5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God;
5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
5 not abusing it, as is so common among those who know nothing of God.
5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
5 not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:5
Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
(Read 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8)
To abide in the faith of the gospel is not enough, we must abound in the work of faith. The rule according to which all ought to walk and act, is the commandments given by the Lord Jesus Christ. Sanctification, in the renewal of their souls under the influences of the Holy Spirit, and attention to appointed duties, constituted the will of God respecting them. In aspiring after this renewal of the soul unto holiness, strict restraint must be put upon the appetites and senses of the body, and on the thoughts and inclinations of the will, which lead to wrong uses of them. The Lord calls none into his family to live unholy lives, but that they may be taught and enabled to walk before him in holiness. Some make light of the precepts of holiness, because they hear them from men; but they are God's commands, and to break them is to despise God.