In Galatians 5:22-23Paul enumerates the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and in this list of spiritual virtues, he mentions, among others, the virtue of the gift of own domain. I would say that self-control is the most necessary gift if you want to live a successful Christian life.
If you want to be successful as a Christian, in other words, live a Christian life, bear fruit, and just feel like you are living that life successfully, you absolutely need to cultivate the virtue of self control.
Divorce courts, hospitals and jails are full of people who failed at one thing in their life and that was to control themselves.
They just never learned to control themselves. Not just one part of the body, the whole body. Now the problem that we have with this particular gift, the gift of self-control, is that if we just wait for it to happen, it won’t happen.
Babies are not born with self-control. Anyone who has had a baby knows what I’m talking about. Self-control, like other things mentioned in this verse, are attributes that need to be developed or cultivated in our character with the help and strength of the Holy Spirit.
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What is self-control according to the Bible?
Self-control, according to Galatians 5:23, is the product of having the Holy Spirit. Self-control comes from the indwelling and transformation of the Holy Spirit. Strong’s Concordance defines the word “ἐγκράτεια” used in this Bible verse, as “self-control, proceeding from oneself, but not by oneself”.
Jesus is the expert in overcoming temptation. He never sinned, despite having been tempted. And he is compassionate with our struggles against temptation:
“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way, like us, but has not sinned” (Hebrews 4:15, NIV).
Not only does he care, but he has left us help to get through it. As Jesus was leaving, he told us:
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of all that I have told you” (John 14:26, NIV ).
Spiritual self-control cannot happen without the Holy Spirit. You need to depend on him and tap into the power and strength given to you in Christ through the Holy Spirit, so that you can practice self-control well.
So really, as people of faith, it would be better to do it with the help of the Holy Spirit’s control. But there is another important aspect of self-control in the Bible. We are told to choose self control in the Bible. It is both the power of the Holy Spirit and by our own choice.
“But the end of all things is near. Therefore, be in his right mind, self-control and sober in prayer ”. (I Peter 4:7).
2 Peter 1:5-6 says:
“For this very reason, strive to supplement your faith with kindness, kindness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with patience, patience with mercy.”
So self-control is something we strive for and receive. It is done in collaboration with the Holy Spirit. Self-control, according to the Bible, means to stop trying to control things on our own, turn ourselves to God for help, and work together with Him to achieve real change.
Why self control is important
If you lack self-control, you will be controlled by your whims. If you do not choose to trust the Holy Spirit and aspire to make the right decisions, you will not be able to become your best self. Jesus gave up his life so that you could be set free from sin and death. This freedom is meant to glorify God.
When you let go of life ruled by desires that come and go, you discover the best and most meaningful life that God has for you. As Jesus said to his disciples:
“If anyone wants to come after me, deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life, he will lose it, and whoever loses his life for me, he will find it ”(Matthew 16: 24-25).
When you die to yourself or surrender to God’s way by leaving your own way, you will find a more beautiful and fulfilling life on the other side.
How to develop self-control
So I’d like to review with you five things that every Christian should do to cultivate such an important virtue as self-control.
1. Know the word of God
And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures that can give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and useful to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice; so that the man of God may be apt, prepared for every good work (I Timothy 3:15-17).
So knowing God’s Word is first on the to-do list. The first thing that allows us to cultivate self-control is knowing the Word of God. Suppose God’s will is a line, that’s the way it is here, okay? And this is your will and what you’re trying to do, is align your will with God’s will.
How is the alignment of your will with the will of God?
If a car is out of alignment the tires will start to wobble, the front ends will lose their shape and it will be a ride full of . So the two sides of the wheels should be aligned. Well, in the same way God’s will and yours must be aligned.
Because when God’s will and yours are aligned, then a third element will align here; your body and your life. Then there is the will of God, your will and then your life or your body. When these elements line up, what happens? You have peace, you have harmony and you have self-control. But when they’re misaligned, you’re out of control, far from self-control.
So the first step to win control over oneself, believe it or not, is to know the will of God. And the only way to know it is to study his word. Knowledge of God’s word, which contains his will, reveals to us the direction that God wants our will to guide and the path that our body should follow.
relation to real life
People say to me sometimes: “I wish I knew what God’s will is” “Can you tell me what is God’s will??” And it’s like saying to me: “You can read the mind of God?” And they sit, think and say: “I wonder what is the will of GodAnd it seems the last place they’ll go to find out the answer is the bible.
And I often tell them: “Well, when was the last time you read the word?“, and they answer “Well, I don’t have much time and I try to do it when I can.“. No wonder he doesn’t know his will, know his word. You have to read or hear his word to know his will.
What happens when there is an alignment
So when our will is aligned with God’s direction, the body will follow. When we are absolutely sure of the correct direction because we know it from the Word of God, we are not afraid of anything and we can exercise self-control without problems.
You’ve had that experience, haven’t you? When you are absolutely sure because you have read it in God’s Word, you feel confident because you have seen what God wants you to do or not do. The fact that you are absolutely convinced of it makes it easier to achieve, because you are doing God’s will.
When you know what God’s will is for your will and your body, then you will have the courage to say no or say that is enough, and exercise control over yourself. It’s amazing when you’re able to tell yourself no, you know that internal dialogue?
“Yeah, I better not do what’s wrong and I know it’s wrong because of this chapter and this verse.”
The only way to know God’s will is to know his word, and the only way to know his word is to read it, study it, and listen to it frequently.
2. Be aware of the danger of a lack of self-control
If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away; because it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; because it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell. Matthew 5:29-30.
Due to the lack of control in a part of our life, you can control it. It’s as if Satan grabbed us with that deadly little finger and somehow managed to move the whole body because it has a small part of us. So when he succeeds, he manipulates all parts of our lives from that part.
So, for example, if you are a secret drinker, and I do not mean that you are a moderate person. I mean, you have an alcohol problem, you abuse alcohol, but it’s a secret thing, right? And he gets hold of it, and because you have that weakness, because he has you there, well, then he makes you lie about it. And then your job starts to suffer because of it, and then your health starts to suffer because of that control that he has in only part of your lie.
You see, once Satan controls one small part, he will try to control everything else, because if God doesn’t control him, Satan controls you. For example, most people who have left church have usually done so because there was something they couldn’t control and eventually that thing took over their spiritual lives and demolished them.
So what is my point here? My point is that we have to realize that what happens to these people happens because of a lack of self-control. And if it happens to them, it can happen to us. We need to understand the danger of not having self-control. When Jesus says:
“It is better that you lose your little finger than the whole body.”
Recognize the danger of not having self-control, recognize the danger of allowing Satan to worm into one part of your life, to control it as he controls other parts of your life.
3. Prepare to suffer
jesus says in Matthew 16:24 his disciples what they must do if they want to be his disciples. Well, he says, “You have to deny yourself, take up your crosses, and follow me.” No temptation has come upon us that is not common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can, but with the temptation it will also provide you with the escape routeso you can bear it. Corinthians 10:13.
In other words, there is nothing new. Whatever tempts you, be it greed, sex, lust, abuse or whatever, it’s nothing new. Human beings have been tempted by these things forever. Sometimes you can escape, but many times you just have to endure it. Notice what he mentions both here; sometimes there is a way to escape but sometimes the only way out is to hold on for a while.
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Why do you fail in the exercise of self-control?
Most people who fail to achieve self-control fail because they think it should be free. It shouldn’t cost you anything. When we realize that our carnal mind and body will react violently, when…