Holiness: For the Will of God Is Your Sanctification – 1 Thessalonians 4:3 [Annotated, Updated]

by J.C. Ryle

Count up and compare the pleasures of sin and the happiness of God’s service if you are a true-hearted and holy Christian. The pleasures that the worldly man gets by his ways are hollow, unreal, and unsatisfying. They are like the fire of thorns, flashing and crackling for a few minutes and then quenched forever. The happiness that Christ gives to His people is something solid, lasting, and substantial. It does not depend upon health or circumstances. It never leaves anyone, even in death. It ends in an incorruptible crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4). It is written, The joy of the hypocrite [is] but for a moment (Job 20:5), and The laughter of the fool is as the crackling of thorns under a pot (Ecclesiastes 7:6). However, it is also written, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you.