The strong opposition to Paul's ministry in Thessalonian was because a large number of people who were both Jews and non Jews converted to Christianity and followed Paul and Silas. This resulted in decreasing of both numerical and financial strength to the Jewish synagogue and hence jealousy and hatred arose. Paul was also teaching them that their lives were wrong and needed correction if they wanted to be saved which they did not like. They thought Paul was trying to introduce a new religion to them. Paul keeps preaching the gospel even though there is often a violent reaction against him because, He was commissioned by the Lord Jesus to preach the Good news of salvation and he would do that at any cost. Paul was filled with God’s Holy Spirit and he wanted to share the joy which he got through Jesus to others also. No. A violent reaction to our ministry does not mean we should stop. Whether people like the truth or not we have been told by Jesus to spread his good news and we have to do it fearlessly but when the opposition is too strong we have to pray about it and God will give us the wisdom to do it differently.