that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

1 Thessalonians 4:6-8

Years ago I listened to a friend relate the story of how a fairly well-known professing Christian businessman made a distinction between his church life and his business dealings. My friend challenged a particular aspect of an agreement as being questionable and the businessman responded, “business is business” to justify his actions.

As followers of Christ, we can’t afford to compartmentalize our lives. Whether it is in sexuality, in business, or in dealing with our neighbors, our ethics must not be situational. And so when Paul speaks about wronging a brother in the LORD, he is speaking of recognizing that there are no boundaries in our faith. We are to treat others fairly.

What if we refuse? As Moses wrote to the people of Israel, “be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 23:32). Israel failed to carry out the LORD’s commands and they paid a price with conflict in their land from the beginning until today.

We are called to live in a counter-cultural way, no matter where we live in the world because “God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.”

As we considered yesterday, sexual purity is part of what God commands for us, but God’s call to holiness is much broader and should be growing in our lives as we move forward in our faith.