Sanctification
Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, October 11, 2026.
Sermon text: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
1.) You're never sanctified "enough". V.1
Sanctification is the life-long process of God conforming you to the image of Jesus.
The goal is not just to be the best version of you. The goal is to be conformed to the image of Jesus.
v.3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification."
If you are asking, "What is God's will for my life?", now you know.
Stockdale Paradox...
The story: Admiral James Stockdale was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer held at the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War. He was a prisoner from 1965 to 1973, and he was tortured more than 20 times. Collins interviewed him and asked who didn’t make it out. Stockdale said it was easy: the optimists. They were the ones who said, “We’re going to be out by Christmas.” Christmas would come and go. Then they’d say Easter, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas again, and Stockdale said they eventually “died of a broken heart.”
Stockdale summed up the lesson this way: you must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end, which you can never afford to lose, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality. He also said he never doubted he would get out, and that he would turn the experience into the defining event of his life. 2 Things: Unwavering faith in the outcome. Brutal honesty about the present current reality.
At the heart of this is really Stoicism... for those in Christ, hope should be even higher! We are actually in a worse state than him because of our sin, and because our hope is in Jesus, we can be even more brutally honest about our current reality of sin while laying hold of the greater reality that “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world” AND “The good work that God began in us, He is faithful to bring it to completion.”
You will be conformed to the image of Jesus until you meet Jesus.
2.) Sanctification comes with instructions. V. 2-6
Abstain from Sexual Immorality
The Greek culture of Paul’s day openly celebrated immorality and could be characterized as highly sensual. Since the apostle writes from Corinth, he would have daily, explicit reminders of the reigning debauchery, not only from daily life in the city, but also from the over 1500 feet-above-sea level Acro-Corinth, a sanctuary devoted to Aphrodite the love goddess, which housed over 1,000 male and female courtesans who fronted as religious servants of the temple. While Thessalonica did not have the sexual reputation of Corinth, it was a major seaport and trade center, which attracted lewd practices. Therefore, it is not surprising that Paul begins with a call to pursue purity. Richard Mayhue, 1 & 2 Thessalonians: Triumphs and Trials of a Consecrated Church, Focus on the Bible Commentary (Fearn: Christian Focus Publications, 1999), 112.
Control your own body in holiness and honor (made possible by God)
Not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God
Do not wrong your brother in this matter (The Lord is an avenger)
3.) The same Gospel that saves your life shapes your life. V. 7-8
Disregarding holiness is disregarding God.
God gives you his Holy Spirit
Remember Paul’s question from Romans 7... “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?!” The ANSWER: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Read Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified. And those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Discipleship Questions:
Sermon text: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
1.) You're never sanctified "enough". V.1
Sanctification is the life-long process of God conforming you to the image of Jesus.
The goal is not just to be the best version of you. The goal is to be conformed to the image of Jesus.
v.3 "For this is the will of God, your sanctification."
If you are asking, "What is God's will for my life?", now you know.
Stockdale Paradox...
The story: Admiral James Stockdale was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer held at the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War. He was a prisoner from 1965 to 1973, and he was tortured more than 20 times. Collins interviewed him and asked who didn’t make it out. Stockdale said it was easy: the optimists. They were the ones who said, “We’re going to be out by Christmas.” Christmas would come and go. Then they’d say Easter, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas again, and Stockdale said they eventually “died of a broken heart.”
Stockdale summed up the lesson this way: you must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end, which you can never afford to lose, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality. He also said he never doubted he would get out, and that he would turn the experience into the defining event of his life. 2 Things: Unwavering faith in the outcome. Brutal honesty about the present current reality.
At the heart of this is really Stoicism... for those in Christ, hope should be even higher! We are actually in a worse state than him because of our sin, and because our hope is in Jesus, we can be even more brutally honest about our current reality of sin while laying hold of the greater reality that “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world” AND “The good work that God began in us, He is faithful to bring it to completion.”
You will be conformed to the image of Jesus until you meet Jesus.
2.) Sanctification comes with instructions. V. 2-6
Abstain from Sexual Immorality
The Greek culture of Paul’s day openly celebrated immorality and could be characterized as highly sensual. Since the apostle writes from Corinth, he would have daily, explicit reminders of the reigning debauchery, not only from daily life in the city, but also from the over 1500 feet-above-sea level Acro-Corinth, a sanctuary devoted to Aphrodite the love goddess, which housed over 1,000 male and female courtesans who fronted as religious servants of the temple. While Thessalonica did not have the sexual reputation of Corinth, it was a major seaport and trade center, which attracted lewd practices. Therefore, it is not surprising that Paul begins with a call to pursue purity. Richard Mayhue, 1 & 2 Thessalonians: Triumphs and Trials of a Consecrated Church, Focus on the Bible Commentary (Fearn: Christian Focus Publications, 1999), 112.
Control your own body in holiness and honor (made possible by God)
Not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God
Do not wrong your brother in this matter (The Lord is an avenger)
3.) The same Gospel that saves your life shapes your life. V. 7-8
Disregarding holiness is disregarding God.
God gives you his Holy Spirit
Remember Paul’s question from Romans 7... “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?!” The ANSWER: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Read Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified. And those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Discipleship Questions:
- In your own words, what does it mean that “You are never sanctified “enough”?
- What truth from this week’s text can you lay hold of in your struggle against sin?
- What does the Stockdale Paradox teach us about Sanctification?
- What are some of the instructions that sanctification comes with? Which is the hardest
- How is the Gospel that saved your life CURRENTLY shaping your life?
- Encourage others in your group by specifically stating how you have seen God conform them to the image of Jesus. TAKE. YOUR. TIME.
Recent
Archive
2026
March
May
2025
August
September
November