What happensPermalink
Paul urges the Thessalonians not to grow stagnant but to continue in sanctification, because it is God’s will. As former pagans, they must especially pursue sexual purity and master self-control, avoiding sin against fellow believers. God has called them to holiness, and to reject this teaching is to reject God. Paul addresses a concern about the fate of believers who have died. He reassures them, by a word from the Lord, that the dead in Christ will rise first when Jesus returns.
Why it mattersPermalink
Holiness and love are essential marks of a life pleasing to God. Paul’s teaching about the second coming offers assurance: death does not exclude anyone from the joy and glory of Jesus’s return.
Key versePermalink
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.