The Call to Sanctification
1 Finally then, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you must walk and please God — as you are doing— do so even more.
2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 For this is God’s will,your sanctification:that you abstainfrom sexual immorality,
4 so that each of you knows how to control his own bodyin sanctification and honor,
5 not with lustful desires,like the Gentiles who don’t know God.
6 This means one must not transgress against and defraudhis brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger of all these offenses,as we also previously told and warned you.
7 For God has not called us to impuritybut to sanctification.
8 Therefore, the person who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who also gives you His Holy Spirit.
Loving and Working
9 About brotherly love: You don’t need me to write you because you yourselves are taught by Godto love one another.
10 In fact, you are doing this toward all the brothers in the entire region of Macedonia.But we encourage you, brothers, to do so even more,
11 to seek to lead a quiet life,to mind your own business,and to workwith your own hands, as we commanded you,
12 so that you may walk properlyin the presence of outsidersand not be dependent on anyone.
The Comfort of Christ’s Coming
13 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, concerning those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
14 Since we believe that Jesus died and roseagain,in the same way God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep throughJesus.
15 For we say this to you by a revelation from the Lord:We who are still alive at the Lord’s comingwill certainly have no advantage overthose who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,with the archangel’svoice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christwill rise first.
17 Thenwe who are still alive will be caught up together with them in the cloudsto meet the Lord in the air and so we will always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore encourageone another with these words.
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/1TH/4-aff000e53362afea6e05733acdfde5f9.mp3?version_id=72—