1 Thessalonians ~ The Exhortations to the Thessalonians (4:1;5:22) ~ The Concluding Prayer, Greetings and Benediction

1 Thessalonians 4 NLT

1 Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to live in a way that pleases God, as we have taught you. You live this way already, and we encourage you to do so even more. 

2 For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 

3God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. 

4 Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— 

5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. 

6 Never harm or cheat a fellow believer in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. 

7 God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. 

8 Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. 

9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 

10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. 

11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 

12 Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others. 

13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 

15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 

16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 

17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 

18 So encourage each other with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5 NLT

1 Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. 

2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 

3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape. 

4 But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. 

5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. 

6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 

7 Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. 

8 But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. 

9 For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 

10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. 

11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 

12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 

13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other. 

14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 

15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 

16Always be joyful. 

17 Never stop praying. 

18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 

19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 

20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 

21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 

22 Stay away from every kind of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 

24 God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful. 

25Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. 

26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a sacred kiss. 

27 I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. 

28 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.