1 Thessalonians 4:3-8

In 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, Paul writes:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 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.

Paul's call to sexual purity is earnest. In his commentary on sexual sin, New Testament scholar writes:

The man who carries on an act of impurity is not simply breaking a human code, nor even sinning against the God who at some time in the past gave him the gift of the Spirit. He is sinning against the God who is present at that moment, against the One who continually gives the Spirit. The impure act is an act of spite against God's good gift at the very moment it is being proffered....This sin is seen in its true light only when it is seen as a preference for impurity rather than a Spirit who is holy.