May 13, 2026
In the first two posts in this series, we considered an important truth that many Christians struggle to grasp: God’s will is not a hidden code that must be cracked. God has revealed His will clearly in His Word. We do not have to chase mystical impressions, signs, or inner voices in order to know what God desires from us. Scripture is sufficient to guide the Christian life.
But that raises another question. What about all the practical decisions we face every day? Where should I go to college? What career path should I choose? Whom should I marry? Should we move? Should I take this job? Should we buy this house?
I remember as a young believer being almost paralyzed by the fear of somehow missing God’s will for my life. What if I chose the wrong school? The wrong career? The wrong path? I assumed that God’s will was hidden somewhere out there, and that one wrong decision might permanently derail my life. Many Christians live with that same anxiety. But Scripture presents God’s will very differently. God is not trying to hide His will from His children. He has revealed it clearly in His Word.
These are real questions, and they matter. Yet many Christians become anxious because the Bible does not specifically tell us which college to attend or which house to purchase. Because of that, many assume that God’s will must be hidden somewhere “out there,” waiting to be discovered through feelings, circumstances, or signs.
However, the New Testament consistently directs our attention somewhere else. Rather than focusing primarily on discovering a “secret plan,” Scripture emphasizes becoming a certain kind of person. God is far more concerned with our holiness than with our ability to decode every future detail of our lives.
Perhaps nowhere is this clearer than in 1 Thessalonians 4:3:
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” (ESV)
It honestly does not get much clearer than that. Paul doesn’t leave Christians wondering what God’s will is for their lives. He tells us plainly: God’s will is our sanctification. God desires His people to grow in holiness.
To understand the force of this statement, we need to remember the context of Thessalonica. In Acts 17, Paul and Silas came preaching the gospel in this city. Many people believed, and a church was established. But persecution erupted almost immediately. The opposition became so severe that Paul and Silas were forced to flee the city. This young church was now trying to live faithfully to Christ in a hostile and morally corrupt culture.
That context sounds familiar, does it not? The Thessalonian believers lived in a world saturated with sexual immorality, pagan worship, greed, and self-indulgence, just like ours. Yet Paul does not tell them to retreat from the culture in fear. Instead, he calls them to holiness within the culture.
The word “sanctification” simply means “to be set apart.” Christians are those whom God has set apart for Himself. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, believers have already been made positionally holy before God, which we call ‘justification’. In Christ, we are already saints. We are forgiven, cleansed, and declared righteous because of what Christ has done for us.
But now Paul says our practical lives should increasingly reflect what we already are in Christ. This is very important to Christian living. Sanctification is not about earning God’s favor. It is the result of already having received God’s favor in Christ by grace alone through faith alone. Because we belong to Him, we are now called to live differently.
In fact, before Paul ever mentions sexual purity, he frames the entire discussion around pleasing God. In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Paul exhorts believers to “walk and to please God.” That is the overarching goal of the Christian life. The believer who has been justified by faith in Christ now desires to live in a way that honors the God who saved him. Holiness is not cold legalism. It is the grateful pursuit of pleasing our Father.
So what does a sanctified life actually look like?
First, Paul says God’s will involves sexual purity. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). The ancient world of Thessalonica normalized sexual immorality in much the same way modern culture does today. Sexual promiscuity was woven into entertainment, religion, and everyday life. The worship of pagan gods like Aphrodite and Dionysus often included immoral practices. Yet Paul says Christians are to be distinct from the world around them.
God’s will for His people is purity. This applies not only to our physical actions, but also to what we consume with our eyes, minds, and hearts. What we watch, laugh at, celebrate, or enjoy as entertainment matters. It is contradictory for someone to pray, “Lord, show me Your will,” while also knowingly and willingly pursuing impurity and immorality.
Paul’s point is simple: flee sexual sin. Pursue holiness. This is the will of God for your life, Christian!
Second, God’s will involves self-control. Paul says believers are to “know how to control [their] own body in holiness and honor” (1 Thessalonians 4:4). The Christian life is not to be ruled by sinful passions and impulses. Unbelievers live according to the desires of the flesh, but believers are called to walk by the Spirit. As Galatians 5:22-23 reminds us, self-control is part of the “fruit of the Spirit.”
This principle applies broadly across life. Decisions should not merely be evaluated by whether they are permissible, but whether they promote holiness and godliness. Will this relationship encourage godliness? Will this decision place me in unnecessary temptation? Will this environment help me pursue Christ or draw me away from Him?
Those are far better questions than simply asking, “What do I want?” Or “Does God allow this?”
Third, God’s will involves loving and treating others rightly. Paul says, “that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter” (1 Thessalonians 4:6). The word “wrong” carries the idea of exploiting or taking advantage of another person. Sin is fundamentally selfish. Whether through sexual sin, manipulation, dishonesty, or greed, sinful people use others to gratify themselves.
But Christians are called to something radically different. Paul continues in 1 Thessalonians 4:9 by emphasizing “brotherly love.” Those who have received the love of Christ are now called to reflect that love toward others. God’s will is not merely that we avoid obvious sins, but that we actively pursue love, integrity, and service toward our neighbor.
Fourth, God’s will involves faithful and diligent work. Paul instructs the Thessalonians “to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands” (1 Thessalonians 4:11). Some believers in Thessalonica apparently became restless because they expected Christ’s return at any moment. Rather than working faithfully, they had become idle and disorderly. Paul corrects this thinking immediately.
There is no divide between spirituality and ordinary faithfulness. To work diligently, provide for one’s family, live responsibly, and serve quietly are deeply spiritual acts. Sometimes Christians become so obsessed with finding the “perfect” job or discovering God’s hidden plan for the future that they neglect faithfulness in the present, right now. But God’s will is not mysterious here. Work hard. Be faithful. Live honorably. Glorify God where He has placed you today. Whatever job He may have you in at this point. Your calling is just to be faithful and godly.
When you put all of this together, the picture becomes wonderfully clear. God’s will is not primarily about uncovering hidden information about the future. God’s will is your sanctification. He desires for His people to grow in holiness, purity, self-control, love, integrity, and faithfulness.
So perhaps the better question is not, “What hidden plan is God trying to reveal to me?” but rather, “Am I pursuing holiness in the decisions before me today?” Christian, God’s will is not hidden from you. He has revealed it clearly in His Word. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.”
The article title reads, “Meet Wally the Emotional Support Alligator.” Yes, an emotional support alligator. The story explains that a Pennsylvania man lives with two alligators, one of whom is a registered emotional support animal named Wally. Wally follows him around the house, enjoys being petted, makes nests out of blankets, and even lounges on the couch and bed. The owner insists Wally has never bitten anyone, while also warning that alligators do not make good house pets because they are still wild animals.
Every parent knows the battle of getting kids to wash their hands before dinner. We fight over germs and hygiene because we know what happens when we ignore them. But Jesus warns us about a far more dangerous kind of contamination, one we cannot fix with soap and hot water. Mark 7 records a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees that uncovers a deeply uncomfortable reality about all of us. The issue was not dirty hands at the dinner table, but dirty hearts before a holy God.
We are slowly working our way through Romans 8, a chapter that has often been called the greatest chapter in the greatest letter ever written. Last time we considered Romans 8:1–2 and saw two great truths of the Christian life: in Christ there is no condemnation, and by the Spirit there is real freedom from the power of sin.
Today I begin a new series of blog posts “trekking” our way through Romans 8, a chapter that many have called “the greatest chapter in the Bible.” I just spent some time hiking through the Himalayan Mountains. You might say that the letter to the Romans is the Mount Everest of Scripture, and Romans 8 is the summit. Here, in just 39 verses, Paul gathers up the great themes of the gospel and shows us what it means to belong to Christ, to live by the Spirit, and to rest in the unshakable love of God.