But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22-23)
Today we examine the ninth quality of the fruit of the Spirit, and for many of us, one of the most difficult to produce: self-control. Our sinful nature tempts us to indulge ourselves and the many appetites of our flesh, while the call to righteousness requires us to maintain self-control. Let’s face it - self-control is not encouraged in our society. We are always being told that we need more - more food, better clothes, fancier gadgets and cars, more of everything. Self-indulgence seems to be the mantra, but unfortunately, lack of self-control kills self-respect, friendships, marriages, careers and ministries.
Thankfully, God makes self-control available and attainable - through His Holy Spirit! Beth Moore (Living Beyond Yourself) has an interesting take on why self-control is included last in the fruit of the Spirit: “How appropriate that the list of qualities began with love and ends with self-control. Love keeps us afloat, and self-control keeps us anchored. Love lends us liberality, and self-control provides the boundaries within which love can be unleashed.”
The Greek word for “self-control” is egkrateia, which means “continence, temperance, self-control.” It denotes “restraining passions and appetites” (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Galatians). It is the opposite of the Greek word akrasia, which means “excess, self-indulgence.”
There is never a convenient or comfortable time to consider the issue of self-control. But let’s look at how Scripture addresses this issue, biblical examples of self-control and self-indulgence, and the benefit of living a self-controlled life.
Mastering Self So the Enemy Doesn’t
There is an interesting story in Acts 24 about the Roman governor Felix. He and his wife (a Jewish woman named Drusilla) send for Paul to listen to him speak about Christ. Acts 24:25 tells us that “as Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said ‘That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it is convenient, I will send for you.‘” Felix didn’t want to be lectured about self-control, and yet the four words he uttered (”that’s enough for now”), while intended to dissuade talk of self-control, are actually a good working definition of self-mastery. 1 Corinthians 6:12 defines self-control this way: “‘Everything is permissible for me’ — but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is permissible for me’ — but I will not be mastered by anything.”
The Greek word for “mastered” is exousiazo means “to be ruled by or be under the power of, to be in bondage to.” Its root word is exousia, “authority, right and power.” In essence, the key to self-control is to refuse to allow our enemies (the flesh, the world, or Satan) to rule or hold us captive in any way. For believers, Christ has given us victory over our enemies — only we can re-extend authority to them. “They cannot presume authority over us. In the life of a believer, they can rule only where they are invited” (Moore). A lack of self-control makes us vulnerable to our enemies: “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control” (Prov. 25:28). Again, Moore puts it this way: “Any out-of-control area in our lives, no matter how big or how small, is an open invitation to the enemy.”
Do you have any broken walls in your life? The good news is that broken walls can be rebuilt! Just like Nehemiah advanced the vision of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, so we can allow the Holy Spirit to rebuild those defenses against the enemy. Isaiah 58:12 praises God for His restorative ability: “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets and Dwellings.” I don’t know about you, but I am greatly comforted by knowing that God can take the broken areas of my life — those places where I have given the enemy access — and rebuild them.
Biblical Examples of Self-Indulgence and Self-Control
The Bible gives examples of individuals who are both self-indulgent and self-controlled, and we can learn from each. Reading the story of Samson, we see how a man with a special call on his life ignored his vow and ultimately brought destruction upon himself through his indulgence. Samson was set aside as a Nazarite - this means that he was to abstain from wine and the fruit of the vine, refrain from cutting his hair, and avoid going near a dead body (Num. 6:1-20). Essentially, the Nazarite vow was a vow of self-control, restraint, and extreme personal discipline. God ordained this vow for Samson for the length of his life.
Unfortunately, Samson exhibits some self-indulgent tendencies that demonstrate a total disrespect for the sacred and an inappropriate sense of humor. In Judges 14:1-20, Samson kills a lion, and after a period away, he returns to look at the lion and finds that its carcass contains a swarm of bees and honey. Rather than adhering to the Nazarite vow to refrain from approaching a dead body, Samson helps himself to honey straight from the carcass. Not only does he disregard his consecration by touching a dead animal, he disprects his parents by giving them some to eat without revealing the source. In so doing, he causes them to sin. Samson also had a weakness for women which resulted in a fatal attraction. His indulgence for the pleasures of the flesh, accompanied by his love of practical jokes, ultimately led to his demise. In the story of his relationship with Delilah (Judges 16:1-31) we see the mighty Samson brought low by a woman. But in reality, it was less her seduction and more his lack of self-control that gave him over to captivity and death.
There are a couple of conclusions we can draw. First, self-indulgence robs us of sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. When we “fill” ourselves with things that are “permissible” but not particularly “beneficial,” we leave little room for Him. Similarly, self-indulgence saps us of much-needed strength. Samson’s strength was not in his hair, but was created by the Holy Spirit who came upon him. When he ignored his consecration and indulged his flesh, his strength left him. Beth Moore says this of self-indulgence: “[it] is absolutely insatiable. Lives given over to the passions of the flesh are never satisfied, and those who thirst for the perverse are never quenched. Self-indulgence is a never-ending cycle.”
Unlike Samson, Daniel exhibits incredible self-control. From Daniel 1:1-21, we see that Daniel, along with Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, were among Israelites selected to be trained for the king’s service. As part of their training, they were to be given a daily amount of choice food and wine from the king’s own table. However, “Daniel resolved not to defile himself” with the food and wine, asking that he and the other three be given nothing but vegetables and water for ten days. At the conclusion of the ten days, they were found to be healthier and better nourished than the others who had consumed the choice food and wine. As a result, the guard employed their diet for the rest of the men.
We also see Daniel exercise self-control when the king’s administrators and satraps convinced King Darius to require residents of his kingdom to pray to the king along (Daniel 6:1-28). Daniel not only refuses to acquiese, he continues to worship God openly and is subsequently arrested and thrown into the lion’s den. God honors Daniel’s decision and courage by closing the mouths of lions and delivering him from certain death. God is ultimately glorified, and King Darius issues an edict requiring the people to worship the God of Daniel.
In both cases, Daniel could have indulged the desires of the flesh and made life easier for himself by pleasing men instead of seeking to live righteously. However, he exercised self-control and continued to live a sanctified life. From Daniel, we learn that physical discipline and spiritual discipline often go hand in hand. In addition, by preparing for a crisis in advance through prayer, self-control is more natural in difficult times. We also learn that “self-control enchances effectiveness” while “self-indulgence limits effectiveness” (Moore). And last but not least, when we exercise self-control for God’s sake, we invite God’s blessing.
The book of Ecclesiastes shows how Solomon struggled with ascertaining the meaning of life and affirms that self-indulgence, while providing short-term enjoyment, ultimately leaves us unsatisifed and still searching. Self-control, given by the Holy Spirit and exercised with His assistance, actually frees us to enjoy life by preventing us from being held captive by others.
Exercising Self-Control
We would be remiss to end an examination of the fruit of self-control without looking at a few verses which show how self-control is to be lived out. The first stop is the mind - there isn’t a sin or area of captivity that isn’t birthed, at least somehow, in the mind. 2 Corinthians 10:5 offers this instruction: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Half the battle in mastering ourselves and controlling our fleshly appetites is taking our thoughts captive to Christ.
How do we take thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ? I won’t pretend to have that figured out, but I do know that the Bible presents some good guidelines. Psalm 101:2-3 says “I will be careful to lead a blameless life–when will you come to me? I will walk in my house with a blameless heart. I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.” Sometimes the step we need to take toward taking our thoughts captive to Christ is to guard our eyes! This may mean refraining from watching or reading certain things. It may also mean changing our patterns and behaviors by refraining from spending time with people whose lifestyles tempt us to self-indulgence. Exercising self-control over our minds may be as simple as removing things which do not comport with the character of Christ.
The flip side to cutting off things that conjure thoughts or actions contrary to righteousness is to think on things which are Christ-like. To that end, Philippians 4:8 gives good instruction: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.” Often the best solution for taking thoughts captive to Christ is to focus on good and godly things. When we do this, we are exercising self-control and being “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s]” (Rom. 12:2).
Another prime area for practicing self-control is learning how to control our tongues. The Bible has a lot to say about this. In his epistle, James strongly warns about the need to tame the tongue, likening it to a fire (James 3:1-12). This is a great comparison — like a fire that sustains life, the tongue can be life-affirming. Like a raging fire that destroys all in its path, so a tongue can wreak destruction when it is untamed. Only the “perfect” man is “never at fault in what he says” (3:2). James stresses that “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing, and brothers, this should not be” (3:9-10).
Ephesians 4:29 provides a standard for the words we speak to others: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” This is a high standard, but those who are filled with the Holy Spirit can tame their tongues and attain it. Even when we may have the “right” to speak harshly, we can exercise self-control in our choice of words. By choosing not to gossip or judge or speak out of anger, we are mastering ourselves and denying the enemy an opportunity to use our words to destroy.
Challenge
When it come down to it, sin is incredibly self-motivated and selfishness (self-indulgence) is at its root. We all fight every day to exercise self-control, whether it be over our tongues, our physical or sexual appetites, or our thoughts. As humans, we are tempted to gratify our desires. But in the life of a disciple, self-control and self-denial are paramount.
If there are areas where you are struggling with self-control, reach out to someone you trust (a friend, a family member, pastor, zone/team leader) and ask them to hold you accountable and to partner with you in prayer. If there are additional support or counseling services you need, there are great resources to help you. This site contains some of them, and your zone leader or team leader can also help point you in the right direction. Remember, it is never too late to restore broken walls and to learn to exercise self-control. It will be a lifelong battle, but the victory is ours in Christ through His blessed Holy Spirit.
And the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
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April 9th, 2008