Self-control, or temperance, is the ability to restrain one's emotions, desires, and impulses to serve others. It is an important fruit of the spirit mentioned by Paul, and Christians should strive for self-control to overcome sinful behaviors and be a light to others. True self-control comes through yielding to God and allowing his spirit to transform our minds and empower us to obey his will. As believers develop self-control with God's help, it enables them to minister to others in the church body and live according to God's commands through love, care, and compassion.

1. Self-Control andthe Christian– 7th
November2015
Self-control or “temperance” can be simply defined as the mastery of oneself, the capacity of individuals to so
restrain their own emotions, desires, and impulses that they can serve others. The lack of such control is intrinsic
to our human culture, be it related to substance abuse, overeating, or a host of other unhealthy behaviors
including sexual conduct. Therefore self-control or more importantly lack of it, should concern every Christian,
indeed every congregation of believers who wish to be a lighthouse of God’s grace to those who are “out of
control.”
We can learn about Self Control as being an important aspect of the fruit of the sprit that comes to us through
God, as defined by the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 -“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no
law”. It quickly becomes evident that by reserving the mention of self-control to last, the apostle Paul is
deliberately emphasizingit as the capstone of all the graces of the Spirit. While the fruit of the spirit stated above
reflect the maturing work of the Spirit in an individual’s life, they also play a very important role in our
relationshipswith each other that we come in contact with.
How can we obtain Self-Control…? Let us firsttry to understand what “the lack of self control”causes us. We can
loseself control through our acts of the flesh which are carnal in nature “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery;20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that
those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God”(Galatians 5:19–21). Paul contrasts the sanctified life
with characteristicsof the carnal life:Becauseall theselisted categories reflect behaviors thatare out of control
and are common in the world today!
The biblical understandingof the term Self control requires the removal of our sinful natureby divinegraceas we
surrender ourselves to the Lord. Livingthe Christian lifewas no small problemfor many in the congregations to
whom Paul addressed.Yieldingto sinful passions was theorder of the day. Believers who did not come from a
Jewish background,where the precepts of the Old Testament were rigorously followed probably found the level of
personal restraintrequired of a Christian especially difficultto sustain.The word self-control,derives from the
presence of the Spiritin our thoughts and emotions, and is undergirded by the power of God. As believers we need
to yield themselves to the Lord in obedience to His will. To have self control Paul refers to a transformation of the
mind.“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you
will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”(Romans 12:2).
We can also learn when Paul tells us “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”
(Galatians 5:16).Our obedience to God enables us to develop self control. When faced with sinful thoughts or
actions,itis the level of our consciousnessof God within us, thatwill actas a warningthat will help to stopthere on
our tracks.Weneed Gods presence in our lives that can provides us the strength to overcome evil and live
accordingto His good purpose. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good
purpose”(Philippians 2;13).We need the spiritof God to livewithin us so that we can overcome evil from taking
hold of our very existence. In Romans we can also learn thatthose who do not have the presence of Gods spirit
within,will not belong to Jesus Christ. “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if
the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ”
(Romans 8:9).

2. It is the degree of Self-control that enables the believer to overcome sinful and destructivehabits, and thus focus
on ministeringto others, build up the body of Christ,and livein mutual submission to others as we can learn in
Ephesians 5:21“ Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” and thereby leadinga lifethat is positiveand
productive in the family,the neighborhood, the church,and placeof employment. For example, Paul exhorted the
Ephesian churches further on the need to have Self-control in Ephesians 4:28: “Anyone who has been stealing
must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have
something to share with those in need.” To the Galatians Paul wrotein reference to self-control:14 For the entire
law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each
other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:13-15).
The Christian should notassumemaintainingself-control to be easy to accomplish and thatit is a purely individual
matter. Itis vital to recognize that ministry within the body of Christentails responsibility to help others. Notice
the corporate emphasis in some of the followingpassages of Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:26 - “ If one part suffers,
every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Then Galatians 6:tells us:“Brothers
and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch
yourselves, or you also may be tempted (Galatians 6:1). It also tells us thatwhen we attempt to help others to
overcome sin,we have to be careful that we also don’t get tempted in the same. In the same passagein verse 10
we can learn: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to
the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10).
Through members ministeringto one another, the body of Christbuilds itself up in love,care, compassion and
goodness: “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds
itself up in love, as each part does its work (Ephesians 4:16) As we grow in Christeach person becomes more
mature in character and behavior and are ableto develop greater self-control within us… This enables us to
become strongto livein keeping with Gods commands for us. Little wonder that human relationships becomethe
battleground for demonstrating the level of Christian values,graces and self-control.After all,Jesus himself said:
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another” (John 13:35).
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will”
(Romans 12:2).