But you, brethren, are not in darkness...

1 Thessalonians 5:4-28 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; ⁵ for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; ⁶ so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. ⁷ For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. ⁸ But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

Christian Conduct

¹² But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, ¹³ and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with one another. ¹⁴ We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. ¹⁶ Rejoice always; ¹⁷ pray without ceasing; ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit; ²⁰ do not despise prophetic utterances. ²¹ But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; ²² abstain from every form of evil.

²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

²⁵ Brethren, pray for us.

²⁶ Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. ²⁷ I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read to all the brethren.

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Once again it is important to remember that Paul is writing to the church, these instructions, this exhortation is for believers. This is about conduct within the church not outside with the world. We see then that the idea of conflict within the church is not something that is new to our time and culture. It existed from the beginning of the church.

Paul begins by reminding us of our redeemed, renewed condition; But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; ⁵ for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness. The church, believers, followers of Christ should not expect the world, unbelievers to live by these standards. Jesus Himself declares probably one of the most often cited verses in the Bible, John 3:16, then He goes on to explain the difference between believers and unbelievers regarding light and darkness.

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

So again believers should not expect the world to follow these standards. The world however, though they do not live by them will hold believers to these standards. The favorite critique of the world against the church is hypocrisy. The very idea that they use the standard of scripture against believers is itself hypocrisy, yet in truth they are still right because it is believers who are called to live in the light. We as believers are not subject to or accountable to the world but rather to the word. Yet we should not simply dismiss the charge of hypocrisy, but should discern whether there is any truth in their charge. God often used unbelieving nations to bring judgment  on His people. He can and will still use unbelievers for His purposes today.

Within the church Paul says we should first: “appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work.”    We are to appreciate and esteem our leaders, those who labor and minister to the body. We are not to worship them. Paul uses the term brethren frequently throughout this letter, inferring equality among believers. We should though as Paul says, appreciate and esteem those who work and serve in ministry, not criticizing and challenging them but rather supporting and encouraging them in our words, actions and prayers.

The next exhortation is one we have a great deal of difficulty with. . Live in peace with one another.  We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly…   We have a hard time separating discipline and dislike. We are to peacefully admonish unruly behavior. It begins with following Jesus instruction in Matthew 7:3-5       Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.       Our ability to peacefully admonish another believer continues then with a heart toward restoration. Galatians 6:1 says: Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.       We begin and end in a way that recognizes our own ability to fall and require correction.

To live at peace also requires that we; be patient with everyone.  See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. Surly that is easier said than done, but it is the standard we are called to. Paul continues to say we should;  Rejoice always;  pray without ceasing;  in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. A heart centered in rejoicing and giving thanks is the best defense we have against falling and failing in negative behaviors.

In Galatians 5, Paul also contrasts the natural behavior of the world with the expected standard of believers. Galatians 5:19-26       the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, ²¹ envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

Our lives are somewhat like a garden, the deeds of the flesh are like weeds. They will grow naturally, without any help. They will overtake everything else that is planted there. Fruit on the other hand, the fruit of the Spirit, must be nurtured and grown. It takes effort to first of all distinguish the fruit among the natural growth.  In today’s text Paul says:  Do not quench the Spirit. In Galatians he says:  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

We cannot uphold the standards and the high calling of Christ in the flesh. We need the Holy Spirit, God’s Spirit in us, believers. That’s the real difference between us as believers and the world. Through the blood and the cross of Christ we have been redeemed and we have the Spirit of God in us and with us.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit thank You that You have called me out of the darkness and into the light. Enable and empower me to live and walk by the Spirit. That I might live my life not as one judged as a hypocrite but rather that I would as Jesus says: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.  Amen.